July 8, 2013 — Today WCAI is launching a 10-part series called “The Long Haul: The Future of New England’s Fisheries.” We’ll examine how the fisheries came to their difficult predicament. And we’ll also focus on the stories of people working to improve the future of the fisheries. In part one, WCAI’s Steve Junker looks at where we are now, and what it says about where we might be headed.
The moment of departure brings uncertainty into sharp focus.
On a Monday morning in New Bedford harbor, the 90-foot dragger Buzzards Bay was at the dock preparing for its next fishing trip. Ice rattled through a delivery chute passing into the ship’s hold. Captain-owner Alex Smith looked over the deck where his three-man crew was repairing the nets, and he considered aloud the many challenges he faced as a commercial fisherman. Money was always tight, and he had been making hard choices.
“We used to always go five men," he said. "But there’s not enough money to pay five guys. You try to cut back as much as you can in any department you can.”
Smith is 42. His father was a New Bedford fishing captain before him. The business, he said, is harder now than it ever was. “A serious problem now," he said, "is our expenses are so high – half of our trip is in fuel. Eight days cost us $21,000 last trip just for fuel.”
And it’s become much more difficult, he said, to find the fish. "20,000 pounds is a good trip nowadays. Used to be 40, 50 thousand pounds would be a good trip for a boat this size.”
With the ice loaded, Smith powered up the ship's engine. Crew members called to each other as the lines were cast off and the Buzzards Bay eased away from the bulkhead. Smith planned a seven-day trip on George’s Bank, dragging for groundfish.
He had agreed to call me on the return end, when he was six hours away from port, so I could meet him as he landed and learn the outcome of his trip. He wasn't sure precisely when that would be, of course. It all depended on the fish.
Listen to the audio and read the full story at WCAI