2007

Important changes came last week in the effort to bring cod back to New England waters.

The New England Fishery Management Council at its meeting in Plymouth established a protective zone for juvenile cod in the Great South Channel.

While it will take up to three years to come up with protective rules for that area, the decision sets aside a portion of open ocean where it is known that undersized fish need to be protected.

Capt. Wayne Iacono and a number of other Menemsha lobstermen are having a better autumn this year because of the help of a local draggerman, Capt. Craig Coutinho of the fishing boat Viking.

“If it wasn’t for Craig we’d all be in trouble,” Captain Iacono said.

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Thirty years ago, the invention of the electronic fish finder helped fishermen out in their boats find fish. Today’s great device, the computer hooked up to the Internet, helps the rest of us find fishermen who know where to find the fish.

The culture of the Internet has helped charter fishing captains just as it has helped a lot of other businesses.

The bluefish are in. For at least one fisherman, the arrival was
like an old-fashioned Wasque bluefish blitz.

On Monday, Ed Amaral drove to Chappaquiddick to get his line wet and
perhaps catch the first bluefish of the season. While he didn't
get the first one, he certainly got more than he expected.

2006

Fishermen, Regulators Brace for Spring Herring Moratorium

By MARK ALAN LOVEWELL

Alewives, one of the great harbingers of spring, have returned to
Vineyard waters.

But there is a crucial difference this year: the state of
Massachusetts has barred people from catching or possessing these
anadramous fish, which return from the ocean to spawn in freshwater
ponds.

2005

Concerned about a precipitous decline in herring, the state has banned their harvest in Massachusetts for the next three years.

Also known as alewives, herring is the most valued bait fish in Vineyard waters.

The closure, which affects at least 100 herring runs along the Massachusetts coast, ironically comes at a time when Vineyard towns are taking steps to revive and improve their runs.

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