Carlos' fishing crew recently had the mixed fortune of wrangling an 881lb Bluefin Tuna into their nets. Although he had permits for said fish, because he did not catch it on a hook and line, he had to surrender his catch to the Feds and NOAA. Needless to say he was NOT pleased.
Carlos is originally from Portugal but lives in Massachusetts. He owns a fleet of 42 fishing vessels that he sends off for 7-8 day trips to collect northeastern ground fish such as Dabs, Cod, Grey Flounder and more. Carlos buys most of his boats from Texas and Louisiana and he fixes them into seaworthy shape.
The type of fishing that Carlos does is similar to what my father used to do and they know each other. SMALL WORLD, that of the FISH PEOPLE.
Carlos told me that the tuna was sold for approximately 9$ per lb.
9 x 881= $7,629 dollar fish
$4,395 went to the Feds (who gave the proceeds to NOAA). $3,234 went to the fish broker.
I asked Carlos if anything positive came from this experience and he said "YES ABSOLUTELY!"
So much attention has been drawn to the issue that NOAA is going to have to reassess the rules.
During the last 10 years the rules surrounding bluefins have been altered heavily in favor of environmentalists. Carlos feels that all of the work the fishermen put in to alter the rules to preserve their own well being were changed during this time period. He hopes that the rules will be reconsidered once again. Nevertheless Carlos now plans to sell his tuna permits.
If you want to stay in tune with rules and regulations regarding bluefins, if you want to stay abreast of Carlos' story then tune into Saving Seafood RSS. Saving Seafood is a compilation of current articles about commercial fishing composed by a man named Bob in DC who is lobbying for fisherman's rights.
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