Charter boat operators who cater to recreational fishermen with an appetite for the iconic fish ‘will have to … reinvent themselves.’ Maine boat captains who take recreational fishermen offshore will find out next year if they can stay in business without catching the one fish their customers crave – codfish.
Federal regulators last week approved rules that ban the possession of cod by any recreational fishermen in the Gulf of Maine for the fishing year that starts May 1.
Recreational fishermen could still pack their coolers with other groundfish, such as haddock, redfish and hake, but customers want cod because of its iconic status and because it’s a large fish that provides lots of good-tasting meat, say people who operate boats that cater to recreational fishermen.
The survival of their businesses now will depend on their ability to sell the appeal of other species, says Barry Gibson, captain of a charter boat that operates out of East Boothbay.
“They will have to re-market, reinvent themselves without cod,” he said. “It’s going to be tough.”
Gibson said the ban on cod possession will likely remain for two years, and could possibly last a generation if cod stocks don’t recover. In past years, a ban on cod possession lasted for only a few months. During those months, business dropped by half, said Tim Tower, who runs Bunny Clark Deep Sea Fishing in Ogunquit.
Continue reading this article at this LINK….
—–
Join ODU Magazine on Facebook here at this LINK…..
Join ODU Magazine on our Twitter fishing site here at this LINK…..
Join ODU Magazine on our Twitter hunting site here at this LINK…..
.