National Fisherman

Paul Molyneaux

Editor

Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for National Fisherman.

Author Archive

Sitka, Alaska, fisherman, Jeff Farvour, gaffs a salmon aboard his 40-foot troller, the Apollo. A lawsuit by the Wild Fish Conservancy almost closed the Southeast Alaska salmon troll fishery in 2023, and the fishermen’s struggle with the litigious organiza

The Wild Fish Conservancy’s never-ending lawsuits

Mike Rudolph of the US Coast Guard uses a model in a tank to demonstrate some stability basics to a very interested young man named Valour. The idea is to give vessel operators the information they need to avoid the most egregious mistakes. Photo courtesy

Stability basics save lives

Alexandra Morton started off presenting fisheries science aimed at protecting wild salmon. “When I saw the science wasn’t bringing change, I became an activist,” she says. Simon Fraser University photo.

Removal of BC salmon farms coincides with rebounding wild runs

Imagery from NOAA's “Blobtracker” shows the intensity of the 2014-16 Pacific sea temperatures, compared to 2024 which also saw record sea surface temperatures in some areas of the Pacific, as did the 2025 blob. NOAA graphic.

Keeping an eye on the ‘Blob’

Students on the water participate in a Sea Potential program. Sea Potential photo.

Maritime Blue, Sea Potential and the next generation of seafarers

From an idea to a drawing to reality, Full Time Fabrication turns fisherman, Jordan Wilson’s dream into a fast and versatile coast crabber, ready for Puget Sound and the deeper waters offshore. TJ Lowry photo.

Full Time Fabrication floats a new crab boat design

Caudwell Marine brought its new 300-hp diesel outboard to Pacific Marine Expo, aiming to offer commercial operators a high-power alternative to gas outboards. Doug Stewart photo.

Caudwell is the new diesel outboard on the block

With a $49 million grant, the Southeast Conference hopes to help Alaska’s handful of mariculture companies become a $200 million industry. Alaska growers are partnering with Canadian company Cascadia Seaweed to tap the agriculture biostimulant market. Cascadia Seaweed photo.

Alaska mariculture gets a big kickstart

Oregon's Newport Harbor. Creative Commons photo by D. Reinhart.

Local Ocean Seafoods: A business model for fishing communities

Thyborøn Trawldoors is setting the pace for controllable doors by adding automated height control to its existing system. The new doors promise to reduce impact on the seafloor while giving skippers more control of their gear.

Thyborøn keeps doors off bottom