National Fisherman

Paul Molyneaux

Editor

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

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A Maine lobster boat is equipped with the Hondex HDX combination chartplotter/echosounder and the HE-7300 sounder. Hondex electronics are popular in small boat fisheries in the Northeast due to their simplicity, capabilities, and durability. Jason Philbro

No bells, no whistles

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration detected Cesium-137, a radioactive isotope, in shipping containers and shrimp samples from Indonesia. Shutterstock photo.

Radioactive shrimp gets consumers’ attention

The Hotspur was fortunate to have a handheld VHF for transmitting a distress call when it sank off Alaska in 2022. Most Marine Supply stores have a variety of handheld VHFs ready for fishermen to compare and buy. NTSB photo.

The handy VHF

Fisherman Joel Kawahara’s boat being towed empty into Eureka, Calif. Many small-scale fishermen work single-handed. The OLAS Guardian Pro kill switch can reduce the risk and give them a chance if they go overboard. Coast Guard photo.

MOB kill switch can save solo fishermen

The Black Eagle is a 65-foot, highly versatile fishing platform for the North Atlantic. The vessel can be rigged for sealing, crabbing, shrimping, trawling for turbot and redfish, and longlining cod. Jake Payne photo.

Boat of the Month: The Black Eagle

With tariffs and anti-fraud legislation pushing prices up, shrimpers are calling for swift passage of the Save Our Shrimpers Act, which would stop the U.S. from contributing billions to the World Bank for building more shrimp farms. Paul Molyneaux photo.

Moving the SOS Act

The Notus trawl sensor system with Echo showing the level of noise on the grate and grate angle. According to Francis Parrott, Newfoundlanders did not immediately adopt Echo. “But about 30 percent of the fleet has it now and more are getting it,” he says.

Shrimp sensor turns noise into numbers

National Fisherman Highline Joel Kawahara is currently off course and not responding to communication attempts. The Coast Guard has been alerted and is making efforts to ascertain Kawahara’s status. Photo courtesy Heather Rehtaeh.

NF Highliner in trouble

Paired with Simrad’s ES80 echo sounder, the CP60 provides information on current speed and direction at up to six levels of depth, and can also track movement on schools of fish under the right conditions. Credit: Simrad

Simrad takes emerging technology to the edge

The Reel Pissah, out of Harpswell, Maine, sports a pair of Durabrite pro series lights that the crew used while night fishing for a giant bluefin tuna. Tuna boats tend to use 5,700 Kelvin lights that attract and hold baitfish near the boat. Durabrite phot

Durabrite sheds light on tuna