National Fisherman

Paul Molyneaux

Editor

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

Author Archive

Jeremy Brown uses Steiners on his 80-foot albacore troller, the Betty H. “I mostly use them to spot birds,” he says. “They have a wide field of vision and are good in low light. Photo by Jeremy Brown

Fishermen weigh their binocular options at sea

The cod end of a Danish seiner holds a ton of high-value flat fish after a three-hour set. Danish seining is a relatively low impact fishing technology in which the net is set in a square, surrounding flatfish on the seafloor before being hauled in rather

David Attenborough’s Ocean, a media super trawler

The Itasca leaving San Diego and bound for her home port of Honolulu after what owner Peter Webster calls “a shave and a haircut.” Webster spends around 300 days a year at sea, longlining tuna, often hundreds of miles from any land. Peter Webster photo.

Boat of the Month: Itasca

A skimmer net shrimp boat in Delacroix, La., sits idle at the dock with prices too low to pay for fuel. Shrimpers from Texas to the Carolinas hope legislation can prevent restaurants from selling imported shrimp as domestic product. Paul Molyneaux photo.

Southern states lay down the law on seafood labeling

Problems often occur on boats during maintenance. Leonard McLay put an intentional starboard list on his vessel, the Ashtella Raelynn, to work on the port side, but water flooded the hull, and the boat sank at the dock in Newport, Ore. Georgia Haight photo.

Troller sinks at the dock in Newport, Ore.

Former NMFS biologist Joe Smith’s encyclopedic book, Menhaden: A Biologist’s Thirty-Two-Year Journey with the Fish and Fishery, is rich with information and likely to become required reading for fishery science students. Palmetto Publishing image.

Menhaden: A Biologist’s Thirty-Two-Year Journey with the Fish and Fishery

A pair of Mississippi oystermen on a dredge boat separate oysters and load them into old Tim Horton’s coffee sacks. Bill 2648 now in the Mississippi Legislature would privatize 80 percent of the state’s oyster reefs. Richard Bosarge photo.

Privatization threatens Mississippi oyster harvesters

KYB 525’s turns the winches on a New Bedford scallop boat, lifting the heavy dredges off bottom. The crew appreciates their even flow, power, and low noise. Photo by Asher Molyneaux

KYB stands for reliable power

The Cameron and Connor, a vessel owned by Miss Gina’s Fresh Shrimp in Beaufort, N.C. is among small inshore shrimp trawlers that fish Pamlico Sound. Miss Gina's Fresh Shrimp photo.

Carolina shrimp trawl ban

The ALFA offers apprenticeships to young people from all over the country. The Association connects vessel owners looking for crew with young people who want to try fishing. A few have stayed in the game. Credit: Steve Fish / Alaska Longline Fishermen’s A

Keeping a labor force in the pipeline