National Fisherman

March Spotlight:

Gear and Apparel

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Boats & Gear

When they lengthened and sponsoned the Progress in 2019, the owners knew it would need more power to optimize performance and efficiency. In 2024, they replaced a 1200-hp Cat with a 2000-hp Cummins QSK60. Bering North photo.

Bering Sea trawler gains new power with Cummins

Paul Molyneaux

The crew at Wesmac Custom Boats will be the first to install a Tier III, 1000-hp exempted engine in a New England lobster boat. The limit for Tier III is 803 horsepower, but the EPA promises flexibility going forward. Photo courtesy of Wesmac

EPA promotes flexibility for Tier IV implementation

Paul Molyneaux

With a focus on quality and value, Sord Fishing Products has introduced a line of knives for a variety of fisheries. While priced higher than the knives commonly used in commercial fisheries, Sord knives come with a lifetime guarantee. Sord photo.

The sharper edge

Paul Molyneaux

The Lobster Trap Company’s plastic trap being field tested on the same trawl as a wire trap. According to research and reports from fishermen, plastic traps have been shown to fish as well as or better than wire. Photo courtesy of the Lobster Trap Company

Nova Scotia company aims to reinvent the lobster trap

Paul Molyneaux

The Aleta at the dock in Florence, Oregon. The 49-foot steel ketch was designed by Jack Serin and built near Ventura, California. Kate Price and Brandon Hiza bought the boat in 2022 as both a home and an albacore troller. Photo courtesy of Price/Hiza

F/V Aleta blends sail power with modern albacore fishing

Paul Molyneaux

Maine Marine Patrol's new 57' Wesmac, Allegiance. Laura Pellerano photo via Maine Dept. of Marine Resources.

Maine Marine Patrol adds offshore enforcement vessel

Ben Hayden

F/V Kimberly K, owned by Westbank Fisheries, is one of several commercial fishing vessels planning or completing repower projects with Mitsubishi engines supplied by Laborde Products. Photo courtesy of Westbank

Fishermen find value in Mitsubishi engines from Laborde Products

Paul Molyneaux

The Tide-N-Knots rests on its mooring in Bailey’s Mistake, a semi-protected anchorage in Lubec, Maine. Built somewhere in Nova Scotia in 1979, the boat is typical of the rough old Novi workhorses found in Downeast Maine. Greg McConnell photo.

Boat of the month: Tide-N-Knots

Paul Molyneaux

The GM 6-53 "was the beating heart of the Hard Times. It ran and ran and ran...sometimes when I went down forward for something I would pause for a second or two and just marvel at it as it roared." Photo courtesy of Jerry Fraser

Jerry_Fraser

From Johnson Seahorse to screaming jimmy

Jerry Fraser

Making a profit with a small boat means cutting costs where possible. Burning biofuel enabled Nick Wilbur to get to his fishing grounds and back for free. He found that his engine ran faster, smoother, and quieter on biofuel. Nick Wilbur photo.

One captain’s experiment with vegetable oil fuel

Paul Molyneaux

On-demand fishing gear systems were tested in Jonesport, Maine, using the Maine Department of Marine Resources gear library. Photo courtesy of NOAA Fisheries

Consumers would pay more for lobster caught with ropeless gear, study finds

NF Staff