Crew shifts

By Jessica Hathaway

The NF staff has been in a cycle of constant change for more than a year now. We have moved around our building several times as our offices have been renovated and our company accommodates rapid growth.We have done our best to cope with the loss of our sister publication SeaFood Business in May. With the move to take SFB online only, we also wrangled with the shift of Associate Editor Melissa Wood, who worked half-time on each publication, to a freelance editor and writer, rather than the comparable ease of having her in the office.

Melissa has an eye for a good story and the chops to make it great. We loved having her in the office for three and a half years and working freelance for us for another three months after that. However, we could never expect to keep such a talented journalist at our beck and call for long. Beginning with the close of this issue, Melissa will be moving to Down East Maine to take a new position as an associate editor with Wooden Boat publications. We will miss her dearly. Melissa puts her heart and soul into her work, and she has grown to love the fishing industry — so much so that she hopes to write for us from time to time and keep posting on her NF blog Coastlines. If you would like to read editorials and news from all of our editors, sign up for Fish eNews on our website.

Shortly after Melissa left our offices, our longtime art director, Jennifer Finn, decided to turn over a new leaf after 15 years with NF and work for our company's expanding trade show design department. Jen has been a phenomenal art guru for us and has taken on endless tasks outside of the typical scope. Everything Jen does she does with precision, speed and a smile. If you've loved the look of our magazine over the last two decades, it's because she has been faithfully at the helm.

In Jen's stead, we got another golden nugget. Laura Lee Dobson, our new art director, designed SeaFood Business for more than 11 years. I was thrilled when she decided to take a position with our magazine. Laura has been fearless in her new role and has quickly caught on to our wacky style.

As we have been adjusting to all of this, we also have been preparing for my maternity leave, which should commence any day now. I plan to return soon, and you will continue to see my face on this page. But the bulk of the work I leave in the capable hands of our publisher and former editor, Jerry Fraser, as well as our longtime senior editor, Linc Bedrosian. Some things change, and some hold steady.

* * *

Now let's talk about your crew. It's time to submit Crew Shots. Please send photos taken this year (2014) to [email protected], and be sure to include Crew Shots 15 in the subject line. We will also need to know names of those pictured (from left to right), the boat, home port, location (if not the home port), fishery and gear type.

The more information you include and the larger your image, the better your chances are for getting on the cover! The deadline is Oct. 31, 2014.

Read more Editor's Logs here >>