Saturday, December 31, 2011

Men at work: Friendship harbor at year's end

Friendship harbor (click on photos to enlarge)




rigged for trawling

Friday, December 30, the last workday of the year was a busy day in Friendship harbor.  By a rough estimate of the dinghies at moorings in the morning about 20 fishing boats were out - baiting and hauling traps, or bringing them in for storage in the off season.  Others were getting ready for the shortened shrimp season.  The Department of Marine Resources has declared:
"The 2011/2012 fishing season specifications are a total allowable catch (TAC) of 2,000 metric tons, with the season closing when landings are projected to reach 95 percent of the TAC (1,900 mt). The trawl season will start January 2, 2012 with three landing days a week (Monday, Wednesday, Friday). Vessels may only land once a day. The trap season will start February 1, 2012 with a 1,000 pound landing limit per vessel per day [and no days out]."
Delayed a month, it will be a short season, hard on Friendship's fleet.