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By Laura Crimaldi GLOBE STAFF NOVE MBER 12, 2014

GLOUCESTER On the cusp of what is effectively a six-month ban on cod fishing,

Russell Sherman could have spent Tuesday on the Gulf of Maine trying to catch
what he could.
Instead, he never left Jodrey State Pier, opting to work on repairs to the 72-foot
fishing vessel he wants to sell, rather than make a final run for cod. And he had
harsh words for the federal officials who oversee the fishing industry.
They say, Oh, were so sorry, boys. We got to do this. We got to do it for the fish,
Sherman, 66, said from the Lady Jane. Now go out of business quietly, will you.
The death knell, Sherman and other fishermen said, was sounded Monday by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which announced emergency
measures intended to protect cod populations from further decline. The new rules
go into effect Thursday.
That left fishermen, the day-boat operators who cannot venture beyond restricted
areas, wondering about their futures as they hauled to port what were probably
their last cod catches.

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Gloucester is home to fishermen who catch cod

and other fish.

Cod-fishing ban upsets fishermen

Baker wants broader input on
federal cod regulations

We make these plans to maximize our investment and try to eke what little bit we
can out of this business, and they cut it right off at the knees, Sherman said.
Boom.
The veteran fisherman said he came to Gloucester after graduating from Harvard
College. Sherman was a scholarship kid and said he was desperate to get a job so
he wouldnt have to return to his parents home in Putnam, Conn.
He found he enjoyed fishing. And even better the job paid well.
I was making more money than my dad was, and I was working half the time,
Sherman said.
Now Sherman said he hasnt earned more than $50,000 annually in a decade and
wants to sell the Lady Jane, named for his mother.
Ive had to leave the boat in disrepair cosmetically for four years. Now were trying

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to desperately sell the boat, so were putting a little lipstick on it, he said as two
friends helped him with repairs. This [boat] was going to take me into a
retirement. But Im not going to have a retirement.
Across the harbor, Al Cottone pulled up to the docks aboard the Sabrina Maria with
cod and yellowtail flounder.
Cottone, who has been fishing for 30 years, said he caught nearly 1,200 pounds of
cod in about an hour and 15 minutes.
Im pretty much done for the year with my allocation. I caught it all in three days,
Cottone said.
With the ban, Cottone said, his future is unclear.
I have no idea, he said.
Cottones friend, Joe Orlando, was aghast. How could regulators claim the cod
population was in freefall when Cottone caught so much in just over an hour, he
asked.
Its unbelievable, Orlando said as Cottones catch was unloaded at Ocean Crest
Seafoods Inc. We got proof. We can prove it. But yet they disregard that proof, you
know. Theyre God and jury, and thats it. Were nothing.
Facing tougher regulations, Orlando said he sold a 65-foot fishing vessel last year
and downsized to a 50-foot vessel. His son, who had been fishing with him for 14
years, quit and got a shore job.
As Orlando was getting the smaller boat ready, he said, he started hearing rumors
that even more stringent rules were coming.
So he put the 50-foot boat up for sale and started looking for an even smaller vessel
that he could take out by himself, Orlando said. Now he says he could lose it all.
I stand to lose my house, my boat, he said. I dont know what to do.

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While announcing the emergency restrictions on cod, federal regulators tried to

soften the blow by increasing quotas for haddock, which also feeds along the ocean
floor. But local fishermen said limiting cod catches to 200 pounds per boat also
prohibits them from fishing other species, including haddock.
Its cod that theyre shutting us off on. But cod swims with the other species,
Sherman said. The areas that they closed are the areas where wed access the Gulf
of Maine haddock, and so there could be umpteen millions of them swimming out
there and we cant touch them.
Mayor Carolyn Kirk of Gloucester said the emergency measures will hit day-boat
fishermen the hardest. The boats they use make up the largest portion of the fleet
on the citys waterfront and arent designed to venture beyond the restricted areas.
Theyre really at the end of their line, she said.
Still, she said the citys economy and waterfront have diversified to include more
recreational fishing and charter boats. The city has two cultural districts and plans
to mark the opening of a hotel this week, Kirk said.
This impact will be felt on the families, she said. Its something that we hate to
see because weve seen it so many times.
Since federal regulators announced the restrictions, local fishermen said the price
for cod has plummeted, giving them even less incentive to fish for it.
Fishermen aboard the Capt. Novello, for example, said they spent part of Tuesday
fishing for gray sole, not cod, which is selling for $1.25 per pound.
Its the last day, Marc Frontiero said. Were done for the year.
RELATED
Editorial: As codfish dwindle, communities need to reboot
Laura Crimaldi can be reached at laura.crimaldi@globe.com.

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