National Fisherman March 2020

I N F O R M E D F I S H E R M E N • P R O F I TA B L E F I S H E R I E S • S U S TA I N A B L E F I S H Incorporating

March / 2020

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Home grown North Carolina’s Dunbar family launches a third generation at Paradise Shores

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Scandies Rose

Net loss

Five lives lost when a Bering Sea crabber goes down with a full deck

25 years after Florida voted to ban gillnets, landings still lacking

ON DECK

Editor’s Log

All in the family Jessica Hathaway Editor in Chief jhathaway@divcom.com

his year marks the 25th anniversary of Florida’s gillnet ban. A quarter century after the state’s voters approved a complete closure on this historic gear type, the fight to keep any type of net in the water continues, and Florida’s commercial landings are still down by 70 percent.

Longtime contributor and author Robert Fritchey profiles the history of the ban and assesses the health of the industry in Florida over the last quarter century. Read the story on page 20.

The enduring strength of fishing families has fortified coastal communities through decades of waterfront battles, but they cannot last forever alone on the front lines. That’s why it renews my eternal hope to hear the stories of families thriving in the fishing and

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seafood industries through deeper investment and commitment to their work.

Boats & Gear Editor Paul Molyneaux’s Boatbuilding story on the New Jersey clammer Joey D (page 28) highlights the familyrun Oceanside Marine, which has been in the seafood industry for nearly 100 years.

In our cover story on page 24, Maureen Donald profiles the Dunbar family’s Paradise Shores Seafood in North Carolina.

The Dunbars put a spotlight on the ways in which working with your family can pay big dividends. This fishing and seafood family, has united around finding a niche, taking some risks, and investing broadly in the local fishing industry to grow the business and keep it going for the next generation and beyond.

The Cobban family has fished out of

On the cover Blake Dunbar and his son Drake make up the second and third generations to fish for the family business in Merritt, N.C. Photo by Will Conkwright

Kodiak, Alaska, for four generations. They lost a father and son team when the Bering Sea boat Scandies Rose sank on New Year’s Eve, along with three other crew members.

The two survivors reported heavy weather and freezing spray as contributing to the capsize of the 130-foot boat. Associate Editor Kirk Moore tells the story on page 18.

The loss of life at sea affects a wide web.

As communities, we gather around the families of those lost, raise funds to help secure their near future, and even send their kids to school with scholarships. The commitment of the extended community of fishing families to care for our own is unparalleled.

Whether you’re related by blood or not, most fishing crews work together as family. As we listen to the survivors, glean lessons from their memories and marvel at how lucky they were to find solid ground again, let’s remember that recovery from a traumatic event is not just physical. They are faced with reconciling the loss of their fishing family with the luck of having survived, and that is best done with continued support from the community, too.

In partnership with Pacific Marine Expo The largest commercial marine trade show on the West Coast, serving commercial mariners from Alaska to California. www.pacificmarineexpo.com

PUBLISHER: Bob Callahan EDITOR IN CHIEF: Jessica Hathaway ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Kirk Moore BOATS & GEAR EDITOR: Paul Molyneaux PRODUCTS EDITOR: Brian Hagenbuch ART DIRECTOR: Doug Stewart NORTH PACIFIC BUREAU CHIEF: Charlie Ess FIELD EDITORS: Larry Chowning, Michael Crowley CORRESPONDENTS: Elma Burnham, John DeSantis, Maureen Donald, Dayna Harpster, Sierra Golden, John Lee, Caroline Losneck, Nick Rahaim ADVERTISING COORDINATOR: Wendy Jalbert / wjalbert@divcom.com / Tel. (207) 842-5616 NATIONAL SALES MANAGER: Susan Chesney / schesney@divcom.com / Tel. (206) 463-4819 CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING: (800) 842-5603 classifieds@divcom.com SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION (818) 487-2013 or (800) 959-5073 GENERAL INFORMATION (207) 842-5608 Producer of Pacific Marine Expo and the International WorkBoat Show Theodore Wirth, President & CEO | Mary Larkin, President, Diversified Communications USA Diversified Communications | 121 Free St., Portland, ME 04112 (207) 842-5500 • Fax (207) 842-5503 • www.divcom.com

2 National Fisherman \ March 2020

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