Jan 04 2008
Fishing porbeagles. From Norway to Newfoundland in the 1960’s
Norwegian fishermen had been off the coast of Newfoundland before. In the 1950’s they fished for halibut and other species using long lines. They reported that they had seen a lot of porbeagles along the eastern coast of Canada. In spring 1961 the first two Norwegian vessels arrived.
“Teigenes” was the first vessel that set the porbeagle lines off the coast of Canada. The catches were good, and this was the start of a new fishery for the Norwegians. The following years the fleet grew and no one complained about the catches taken on the banks east of Newfoundland. Some vessels also fished along the coastline south to New York.
In 1964 the vessel “Teigenes” got 500 porbeagles on 1200 hooks. The vessel was then loaded (see the following photos on this page), and they had to let another vessel haul the last part of the long line.
“Teigenes” went to Halifax to get more ice. After 15 days the vessel entered Germany where the porbeagles were sold.
Already In 1965 the adventure was over. The catches on the eastern coast of Canada were then so poor that the Norwegian stopped their annual trip to Newfoundland. The porbeagle stock was then too low to make the fishery profitable.
As a commercial fisherman here in New England, I can tell you that the porbeagle stock is in very good shape in the Gulf of Maine. We’re seeing record #’s in our gillnets in offshore waters. This is no doubt due to excessive regulations which have severely curtailed fishing effort. Unfortunately many fisherman are not allowed to land sharks because they do not have a coastal shark permit and there is a moritorium on them (the permits). I never new of this porbeagle fishery by the Norwegians; it’s a good example of how poor fishery management can kill not only the resource but the industry itself.
Regards, Geordie—