Dogfish

[FishHunter]

Does anyone know of a good place to sell dogfish from either Cape Cod to New Bedford.  I don't think anyone on Cape takes them - from the call I made.  Also, wondering what a ballpark price is for them and if you have to gut them at all or you just bring them in whole.  Since, I can't really cod fish I may take a stab at this fishery.

[dancingetard]

You just bring them in whole. I will call you on the landline with the buyer. I also have a seafood broker with trucks that may be buying in chatam shortly. Is the daioly limit still 600lbs a day or did they increase it to 3K. I will check nmfs website tonight to look into it just for my own knowledge. Kevin

[FishHunter]

3K pounds - Federal Waters only  - Maine, NH, CT and MA are closed.

[dancingetard]

As in all fisheries you have to be all ready & setup for openings & take advantage of them at those times. The buyers in New Bedford are Eastern fish & Seatrade if you ever do decide to fish for them & you want to truck them there yourself.

[FishHunter]

Thanks for the information - I have a federal permit - so I am safe.

[AndrewK]

Theyre only going for 13 cents a lb down here in NJ, 1000 or 1500 lbs a day. Whole. 

[dancingetard]

Are you talking aout "Smooth Dogfish" or Spiny Dogfish". I know the smooths are plentifull in NJ. I  am unsure of what price that they are bought for but do know that only a small belly flap is actually used & most of the catch is exported to the UK to fish & chip shops. Either way if they are smooths or spiny dogs & it seems like the most inefficient & least profitable fishery around ifg youi arer using hand gear. The thought of landing those lil sharks for pennies with a rod & a reel makes me chuckle.     

[FishHunter]

I would not be reeling all of them in - that would be to time consuming - they get so thick around the boat you can basically just start gaffing them and throwing them over the side.  Unfortunately, you cannot always choose what you want to fish for with the regulations you need to come up with other options -which may or may not work out - I would obviously much rather be cod fishing

[dancingetard]

I wish you & others all the best & dont let my pessimism deter anyone. The reality is that regulations within our fisheries are not new problems by any means. I would warn any readers to not rely on any single type of fishing & or speciesm to succeed one must be flexible, diverse & their timing must be in tune with mother nature & the market. Commercial fishing is a business & if certain species, gear types, or locations are not profitable the decision to experiment, reinvest & or travel to make your business money makes perfect sense to me.

Good luck.

[AndrewK]

Are you talking aout "Smooth Dogfish" or Spiny Dogfish". I know the smooths are plentifull in NJ. I  am unsure of what price that they are bought for but do know that only a small belly flap is actually used & most of the catch is exported to the UK to fish & chip shops. Either way if they are smooths or spiny dogs & it seems like the most inefficient & least profitable fishery around ifg youi arer using hand gear. The thought of landing those lil sharks for pennies with a rod & a reel makes me chuckle.     

Spinies now. Smooth doggin is closed up and they came up with some even more wacky regs for next year. N we gillnet em. Didnt even bother with spinies this year as it would put us in the hole just to pack them out n we end up with nothing. Pulling the boat in a week...

[dancingetard]

Hand gear question? I am curious if any easty coast guys have ever experimented with " Hand Gurdies"? I came across a few different models & styles on some west coast websites for salmon trolling. I wonder if it would make sense to have a few of these mounted on a boat instead of using rods & reels on commercial hand gear permits. It appears to be just a hand operated type bandit reel with a larger drum that would take less repitions to land a fish. Now remember guys I have been fishing most of my adult life but never used a hook for anything except as a mate on 6pack charters to supplement my income while working as a sternman years ago.

http://www.dockstreetbrokers.com/classifieds.php?type=for%20sale

http://www.seattlemarine.net/productcart/pc/viewPrd.asp?idproduct=4492&IDCategory=1210

http://www.kolstrand.com/home-page/inmac-kolstrand-davit-mount-standard-hand-gurdy.html

[FishHunter]

I have never personally fished with one.  I use electric reels as well as most of the other hand gear guys I know.  I have seen a couple of gurdy type systems out there similar to the ones in this link.  Made by Waterman Industries - I could not find there direct link.

http://www.blueoceantackle.com/custom_sea_gear_info.htm

[dancingetard]

I didnt know that you guys were able to use bandit reels. My suggestion for those gurdies was because I didnt know you could use bandits. Are you able to use hydraulic reels as well? I just read the state of Mass regs for there hand gear permit, they seem to require a rod & reel only. I noticed there is a control date for dogs in state waters.

[dancingetard]

I believe I have been wrong again. When you say electric reels are they still mounted to rods?? I rethought about electric reel & searched online & realized there are electrically assisted reels that mount on rods as in this link. After previously speaking with the guys down south in the Gulf & Florida when you said electric reel I immediately thought a boat mounted large diameter drum electric/hydraulically assisted reel. I am glad that you joined the forum, since I am always looking to learn about different methods of commercial fishing.

http://www.captharry.com/categories2/DeepDroppingReels,RodsAccessories/47.html

[FishHunter]

Yes I use an electric reel very similar to the one in your link.  If I stay handgear fishing, I will most likely upgrade eventually to the other bandit reels by waterman, I showed in that previous link.

I do pretty much all of my fishing in Federal Waters - I have a Federal Permit which I know allows bandit gear and I just checked the federal regs and so no mention of electric or hydraulic so I would "assume" - you could use hydraulics.  With the rod and reel I am more limited by the number of hooks on the line which is 3.

My federal permit also allows me to fish in state waters, however with dogfish ma is closed so the feds are honoring that and not allowing to fish for dogs in state waters.  And you are correct there is a control date on dogs - which I believe they added a year or two ago.