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[Dollars and Sense]

Back from vacation. Anyone see this episode? I think it is the boat that has a wildcat on it.

I just found out that the flim crews of Deadliest Catch are expanding to other types of commerical fishing, this week Discovery is starting to air a new docturmary about the guys who fish for Lobsters.


Here is the link off of Discovery's web site about the new special:


http://dsc.discovery.com/tvlistings/episode.jsp?episode=1&cpi=25265&gid=0&channel=DSC


Here is a article by Peggy Aulisio about the new special:



:

A boat owned by a Westport lobsterman, Grant Moore, is one of three offshore lobster boats filmed for a program starting this week on the Discovery channel. The documentary filmmakers also produced, "The Most Dangerous Catch," about the King Crab fishery in Alaska.

"I think they want to document what this fishing is about," Mr. Moore said. "Most Americans think of lobster and think of Maine lobster. They think of a guy pulling single traps up at Penobscot Bay."

Of the film crew, Mr. Moore said, "They were great. They were seasoned. They asked a lot of questions."

Mr. Moore's boat is called, "Direction." The film crew also documented life aboard a lobster boat from Hyannis and one out of Pt. Judith — Scott Christopher's "Dragon Lady" and Bro Cote's "William Boye."

"I was miked up 24-7," Mr. Moore said. It took two technicians a whole day to wire the Direction up so they could tape conversations among Mr. Moore's five-man crew.

The filmmakers asked the crew specific questions about they did and learned that lobster fishing is a world of its own.

"This fishing is very different from the crab fishing. Crab fishing has a quota. They may fill the quota in the first five to six days of the season.," Mr. Moore said. "This fishing is a year round thing. We don't compete against other boats. We compete against ourselves."

The Direction leaves from the Fairhaven Shipyard and docks in downtown New Bedford when it returns. A fish company takes the catch right off the boat.

No poundage limit has been set on lobster catches, but there are size restrictions. Lobster fishermen and women have had to adapt to several gauge and vent changes in the past few years.

The crew of the "Direction" has been a stable group for many years. They fish eight to nine days each trip in the summer "dock to dock" and about six days in winter months. Their earnings are based on the catch. "The more we catch, the more they make," Mr. Moore said.

Although shell disease has plagued lobsters caught close to shore, it hasn't affected the offshore waters where Mr. Moore fishes.

"Our resource is very good right now. The offshore waters where we fish are fairly healthy," Mr. Moore said.

Efficiency is a crucial element of lobster fishing. Mr. Moore said he has reduced the number of traps used over the past five years but still catches as many lobsters.

Mr. Moore has been fishing for 30 years. He completed one year of college but left after filling in on a Westport boat when a crew member backed out.

"I started on a 63-foot shrimp boat in Westport," he said. "It was a great way to start."

He learned lobstering from two well known Westport fishermen, Richie Earle, who is now the harbormaster, and Paul Brayton.

"I always blame Richie for getting me into this," Mr. Moore said. "He gave me the bug and the opportunity to learn a lot."

Fishing together forges lifelong friendships. Mr. Earle was the best man at Mr. Moore's wedding.

In 1982, another well known Westport lobsterman, Bud Smith, let Mr. Moore run a brand new boat, "The Broadbill." They became partners. Mr. Moore bought Mr. Smith's shares in 1990.

These days, he only goes fishing on four to six trips a year.

"I'm home a lot now. When I started I was never home," he said. "My wife, Debby, was my rock. She raised our kids."

The Moores have two boys. Their daughter died in a fire in Fall River five years ago.

Though he has thoroughly enjoyed the fishing life, Mr. Moore said he still regrets dropping out of college. He has encouraged his sons, who are both attending college, to finish before deciding on a career. He told them that if they do decide to become lobster fishermen anyway, they will benefit from studying business and economics.

One reason for urging his sons to complete college is that the lobster business is a lot different than it was 30 years ago.

"Things are so much more competitive," Mr. Moore said. At the same time, Mr. Moore said it is safer because of the satellite communications they use.

Looking at the Fairhaven waterfront on an unseasonably warm winter day, Mr. Moore said, "I wake up every morning and feel blessed. I feel blessed because I love what I do. There's not a day that I don't look forward to going to work. How lucky could I have been?"

He added, "I know this. I am very familiar with it. The people I've met in this business are some of the best people I've ever known. They are honest, hard working people."

Why the Direction

Asked why he named his boat, "Direction," Grant Moore said he worked on a 40-foot sloop named Direction in 1972 out of Essex, Conn. He found the origin of the yacht's name on a plaque: "If there's one thing a man must have in life it's direction, so that's what we'll call the boat." The name direction can also apply to the "compass" a captain needs to navigate in inclement or foggy weather.



To me this sounds good and if is by the guys that do Deadliest Catch, then its going to have the same look to it and we might even get Mike Rowe to narrate it.