Hampton fisherman Jim Walsh was holding his breath Tuesday while waiting for conditions on the water to improve so he could check the damage to his gear caused by Hurricane Sandy.
I don’t know what I’m going to find, he said. I’m kind of nervous.
Walsh is a lobster fisherman who operates the F/V Alice Ann out of Rye Harbor. He said he took precautionary measures in advance of Sandy’s arrival Monday, including moving his traps into deeper water and hauling his fishing vessel onto land.
I hauled out. As time progressed it just seemed like it was going to be too severe, he said.
While his boat escaped the storm unscathed, Walsh said he was still concerned about his 350 traps that remained in the water. He said he moved the traps away from the rocky bottom and into deeper waters where the bottom is sandy to prevent damage. At $40 to $50 for a new trap, Walsh said the potential financial impact of the damage is huge.
You can’t insure that stuff, you know? he said.
According to Leo Axtin, harbormaster at Rye Harbor, damage from the storm was limited because most fishermen either hauled their boats out or moored them in more sheltered areas in Portsmouth or at the Wentworth Marina in New Castle.
They don’t need the stern warnings and reminders. They’re pretty seasoned at this, he said.
The storm did leave its mark, however, by causing varying degrees of damage to four 10-ton concrete-encased Styrofoam floats. Port of New Hampshire crews were at Rye Harbor Tuesday using a bulldozer to tow the cracked and battered floats out of the water at the boat launch.
Axtin said the floats have been in the water year-round for nearly 20 years and had survived many severe storms. He did not know what the cost would be to replace them, but speculated the port authority would mull different options.
Unfortunately,this is their year, he said. They survived Irene of last year and several of the other slammers we’ve had over the years.
Portsmouth lobster fisherman Erik Anderson, president of the N.H. Commercial Fishermen’s Association, said fishermen would likely have to wait until today or Thursday to find out how their gear fared because the weather continued to prevent trips to sea on Tuesday.
No one’s going to put themselves in harm’s way right now, he said. I think a lot of guys feel they were fortunate that their boats are safe. Now it’s just trying to figure out what happened to the gear.
2012. Dow Jones Local Media Group, Inc.