Fishing in the eastern Gulf of Maine, the 50' Erika Lynn hauled in this 20,000-pound bag of hake on March 24.

    PORTLAND, ME - It was a time of jubilation to say the least, the kind of time when fishermen relish their chosen profession.

    The month was March - and it was a stunning one for Gulf of Maine boats. Catches were enormous. Staggering tows of hake, including the one pictured here, which produced 20,000 pounds for the crew of the 50' Erika Lynn, were most impressive, but nice hauls of pollock and monkfish also boosted landings significantly.

    "March was the highest volume month we've had in years," said Hank Soule, general manager of the Portland Fish Exchange.

	Capt. Gary Thorbjornson, above, stepped out onto the bag to rig a splitting strap. In addition to Thorbjornson, the dragger is crewed by Walter Koenig and Jeffrey Polky. (Photos courtesy of the Erika Lynn)

    Landings at the exchange totaled 3.05 million pounds for the month, the highest recorded since August of 1996. The first week of the month, with landings totaling 810,000 pounds, marked the biggest weekly volume on the auction floor since September 1996.

    The Tenants Harbor-based Erika Lynn, captained by Gary Thorbjornson and owned by Edward Thorbjornson, wasn't alone in bringing in hake. Other boats, too, landed some of their largest catches ever.

    "It was nice fish," said Soule. "I was very impressed by the size."

    Roughly 61% of the hake landed at the exchange this winter during February and March was "large," running 4-10 pounds, and 27% was extra large, sow-size, over 10 pounds. Last year, hake settled out around 46% and 16% respectively for those two cull categories. The latest court-ordered mesh size increase was expected to reduce the number of "smalls" in the net but didn't seem to account for increased catches of the big ones. Only 2% of the exchange's recent hake landings have fallen into the "small" category.

    Prices were down - to no one's real surprise - but with so much volume, boats still made out "very well" and people weren't complaining. Buyers worked hard to keep fish moving through the system.

    The comments went like this. "It was nuts," but it was "memorable," and "everybody was happy in March."

    Then in April, everything changed. Seasonal closures went into effect, blocking off access to concentrations of many groundfish species. Supply dried up. Prices skyrocketed.

    Some of New England's highest fish landings traditionally have occurred in May and June during spawning season. But closures and spawning season restrictions have shifted the fleet's activities, and at the Portland Fish Exchange, February and March have become the high volume months in recent years.