October 2, 2017 — While commercial fishing goes back to the late 17th Century in Cape May, it has been based in Montauk on the very eastern tip of Long Island for nearly that long. Montauk is the largest commercial fishing port in New York State today. WBGO’s Jon Kalish recently went out with a commercial fishing vessel to see what the work is like.
MASSACHUSETTS: ‘A new era’: UMass Dartmouth SMAST building to open
September 29, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — UMass Dartmouth’s new marine science building is finished, its laboratories gleaming with the promise of new research.
The $55 million School for Marine Science and Technology building, dubbed SMAST East, officially opens today in the South End of New Bedford. At 64,000 square feet, it nearly triples the physical size of SMAST, a graduate school and research center focusing on fisheries, coastal preservation, ocean modeling, and climate change.
The new building reunites the school’s programs in a campus-like setting. For several years, some have been housed in the AT&T building in Fairhaven for lack of space.
“Just to be back together was great,” said Steve Cadrin, a professor and chairman of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography. But more importantly, it’s a world-class facility, he said.
The building also helps cement the school’s relationship with the state Division of Marine Fisheries. The agency leased the third floor for its New Bedford office, and it will have a first-floor office for permitting.
The Division of Marine Fisheries works hand-in-hand with SMAST on research and sometimes hires its Ph.D. graduates. Recent hires have represented the agency on New England Fisheries Management Council committees, helped the state understand fish surveys, and studied algae blooms.
The agency’s director, David Pierce, is an adjunct professor.
“We are now in a far better position to collaborate,” he said.
NEW YORK: Strained Fluke Quotas, Hurricanes and Safe Harbor
Case of fisherman bound for North Carolina caught in José’s rough seas highlights inadequacies in interstate fishing regulations
September 29, 2017 — Less than a month after a bill granting vessels safe harbor in New York was signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo, a fishing vessel bound for North Carolina carrying 6,000 pounds of fluke has tested the new policy, straining New York’s federally designated fluke quotas.
The F/V Rianda S., which has long been a part of the Montauk fleet, was in transit to land its fish in North Carolina, where it has fishing licenses, on Sept. 17 after fishing in federal waters when it encountered the rough seas generated by Hurricane José and requested safe harbor in Montauk.
New York’s fluke fishery is closed for the month of September, due to banner fluke landings this summer that strained the state’s already low federally mandated quotas.
The law granting safe harbor, sponsored by South Fork State Assemblyman Fred Thiele and East End State Senator Kenneth LaValle, allowed vessels fishing with licenses from other states immunity from prosecution for violations of state fishing regulations if they seek safe harbor under certain emergency situations, including weather, mechanical breakdown, medical emergencies and loss of essential gear that renders vessels unable to remain at sea.
The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) guidelines for safe harbor were drawn with input from commercial fishermen after an incident in January 2015, when the arrival of bad weather forced a commercial fisherman with New Jersey fishing permits to land his fish in Hampton Bays instead of continuing on to New Jersey.
MASSACHUSETTS: Mayor Mitchell testifies in front of Congress on Magnuson-Stevens
September 27, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Mayor Jon Mitchell traveled to the nation’s capital Tuesday to speak on potential improvements to the Magnuson-Steven Act, which governs marine fishery management in the United States.
He spoke to the Subcommittee on Water, Power and Oceans regarding one key theme: flexibility.
“What New Bedford has to say about commercial fishing carries weight in the halls of Congress,” Mitchell said. “We are the biggest commercial fishing port in the country. We should have a seat at the table when Congress goes about reforming our nation’s fisheries laws.”
Mitchell was invited to testify by Natural Resources Committee Chairman Rob Bishop who visited New Bedford last year. Though invited by the Republicans to speak in front of Congress, the Democratic mayor pitched bi-partisan ideas in the reauthorization of the act.
“What’s really interesting is there isn’t a great deal of difference between the Democratic and Republican reauthorization bills,” Mitchell said. “I testified as much.”
While in Washington, D.C., he also met with Nancy Pelosi, the House minority leader, to discuss tax reform in cities as well as infrastructure. Away from fishing, he also met with Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who co-sponsored the DREAM Act aimed at helping resurrect DACA.
MASSACHUSETTS: Carlos Rafael to leave commercial fishing behind after spending years in prison for his crimes
September 26, 2017 — U.S. District Court Judge William Young sentenced former fishing magnate Carlos “Codfather” Rafael to 46 months of imprisonment on Monday, 25 September, for his role in orchestrating a quota and tax evasion scheme out of his New Bedford, Massachusetts-based business, Carlos Seafood.
Sentencing deliberation is continuing on Tuesday, 26 September as the court considers the fate of Rafael’s 13 groundfish vessels and permits, which have been listed for forfeiture as a tentative condition of his guilty plea.
Rafael is scheduled to begin serving his prison sentence on 6 November, when he is expected to report to authorities at an assigned penal facility. His legal team has requested that Rafael serve out his prison sentence at Fort Devens, located between the Massachusetts towns of Ayer and Shirley. In addition to incarceration, Young also ordered three years of supervised release for Rafael, and mandated he pay a USD 200,000 (EUR 169,611) fine. Furthermore, Rafael has been barred by the court from having anything to do with the commercial fishing industry following his prison term and subsequent supervision period.
The deliberate, corrupt nature of Rafael’s crimes factored heavily into the sentencing terms, Young explained on Monday.
Menhaden battle once again pits Virginia against Northern states
September 25, 2017 — HEATHSVILLE, Va. — Five years ago, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission cut the menhaden harvest by 20 percent, forcing the largest employer in the rural tip of the Northern Neck, Omega Protein, to lay off workers and decommission a ship.
The tiny fish is sold by fishermen as bait to catch blue crabs and commercially rendered for its oil and byproducts at Omega’s Reedville plant. Environmentalists and anglers say it’s critical to the diet of other Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic species such as osprey, striped bass and dolphin. At the time, commissioners said menhaden was at the point of being depleted.
Since then, ASMFC, which manages fisheries from Maine to Florida, changed its method of assessment and says stocks are now healthy. It began easing catch limits to where the quota is now only about 6 percent short of the 212,000 metric tons it once was.
Omega, which catches a half-billion fish each year, replaced two of its seven ships this year with larger, more efficient ships and rehired some of its employees.
But the company sees a new problem.
Monty Deihl, vice president of Omega’s operations, calls it “a fish grab” by other ASMFC member states, specifically northern states where more menhaden have been showing up.
“The stock is very healthy, the quota could be raised, but no one wants to raise the quota because Virginia will get 85 percent of whatever is raised,” he told a crowd of mostly employees and their families at an ASMFC public hearing last week. “You should be offended at the way all the other stuff was done to try to get a piece of what you all put your time and careers in to build.”
MASSACHUSETTS: Tech meets fish: Port of New Bedford launches ‘Ocean Cluster’
September 22, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — If every part of a fish were used for high-value products, the New Bedford fishing industry could make more money from fewer fish.
That kind of innovation is what’s behind a new effort by New Bedford Harbor Development Commission to serve as a matchmaker for technology companies and the fishing industry. Following a model developed in Iceland, the commission has formed the New Bedford Ocean Cluster, which will foster entrepreneurship in ocean products.
Mayor Jon Mitchell, who chairs the commission, signed a memorandum of understanding Thursday with Thor Sigfusson, founder and chairman of the Iceland Ocean Cluster, to work together. The agreement officially makes New Bedford part of a loosely organized global network of ocean clusters. No money will change hands; it’s about an exchange of ideas, Sigfusson said.
New Bedford’s is the third such effort worldwide, following Iceland and Maine. Others are forming in Alaska and Seattle.
Mitchell said New Bedford wants to be associated with all things fishing — not just fish and fish processing, but pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and other products.
Maine fishermen: adapting in a sea of change
September 21, 2017 — ORONO, Maine — Increasing environmental uncertainty coupled with rapidly changing market conditions in the Gulf of Maine raise important questions about the ability of Maine’s commercial fishermen to adapt. How resilient is the industry to these shifting waters? Who is best positioned to adapt and who is most vulnerable?
“We have started to explore these questions by studying the relationships fishermen have to marine resources in Maine,” says Joshua Stoll, assistant research professor at the University of Maine School of Marine Sciences and lead author of the paper “Uneven adaptive capacity among fishers in a sea of change” published in the peer-reviewed journal PLOS ONE.
“Most assessments of adaptability are conducted at the community scale, but our focus is on individual-level adaptive capacity because we think community-level analyses often obscure critical differences among fishermen and make the most at-risk groups invisible,” says Stoll, whose research was funded in part by a grant from the UMaine Senator George J. Mitchell Center for Sustainability Solutions, where he is a Faculty Fellow.
In their analysis, Stoll and co-authors Beatrice Crona and Emma Fuller identified over 600 types of fishing strategies in Maine based on the combinations of marine resources that fishermen target to support their livelihoods.
MASSACHUSETTS: Port of New Bedford joins global marine research network
September 21, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The following was released by the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts:
Mayor Jon Mitchell, Port Director Edward Anthes-Washburn, and ImpactLABS Managing Director Chris Rezendes signed a memorandum of understanding with Thor Sigfusson, Founder and Chairman of the Iceland Ocean Cluster and the Ocean Cluster Network, creating an official partnership with the marine incubator.
This partnership will officially make New Bedford part of a global network of Ocean Clusters, each committed to sharing knowledge and developing business opportunities for their member organizations. The New Bedford Ocean Cluster will focus on the area’s natural strengths in the commercial fishing industry, fish processing, offshore renewable energy and the developing opportunities for traditional marine businesses in the burgeoning tech segments known as Blue Tech and the Internet of Things (IoT).
The Iceland Ocean Cluster is a marine incubator located in Reykjavik, Iceland, that builds and supports a network of entrepreneurs and businesses in the marine science industries to facilitate the creation of new business, ideas, and research that will ultimately add value to the industry. Over ten startups have been created in the incubator in Reykjavik over the last five years. These startups are creating valuable products for the health care, skin care and nutraceutical markets.
“Cultivating a network of commercial fishing interests and new technology companies can spur innovation in New Bedford, and support the port and fishing industry,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell. “As the center of commercial fishing on the east coast, New Bedford is seizing an opportunity to help create new small businesses and jobs for our residents.”
“We are very excited to connect New Bedford to the Ocean Cluster Network,” said Thor Sigfusson, founder of the Iceland Ocean Cluster. “The Iceland Ocean Cluster has successfully connected startups, research and design, universities, investors and fisheries. With the establishment of the NBOC, as a sister cluster, we believe same dynamism can be created in New Bedford.”
ImpactLABS works with a number of local businesses and organizations to develop sensors and other technologies to collect data and information that supports their growth and efficiency. They work with commercial fishermen to improve on-board monitoring and on-board ocean floor sonar/bathymetry, as well as maximizing efficiency on their vessels. This agreement formalizes the existing relationship between the Port of New Bedford and ImpactLABS; the Port has piloted many new technologies through its own facilities and by connecting ImpactLABS entrepreneurs with existing port users and businesses.
“Sustainable fisheries, oceans health and coastal resilience are three of the greatest challenges confronting the planet, and three of the biggest opportunities to prove the power of digital technology,” said Chris Rezendes, Managing Director of ImpactLABS. “But that proof can only happen with leadership from the people who know these opportunities and challenges best – the fleet, the local scientific community, and the people who live on and near the ocean. New Bedford and Reykjavik are two of the best places in the world to find the talent and experience to teach the tech community what we need to do to help. We are honored to do our part.”
“The New Bedford Ocean Cluster allows our marine industries to formally connect and learn from Iceland’s industries, and vice versa,” said Port Director Edward Anthes-Washburn who has been cultivating the relationship with the Iceland Ocean Cluster and its founder for the past several months. “Our fishermen, researchers, tech entrepreneurs, and other shoreside industries will only benefit from the ideas and information produced at the Iceland Ocean Cluster.”
Locally, the New Bedford Ocean Cluster will also be part of a growing entrepreneurship cluster developing in Greater New Bedford. Many businesses and organizations in New Bedford focus on the development of marine science technologies to further the goals of the commercial fishing industry and other marine-related business, including the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST and UMass Dartmouth Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE), the New Bedford Economic Development Council, and the New Bedford Wind Energy Center.
About the Port of New Bedford
The Port of New Bedford generates $9.8 billion in total economic value on an annual basis, directly supporting 6,200 jobs. Managed by the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission, the Port aims to implement best management practices over port resources and develop economic growth strategies. To this end, it is the goal of the Harbor Development Commission to keep New Bedford on top as the top U.S. fishing port, expand existing businesses and capitalize on new opportunities that will maximize the Port’s potential as an economic engine to create jobs and strengthen the New Bedford economy.
About ImpactLABS
Located in New Bedford, MA, ImpactLABS pilots early stage Internet of Things (IoT) solutions with small and mid-sized businesses in Southeastern New England and a number of regional markets globally through a sponsor and partner network. ImpactLABS is helping the most innovative small and mid-sized enterprises to build more profitable and sustainable businesses.
MASSACHUSETTS: Gov. Baker: Carlos Rafael windfall should fund electronic monitoring
September 20, 2017 — BOSTON — The conviction of New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael was a black stain on the iconic Massachusetts seafaring industry.
But Gov. Charlie Baker is urging restitution that some believe could help turn rotten fish into sushi.
Baker, in a letter to federal fishing regulators late last month, sided with a dozen state lawmakers and local officials who are urging the proceeds from the forfeiture of Rafael’s fishing fleet and any financial penalties tied to his case to be used to pay for electronic catch monitoring.
The money to pay for monitoring would relieve a major financial pressure on the state’s fishermen who have to pay for at-sea monitors who ensure compliance with catch-quotas designed to protect the health of groundfish stock.
“This is the best way to provide some level of restitution to the industry that Mr. Rafael harmed through his crimes. While I recognize that these funds would not cover the entire cost of monitoring, it is our hope that a fully funded program could be developed in the near future,” Baker wrote.
The governor also requested that the groundfish permits associated with the 13 boats Rafael will forfeit as a result of his guilty plea in March be redistributed to eligible permit holders in the Massachusetts fleet. Some from neighboring coastal states have advocated for the permits to be more widely disseminated.
Read the full story from State House News Service at the Gloucester Times
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 606
- 607
- 608
- 609
- 610
- …
- 969
- Next Page »