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National Fish & Seafood revived under new ownership, new name

May 24, 2019 — The assets of Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based National Fish & Seafood (NFS) have been purchased by NSD Seafood, which said in a 22 May announcement it planned to restart production of NFS’ Matlaw’s stuffed clam line and other products.

NFS abruptly closed its doors on 10 May. SeafoodSource first broke the story on 20 May that an unnamed buyer wanted to acquire NFS and resume the company’s operations. On 22 May, NSD Seafood agreed to purchase all of National Fish’s assets and rename the company Atlantic Fish & Seafood, according to the Gloucester Daily Times. The operations team is hoping to begin production within a week at NFS’s former 60,000-square-feet facility in Gloucester.

Nicholas M. Osgood, a principal in NSD Seafood, along with two other partners from the NSDJ Real Estate company that owns NFS’s 159 E. Main St. facility, acquired NFS’s assets, according to the Gloucester Daily Times.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

From Carp to Pig-Hide: Bait Shortage Means Change for Lobsters’ Diet

May 23, 2019 — Gulf of Maine lobstermen are casting around far and wide for new kinds of bait, now that federal regulators have cut herring quotas by 70 percent. Possible solutions range from the mass importation of a nuisance fish from the Midwest, to manufactured baits to pig hides.

Fisheries managers estimate a 50-million pound “herring gap” in Maine over the next year. To help close it, they are turning to colleagues in Illinois.

On a rainy fishing day in the Illinois River, state invasive species coordinator Kevin Irons oversees the capture of dozens of fish — all freshwater carp, which were introduced to the Mississippi Basin decades ago. They have proliferated at an epic scale, crowding out native fish and damaging ecosystems.

“The big-head, the silvers and the grass carp, you also see some of the common carp — I like to call them Grampa’s carp, they’ve been around a long time,” says Irons. “You’ve got four different species of invasive fish here.”

Read the full story at Maine Public

Vineyard Wind: May 22 Notice to Mariners and Fishermen

May 22, 2019 — The following was released by Vineyard Wind:

We wanted to let you know that Vineyard Wind will begin geological surveys on or about May 22. The estimated duration is approximately 77 days, ending on August 7, 2019. Surveys will take place in Vineyard Wind Lease Areas 501 and 522. Please see the full notice to fishermen and mariners here.

We encourage fishermen who may be working in the survey area to contact the fishery liaison.

This survey will gather data on seabed and subfloor conditions that will assist in identifying potential locations for future siting of offshore wind turbines and refine inter-array cable routes between each turbine.

Vineyard Wind is committed to communicating and working with the local fishermen in the region during all stages of development of the proposed offshore farm.

If you have any questions, please contact Crista Bank, Fishery Liaison via email at cbank@vineyardwind.com or via cell phone at 508-525-0421.

Patriot Shellfish Farms hopes to use aquaculture to help vets with PTSD

May 17, 2019 — Vietnam War veteran Dan Barth thinks that shellfish can help soldiers handle post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as well as save his fellow veterans from isolation, and ultimately suicide.

Soon after Barth graduated from the University of Michigan with a degree in forestry in 1969, he was drafted to fight in the Vietnam War, where he served from 1970 to 1973.

After returning home from the war, he worked for Washington State Department of Resources, beginning in forestry, then moving to the department’s marine programs. He supervised the department’s statewide aquaculture leasing program for decades.

“Wouldn’t you know it, 30 years went by in a flash,” he told SeafoodSource.

After retiring in 2002, Barth began consulting shellfish growers in Puget Sound and also in Ireland, where he helped to start an oyster farm in Galway Bay.

When Barth returned to Washington State from Ireland, his son Brendan joined the U.S. Army, was deployed to Iraq, and returned with a service-related disability, just as his father did when he returned from the Vietnam War.

Brendan’s experiences coming home from war got Barth thinking about how he could use his expertise to help veterans. He said he was inspired by a book by Stephanie Westlund, a Canadian author, called “Field Exercises: How Veterans are Healing Themselves Through Farming and Outdoor Activities,” in which she writes that “eco-therapy” can be incredibly helpful for veterans with PTSD.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Bristol Seafood to begin offering Maine-processed IQF groundfish

May 16, 2019 — In response to growing customer demand for groundfish processed and frozen in the United States, Bristol Seafood will begin offering individually quick-frozen haddock and cod fillets, loins, and portions processed at its headquarters in Portland, Maine, U.S.A.

The company’s new product line began shipping in April and features cod and haddock harvested in the North Atlantic that is hand-trimmed and flash-frozen, according to the company. The product line is available in the US, as well as for export to select areas.

“Our distribution partners have been asking for frozen cod and haddock fillets, loins and portions that are cut and frozen in the United States with no added water or chemical additives, and we are pleased to answer the call,” Bristol Seafood Vice President of Sales Dana Bartholomew said. “Our customers count on us for trusted, quality, storied products and our new American-processed cod and haddock meets their needs as well as our uncompromising Maine standards.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

The Shark Attack That Changed Cape Cod Forever

May 15, 2019 — Last summer, Arthur Medici went surfing off the coast of Cape Cod. He never made it back alive. As the region’s shores increasingly become a hotbed for great white sharks, is it finally time to be afraid to go in the water, for real?

Isaac Rocha sat in class trying to concentrate on his schoolwork, but his mind was somewhere else. It was a Friday afternoon in mid-September 2018, and although the academic year had just begun, the 16-year-old Everett High School junior and novice bodyboard surfer was already longing for the weekend. Suddenly, his cell phone buzzed, and he quietly slid it out of his pocket, careful not to alert his teacher. The text screen lit up.

“Yo, what’s up?” it read. “What are you doing?”

Rocha smiled and quickly typed a reply: “I’m in school.”

Seconds later, his phone vibrated again.

“Yo, let’s go to Cape Cod. We’re gonna grab a hotel and go surfing. Go home and grab your stuff and be ready because I’m coming to your house.”

The message came from Arthur Medici, a 26-year-old college student from Brazil who attended Rocha’s church and had known him for years. When the final school bell rang, releasing students like a pack of greyhounds at the track, Rocha hopped onto his motorcycle and raced home. Just as he was gathering his board, wetsuit, and a fresh set of clothes, he heard a knock on the front door.

“Come on out!” Medici shouted excitedly.

Moments later, the two friends climbed into Medici’s black Nissan Altima and began the long trek to the outer edge of Cape Cod. Stuck in bumper-to-bumper Friday-afternoon traffic, they searched for Jack Johnson songs on the radio and caught up on the week, chatting about work, school, and life. Medici had recently asked Rocha’s sister, Emily, to marry him, and Rocha was thrilled his friend would soon become family.

Read the full story at Boston Magazine

Going fishing? Watch out for chemical weapons

May 15, 2019 — The US Army will destroy stockpiles of mustard gas and nerve agents this summer as part of its commitment to a 1997 treaty banning the production and use of chemical weapons. The undertaking will require specialized personnel—toxic-materials handlers, chemical-accountability managers, surety specialists, ammunition surveillance/quality assurance specialists, and a coterie of supervisors.

In the decades immediately following World War II, America’s military wasn’t quite so buttoned up about its chemical cast-offs. Until Congress outlawed dumping of munitions at sea in 1972, there were an estimated 74 offshore chemical weapons disposals through 1970, 32 of which took place in US waters and 42 abroad.

Oceanographers at Texas A&M University have estimated that at least 31 million pounds of munitions of all types were dumped in waters off 16 states and in the Gulf of Mexico, although “that could be a very conservative estimate.”

The problem is not limited to US waters. Sections of the Baltic and North Seas are known to contain large numbers of abandoned chemical weapons, and such munitions have turned up off the coasts of France, Sweden, and Germany.

Read the full story at Quartz

Omega Protein comes out swinging as magazine questions MSC’s integrity

May 14, 2019 — US firm Omega Protein has come out fighting following a column, published in Sport Fishing Magazine, made claims of impropriety in the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification process of the Atlantic menhaden fishery.

In the editorial, Sport Fishing Magazine “impugns the integrity of both the [MSC] and the Atlantic menhaden fishery,” said Omega Protein. In response to the recommendation by the independent auditor that the menhaden fishery be MSC certified, editor Doug Olander made accusations of impropriety rather than critiquing the fishery, the independent assessment, or the MSC process on its merits, it said.

“MSC certification has always been based on objective criteria, which are evaluated by independent, third-party auditors,” the company said. “The process is entirely transparent, publicly available and easily accessible to [the magazine’s editor, Doug] Olander. If a fishery doesn’t score high enough on the assessment, it isn’t certified. Fisheries can be denied certification, and several fisheries have lost their certification for not maintaining standards.”

Olander wrote that Omega Protein was “buying its way to public respectability”, and looking to “wrap itself in a cloak of respectability by claiming it’s a certified sustainable fishery”. In fact, said Omega Protein, as made clear in the report compiled by the independent auditors, the menhaden fishery does meet the criteria for MSC certification.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Facing “too many legacy issues,” National Fish and Seafood closes

May 13, 2019 — National Fish and Seafood announced that it was immediately ceasing operations on Friday, 10 May, marking the end of its long history in the seafood business and putting 150 employees out of work.

Founded in 1979, the Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based seafood processor, which sells the Matlaw’s stuffed clam line, had been reeling financially since owner Pacific Andes filed for bankruptcy in 2016. NFS put itself up for sale, and several companies – including Red Chamber – considered purchasing it, but ultimately never did.

“Unfortunately, despite great strides we made in improving operating performance, National Fish just had too many legacy issues that prevented us from consummating a sale,” NFS President Todd Provost said in a press release.

In January 2019, NFS demanded payment from Pacific Andes, which owes NFS USD 30 million (EUR 28 million), according to court documents. Plus, NFS was paying out legal fees for its trade secrets lawsuit against Tampa Bay Fisheries for the latter half of 2018 and early 2019, before both suppliers agreed to settle the case in mid-March. And former NFS President Jack Ventola was convicted of fraudulently diverting money from the company and then not paying taxes on the income.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Special Events for Endangered Species Day

May 9, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Endangered Species Day is an annual celebration and opportunity for people to learn about endangered and threatened species and what we can all do to help them.

Always held on the third Friday in May, Endangered Species Day is on May 17 this year. The Endangered Species Act protects these vulnerable animals. Through conservation and recovery programs, we work to rebuild the populations to healthy levels.

NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center participate in several Endangered Species Day events, listed below.

Through our programs, we hope to increase knowledge and understanding of protected marine species/species of concern from Maine to Virginia, as well as the Endangered Species Act  and Marine Mammal Protection Act.

For more information, please visit our Endangered Species Day website.

Read the full release here