Saving Seafood

Fisherman, lawyers mull new monitoring suit

May 19,  2017 — They lost in U.S. District Court in New Hampshire last summer and failed to have that decision overturned in federal appeals court in Boston this spring.

Still, New Hampshire groundfisherman David Goethel and his legal team may not be done in their legal challenge of the federal government’s ability to shift the costs of at-sea monitoring to groundfishermen.

“We’re still assessing all of our legal options at this point,” said Julie Smith, one of the lawyers from Washington D.C.-based Cause of Action Institute that has represented Goethel and Northeast Fishing Sector 13 in the initial federal lawsuit and appeal.

Smith declined to be more specific, but clearly the options are limited:

Goethel and his lawyers could swing for the fences and petition the U.S. Supreme Court to hear their case, hoping it would overturn the April decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals upholding the judgment in the original lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court in Concord, New Hampshire.

Petitioning the highest court in the land with a writ of certiorari — which would compel the lower court to deliver its record for review — is not exactly a high-percentage play.

The Supreme Court, according to the website of the federal court system, accepts only 100 to 150 of the more than 7,000 cases it is asked to review each year.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Times 

Fishing mogul Carlos Rafael pleads guilty to conspiracy, other charges

March 31, 2017 — The following is an excerpt from a story published yesterday by the New Bedford Standard-Times:

Carlos Rafael walked into Courtroom 18 on the fifth floor three minutes prior to his scheduled 2:30 p.m. plea hearing in front of Judge William G. Young at U.S. District Court on Thursday.

An hour and 15 minutes later he stood and faced the court clerk and uttered “Guilty,” when she informed him the U.S. Attorney has charged him with 28 counts, including falsifying fishing quotas, false labeling, conspiracy and tax evasion.

“Today I pled guilty to the charges facing me,” Rafael said in a statement released by his lawyers. “I am not proud of the things I did that brought me here, but admitting them is the right thing to do, and I am prepared to accept the consequences of my actions.”

A sentencing hearing was set for June 27 at 2 p.m., when the New Bedford fishing tycoon could face as much as 76 months in prison, although Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Lelling recommended 46 months.

“Mr. Rafael’s scheme not only compromised delicate fish populations, but also profited on the backs of his hard-working crew,” Acting United States Attorney William D. Weinreb said in a statement.

“Mr. Rafael knew he was breaking the law by falsifying records, evading taxes and smuggling ill-gotten profits to Portugal. Without Mr. Rafael and his scheme, New England fishermen who work hard for honest pay can now enjoy a more level playing field.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Statement from Carlos Rafael on Today’s Court Proceedings

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — March 30, 2017 – Mr. Carlos Rafael is scheduled to appear in Federal Court today at 2:30pm where he is expected to plead guilty to certain fishing-related charges.  The following statement from Mr. Rafael was released by his attorneys at Collora LLP in Boston.

“There have been a number of stories written about this case and about me.  Some of the things that have been written are true, some are not.  Here is the truth.  Today I pled guilty to the charges facing me.  I am not proud of the things I did that brought me here, but admitting them is the right thing to do, and I am prepared to accept the consequences of my actions.

I started in this industry cutting fish when I was 16 years old, and it has been an honor to work with the people of the Port of New Bedford.  Looking back, I’m most proud of the hundreds of jobs our businesses created, and the opportunities they created for families.  Today, I have a single goal.  To protect our employees and all of the people and businesses who rely on our companies from the consequences of my actions.  I will do everything I can to make sure that the Port of New Bedford remains America’s leading fishing port.”

Contact:
Sandie Thompson
Collora LLP
(617) 531-2652

FishOn: Cod docufilm features Gloucester cast

March 27, 2017 — So, a cod fish walks into a bar and the bartender says, “Why the long face?”

Perhaps the answer to that endearing question will be divulged in one of the three films on commercial fishing that already have hit the screen or soon will.

(And, according to FishOn’s far-flung film sources, there may be a fourth fishing documentary on the way, but that is yet undocumented. As always, watch this space.)

The one documentary already completed is “Sacred Cod,” which examines the New England cod fishery through the lens of its history and influence, ultimately detailing the collapse that led to the current fishing crisis in the Gulf of Maine.

The film has a decidedly Bay State feel, as much of it is set in Gloucester and the waters around Cape Ann and features a cast of familiar faces from the waterfront and among fishing stakeholders.

It is produced and directed by Steve Liss, a long-time, award-winning photographer at Time magazine who now teaches at Endicott College in Beverly; David Abel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at The Boston Globe; and Andy Laub, an accomplished editor and founder of As It Happens Creative.

“Sacred Cod” showed at a few festivals last fall and will receive its greatest exposure on April 13, when it premieres at 9 p.m. on the Discovery Channel and joins the cable network’s revolving spring lineup.

It will be screened twice in Boston — April 4 at Boston’s Park Plaza Hotel as part of the national meeting of the Center for Effective Philanthropy and, in a Conservation Law Foundation-sponsored screening open to the public, April 13, at the Boston Public Library.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Times 

New indictment adds tax evasion to charges against Carlos Rafael

March 24, 2017 — The U.S. attorney included a new charge of tax evasion against Carlos Rafael as part of a “superseding” indictment released by its office last week.

The charge of tax evasion brought the total number of counts against the New Bedford fishing tycoon to 28. The others also include one count of conspiracy, 25 counts of lying to federal fishing regulators and one count of bulk cash smuggling.

According to the U.S. attorney, Rafael is expected to plead guilty to tax evasion as part of his plea agreement, which was announced earlier this month. The U.S. attorney Massachusetts provided no other information regarding the deal except that Rafael would plead guilty to evading fishing quotas and smuggling profits to Portugal in addition to tax evasion.

Rafael is scheduled in U.S. District Court in Boston on March 30 at 2:30 p.m.

The updated indictment states that from November 2014 to about October of 2015 Rafael failed to pay taxes in the sum of $108,929. It also included two new paragraphs regarding the general allegations toward Rafael.

The U.S. attorney alleges that Rafael deposited cash into accounts in Portugal to avoid paying taxes on the money. According to the indictment, Rafael told a bookkeeper for Carlos Seafood Inc. not to enter the cash payments into the company’s record-keeping system.

The U.S. attorney also alleges Rafael omitted $267,061 in reportable cash income in 2014.

Rafael spent six months in federal prison after being convicted of tax evasion in the 1980s.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: State Announces Over $105,000 for Seafood Marketing Projects

March 22, 2017 — The state has announced $105,500 in grants to seven marketing campaigns designed to increase awareness and demand for Massachusetts seafood products.

The grants were awarded through the Division of Marine Fisheries’ (DMF) Seafood Marketing Pilot Grant Program.

Seven organizations were awarded funding for projects to stimulate demand though education, promotion, and other strategies.

These organizations have experience and significant ties to the commercial fishing and seafood industries and communities, focus on different species and span geographical areas throughout the state.

Funding for this pilot grant program comes from commercial fishing and dealer permits through the Seafood Marketing Program.

The state launched the Massachusetts Seafood Marketing Program in August 2016 to increase awareness and demand for local seafood products. The program recently announced a partnership with the Massachusetts Farm to School Project to promote the consumption of local seafood in schools.

The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance has received $15,000 for two boat-to-plate recipe demonstration videos on dogfish and skate for social media.

“We got a grant that is specific to the fisheries that are very important to a group of Cape Cod fisherman and that is skate and dogfish,” said Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance spokeswoman Nancy Civetta.

Wellfleet SPAT got more than $20,000 for a pilot educational and tasting event in Boston to reacquire and increase market share for Wellfleet oysters and clams.

“Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman’s Alliance and Wellfleet SPAT do tremendous work to promote more sustainable fisheries and aquaculture management, scientific research, and community education,” said State Senator Julian Cyr. “I am encouraged that they have been selected to receive grants from the Seafood Marketing Program. These grants will go a long way in helping to promote and encourage the consumption of Massachusetts seafood products.”

“Skate, dogfish, and Wellfleet shellfish are all essential to the outer and lower cape economy. Scores of families count on the income generated by the sale of these delicious and sustainable caught and harvested products,” said State Representative Sarah Peake. “These grants to the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance and to Wellfleet SPAT to raise awareness, market share, and by extension incomes to our fishing families are important and welcome.”

Read the full story at Cape Cod 

MASSACHUSETTS: City hosts Scottish, Indonesian industry groups for day

March 22, 2017 — The third and final day of the international Seafood Expo North America was unfolding in Boston on Tuesday. But as far as the city of Gloucester was concerned, the real action was here.

For the second consecutive year, the city supplemented its presence at the massive seafood show by playing host to groups of foreign fishermen and seafood processors willing to trek to end of Route 128 to see Gloucester for themselves.

The groups, which featured fishermen and seafood executives from Scotland and Indonesia, were treated to lunch at Cruiseport Gloucester —baked stuffed haddock, sauteed green beans and Sicilian cookies from the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association — and tours of the Cape Ann Seafood Exchange on Harbor Loop and Intershell in the Blackburn Industrial Park.

It was yet another element in the city’s campaign to promote its Gloucester Fresh brand and its strategy of stockpiling international seafood contacts that just might blossom into tangible business assets in the future.

The two groups had met individually with Gloucester officials during the first two days of the seafood show at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center and didn’t finalize the plans for their visit until Tuesday morning.

“We’re so pleased that you decided to come visit us,” said Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken. “There is so much that we share culturally as harvesters of seafood from the ocean.”

The visit came one day after the city hosted a reception and cooking demonstration at the seafood expo to further promote the Gloucester Fresh brand. The reception drew more than 75 show participants, as well as state and local officials.

Read the full story from The Gloucester Times here 

Carlos Rafael plea hearing postponed to March 30

March 16, 2017 — Carlos Rafael’s court date where the fishing tycoon is scheduled to plead guilty to charges in connection with evading fishing quotas and smuggling profits to Portugal has been postponed, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts said on Wednesday.

Rafael will appear in U.S. District Court in Boston on March 30 at 2:30 p.m. He was originally scheduled to appear in court as part of the settlement with the government on Thursday.

The U.S. Attorney’s office had no further details regarding the plea deal.

Often referred to as the “Codfather” as the owner of 36 boats, Rafael faced one count of conspiracy, 25 counts of lying to federal fishing regulators and one count of bulk cash smuggling.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Channel Fish plants up for grabs after deal for US Foods facility

March 14, 2017 — Channel Fish Processing Co. plans to sell its plants in Boston and Gloucester, Massachusetts.

The family-owned US company aims to transfer all capacity to the facility it acquired from US Foods on Monday, which is located 13 miles outside its Boston headquarters in Braintree, Massachusetts.

“We were getting close to capacity at our other facilities, so we needed somewhere to expand into,” national sales manager Steve Atkinson told Undercurrent News.

Founded in 1964, Channel Fish buys from New England boats and imports from Canada, Iceland, Norway and Chile. It freezes certain items like haddock, cod, pollock and scallops but also sells fresh and farmed products. It processes for a variety of preparations, including breaded products and fillets.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

As seas rise, city mulls a massive sea barrier across Boston Harbor

February 21, 2017 — It would be a massive, highly controversial wall sure to cost billions of dollars. But this barrier would be much closer to home — and potentially more expensive — than the one President Trump has proposed along the Mexican border.

As rising sea levels pose a growing threat to Boston’s future, city officials are exploring the feasibility of building a vast sea barrier from Hull to Deer Island, forming a protective arc around Boston Harbor.

The idea, raised in a recent city report on the local risks of climate change, sounds like a pipe dream, a project that could rival the Big Dig in complexity and cost. It’s just one of several options, but the sea wall proposal is now under serious study by a team of some of the region’s top scientists and engineers, who recently received a major grant to pursue their research.

With forecasts indicating that Boston could experience routine flooding in the coming decades, threatening some 90,000 residents and $80 billion worth of real estate, city officials say it would be foolish not to consider aggressive action, no matter how daunting.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe