Saving Seafood

NEW BEDFORD STANDARD-TIMES: Lifting federal ban on groundfishing a good first step toward rebuilding industry

July 23, 2018 — New Bedford fishermen last week received the news they had been waiting to hear for eight months. Federal regulators lifted their ban against Sectors VII and IX — two groundfishing groups tied to Carlos Rafael.

The ban, which had been in place since Nov. 20 of last year, prevented 17 boats and roughly 80 fishermen from going out to sea. And it caused a ripple effect that was felt around the seaport.

Fuel suppliers, fish processors, boat engine mechanics and all the other support industries that work with the fishing fleet were hurt. By one estimate, some 240 jobs were lost to the ban.

So Thursday’s announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was welcome news.

“It’s finally happening,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, who had long pressed for a timely resolution.

“We’re happy,” he said. “It’s something that we’ve been doing everything in our power to encourage.”

At The Standard-Times, we think NOAA’s action — albeit too long in coming — was a good first step. But we’re not ready to uncork the champagne yet.

Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford-Standard Times

End of groundfishing ban only the first step of many for fishery

July 20, 2018 — It’s “finally” over, but it’s only the first step.

A saga that dragged on for nearly eight months ended Thursday when NOAA lifted its groundfishing ban that sidelined about 17 vessels and 80 fishermen.

What shocked Cassie Canastra, who is on the board of Sector VII, about NOAA’s final interim rule, was its finality.

“It was in effect immediately. That was shocking to me. That was great news. It allows us to start leasing right away …,” Canastra briefly paused before finishing her thought, “if we can. It’s tough.”

NOAA waived any comment or delay period, although comments will still be accepted. It approved Sector IX’s lease-only operational plan and allocated quota to Sector VII, establishing it as a lease-only operation until Carlos Rafael’s vessels are sold to an independent party.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Regulators to allow banned fishermen to sell quota

July 20, 2018 — In a long-awaited decision that could have a significant impact on New Bedford, federal regulators said Thursday they will allow fishermen who had been banned from operating to sell their quota to other vessels, a move that city officials hope will boost the local economy.

Last fall, in an unprecedented punishment, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration banned 60 fishing permit-holders in the New Bedford area from allowing their boats to sail, after the owner of many of those vessels failed to account for the fish they caught and pleaded guilty to orchestrating a major fraud.

That decision resulted in the forced docking of 22 groundfishing boats operated by Carlos Rafael, a disgraced New Bedford fishing mogul known as “The Codfather.”

Many of the boats’ captains and crews, who collectively held a quota of 20 million pounds — or roughly 10 percent — of the region’s cod, flounder, and other bottom-dwelling species, have been out of work since November. The ban has also hurt many related businesses in New Bedford that supplied the vessels with rope, fuel, ice, and other fishing necessities.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

NOAA Lifts Groundfishing Ban on Northeast Sector IX Vessels; Will Issue Interim Rule

July 19, 2018 — WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — Tomorrow, NOAA is scheduled to publish an interim final rule that “determines the quota overages that Northeast Fishery Sector IX is responsible for paying back, allocates annual catch entitlements to Northeast Fishery Sectors VII and IX for the 2018 fishing year, approves a new lease-only operations plan for Northeast Fishery Sector IX, and approves a substantive amendment to Northeast Fishery Sector VII operations plan,” in the Federal Register. When the rule is published, the supporting documentation, including the approved operations plans, will also be available. NOAA Fisheries will accept comments for 30 days and reserves the right to change the rule based on comments and/or new information.

The Standard-Times in New Bedford, Massachusetts has reported that, “Nearly eight months to the day after NOAA closed groundfishing for Carlos Rafael vessels, the agency lifted the ban on Thursday that had put at least 80 fishermen out of work.”

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren issued the following statement: “This plan allows our fishing families and business to get back to work. One man committed criminal actions and he’s justifiably in jail, but a lot of innocent people and businesses paid a price for his fraud. Finally, the industry can now move forward and I will continue to do everything to help fishermen and their way of life that embodies the Massachusetts spirit.”

Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey issued the following statement: “NOAA’s actions mean that our impacted New Bedford fishermen will be able to get back in the water. I am glad that fishing sectors IX and VII finally have a path forward to restore the important balance between sustainable fishing and fishermen’s livelihoods. I will continue to monitor this situation to ensure continued progress and a fair resolution so we can ensure that our Massachusetts fishermen and fishing-related businesses thrive.”

“It’s finally happening,” U.S. Rep. Bill Keating said. “We’re happy. It’s something that we’ve been doing everything in our power to encourage and to affect a swift resolution.”

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell issued the following statement: “NOAA’s long-awaited decision to approve sector operation plans and allow limited groundfish operations to resume is an important first step and welcome relief to many New Bedford fishing families and waterfront businesses impacted by the closures of Sectors 7 and 9. I applaud all those industry leaders and elected officials who worked with the City and the Port Authority to constructively engage NOAA and highlight the economic consequences of the closure on innocent parties. Our focus now will be to advocate for the timely conclusion of the remaining civil enforcement case against Carlos Rafael and the transfer of his vessels and permits to third parties in the Port of New Bedford. Only then can we move past lease-only arrangements and return to normal groundfishing operations and management.”

Read more coverage at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Read the full interim rule here

 

Bristol sheriff’s captain convicted in ‘Codfather’ case

July 17, 2018 — A captain in the Bristol County sheriff’s office was convicted Sunday by a federal jury in connection with helping Carlos Rafael, the New Bedford fishing magnate, smuggle profits from his illegal overfishing scheme to Portugal, the US Attorney’s office in Boston said in a statement.

Jamie Melo, 46, of Dartmouth was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and one count of structuring the export of monetary instruments. He was acquitted of one count of bulk cash smuggling. Melo was indicted October 2017.

Rafael, known as “The Codfather,” allegedly told undercover agents that he would conduct his smuggling schemes sometimes by himself and sometimes using others.

During the trial, evidence showed that Melo traveled with Rafael to the Azores in Portugal for a charity event sponsored by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office. At the time, Melo was an administrative captain with the sheriff’s office.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

‘How are we going to get paid?’; fishing ban continues to suffocate local businesses

July 9, 2018 — Anne Jardin-Maynard is an accountant. She doesn’t own a commercial fishing vessel. The New Bedford native works within an office on Centre Street.

Yet for more than seven months, a groundfishing ban implemented by NOAA has prevented Jardin-Maynard from receiving a paycheck. That doesn’t mean the owner of Jardin & Dawson, a settlement house, which handles payroll and accounting for fishing boats, has stopped working.

“If the boats aren’t fishing, how are we going to get paid,” Jardin-Maynard said.

NOAA announced the groundfishing ban at the end of last November as a result of Carlos Rafael falsifying fishing quota. It was also meant to delay operations for Sector IX, the fishing division where Rafael’s boats were associated, so it could draft provisions to prevent repeat offenses.

Since that time, though, the sector has assigned new board members multiple times, provisions have been drafted, and quota has been gathered as potential repayment, but the ban remains.

“I think they need to move it along,” said Jardin-Maynard, who is a new board member of Sector IX as well. “This has been a long time coming. The person that was involved in it (is penalized). It’s not fair for the other people to be involved in this. He’s paying his price.”

Rafael is serving a 46-month prison term in part for falsifying fishing records. While he serves his time in federal prison in Fort Devens, about 80 fishermen have been out of work sending a ripple effect throughout shoreside businesses from ice houses to processors to settlement houses.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

HANK SOULE: Revitalizing waterfront is still up to sectors and Carlos Rafael

July 9, 2018 — Carlos Rafael misreported his groundfish catch, and in its piece “Time for NOAA to let Sector IX fish again,” the Times is misreporting the facts.

First, NOAA didn’t calculate, as the piece states, that Rafael misreported just 72,000 pounds of grey sole. He openly admitted to stealing over 10 times that amount, of several different fish stocks. Rather, NOAA has apparently calculated that all but some remaining grey sole has been repaid, with quota seized earlier to cover the debt.

Second, neither Sector IX nor Sector VII has submitted a plan to return to fishing. Sector IX purged itself of nearly every vessel and permit enrolled there, retaining the bare minimum required to maintain legal status. It submitted an operations plan — which explains how a sector and its boats will track and report their quotas — which states that Sector IX has no immediate intent to resume fishing.

Sector VII is even more explicit. It absorbed the many Rafael vessels and permits shunted from Sector IX under the condition that they “will be enrolling as a non-active member and will not be authorized to fish” until Carlos Rafael sells them. In fact, Sector VII explicitly requested NOAA’s help to DENY those vessels permission to harvest.

Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Congressman Keating says groundfishing ban is in ‘final stages,’ expects it to be lifted soon

July 3, 2018 — As calendars turned to July on Sunday, the new month represented the ninth in which about 80 local fishermen have been banned from groundfishing.

Congressman Bill Keating, who according to some on the waterfront, has most actively tried to return those fishermen to work said on Monday that he expects NOAA to release a decision soon.

“We’re just waiting for the final aspects going forward,” Keating said.

Last month, city, state and federal politicians met at the Whaling Museum to discuss possible scenarios to end the ban. Fishermen also met with the federal delegation in May.

The Democrat representing Massachusetts’ 9th Congressional District said “an administrative procedure” is separating the rule from being announced.

NOAA provided no comment on a timetable and said it would release a statement when an announcement is made.

NOAA has remained quiet throughout the groundfishing ban, which was imposed on November 20, 2017 as measures to force repayment of the fishing overages by Carlos Rafael and to prevent any recurrence of mislabeling.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: GOP Senate candidate Geoff Diehl outlines plan to help fishermen

June 22, 2018 — Geoff Diehl made his second visit to New Bedford this week to speak with fishermen.

The state representative and candidate running for U.S. Senate against Elizabeth Warren spoke to about five people within the fishing industry at Pier 3 on Thursday. It came just days after he attended a fishing roundtable discussion at the Whaling Museum, which discussed the groundfishing ban affecting the industry.

This second trip of the week was to unveil a set of guidelines he plans to follow to help fishermen if elected.

They involved repealing the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument Status, keeping Carlos Rafael’s fishing licenses in New Bedford and reducing the regulatory burden.

Diehl suggested establishing a NOAA headquarters in New Bedford to better facilitate discussions between the agency and fishermen in the nation’s most valuable seaport.

“They should at least have a satellite if not maybe move their main offices here,” Diehl said. “I think that would make a lot of sense to have them interact with the actual fishermen.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Senate Candidate Geoff Diehl unveils plan to help fleet

June 21, 2018 — Geoff Diehl, the Republican challenger to incumbent U. S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, would retain Carlos Rafael’s forfeited groundfish permits in New Bedford and would push to repeal the creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument, according to his plan to help the fishing industry.

Diehl, a state representative from Whitman, is set to release the plan, “A Good Diehl for Fishing,” at campaign stops Thursday in New Bedford, Scituate and Gloucester. The Gloucester event is set for 4 p.m. at the Fishermen’s Monument on Stacy Boulevard.

The Diehl fishing plan also calls for reducing the regulatory burden on commercial fishermen and finding “a balance between the necessary protections to ensure ocean preservation, and continuing to support the growth of a healthy marine industry across the state.”

His plan opposes mandated at-sea monitoring of the Northeast groundfish fleet, calling them “onboard watch dogs,” as well as an “egregious example of government overreach and a crippling cost to the fishermen.”

Diehl said transferring Rafael’s groundfish permits to “ready licenses” in New Bedford rather than dispersing them to other fishing concerns throughout the Northeast multispecies groundfish fishery “is critical for maintaining the livelihood of those individuals and for ensuring the survival of the fishing industry now and in the future.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times