Ed Anthes-Washburn Archives

It’s no April Fools’ joke: 2019-2020 US scallop season kicks off in New Bedford

April 1, 2019 — Ed Anthes-Washburn answered his cellphone on his way to work at the Port of New Bedford, Massachusetts — the US’s most valuable commercial port — on Monday morning by telling Undercurrent News that the 2019-2020 Atlantic scallop season is canceled.

“Didn’t you hear?” the port director asked. Then, with a chuckle, he proclaimed, “April Fools’!” and confirmed that he plans to play this prank all day long.

Contrary to Washburn’s joke, the 2019-2020 Atlantic scallop season has begun in New Bedford, and it promises to be another big one. After landing an estimated 56.8 million pounds of scallops between April 1, 2018, and March 31, 2019, harvesters are loosely projected to harvest 62.5m lbs over the next 12 months.

To make room, US scallop distributors spent last week clearing their inventory, while harvesters were using up the last of their quota from the 2018-2019 season. As Washburn put it, because of the constant work being done to boats and the 60 additional days limited access vessels have to work their quota from the end of the previous season, “The old season never really ends and the new season never really begins.”

Prices were high for the final flurry of 2018-2019 landings.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Port Authority to become fisheries rep to offshore wind

November 21, 2018 — The New Bedford Port Authority has reached an agreement with all offshore wind developers operating in the Massachusetts/Rhode Island market to serve as the designated Fisheries Representative of the commercial fishing industry to each of the development companies, according to a news release.

Under federal guidelines issued by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management offshore wind developers must establish a fisheries representative to be the fishing community’s primary point of contact for communicating project-related concerns to the developer.

“The NBPA has been contracted by the developers to represent the interests of commercial fishermen, and to be a conduit of information between the developers and the commercial fishing industry as offshore wind farms are developed on the Outer Continental Shelf,” said Port Authority Director Ed Anthes-Washburn in a statement. “We’re very excited to have all three developers on board for this timely announcement. Adequate and sustained engagement with the fishing industry will translate into more conciliatory communications and interactions with fishing communities up and down the eastern seaboard as the offshore wind industry begins in the United States.”

In this role, the Port Authority will act as a central clearinghouse of information, convene stakeholders, facilitate dialogue between fishermen and respective developers, and advocate for ways to mitigate impacts of wind projects on commercial fishermen, according to the release. The Port Authority will also work with state and federal agencies to adopt policies and regulations needed to ensure the viability of commercial fishing operations.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: 50 people who met at SMAST believe they can change the fishing industry

May 25, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — About 50 people assembled inside a classroom at UMass Dartmouth’s School of Marine Science and Technology on Wednesday night.

They formed the first Ocean Cluster meetup, merging the worlds of fishing and Internet of Things.

Those in the room believed the collaboration, small at its inception, has the potential to revolutionize the industry.

“This night, while there are only 50 of us here, is exactly how this happens,” said Chris Rezendes of CONTEXT LABS, ImpactLABS and Spherical Analytics.

Those who spoke at the event included: Ed Anthes-Washburn and Eli Powell of the New Bedford Port Authority, Cassie Canastra of BASE New England and the Whaling City Display Auction, Mike Carroll of LegitFish, Jeff Young of Advanced Marine Technologies, Liz Wiley of Spherical Analytics and Kevin Stokesbury of SMAST.

Each discussed the importance data plays in their respective organization.

Canastra and Carroll are working together to allow the fish auction to include blockchain technology for fishermen and purchasers.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Massachusetts: ‘Just one more nail in the coffin,’ fishermen react to Vineyard Wind announcement

May 24, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Ed Anthes-Washburn, the director of the New Bedford Port Authority, received a constant stream of calls Wednesday afternoon after the announcements of offshore wind contracts.

Those within the fishing industry have been preparing for the day when they’d have to share the ocean with offshore wind. However, they weren’t expecting two companies to be joining them so quickly.

“I think it’s fair to say the general reaction in the fishing industry is shock,” Anthes-Washburn said.

Massachusetts was scheduled to announce its bid winner on Wednesday, which was Vineyard Wind for an 800-megawatt wind farm about 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Rhode Island, unexpectedly, also offered Deepwater Wind a contract based on its pitch to Massachusetts for a 400-megawatt wind farm.

“The fishermen that we have been talking to have — from the outset — always advocated for start small and measure the impact,” Anthes-Washburn said. “So I was surprised that the project size for Vineyard Wind was as high as it was, but I didn’t even know that there could be 1,200-megawatts.”

Throughout the journey that led to Wednesday’s announcements, fishermen have voiced concerns regarding offshore wind and skepticism that their voices would be heard.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Name, New Goals for New Bedford Harbor Officials

March 8, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — It’s tough to argue that the most-well known attribute of New Bedford is its internationally known commercial fishing port. After all, it is called the Whaling City.

Since its establishment on the shores of Acushnet in the 18th Century, New Bedford has grown into the highest grossing commercial fishing port in the United States, and has been an unmatched center of the industry on the East Coast for years.

Despite hundreds of years of success, port leaders and city officials are planning to grow and diversify it even more. On Wednesday, Port Director Ed Anthes-Washburn, Mayor Jon Mitchell, and Dr. Brian Rothschild announced that the Harbor Development Commission (HDC) has changed its name to the New Bedford Port Authority (NBPA) as part of a five-year strategic plan to further expand and diversify the port, as well as enhance its operations.

“We were formerly the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission which was developed in 1957. In 1957 the focus was on a smaller subset of things. Today we have our hands in a lot of different areas and we’re a very diverse and vibrant port,” Washburn explained. “We want regionally, nationally, and internationally to be recognized and the New Bedford Port Authority moniker does that a little better than the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission.”

Read the full story at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: US’ most valuable fishing port seeks $15m grant, wants to get bigger

October 16, 2017 — Ed Anthes-Washburn wants to make what is already the United States’ most valuable commercial fishing port even larger.

For the second consecutive year the director of the Port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, has submitted an application for a grant from the US Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program to add 600-feet of bulkhead and dredge areas that are now unusable at only three- to four-feet deep.

The changes, which would increase depths in those areas to 18- to 30-feet, would grow the number of berthing areas, allowing the port to expand from about 300 fishing vessels to more than 360. It would invite fishing companies that currently operate outside of New Bedford to make it their new base of operation or to simply offload there, and harvesters already using the port could overcome some frustrations and even grow their fleets, Anthes-Washburn told Undercurrent News.

“There are a minimum of three boats [rafted next to each other] at every dock, and in some cases there are five,” Michael Quinn, operations manager for Quinn Fisheries, said of the crowded situation in New Bedford. “When you have to climb across five boats, it takes all day to get [a boat] out.”

Quinn believes his family’s scallop fishing operation, which keeps six vessels at the port, would benefit by as much as $160,000 per year by the reduced costs and added efficiencies and revenue that could be created.

Having expanded dock space would allow Quinn Fisheries and others to bring in mobile cranes to load and unload, he said. Excess dock space also could be rented to a number of other vessel owners who are clamoring to get in.

Additionally, the changes – which also would include the expansion of roadways and connections to rail lines — would eliminate congestion and allow for direct vessel to truck and rail transfers of fresh seafood, Anthes-Washburn said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

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.

View a PDF of the release

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford launches seafood branding campaign

July 28, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — For generations New Bedford fishermen withstood the elements to do their jobs. Through rain storms they fished. In choppy waters they fished. Against harsh winds they fished.

So it was fitting that the unveiling of the city’s newly-created seafood brand was delivered in the rain at the Custom House Square in downtown New Bedford Thursday evening.

“We are the biggest, the baddest, the most comprehensive fishing port in America,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said. “We are going to scream from the mountain tops that we are the biggest fishing port in America. We are a real seaport and real fishing port. We want everyone to know that.”

In unabashed self-promotion, the city’s seafood brand initiative aims to make New Bedford synonymous with fresh, sustainable seafood much like Maine is with lobster and Alaska is with salmon. The logo, designed by Moore & Isherwood Communications, features a western rig fishing vessel, a major cog that’s helped make the Port of New Bedford the most lucrative fishing port in the country.

When buyers, whether they’re locally, nationally or internationally-based, purchase seafood from the Port of New Bedford, the products will have the logo on the packaging to serve as a visual reminder of what they are eating.

But more than just self-promotion, the branding will also tell consumers that the product they purchased has also been through rigorous testing in any of the city’s processing centers to ensure quality.

“Outside of our region, not enough people know how important New Bedford and our fishing industry are to providing sustainable, fresh, delicious fish to buyers and consumers everywhere,” Ed Anthes-Washburn, port director, said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Port of New Bedford Launches New Bedford Seafood Brand

July 28, 2017 — The following was released by the Port of New Bedford Harbor Development Commission:

The Port of New Bedford Harbor Development Commission (HDC) will officially unveil their newly created New Bedford Seafood brand at the Seafood Throwdown on July 27 at Custom House Square, beginning at 6pm.

“As America’s top grossing commercial fishing port and largest seafood processing center, New Bedford can rightfully claim the title of America’s Seafood Capital. But we need to do a better job proclaiming our status to the rest of the world, and that’s where this campaign comes in,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell, who also serves as Chairman of the HDC.

The HDC hired Moore & Isherwood Communications to develop the logo, which features the ever-familiar western rig fishing vessel, the backbone of the Port of New Bedford’s successful commercial fishing industry.

“Outside of our region few people know how important New Bedford and our fishing industry is to providing sustainable, fresh, delicious fish to buyers and consumers everywhere,” says Ed Anthes-Washburn, Port Director. “The fishing industry and our waterfront is the cultural, economic and political center of our region. We think it’s important to showcase New Bedford’s seafood at the same level as other brands like Alaskan salmon or Maine lobster.”

In addition to the logo, the HDC worked with students from UMass Dartmouth’s Charlton College of Business and Moore & Isherwood Communications to develop a website where national and international buyers can browse all of New Bedford’s processors and fish houses, and the seafood they sell.

In the future, the HDC has plans to work with local restaurants and fish markets to further identify locally-landed fish and seafood for local residents in an effort to highlight some of the underutilized species, or less popular fish, that are landed in local waters.

Said Anthes-Washburn, “Wild-caught seafood landed in New Bedford is among the last wild protein available to consumers. It’s healthy, sustainably managed, and by purchasing it you’re supporting local fishermen that reinvest in our communities.” Anthes-Washburn also suggests branching out to species you may not recognize and don’t be afraid to ask your server or seafood purveyor questions. “One of the easiest ways to support our local fishermen is to engage with people in the industry, try new species and ask about different menu items or suggestions!”

The HDC will be unveiling the logo at the Seafood Throwdown, an event they’re hosting in collaboration with the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance (NAMA), the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, and the New Bedford Farmers Market.

The entire project was generously funded by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) through their Seafood Marketing Program.

The Port of New Bedford is managed by the New Bedford Harbor Development Commission which 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 #1 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.