Saving Seafood

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.

MASSACHUSETTS: Warren, Markey speak on port of New Bedford

March 27, 2017 — Behind closed doors, politicians from around the state discussed how to improve the Port of New Bedford Friday afternoon at Seatrade International.

“We want to make sure the 21st century is just as prosperous and even more so than the 20th and 19th centuries were for New Bedford,” Markey said. “We’re going to work down in Washington every day to advocate for the commercial fisherman of New Bedford.”

Senators Markey and Elizabeth Warren, along with state representatives Bill Strauss, Paul Schmid, Christopher Markey, Robert Koczera and Antonio Cabral joined Mayor Jon Mitchell, City Council President Joe Lopes and Ward 4 Council Dana Rebeiro, discussed policies affecting the port.

The meeting lasted about an hour and according to Ed Anthes-Washburn, the executive director of the Harbor Development Commission, about two-thirds of the discussion revolved around dredging.

“We heard example after example of what it will mean if we could get proper dredging for new businesses, expanded businesses, more opportunities,” Warren said. “That’s what we want to see in New Bedford. That’s what we want to see here in Massachusetts.”

The New Bedford Harbor Development Commission predicts the dredging would create  898 permanent jobs, $65.1 million in wages and $11.5 million in state and local taxes.

“We have a number of docks in the harbor that are on very shallow water,” Mitchell said. “There are businesses that want to pull boats up to those docks but can’t because of the shallow water.”

According to Washburn, who attended the meeting, lawmakers agreed that Phase V dredging would be most beneficial for the port in terms of cost and reward.

Read the full story at The New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford fish catch most valuable in U.S.

November 4, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Citing 2015 landings worth $322 million, for the 16th year in a row the city held the top-value title nationwide for its fishing catch, according to NOAA Fisheries. The top ranking was thanks largely to scallops, SouthCoastToday.com reported Oct. 28.

New Bedford’s catch was 124 million pounds, good for 11th in the country.

“We’re reaping the benefits of good, cooperative science, and solid relationships between the regulators, the fishermen and the scientists,” said Ed Anthes-Washburn, port director for the city’s Harbor Development Commission.

The annual catch reports, released by NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, showed New Bedford’s catch dipped by about 11 percent last year, falling to 124 million pounds in 2015 from 140 million in 2014. The 2013 catch totaled 130 million pounds.

Read the full story at the Providence Business News 

New Bedford again tops nation for dollar value of fishing catch

October 31st, 2016 — The city’s port has again topped the country for dollar value of its fishing catch, NOAA Fisheries reported this week, citing 2015 landings worth $322 million.

That marks 16 years in a row that New Bedford has held the top-value title, which is thanks largely to scallops. Dutch Harbor, Alaska, again was tops for total volume of catch, landing 787 million pounds last year.

New Bedford’s catch was much smaller: 124 million pounds, good for only 11th in the country and far behind Dutch Harbor. But Dutch Harbor’s catch had a value of $218 million — second-highest in the country — reflecting the strong commercial value of New Bedford’s scallop industry.

“The scallop industry has put New Bedford at the top of the food chain, as it were, of fishing ports for the last 16 years — that’s a very impressive streak,” said Ed Anthes-Washburn, port director for the city’s Harbor Development Commission. “It really shows the impact of scallops but also the impact of cooperative research.”

In the 1990s, SMAST scientists Brian Rothschild and Kevin Stokesbury pioneered innovations in counting scallops, with cameras tested and used on local scallopers. The resulting data affected stock assessments by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), ultimately leading to larger catch quotas and helping secure steady catches for waterfront businesses.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times 

New Bedford Port Director, Ocean Conservancy Spokesperson Talk Northeast Ocean Planning

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – July 12, 2016 – On June 26, New Bedford, Massachusetts Port Director Ed Anthes-Washburn and Christine Hopper, Ocean Conservancy outreach specialist for coastal and marine spatial planning, appeared on WJFD-FM in New Bedford to discuss Northeast ocean planning.

In a conversation with Irene de Amaral, host of “Conversas que importam,” Anthes-Washburn and Hopper agreed that ocean planning is necessary to ensure current ocean users are consulted as new projects develop and to create a common set of data so different government agencies are working with the same information.

“The Ocean Conservancy has been great about having a big tent and bringing all the stakeholders in so that their input is heard and reflected in the decisions that happen on our oceans,” Anthes-Washburn said. “We want to make sure that all of the current uses and all of the future uses are worked out in a successful way, and I think ocean planning is a key tool to do that effectively.”

“It’s really just about bringing everyone around the table, having a good conversation, making sure that the best available data is out there, and that we’re all talking and communicating with each other so we can cumulatively make the best decisions for our ocean spaces,” Hopper said.

The Draft Northeast Ocean plan is available for public review and comment until July 25 at neoceanplanning.org.

Listen to the full discussion here

Eye on the Catch: New Bedford becoming hub for emerging fishing technology

April 25, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — On a March afternoon at The Black Whale restaurant on New Bedford’s waterfront, steps away from docked fishing boats, Chris Rezendes signaled to waitstaff as his party gathered for lunch.

He was going to need more tables.

Guests included Ed Anthes-Washburn, port director for the city’s Harbor Development Commission; Kevin Stokesbury, chairman of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology (SMAST); John Haran, manager of fishery Sector 13 and newly elected member of Dartmouth’s Select Board; and Rezendes, founder of INEX Advisors and an affiliated Internet connectivity company, IoT Impact LABS, based in New Bedford.

Also present for the informal lunch were representatives from computer giant Dell and several other tech firms.

The subject was Internet of Things (IoT), generally defined as the merging of physical objects with connected, network technology.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Vision for New Bedford’s waterfront focuses on fishing, revamped State Pier

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. (March 24, 2016) — Expanding the scope of New Bedford’s commercial fishing industry — and showcasing it with greater public access on a revitalized, multi-use State Pier — are key components of a detailed vision for the city’s entire waterfront outlined in a report that culminates an 18-month planning process and looks decades into the future.

Boston consultants Sasaki Associates focus on three waterfront sections: northern, roughly from the Whale’s Tooth parking lot to I-195; central, roughly from Route 6 into the NStar site of a failed casino bid, now used by Sprague Oil and Eversource Energy; and southern, primarily involving the Marine Commerce Terminal and surrounding parcels.

Ed Anthes-Washburn, port director for the Harbor Development Commission, emphasized a primary theme that he said permeates the entire plan.

“Fishing is threaded throughout,” Anthes-Washburn said Wednesday.

Sasaki’s final report follows numerous public and private meetings last year, and incorporates input from business leaders, industry representatives, property owners and other stakeholders up and down the waterfront.

“Every single parcel, and every single parcel owner, was contacted,” said Derek Santos, executive director of the New Bedford Economic Development Council (EDC).

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times