Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Candidates for governor, AG, tackle fishing industry concerns

August 15, 2022 — Representatives of the Gloucester fishing industry caught the ears of Democratic candidate for governor Attorney General Maura Healey, and a Democratic candidate for attorney general, Andrea Campbell, during a meeting at the Gloucester House Restaurant on Rogers Street around noon before a campaign canvass kickoff.

The pair heard concerns about the high cost of fuel and offshore wind, among others.

“The price of fuel is killing us right now,” said fisherman Joe Orlando, president of Northeast Fishery Sector II.

“I can’t even imagine. How much does it cost?” Healey asked.

Orlando said the cost went from $2,000 to $6,000.

Healey said it is important for the state to support the fishing industry economically, culturally and historically.

Read the full article at Gloucester Times

Fishery Management Council to hold first scallop leasing meeting in Gloucester

April 27, 2022 — Scallopers, Gloucester will be the scene of the first of seven in-person meetings and two webinars over the next two months as the New England Fishery Management Council conducts scoping for a limited access Atlantic sea scallop program.

The meeting will take place Wednesday, April 27, from 5 to 6:30 p.m. at Cruiseport Gloucester, 6 Rowe Square.

The Newburyport-based council “is charged with conserving and managing fishery resources from 3 to 200 miles off the coasts of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut,” with major ports Gloucester, New Bedford, and including Portland, Maine, according to its website.

“In September of 2022, the council will decide whether to initiate an amendment to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan that may allow the leasing of access area allocations and DAS (days-at-sea) in the Limited Access component of the fishery,” says the council’s scoping document dated April 15. The fishery takes place along the East Coast from Maine to Virginia.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

 

NOAA acknowledges shortage of gear to protect whales

April 22, 2022 — The federal government is acknowledging that supply chain issues will prevent all lobstermen from having gear needed to protect North Atlantic right whales before a May 1 deadline.

The rules will still go into effect on that date, but the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it will use a “graduated enforcement effort” until supply problems are resolved.

“I want to assure fishermen who are making good faith efforts to comply with these new measures but are not able to procure compliant gear that we understand the difficulty of their situation,” wrote Michael Pentony, NOAA Fisheries’ Gloucester-based Greater Atlantic regional administrator, in a letter.

“We are working closely with our state and federal enforcement partners to implement a graduated enforcement effort that will focus on compliance assistance rather than civil penalties until we have determined that localized supply chain issues have been sufficiently resolved,” he continued.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Scallop leasing on the table? New England council starts scoping meetings

April 21, 2022 — The possibility of allowing leasing in the Atlantic scallop fishery will be explored by the New England Fishery Management Council in the coming weeks.

A preceding publicity campaign aims to get everyone in the industry out to comment in public meetings. It’s a first step for the council to investigate whether a days-at-sea and access area leasing program is needed in the limited access component of the scallop fishery.

Depending on what they learn, council members could vote to initiate a leasing amendment to the scallop management plan when they meet Sept. 27-29 in Gloucester, Mass.

Leasing has been suggested by some scallop operators, and the council approved a scoping plan at its April 12-14 meeting in Mystic, Conn. It calls for public meetings from Gloucester to New Bern, N.C., starting April 27, plus two online webinars in June, to gauge opinions.

The proposal could have broad effects, so the council is looking to go in depth.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NEFMC Approves Scallop Leasing Scoping Document; Readies for Seven In-Person Meetings and Two Webinars

April 19, 2022 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council: 

The New England Fishery Management Council will hold seven in-person scoping meetings and two webinars over the next two months to solicit public input on whether a leasing program is needed in the limited access component of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery.

The Council approved the scoping document during its April 12-14, 2022 hybrid meeting, which was held in Mystic, CT. In addition, the Council received short updates on:

Scoping Meetings Kick Off April 27th in Gloucester

The first scoping meeting for limited access leasing will be held on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 in Gloucester, Massachusetts at the Cruiseport beginning at 5:00 p.m.

Other in-person meeting locations run from New Bedford down to New Bern, North Carolina. The in-person meetings will not have a remote participation option, but two separate webinar scoping meetings are scheduled for June 17 and June 24, 2022.

Read the full release from the NEFMC

‘CODA’ a win for America’s oldest seaport

March 30, 2022 — CODA’s big wins at the 94th Academy Awards Sunday night was not only a win for the deaf community, it was also a win for the nation’s oldest seaport in its portrayal of the fishing industry and its families.

“CODA” revolves around a fictional Gloucester fishing family whose three out of four members are deaf. The family’s hearing daughter, Ruby, serves as their translator. She must drag herself out of bed at 3 a.m. to help the family make ends meet dragging for groundfish.

“That is the one word that comes up again and again is the ‘authenticity’ of it,” said Gloucester Mayor Greg Verga the day after CODA won three Academy Awards Sunday night, including for Best Picture.

CODA did not turn to special effects to tell the story on the water. Instead, it turned Capt. Paul Vitale’s 50-foot fishing vessel Angela + Rose into a working movie set in August and September of 2019.

Vitale said Monday morning his phone was “going nonstop and more” after CODA’s big wins.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Rule change calls for monitoring of all groundfish trips

March 23, 2022 — Webinars on proposed changes to how the commercial groundfish sector monitors its catch, both with monitors at sea and electronically, will be held this week by the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office of NOAA Fisheries (GARFO) in Gloucester.

The most significant proposed change is a monitoring coverage target of 100% aboard eligible trips, which is higher than present monitoring levels. The change is meant to remove uncertainty surrounding catch. This and other changes — known as Amendment 23— to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan were developed by the Newburyport-based New England Fishery Management Council.

The informational webinars on the changes are scheduled for Tuesday, March 22, Thursday, March 24, and Monday, April 4, from 4 to 6 p.m. The March events will focus on fishing industry members and the April event will focus on monitoring service providers.

According to a NOAA Fisheries fact sheet, the changes, if approved by NOAA Fisheries, would give groundfish vessels the choice of a human observer or using one of two types of electronic monitoring to meet the increased monitoring requirements, provided the sector has a corresponding approved monitoring plan and a contract with an approved service provider.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Offshore wind lease funds seen as potential aid for fishing industry

March 18, 2022 — The Baker administration and the Massachusetts Legislature have been gung-ho about pursuing offshore wind power and preparing the state’s infrastructure to deal with the consequences of climate change, but lawmakers during the week of March 7 impressed upon the administration the importance of keeping the state’s historic fishing industry in mind as well.

“We’ve been taking steps over the past couple of years to make sure that the commonwealth is a leader in the wind industry. However, I’m not insensitive to the fact that some of what we’re doing on wind and with renewables comes to the expense of one of our oldest professions, which is the fishing industry,” Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante of Gloucester said March 11 during a hearing on the energy and environment portions of Gov. Charlie Baker’s $48.5 billion fiscal-year 2023 budget bill.

Tension between the commercial fishing industry and offshore wind developers has been a constant thread as the new industry looks to establish its roots in the United States. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, among others, has sued federal agencies contending that by approving the Vineyard Wind I project “the United States has shortcut the statutory and regulatory requirements that were enacted to protect our nation’s environmental and natural resources, its industries, and its people.”

Annie Hawkins, executive director of RODA, said the fishing industry supports “strong action on climate change, but not at the expense of the ocean, its inhabitants, and sustainable domestic seafood.” The Massachusetts Seafood Collaborative, a group of seafood harvesters, processors and wholesalers, has come out in stout opposition to the offshore wind bill the House has passed and generally any other Beacon Hill plans to promote and grow the offshore wind industry here.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

Mass. Seafood Collaborative calls for sanctions on Russian fish imports

March 8, 2022 — The Boston-based Massachusetts Seafood Collaborative, which has several Gloucester members, is calling for sanctions to take a bite out of Russian fish imports because of the war in Ukraine.

The collaborative, which counts the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association as a member, said that in 2021, the U.S. imported $4 billion worth of Russian fish for processing, leading directly to jobs and paychecks for Massachusetts residents.

“Though Russia blocks imports of American fish,” the collaborative said, “our commitment to free trade and open markets allowed this one-sided relationship to bear fruit. The invasion of Ukraine by Russia has forced our industry — and our nation — to decide between our ideals and our wallets.”

The collaborative called on elected officials to immediately sanction Russian fish exports into the U.S.

It was unclear what this would mean for Gloucester.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Rising scallop prices please fishermen

January 21, 2022 — From the coast of Maine down to the large fish markets in Gloucester and New Bedford, Mass., scallops are fetching up to $30 a pound and even more, including $35 a pound for frozen, shipped scallops from Greenhead Lobster in Stonington.

Everywhere, scallop prices are up about 50 percent no matter where they come from in Maine, or in Massachusetts. The price may tick south the farther east you go, but local scallopers say the higher prices are well deserved, even if they’re not sure why prices are up.

Scallop fishermen are getting $10 more a pound locally for scallops, from dealers and from direct sales, over last year’s boat and retail prices.

Wood’s Seafood in Bucksport is asking $28 a pound, a price Ed Wood said has held steady six weeks into the season.

“We were selling for like $18 or $19 [a pound],” said Wood, who mainly sells retail. “It’s up about $10 this year from last year.” But sales are down, he noted. “Typically, especially around Christmas time, they used to buy them and give them away for presents. Not so much this year.”

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American