Saving Seafood

Groundfishermen not hooked by monitoring alternatives

June 12, 2019 — For more than two years, the New England Fishery Management Council has worked on an intricate groundfish monitoring amendment that could have wide-scale economic and regulatory consequences for groundfishermen.

It has been a thorny, winding path that involves a host of groundfish committees, plan development teams and assorted staff within the far-flung fisheries regulatory landscape. Now a group of groundfishermen are weighing in. And they are not pleased.

Today, the council, meeting for the second of its three days in Portland, Maine, is expected to finalize the range of alternatives for revising monitoring programs when the amendment — named Amendment 23 — goes out for public comment, probably late in the fall.

In a letter to the council, groundfishermen from across New England criticized the process for developing the amendment by framing the issue within a simple cost/benefit analysis.

They claim the process for fashioning the amendment still has not identified what the revised monitoring programs will cost the groundfish industry that ultimately will be responsible for paying for it.

“That’s an extremely important issue, since they’re the ones paying for it,” said Jackie Odell, the executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition. “These are industry-funded programs.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: National Fish files for bankruptcy

June 10, 2019 — National Fish & Seafood no longer operates in East Gloucester, having given way — and rise — to Atlantic Fish & Seafood in a recent asset sale.

But that does not mean the federal bankruptcy court or National Fish creditors are done with the former seafood processor.

National Fish, which shut down its operations on May 10 after failing to find a buyer for the financially beleaguered company, stated in May 29 filings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Boston that it owes more than $80 million to all its creditors — including more than $64 million to secured creditors and $16 million to unsecured creditors.

“The board of directors for the company, having been fully apprised of all of the material facts related to the financial condition of the company, has determined it is in the best interests of the company, its creditors, and other parties in interest, that the company should cease operations and be liquidated under the supervision of the United States Bankruptcy Court,” National Fish’s board of directors stated in a unanimous written consent included in a May 29 filing.

The filings also confirm two other noteworthy items:

National Fish sold its assets to NSD Seafood Inc.  — the parent of Atlantic Fish & Seafood — for $3 million and National Fish’s largest creditor is the Dutch multinational bank Cooperative Rabobank, to which it owes “approximately $73 million in principal (plus interest, fees and other charges).”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

National Fish & Seafood revived under new ownership, new name

May 24, 2019 — The assets of Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based National Fish & Seafood (NFS) have been purchased by NSD Seafood, which said in a 22 May announcement it planned to restart production of NFS’ Matlaw’s stuffed clam line and other products.

NFS abruptly closed its doors on 10 May. SeafoodSource first broke the story on 20 May that an unnamed buyer wanted to acquire NFS and resume the company’s operations. On 22 May, NSD Seafood agreed to purchase all of National Fish’s assets and rename the company Atlantic Fish & Seafood, according to the Gloucester Daily Times. The operations team is hoping to begin production within a week at NFS’s former 60,000-square-feet facility in Gloucester.

Nicholas M. Osgood, a principal in NSD Seafood, along with two other partners from the NSDJ Real Estate company that owns NFS’s 159 E. Main St. facility, acquired NFS’s assets, according to the Gloucester Daily Times.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

MASSACHUSETTS: Few herring, no eels coming to spawn

May 21, 2019 — It appears, at least for the time being, that Cape Ann largely has fallen off the list of favorite places to visit for river herring and American eels.

And no one really seems to know the reason why the river herring have been so sparse at the West Gloucester alewife fishway and American eels have been absent from the eel trap set up at Millbrook Pond in Rockport.

“Officially, I’d say we’ve spotted fewer than 10 in our fish counts of river herring making their way up to the Lily Pond,” said Eric W. Hutchins, a fisheries biologist for NOAA Fisheries and the Gulf of Maine restoration coordinator. “Without a doubt, it’s significantly down this year and there isn’t much time left.”

The city, in cooperation with NOAA Fisheries, organizes volunteer fish counters at the alewife fishway to document the number of river herring making their way out of the Little River, up the fishway and into the Lily Pond to spawn. Three to six weeks later, they head back to the ocean.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Facing “too many legacy issues,” National Fish and Seafood closes

May 13, 2019 — National Fish and Seafood announced that it was immediately ceasing operations on Friday, 10 May, marking the end of its long history in the seafood business and putting 150 employees out of work.

Founded in 1979, the Gloucester, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based seafood processor, which sells the Matlaw’s stuffed clam line, had been reeling financially since owner Pacific Andes filed for bankruptcy in 2016. NFS put itself up for sale, and several companies – including Red Chamber – considered purchasing it, but ultimately never did.

“Unfortunately, despite great strides we made in improving operating performance, National Fish just had too many legacy issues that prevented us from consummating a sale,” NFS President Todd Provost said in a press release.

In January 2019, NFS demanded payment from Pacific Andes, which owes NFS USD 30 million (EUR 28 million), according to court documents. Plus, NFS was paying out legal fees for its trade secrets lawsuit against Tampa Bay Fisheries for the latter half of 2018 and early 2019, before both suppliers agreed to settle the case in mid-March. And former NFS President Jack Ventola was convicted of fraudulently diverting money from the company and then not paying taxes on the income.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Changes in lobster processing rules on Massachusetts Legislature’s plate

May 6, 2019 — Lawmakers are moving toward consensus on an overhaul of Massachusetts’ lobster processing laws.

The plan was recently endorsed by the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries, which concluded it would deliver “economic benefits throughout the state’s seafood supply chain” and give consumers more choice of lobster products to purchase.

The legislation would change state rules to allow for processing and sale of raw and frozen lobster parts that are still in the shell — claws and tails, for example — and permit shell-on lobster parts to be imported for further processing.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at Boston.com

Groundfish quota changes up for debate

April 26, 2019 — NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on its proposed rule revising catch limits for seven of the 20 groundfish stocks for the 2019 fishing season, but the real battle over commercial groundfish quotas probably will wait until after the next operational stock assessment in the fall.

The proposed rule, called Framework 58, calls for increasing the commercial quota for Georges Bank cod by 15 percent, Georges Bank haddock by 19 percent and Georges Bank winter flounder by 6 percent for the new fishing season that is set to begin Wednesday.

It also includes a 1 percent increase for witch flounder.

That’s the good news.

The bad news is that the proposed rule, published in the Federal Register, calls for a whopping 50 percent cut to the annual catch limit for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder, a 1 percent reduction in the quota Gulf of Maine winter flounder and a 3 percent cut to the catch limit for Atlantic halibut.

“We’re still digesting the proposed rule and expect to submit our comments next week,” said Jackie O’Dell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition.

The deadline for public comment on Framework 58 is May 6.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Tarr keeps clawing at lobster rules

April 25, 2019 — State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr sometimes must feel as if the lobster gods are conspiring against him.

The Gloucester legislator, on three occasions, has filed a bill in the state Senate to liberalize the Bay State’s lobster processing laws to allow in-state processing and the sale of frozen lobster parts.

Three times it passed the state Senate, only to expire either at the hands of the House or in some other quadrant of the legislative hurly-burly.

Most recently, Tarr succeeded this session in attaching the measure to a supplemental budget bill for fiscal year 2019 already passed by the House.

But the lobster processing measure didn’t make the final cut during negotiations between the House and the Senate on the final supplemental budget even though a report from the Division of Marine Fisheries supported the legislative reform.

Tarr, however, continues to push his bill and the additional opportunities it could create for the lobstering industry, as well as economic benefits that could accrue for coastal communities.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Massachusetts captain offers classes for aspiring fishermen

April 22, 2019 — Capt. Joe Sanfilippo fished out of Gloucester for more than 20 years alongside siblings and family members. For much of that time, a seed was germinating.

Sanfilippo, 46, is the youngest of five boys and his training came from tough-love, working tutorials aboard the family’s three 80-foot fishing vessels, particularly from his brother Dominic aboard the F/V Captain Gus.

“He taught me pretty much everything I know and gave me a passion and work ethic for being a commercial fisherman right from the start,” Sanfilippo said. “I realized quickly that fishing is a way of life. It’s not about the money. It’s about the heritage.”

Which brings us to the germinating seed. Sanfilippo, as the industry evolved, often thought there might be a better way to give aspiring commercial fishermen a head start entering the profession.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Rule: Framework 58 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan

April 19, 2019 — The following was published by NOAA Fisheries: 

We are seeking public comment on an action that would revise catch limits for seven groundfish stocks for the 2019 fishing year (May 1, 2019 – April 30, 2020), including the three stocks managed jointly with Canada. These revised catch limits are based upon the results of stock assessments conducted in 2018.

For the commercial groundfish fishery, quotas are increasing for Georges Bank cod (+15%), Georges Bank haddock (+19%), witch flounder (+1%), and Georges Bank winter flounder (+6%), but are decreasing for Georges Bank yellowtail flounder (-50%), Gulf of Maine winter flounder (-1%), and Atlantic halibut (-3%).

Framework 58 would also:

  • Exempt vessels fishing exclusively in the Northwest Atlantic Fisheries Organization Regulatory Area (i.e., in international waters) from the domestic groundfish fishery minimum fish sizes to allow them to better compete in the international frozen fish market.
  • Extend the temporary change to the scallop Accountability Measure implementation policy for the Georges Bank yellowtail flounder to provide the scallop fishery with the flexibility to adjust to current catch conditions while still providing an incentive to avoid yellowtail flounder.

In this proposed rule, we are also announcing:

  • Required adjustments to the 2019 quotas for Gulf of Maine cod because the quota was exceeded in 2017;
  • Proposed management measures for the common pool, the US/Canada Area, and special management programs for fishing year 2019;
  • A proposed extension of the annual deadline to submit applications to lease groundfish days-at-sea between vessels from March 1 to April 30 (the end of the fishing year); and
  • Changes to the regulations to clarify that vessels must report catch by statistical area when submitting catch reports through their vessel monitoring system.

Read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. You may also submit comments through regular mail to: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930

The comment period is open through May 6, 2019.

Questions?
Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, at 978-281-9103