Saving Seafood

‘Cod Is Dead’: New Netflix Series Details Challenges Facing U.S. Fishermen

January 5, 2018 (Saving Seafood) — The challenges facing American fishermen, ranging from declining quotas to disputed science to fleet consolidation, are highlighted in a new Netflix documentary series premiering today.

The new series, Rotten, “travels deep into the heart of the food supply chain to reveal unsavory truths and expose hidden forces that shape what we eat.” The series’ sixth and final episode, “Cod is Dead,” focuses on the domestic seafood industry, and the business and regulatory climate that has made it increasingly difficult for fishermen to make a living. Special focus is given to the ongoing fallout from the Carlos Rafael seafood fraud case and the continuing impact of the controversial catch share management system.

The episode interviews fishermen, scientists, environmentalists, and other stakeholders, with special emphasis placed on industry members in New Bedford, Massachusetts. The full list of interviewees is:

  • Steve Welch – Commercial Fishing Captain
  • Richard Canastra – Co-Owner, The Whaling City Seafood Display Auction
  • Peter Baker – Director, U.S. Ocean Conservation-Northeast, The Pew Charitable Trust
  • Ian Saunders – New Bedford Dock Worker
  • Dr. Jonathan Hare – Science and Research Director, Northeast Fisheries Science Center
  • Seth Macinko – Professor of Marine Affairs, University of Rhode Island
  • Aaron Williams – Commercial Fishing Captain
  • Scott Lang – Former Mayor of New Bedford/Lawyer
  • Jake Kritzer – Director of Fishery Diagnostics and Design, Environmental Defense Fund
  • Tor Bendikson – Vice President, Reidar’s Trawl Gear & Marine Supply
  • Arthur Bogason – Chairmen, Icelandic National Association of Small Boat Owners
  • Ragnar Arnason – Professor of Economics, University of Iceland
  • Charles Smith – U.S. Coast Guard
  • Tom Williams – Commercial Fishing Vessel Owner

Rotten is available now on Netflix

 

Fisheries science center gets new director

October 28th, 2016 — Some might think it fitting that Jonathan Hare will take the reins as the new science and research director of the Northeast Fisheries Science Research Center in Woods Hole on Halloween. After all, he faces the daunting task of overseeing the research and data at the heart of the rebuilding of fish stocks in a region with the largest numbers of overfished species, in an ocean experiencing one of the fastest warming trends in the world, with fishermen who remain skeptical of the science used to manage fisheries.

“It’s a challenging time,” Hare said. The science center in Woods Hole that Hare will oversee provides scientific research and data on fish stocks from Canada to Cape Hatteras, N.C.

The $1 billion commercial fishery in the Northeast is home to the country’s No. 1 port, New Bedford, in terms of the value of species landed, but also has the highest number of overfished fish stocks in U.S. waters by far, including the region’s iconic species like cod and several species of flounder. The South Atlantic region is a distant second with only four overfished species, compared with the Northeast’s 14 species.

The demands placed on fishery managers to rebuild those stocks, some of which have not recovered despite decades of drastic cuts to fishing, are high. Plus, a new management system relies on accurate and timely estimates of fish populations, something increasingly difficult to accomplish given changing environmental conditions and tight federal budgets.

Read the full story at The Cape Cod Times