Saving Seafood

New slow zone to protect right whales off Martha’s Vineyard

January 5, 2021 — The federal government has announced a new slow speed zone designed to protect right whales off New England until the middle of January.

The zone is located south of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts and it will be in effect until Jan. 15. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said acoustic gear detected the whales on Dec. 31.

Mariners are asked to go 10 knots or less in the area or avoid it completely. The whales are vulnerable to ship strikes and entanglement in fishing gear. They number only about 360 in the world.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

More restrictions considered for Massachusetts lobstermen

January 4, 2020 — To protect North Atlantic right whales, regulators want to expand an annual three-month ban on the use of lobstering equipment off Cape Cod Bay to include all Massachusetts waters.

Since 2015, federal regulations have banned the use of lobstering equipment from Feb. 1 until at least April 30 off Cape Cod Bay and beyond, shutting down the local industry for the winter. The goal is to reduce the chances of whales becoming entangled in the gear.

Right whales are common in Cape Cod Bay during late winter and early spring, especially during March and April.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

Senators Markey and Warren, and Reps. Keating and Moulton Commend Inclusion of Additional $300 Million in Fisheries Disaster Assistance in Coronavirus Relief Package

January 4, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Ed Markey (D-Mass.):

Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, Senator Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), and Representatives William R. Keating (MA-09) and Seth Moulton (MA-08) joined in expressing support for the inclusion of $300 million in national fisheries disaster assistance as part of the $900 billion coronavirus relief legislation that passed at the end of the year. Massachusetts has previously been allocated $28 million in fisheries assistance in Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act funding.

“The Massachusetts fishing and seafood industries aren’t just part of the Bay State’s historic and cultural heritage—they are vital contributors to our working waterfronts and coastal economy,” said the Massachusetts lawmakers.“These industries have been severely impacted by the pandemic and economic crisis and deserve to be included in relief efforts. We will continue to fight for this funding to be distributed swiftly and equitably to Massachusetts businesses and then supplanted with the additional support that the fishing and seafood industries need.”

Massachusetts lawmakers, led by Senators Markey and Warren, have championed the allocation of financial aid to fishery participants. In March 2020, Senators Markey and Warren, and Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan called on Senate leadership to include support for the fishing industry in coronavirus economic relief packages. and secured a $20 million USDA procurement of Atlantic seafood. Also in March 2020, Reps. Keating, Richard Neal (MA-01), James P. McGovern (MA-02), and Stephen F. Lynch (MA-08) called on House leadership to include fishing disaster assistance in relief packages.  In April 2020, Senators Markey and Warren led a letter urging the Department of Commerce and NOAA to act swiftly, equitably, and transparently in allocating fisheries disaster assistance funding.  Also in April, Senators Markey and Warren led a letter demanding immediate release of federal guidance on how fishery participants could access the $300 million in CARES Act funds, and identifying bureaucratic inefficiencies that were behind the failure to issue this guidance in a timely manner. In June 2020, Senators Markey and Warren called on Senate leadership to include additional fisheries assistance in the next coronavirus relief package.

Stavis Seafoods hires David Lancaster as president

January 4, 2021 — Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Stavis Seafoods has promoted its vice president of sales, David Lancaster, to company president.

In his new position, Lancaster will be responsible for the overall management and strategic direction of the company, according to Enrique Garcia, the owner of Vigo, Spain-based Profand Fishing Holding, which acquired Stavis Seafoods through subsidiary IMV in January 2018. Garcia said Lancaster “will also be charged with executing the company’s growth strategy by driving sales, increasing operational and purchasing efficiencies and execution, expanding our brand across multiple channels, and growing our retail and national account customer base and product capabilities.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: January at New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center

January 4, 2021 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

While 2020 has been an unexpectedly challenging year, the Fishing Heritage Center is excitedly looking ahead to 2021. This coming June will mark the Center’s five year anniversary! Over these past five years, we have welcomed thousands of visitors, hosted hundreds of local students, recorded dozens of oral history interviews, created numerous exhibits, and hosted a wide variety of educational programs. We look forward to celebrating these past five years with our community this coming summer.

This year the Center will open its new, permanent exhibit, More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry. This exhibit will feature a replica working deck, scallop dredge, galley table, bunks, historic images and footage, and more than sixty audio clips sharing the many voices of the fishing community. The new exhibit will provide visitors with an introduction to the workings of the fishing industry as well as explore themes including labor history, immigration, sustainability, and the changing nature of work and community.

In order to install this new exhibit, the Fishing Heritage Center will be closed to the public in January and February 2021. If you’re interested in scheduling a private visit during these months, please email info@fishingheritagecenter.org. While we are closed to visitors, we will continue offering virtual programs and events. See our online calendar for a regularly updated list of virtual programs. Additionally, you can explore our online digital exhibits by clicking here. We can’t wait to welcome you back in the spring to explore our new, permanent exhibit!

In addition to our new exhibit, many of our programs for this coming year will focus on the various roles women play in the fishing industry. Stay up to date with our online calendar as we announce upcoming lectures, concerts, and documentaries that center the voices of women. You can view our online calendar by clicking here.

If you have any questions about the Center’s closure, upcoming programs, or exhibits, please contact Hannah at programs@fishingheritagecenter.org.

New Slow Speed Zone West of Martha’s Vineyard to Protect Right Whales

January 4, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect through January 15

NOAA Fisheries announces a new Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone) south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

On December 31, 2020, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s Cox Ledge Slocum glider acoustically detected the presence of right whales 32nm west of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

Mariners, please go around this area or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

The West of Martha’s Vineyard Slow Zone is in effect through January 15 for waters bounded by:

41 34 N
40 54 N
070 50 W
071 43 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

New Slow Speed Zone South of Martha’s Vineyard to Protect Right Whales

December 31, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect through January 14

NOAA Fisheries announces a new Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone) south of Martha’s Vineyard, Massachusetts.

On December 30, 2020, Protected Species Observers aboard wind farm survey vessel Ventus noted the presence of right whales 21nm South of Martha’s Vineyard.

Mariners, please go around this area or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

The South of Martha’s Vinyeard Slow Zone is in effect through January 14 for waters bounded by:

41 25 N
40 44 N
069 59 W
070 55 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

New technology expected to play a key role in shark research

December 29, 2020 — There was precious little good news in 2020, but at least, for the second year in a row, we didn’t see any shark attacks on the Cape.

Unfortunately, the same could not be said for Maine, where a great white shark killed a New York City woman while she was swimming in Harpswell in July. It was the first such attack in the state’s recorded history.

Cape Cod’s first shark attack was in 2012 — the first fatality in Massachusetts in 82 years occurred in Wellfleet in 2018.

The Maine death, along with an increase in the frequency of sightings and detection of tagged white sharks along the New England coastline, helped spur the foundation of the regional New England White Shark Research Consortium this month with the goal of sharing information and research.

With the largest population of great white sharks on the East Coast, Cape Cod is home to cutting-edge research intended to protect the species as well as the millions of beachgoers who come to the peninsula each summer for fun in the surf. While much of that research effort still lies in finding and observing these large marine predators the old-fashioned way with spotter planes and boats, new technologies give scientists hope they will unlock the mysteries of behavior and life history that will allow sharks and humans to coexist.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Ropeless fishing, called ‘crazy’ by some, could be real in five years

December 29, 2020 — The possibility of hauling lobster traps from the ocean’s bottom by using an acoustic signal rather than a length of rope has been called crazy and viewed as impossibly expensive by many in the lobster industry.

But trials underway off the Massachusetts coast could be moving the impossible to the realm of reality, according to Sean Hayes, chief of the protected species branch at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Mass.

Although the trials are in Massachusetts, Maine is the nation’s biggest lobster fishery, with over 100 million pounds landed last year.

Hayes presented an update on the technology to the New England Fishery Management Council at its virtual meeting in earlier this month.

Studies of the technology were launched in response to the decline of the endangered North Atlantic right whale, which migrates through U.S. and Canadian waters that also are lobstering grounds. Vessel collisions and fishing gear entanglements are considered the two leading causes of injury and death of the whales.

Read the full story at MaineBiz

MASSACHUSETTS: Whale Rescued in Cape Cod Bay a Decade Ago Spotted with Calf

December 29, 2020 — A right whale rescued in Cape Cod Bay a decade ago was recently spotted with a newborn calf in the waters off of North Carolina and Florida, a good sign for the critically-endangered marine animal.

The Center for Coastal Studies said that the calf was one of the first two right whales of the 2021 season, and the mother is right whale #4040, Chiminea.

Chiminea was found entangled in Cape Cod Bay by the Center’s aerial survey team in April 2011, in the waters west of Truro.

The Marine Animal Entanglement Response team cut the entangled then-juvenile whale free of a long line caught in the mouth, after which she swam away free.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com