Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: US Rep. William Keating on track to win sixth term in 9th Congressional District

November 4, 2020 — U.S. Rep. William Keating, D-Bourne, appeared on his way to winning a sixth term representing the 9th Congressional District on Tuesday.

Keating, 68, fended off challengers Helen Brady, a Republican from Plymouth, and Michael Manley, an independent from Brewster.

The 9th District comprises 46 municipalities that stretch from Norwell to Fall River and includes Cape Cod and the Islands.

With results in from most Cape and Islands towns and several off-Cape towns, Keating had 63 percent of the vote early Wednesday.

This year’s election was quite different from years past, Keating said Tuesday night. A typical Election Day, he said, begins outdoors in the cold and ends with a large gathering of friends and supporters. But such a celebration could not happen this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It is much more than sitting around waiting for results coming in,” he said. “You meet people, share stories and share excitement on what is going to happen. It’s impossible to replicate.”

Read the full story at The Enterprise

How many sea scallops are there and why does it matter?

November 3, 2020 — The following was released by UMass Dartmouth School of Marine Science & Technology:

A study conducted by Dr. Kevin Stokesbury is featured as the cover story in the November 2020 issue of the Ecological Society of America’s Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment journal (Volume 18, Issue 9). The study, titled “How many sea scallops are there and why does it matter?” focuses on the effects of climate change, oceanic conditions along the Atlantic Coast of North America that are changing, as well as surface water temperatures in the Gulf of Maine, which have increased faster than 99% of the global oceans. The research examines the role of the sea scallop as a baseline sentinel species that can be used to measure the impacts of environmental change and anthropogenic developments.

“In Canada and the US, the Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) supports lucrative fisheries, which are founded on an extensive scientific framework focusing on stock assessment,” explains Dr. Stokesbury, professor of Fisheries Oceanography at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science & Technology. “The sea scallop is an ideal sentinel species, as it is highly sensitive to changes in marine conditions. We used a drop camera system to estimate the number and size of scallops, as well as the distribution of their reproductive potential, over 70,000 km2 of the continental shelf in 2016–2018, an area that nearly covers the entire range of this species. In total, we estimated that there were 34 billion individual scallops (95% confidence limits: 22–46 billion) within the species’ range.”

Highlights:

  • Estimates of the number of individuals of an abundant marine species are both unusual and scarce
  • A drop camera system was used to approximate the number and size of Atlantic sea scallops (Placopecten magellanicus) over an area that encompassed virtually the species’ entire range
  • Photographic quadrats allow for estimation of the sea scallop’s spatial distribution at scales ranging from centimeters to thousands of kilometers, as well as its habitat productivity
  • The sea scallop is an ideal sentinel species to track ocean health and climate change impacts

Dr. N. David Bethoney, executive director of the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, collaborated with Dr. Stokesbury on this survey, which was made possible by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) awards through the Scallop Research set-aside program, and the sea scallop fishery and supporting industries of Canada and the United States.

Read the full release here

MASSACHUSETTS: Open Door, fishing vessel win food security grants

November 2, 2020 — The Open Door and a Gloucester fishing company will share in $5.9 million in state grants to help ensure a secure food supply chain for Massachusetts residents, particularly in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The administration of Gov. Charlie Baker announced the $5.9 million is being distributed to 47 recipients within the Massachusetts local food system, including farms, non-profit emergency food distributors, seafood harvesters, processors and other elements in the state’s food production and delivery system.

The Open Door, which operates food pantries in Gloucester and Ipswich and other food delivery services, received $201,073 to develop and implement an online food ordering and delivery system and enhance its Gloucester facility to provide more safe storage of locally produced food.

“We are reviewing software options now,” said Julie LaFontaine, president and CEO of The Open Door. “We expect to be rolling it out after the first of the new year.

The grant, part of the fourth round of funding from the state’s $36 million Food Infrastructure Security Grant program, also will help the non-profit on Emerson Avenue to expand its Mobile Market program throughout the Cape Ann community.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

First offshore wind farm goes offline: An industry warning?

November 2, 2020 — In the new year, the first offshore wind farm in the United States will shut off its turbines, and its customers on nearby Block Island in Rhode Island will revert to diesel generation.

The rocky saeabed around Block Island has been worn away by tides and storms, sometimes exposing high-voltage cables in a popular swimming location that developers failed to bury deep enough when the facility was brought online in 2016. To splice in newly buried cables, the wind farm will go offline for a brief period this spring.

At $30 million for one leg of the fix and an undisclosed amount for the other, it’s a costly problem to crop up for the nation’s first offshore wind farm, and it’s not totally isolated.

Read the full story at E&E News

Extended: Slow Speed Zone South of Nantucket to Protect Right Whales

November 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces an extension to the previously triggered voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area or DMA) south of Nantucket.

This DMA was originally triggered by an August 31, 2020 sighting of an aggregation of right whales and previously extended until October 20, 2020, and again to November 3, 2020. We are now extending the Slow Zone through November 15, 2020 after an aerial survey team observed an aggregation of right whales South of Nantucket on October 31, 2020.

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

South of Nantucket DMA is in effect through November 15.

41 16 N
40 32 N
069 37 W
070 28 W

Read the full release here

Seafood Expo North America, Seafood Expo Global postponed to later in 2021

November 2, 2020 — The 2021 editions of Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America and Seafood Expo Global/Seafood Processing Global, have been postponed to later in the year.

Seafood Expo North America, which had been scheduled for 14 to 16 March, 2021, in Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.A., will now take place in the summer of 2021. The event’s organizer, Diversified Communications, is working closely with the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center to find new dates for the event in mid-July. [Editor’s note: Diversified Communications also owns and operates SeafoodSource].

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Atlantic Herring Area 1A Fishery Moves to 4 Landing Days Per Week Starting November 8 for Maine and November 9 for Massachusetts/New Hampshire; Next Days Out Call Set for November 13 at 9 AM

November 2, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts met October 30 via conference call to consider changes to days out measures for the 2020 Area 1A fishery for Season 2 (October through December) following the transfer of 1,000 metric tons (mt) from the Management Uncertain Buffer to the Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (sub-ACL).

The fishery will continue with two (2) consecutive landings days per week and will move to four (4) consecutive landings days per week starting November 8 in Maine and November 9 in New Hampshire and Massachusetts. Landings days in Maine begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m.; landing days in New Hampshire and Massachusetts begin on Monday of each week at 12:01 a.m.

Preliminary estimates indicate approximately 1,300 mt of the Area 1A sub-ACL remains available to harvest, which accounts for the 1,000 mt transfer from the Management Uncertain Buffer and the fact that Area 1A fishery closes once 92% of the sub-ACL is projected to be harvested.

The Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts will reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort on:

  • Friday, November 13, at 9:00 – 10:00 a.m.
  • You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet, or smartphone at the following link: https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/938637629. If you are new to GoToMeeting, you can download the app ahead of time (click here) and be ready before the meeting starts. The meeting will be using the computer audio (VoIP), but if you are joining the webinar from your phone only, you can dial in at +1 (872) 240-3212 and enter access code 938-637-629 when prompted. The webinar will start at 8:45 a.m., 15 minutes early, to troubleshoot audio as necessary.

For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Director, at 703.842.0740 or tkerns@asmfc.org.

A copy of the announcement can be found at http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/M20_117ChangesToHerringDaysOutMeasuresSeason2_Oct2020(1).pdf

MASSACHUSETTS: Lobster Stocks Found in Steep Decline, With Future in Doubt

October 30, 2020 — Southern New England lobster stocks, once robust, have declined to record lows in recent years according to scientists and regulators, jeopardizing the future of a storied fishery even as Vineyard lobstermen continue to report strong seasons on the water.

In a benchmark assessment released late last week, an interstate regulatory agency found that lobster populations in southern New England are “significantly depleted,” reaching their lowest levels on record and threatening the lobster industry from the southern Cape through Long Island Sound.

But some Vineyard lobstermen said that despite the decreasing abundance in the entire southern New England region — which stretches from south of New York to Monomoy and Nantucket — their catch around the Island remains healthy.

And interestingly, just as lobster populations have declined in more southern waters in recent years, scientists have seen a historic boom in the Gulf of Maine, where lobster abundance and fishery performance have reached record highs, according to the report. The Vineyard sits just south of the halfway point between the two American lobster stock units, which are divided by geography and small differences in the biology of the crustaceans.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

Vineyard Wind Secures Transmission Agreement With ISO-NE

October 29, 2020 — Vineyard Wind has announced a transmission agreement with ISO New England (ISO-NE) to deliver power to the system operator’s grid when the Vineyard Wind 1 project comes online. The 800-MW offshore wind farm, located about 15 miles off the cost of Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts, is expected to be the first commercial-scale offshore wind farm in the U.S.

The project, expected online in 2023, is a joint venture between Avangrid Renewables and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners. The transmission agreement was announced Oct. 28, just days after the group said it had submitted bids in response to New York State’s second solicitation for offshore wind power for its Liberty Wind project.

“We’re very pleased to reach this agreement, another important milestone in a project that will bring an entirely new industry to the U.S.,” said Sy Oytan, deputy CEO of Vineyard Wind, in a news release. “There is tremendous potential for job creation, not just during construction but also for operations and maintenance.  These are good paying jobs that will be around for decades to come.”

Read the full story at Power Magazine

South Fork Wind Farm delayed until 2023

October 29, 2020 — Developers of the South Fork Wind Farm say the project isn’t expected to be operational until the end of 2023, a “significant” delay that is a year from LIPA’s contractual start date.

In a conference call Wednesday, the company cited the expectation that federal permitting delays that have stalled projects across the northeast will continue into 2021. Developer Orsted said federal regulators overseeing the project also have yet to confirm the company’s plan to farther space out turbines for the project at one nautical mile apart, in part to accommodate fishing and shipping interests.

The $2 billion-plus project, rated at 130 megawatts, is proposed for federal waters off Massachusetts/Rhode Island.

Federal regulators are expected to provide needed permitting approvals by October 2021, according to Orsted.

“Given the updated permitting schedule, we now expect South Fork Wind to be in operations by the end of 2023 rather than 2022 as initially expected,” spokeswoman Meaghan Wims said in a statement.

Read the full story at Newsday