Saving Seafood

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

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford seafood giant Cooke buys insolvent U.S. fish processor, expands global reach

October 29, 2020 — A division of New Brunswick seafood giant Cooke Inc. has acquired Mariner Seafood LLC of New Bedford, Mass., expanding the family-owned company’s operations in the United States.

True North Seafood, the flagship brand and processing arm of Cooke, purchased Mariner Seafood for US$2.75 million after the U.S. company filed for bankruptcy protection last month. The sale was approved by a Massachusetts court Monday.

The sale includes two processing plants in the port of New Bedford capable of processing more than 8,000 tonnes a year of seafood product, including scallops, haddock, cod, salmon and shrimp.

Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke, said it has been a dream of the family seafood company to have a presence in the historic, high-value fishing port.

“We now have over 4,000 Cooke employees in 22 U.S. states and we will continue to invest and grow our New Bedford processing operations,” he said in a statement.

Cooke, which started in rural New Brunswick in 1985 with three employees, now has a global workforce of more than 10,000 employees in 10 countries. It claims to be the largest privately held family seafood company in the world.

Read the full story at the Preeceville Progress

MASSACHUSETTS: Hook-A-Cure hosting blood drive

October 27, 2020 — The nice folks at Hook-A-Cure, whose fishing tournament has been part of raising $200,000 in the past for cancer treatment and research, has had to cancel many of their events because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But they remain undaunted. They are sponsoring their inaugural Red Cross Blood Drive to help increase blood supplies for transfusions needed by cancer patients.

The event is set for Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the True North Brewery at 116 County Road in Ipswich. Donors, because of the pandemic restrictions, must preregister at redcrossblood.org or by calling 800-733-2767.

Organizers said they need 36 donors to make the drive a success. So, pack a vein and head on out to Ipswich for a fine cause.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times