Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts launches Commercial Fisheries Commission

April 15, 2025 — To safeguard the future of the Bay State’s commercial fishing sector, Massachusetts officially convened its first Commercial Fisheries Commission (CFC) meeting on April 8, 2025, setting the stage for a new era of collaboration and state-level advocacy for the seafood industry.

Born out of legislation passed in 2022, the CFC is designed to strengthen communication between commercial fishing stakeholders and state agencies while shaping strategies to promote long-term sustainability. The commission brings together a wide range of representatives—from fishermen’s alliances and seafood cooperatives to academic leaders and local port authorities—with a mission to protect and propel the state’s seafood economy.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MASSACHSUETTS: State setting new albie, bonito restrictions

April 15, 2025 — Island fishermen will likely need to pay close attention to their false albacore and Atlantic bonito catches this summer as Massachusetts regulators, for the first time ever, are poised to set a new, 16-inch length minimum and a combined, five-fish daily catch total for the two species.

The Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission approved the recommendation in late March in a 5-2-1 vote; final regulations are expected to be in place before the albie and bonito arrive to Vineyard waters in the summer.

The state’s division of Marine Fisheries has stated that the measures are precautionary, as there is no formal stock assessment for either species of fish. But while no formal study, the state has noted that recreational fishing of the two species has increased over the last few years across New England, and that is leading advocates to push for precautionary measures. State officials say that Atlantic bonito landings spiked this past year in Massachusetts, nearly six-fold the time-series median. The increase, state officials have noted, could be driven in part by a changing environment and warmer water temperatures increasing their local summertime availability, while other species have become less abundant.

While many Island fishermen are understanding of the Division of Marine Fisheries move to protect both of the species — two of the most popular sport fishes locally — some are questioning why the two are combined under one regulation and are pushing for bonito and albie to have individual sets of regulations.

Read the full article at MV Times

 

NOAA employees in R.I. and Mass. fired, rehired, then fired again

Apirl 14, 2025 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration this week fired its previously reinstated probationary workers, including many who worked at local facilities in Narragansett and Woods Hole.

NOAA employees in Rhode Island and Massachusetts told The Publics Radio that they received a mass email on Thursday informing them their jobs had been terminated – again. The NOAA firings were also reported by The Guardian and Reuters.

Until Thursday, the employees had been in a state of paid limbo. But the March 17 order that reinstated the fired NOAA employees to a form of paid leave “is no longer in effect,” according to an email shared with The Public’s Radio. The U.S. Department of Commerce’s general counsel in Washington, D.C. said in the email that “the Department is reverting your termination action to its original effective date.”

“Everyone I know who was in my situation has received the same message,” said Sarah Weisberg, a fisheries biologist formerly with NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Centers in Rhode Island. “Everyone who had been reinstated,’’ she said, “has now been un-reinstated.”

Read the full article at CT Public 

MASSACHSUETTS: Massachusetts Commercial Fisheries Commission Holds Inaugural Meeting

April 11, 2025 — On April 8, 2025, the Massachusetts Commercial Fisheries Commission (CFC) met for the first time to discuss the purpose, role, and direction of this new public body created to strengthen coordination, communication, and support for Massachusetts nation-leading seafood industry for generations to come.

“The Healey-Driscoll Administration fully supports Massachusetts’ vibrant, iconic and economically valuable commercial fishing industry,” said EEA Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “We are proud to establish Commercial Fisheries Commission and look forward to working with the seafood industry representatives to improve opportunities for our commercial fishers, seafood processors, dealers, restaurants, and other industry participants.”

“Commercial fishing is the oldest of industries in Massachusetts and critically important to the culture, economy, and identity of our coastal communities,” said DFG Commissioner Tom O’Shea. “We need to work collaboratively with the industry to ensure that we achieve conservation of our marine resources, long-term sustainable harvest, and a bright future for the people who depend on the incredible abundance and diversity of Massachusetts fisheries.”

“An important aspect of our mission is to promote and support the Commonwealth’s fisheries and seafood industry. The CFC will provide a valuable venue for interests from various ports and sectors of the seafood industry to come together and address the challenges and opportunities facing the industry state-wide,” said DMF Director and co-chair Daniel McKiernan. “I anticipate this will provide an opportunity to collaborate to promote economic development, address critical infrastructure upgrades, enhance input into offshore energy development projects, and promote strategies to secure the short and long-term sustainability of this legacy industry. I look forward to the opportunity to co-chair this public body and steer it towards success.”

Read the full article at Mass.gov

MASSACHUSETTS: What’s new with wind projects off Massachusetts and beyond?

April 9, 2025 — By sight, the offshore wind industry seems to be moving forward on the East Coast. Gargantuan, bright white turbine towers stand tall against New Bedford’s busy waterfront, and poke above I-95 as cars whiz by over the Thames River in New London. But the future of the industry beyond these active projects is uncertain at best under a hostile Trump administration.

In late March, Massachusetts announced another delay of contracts between state utilities and two projects that together promise to power more than 1.5 million homes in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. The state said uncertainty about federal policy was a factor.

The Trump administration, through executive order, effectively froze new permits for offshore wind in January. That has empowered opponents to mount even more legal challenges to projects — including some in March from Nantucket town officials and activists.

The federal government could pause still-pending projects for at least the next four years, eventually leaving New Bedford and New London’s purpose-built marine terminals empty once again. And in an extreme scenario, the administration could even try to stop the projects that are already under construction.

Yet Massachusetts is counting on offshore wind to meet its climate goals of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, and achieving net-zero emissions (meaning the state offsets or removes as much carbon as it emits) by 2050.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTS: In MA, first-ever fishing limits for false albacore and bonito likely coming

April 8, 2025 — Massachusetts is poised to become the first East Coast state to set regular fishing limits on false albacore and Atlantic bonito.

Though there aren’t clear numbers about the abundance of either fish, fishermen have urged the state regulators to set precautionary limits to prevent the stocks from getting depleted. It’s somewhat unusual; often, the fishing community pushes back against new regulations.

“I think a lot of the guides and charter boat captains are really trying to protect the golden egg here,” said Chris McGuire, director of the Massachusetts Ocean Program at the Nature Conservancy. “Things are seemingly good right now. And if there’s a way of putting precautionary management in place to maintain the status quo, that would be amazing.”

The regulations establish a minimum size limit for both species at 16” and a combined bag limit of 5 fish per angler. There are some exemptions for the mackerel fishery and the weir fishery.

In letters to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), many fishermen voiced their support.

Read the full article at New England Public Media

MASSACHSUETTS: Trump’s shadow looms as offshore wind price negotiation deadline missed

April 2, 2025 — Negotiators working on contracts for two new offshore wind farms off the coast of Massachusetts say they need more time to strike a deal, yet another sign that President Trump’s anti-wind philosophy is wreaking havoc with the state’s energy plans.

The price negotiations between the state’s utilities and the offshore wind developers, Avangrid and Ocean Winds, were scheduled to wrap up on Monday, but they couldn’t reach a deal in the allotted time and set a new deadline of June 30. Under the updated timeline, the contracts won’t become public until August 25.

The latest delay was the second time since Trump was elected that the two sides have failed to meet a deadline and contract negotiations had to be extended.

Officials for all the parties declined to comment on the cause of the holdups, but a spokeswoman for the Healey administration indicated Trump’s opposition to offshore wind is making it difficult to reach a deal.

Read the full article at the CommonWealth Beacon

MASSACHUSETTS: State allows scallop season extension

April 1, 2025 — Nantucket scallopers will have an extra 11 days to rake in bay scallops thanks to the state Division of Marine Fisheries OKing an extension of the season requested by the Select Board last month.

Both recreational and commercial scalloping season were set to end Monday but state environmental officials granted an extension to April 11 because there are plenty of scallops left in the harbor that will likely die before next year if not caught, Division of Marine Fisheries director Daniel McKiernan wrote in a letter to the Select Board Friday.

The state conducted a bay scallop resource investigation of Nantucket Harbor last week and determined that, “in proportion to immature seed bay scallops there is an abundance of adult bay scallops that will not be harvested prior to the termination of the normal bay scallop season,” McKiernan wrote. “It is believed that most of these adult scallops are unlikely to live long enough to spawn again this coming summer.”

“These adult scallops need to be fished and the fishermen really deserve to have these extra days. And I’m sure the general public will enjoy having fresh scallops available to them for a little bit longer,” Harbor and Shellfish Advisory Board chair Andy Lowell said last month when asking the Select Board to petition the state for the extension.

He noted at that time that there were plenty of scallops and not many fishermen catching them.

Nantucket files legal challenge against SouthCoast Wind

March 31, 2025 — An offshore wind development planned off the Vineyard’s coast has been hit with a legal challenge from the Town of Nantucket, where municipal officials are saying federal regulators failed to address the adverse impacts of the project to the town.

Targeting SouthCoast Wind, the town filed an appeal against the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the federal agency that approves offshore wind projects, on Thursday to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The town argues that federal regulators broke federal laws by not considering the cumulative impact of multiple large offshore wind projects, including SouthCoast Wind, on Nantucket, which is designated as a national historic landmark. They also allege federal regulators and developers did not properly plan mitigation efforts, including “adequate visual simulations.”

“BOEM’s conduct sets a dangerous precedent by weakening the federal government’s review of all energy-related projects, including fossil fuel projects that contribute most to global warming,” William Cooke, an attorney from Cultural Heritage Partners representing Nantucket, said in a press release. “We need to defend federal laws that protect our cultural and environmental resources now more than ever.”

Read the full article at MV Times

Nantucket challenges federal approval of SouthCoast offshore wind project

March 31, 2025 — The town of Nantucket filed an appeal in federal court Thursday, alleging that the SouthCoast Wind project was improperly permitted and will harm the island’s “heritage tourism economy.”

The appeal was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The plaintiffs are targeting the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), claiming it violated federal law by permitting the project.

“While BOEM has admitted that the project will adversely affect Nantucket’s internationally renowned historic district, which powers the Town’s heritage tourism economy, Nantucket alleges that BOEM violated federal law in failing to address those harms before greenlighting the project,” the town said Thursday.

In January, on the last business day of the Biden administration, BOEM announced its approval of SouthCoast Wind’s construction and operations plan. The project is planned about 20 nautical miles south of Nantucket, and includes the construction of up to 141 wind turbines and up to five substation platforms.

Last September, Massachusetts announced its intention to buy 1,087 megawatts of power from the 1,287 megawatt project, with the remaining 200 MW going to Rhode Island.

“Nantucket is a premier international destination for our commitment to preservation,” Town Select Board Chair Brooke Mohr said. “Despite our repeated attempts to help BOEM and the developer find balance between the nation’s renewable energy goals and the protection of what makes us unique, they have refused to work with us and to follow the law. We are taking action to hold them accountable.”

Read the full article at the wbur