Saving Seafood

In Massachusetts, offshore wind opens up job training, economic opportunities

August 17, 2020 — In a northern Massachusetts fishing town, an advocacy group that has opposed an offshore wind farm is opening up to economic opportunities the project could provide.

As part of a $1.3 million state grant program, a partnership between fishing advocacy group the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association and the Northeast Maritime Institute will enroll commercial fishermen in a certification course that will qualify them to transport people and supplies to wind turbine sites for the Vineyard Wind project. Gloucester has traditionally been a major New England fishing port, but the industry has been hard hit by declining fish stocks and regulations designed to prevent overfishing.

Though the program has not started actively recruiting participants yet, word of mouth has raised some interest and there are already five names on the waiting list, said Angela Sanfilippo, president of the organization.

The Gloucester group has spoken out against Vineyard Wind from the start, but recognizes offshore wind is likely to be a reality. The group wants to help the fishermen it serves adapt to whatever comes next, Sanfilippo said.

Read the full story at Energy News Network

Massachusetts looks to extend commercial fishing season for some species

August 14, 2020 — The unrelenting COVID-19 pandemic has dampened commercial fishing in state waters for striped bass, black sea bass and summer flounder and state fishery regulators are trying to help fishermen make up for the slow start.

The state Division of Marine Fisheries wants to extend the seasons for the commercial harvest of the three species — and give commercial fishermen wider access to remaining quotas — by adding open fishing days to the late summer and fall portions of this fishing season.

“The purpose is to provide active commercial fishermen with additional access to these quota-managed fisheries during the fall,” DMF said in its announcement seeking public comment on the proposed in-season adjustments. “This will let these businesses fish around worsening seasonal weather, which typically has a limiting impact on commercial fishing quotas.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Dam Impact Analysis Model Helps Researchers Assess Atlantic Salmon Survival

August 14, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries Atlantic salmon researchers have found that Atlantic salmon abundance can increase as more young fish and returning adults survive their encounters with dams. Also, progress in rebuilding the population will depend heavily on continuing stocking of hatchery fish raised especially for this purpose. This information is based on a life history model and new information on changes in the Penobscot River watershed.

The remaining remnant Atlantic salmon populations in the United States are located in Maine, with the largest population in the Penobscot River. Numerous factors play a role in salmon recovery — from predation and habitat degradation to pollution and climate change. The two most influential factors are survival of fish as they navigate dams in the river, and survival during the marine phase of their life. Atlantic salmon are born and remain in fresh water for 1-3 years and migrate downriver through estuaries into the sea. Then they spend 1 to 2 years at sea before returning to the river where they were born to spawn.

“Our findings indicate that Atlantic salmon abundance can increase as survival at dams from the lower to the upper watershed increases. Hatchery supplementation will be necessary to sustain the population when survival is low in egg-to-smolt and marine life stages,” said Julie Nieland, a salmon researcher at the science center’s Woods Hole Laboratory in Massachusetts and lead author of the study. “Increases in survival during both of these life stages will likely be necessary to attain a self-sustaining population, especially if hatchery supplementation is reduced or discontinued.”

Read the full release here

NEFMC Plans Outdoor In-Person Hearing for Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23

August 13, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Barring severe weather or changes in outdoor gathering restrictions issued by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, the New England Fishery Management Council will hold an outdoor, in-person public hearing for Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan.

The hearing will be held on Wednesday, August 26, 2020 beginning at 3:00 p.m. It will take place under a large tent on the grounds of the Sheraton Four Points in Wakefield, MA.

NOW’S THE TIME: This is the last public hearing the Council will hold on Amendment 23 before taking final action during its September meeting. If extenuating circumstances prevent the Council from holding the hearing in person, the hearing will be conducted by webinar on the same day at the same time.

Read the full release here

State Proposes Extending Commercial Fishing for Sea Bass, Striped Bass, Summer Flounder

August 11, 2020 — After a slow start to the summer, the state Division of Marine Fisheries has proposed extensions to the commercial striped bass, black sea bass and summer flounder seasons, hoping to add additional fishing days and adjust catch limits for fishermen as fall approaches.

The DMF is proposing to add Tuesdays and Thursdays to the commercial striped bass season starting Sept. 1. The agency is then planning to add Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays starting Oct. 2 — which would allow commercial striped bass fishing every day of the week.

A similar change has been proposed for the black sea bass fishery, with DMF planning to add Mondays and Wednesdays in September and expand the season to seven days per week in October. The DMF is also proposing to increase the commercial pot limit from 400 to 500 pounds per week.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

MASSACHUSETTS: Baker Polito Administration Announces Disaster Relief Funding for Fishing and Seafood Industries

August 10, 2020 — The Baker-Polito Administration has announced the distribution of $27.8 million in federal disaster relief funding to mitigate the financial impacts to the fishing and seafood industries from the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Division of Marine Fisheries worked with fishing industry stakeholders to develop a plan to distribute the federal fisheries assistance, which has now been approved by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The fishing and seafood industries are integral parts of the economy, history and culture of Massachusetts,” said Governor Charlie Baker.

“Our Administration remains dedicated to supporting these industries, and we look forward to getting these needed relief funds to impacted fishermen and businesses as quickly as possible.”

Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito added, “These funds will be a needed lifeline for the Commonwealth’s fishing and seafood businesses, as well as the families and coastal communities who rely on these industries.”

“The distribution of these CARES Act funds is another important step in our efforts to help those who have been impacted by the pandemic.”

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

MASSACHUSETTS: Baker announces $17.8 million in disaster relief for seafood industry

August 9, 2020 — BOSTON — Gov. Charlie Baker said Massachusetts is providing $17.8 million in disaster relief funding for the fishing and seafood industries that have been hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic.

Eligible recipients of the relief funding include tribes, commercial fishing businesses, for-hire fishing businesses, aquaculture businesses and seafood wholesalers and processors in the state who have suffered at least a 35% loss of revenue during the pandemic.

“The fishing and seafood industries are integral parts of the economy, history and culture of Massachusetts,” Baker said. “Our administration remains dedicated to supporting these industries, and we look forward to getting these needed relief funds to impacted fishermen and businesses as quickly as possible.”

Read the full story at WPRI

Trump’s pitch to Maine lobstermen falls flat

August 7, 2020 — President Trump is struggling to win over Maine voters with his recent pledge to lift restrictions for the state’s lobster industry.

Trump was beaming when he traveled to the state just two months ago to tell lobstermen he was reversing protections for some 5,000 miles of ocean territory in a bid to open it to fishing.

“You’re going to go fishing in that area now that you haven’t seen for a long time,” Trump said at a roundtable with representatives from Maine’s fishing industry. “Lobstermen and seafood producers, I want to just congratulate you.”

But the state’s lobstermen aren’t celebrating. That’s because the area Trump aims to reopen is 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod — far beyond the reach of Maine’s day-boat lobstermen.

“This doesn’t help the Maine fisherman at all,” Leroy Weed, 79, who has had a lobster license since he was 10 years old, said of Trump’s reversal of protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument off of Cape Cod.

Read the full story at The Hill

KENNEDY: COVID-19 PACKAGE MUST PUT ESSENTIAL WORKERS & LOW-INCOME FAMILIES IN MASSACHUSETTS FIRST

August 6, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Joe Kennedy III (D-MA):

Guided by conversations with constituents and local leaders across Massachusetts, Congressman Joe Kennedy III today called on Congressional Leadership to put essential and frontline workers, and low-income families first in the next COVID-19 emergency funding package. In a series of letters to Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Leader Mitch McConnell, Kennedy demanded the inclusion of specific funding for firefighters, teachers, child care providers, postal workers and fisheries, as well as billions more for programs protecting low-income families, including more than $1.5 billion for the Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP) and $2.5 billion for the Legal Services Corporation. Building on his recent calls with Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal to guarantee Medicare coverage to all recently unemployed people and direct funding to food insecure and environmental justice areas, Kennedy has continuously led efforts to focus recovery efforts on the most vulnerable communities.

“Working families have been hit hardest by this pandemic. They can’t just be a consideration in our efforts to recover and rebuild, they must be at the heart of the actions we take, policies we write and relief we provide. By intentionally providing funding for firefighters, teachers, child care providers and postal workers, we can support the people on the frontlines of this pandemic with more than just words of gratitude. By offering relief to fisheries, we can support the fishermen and fisherwomen who keep our Commonwealth’s economic lifeblood alive along the coast. By investing in the Legal Services Corporation and LIHEAP, we can help families keep their homes and their heat as we brace for the fall and winter, and the potential of another wave of infections.

“Now is not the time to shy away or to allow hypocritical Republicans to hide behind fake concerns about the debt, we need to be big and bold. Our people deserve nothing less.”

In his series of letters to Congressional leaders, Kennedy called for the inclusion of at least:

Fishing council plans in-person meeting on monitoring

August 6, 2020 — The New England Fishery Management Council is exploring the possibility of hosting an in-person meeting for the last public hearing before it takes final action on the Northeast groundfish monitoring amendment in September.

The council has set three more public hearings before public comment closes Aug. 31 on Amendment 23, which will set at-sea monitoring levels throughout the fishery. The first two — this Thursday and Aug. 10 — will be via webinar, as were the first four.

The final public hearing on Aug. 26 could be switched to an in-person, outdoor session under a tent at a greater Boston location — but only if it can conform with current Massachusetts COVID-19 safety restrictions for public gatherings. If not, the final public hearing will proceed as a webinar.

“The decision whether to hold the meeting in-person and outdoors primarily will depend on the guidance of Gov. (Charlie) Baker of Massachusetts and whether Massachusetts changes its restrictions on public gatherings,” Janice Plante, council spokeswoman, said Tuesday. “We don’t want to put anybody in a compromised position.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times