July 20, 2020 — The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) developed a website that outlines the state’s aquaculture permitting process.
The DMF created the website as a “one-stop-shop” for info about the cost, timeline and application and other resources for new growers and the annual reporting process.
July 20, 2020 — In a New Bedford campaign stop on Friday U.S. Sen. Ed Markey touted his work to procure coronavirus aid for the fisheries and to secure federal port infrastructure funding for the city’s working waterfront.
He also spoke of upcoming battles on Capitol Hill, blasted Republicans, and hedged when asked by local reporters if he would support construction of a new NOAA Fisheries science center in New Bedford — a federal investment Mayor Jon Mitchell and other local officials have long been pushing for.
Markey, 74, is facing a Democratic primary challenge from 39-year-old U.S. Rep. Joseph P. Kennedy III of Massachusetts’ 4th Congressional District. Kennedy, in visiting New Bedford last week, made NOAA the cornerstone of his stump speech, insisting that the government scientists who conduct stock assessments central to the regulation of the commercial fisheries should share geographic proximity with the industry, and that as such the brand-new lab should be built in the Whaling City.
Fisheries scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been headquartered in the seaside scientific community of Woods Hole since the 1960s, and plans are afoot to replace their aging lab facility. Mitchell has been a strong advocate for building the center in New Bedford, saying it could help heal the uneasy relationship between commercial fishermen and NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service while bringing economic development and jobs to the city. However, communities on Cape Cod have pushed back, saying NOAA should stay in Barnstable County.
July 20, 2020 — Senator Ed Markey brought his senatorial campaign to New Bedford Friday afternoon, touting his efforts to secure waterfront infrastructure and fisheries disaster assistance funding for the city.
Markey made the stop in the Whaling City as part of the launch of his statewide bus tour, the “Leads and Delivers Tour,” designed to spotlight the accomplishments the senator says he has made for the state on Capitol Hill. The focus of the stop at City Pier 3 was highlighting the $15.4 million in Department of Transportation funding to improve the New Bedford port’s infrastructure and the $28 million in fisheries disaster assistance from the CARES Act that Markey says he advocated for.
“In the last few months, COVID-19 has transformed our cities and towns across Massachusetts as many of our small businesses have been forced to close or turn to online sales. Usually bustling Main Streets are quiet as our residents choose to safely practice social distancing. Beaches and parks have emptied, and many cities and towns are unrecognizable,” said Markey, who described how the economic impact of COVID-19 has squeezed New Bedford’s fishing industry.
“With restaurants shut down, the fishing community has lost a major consumer. Despite this lack of income, these fishermen must still put food on the table at the end of the day, find a way to cover their boat costs and search for ways to make ends meet,” he said “These brave men and women need to feel like their government has their back, and that’s why I fought so hard in the CARES Act to include a historic $20 million U.S. Department of Agriculture procurement of Atlantic Seafood.”
July 20, 2020 — The population of Atlantic bluefin tuna is rebounding off the eastern seaboard, which should mean a banner year for fisherman but the normally high-priced fish is not in demand as its main markets are closed or doing little business during the pandemic.
“It’s all about supply and demand and there’s no demand for them, so the dealers don’t want to keep buying them if they’re not able to keep selling them,” fisherman Greg Ares, based out of Green Harbor in Marshfield, said. “Maybe within the next week or two, restaurants will be opened up in the U.S., sushi restaurants, and they will purchase our bluefin tuna. Even if I get $6 a pound, that’s good enough to keep going.”
There are two types of bluefin tuna fishermen — those who use a harpoon and those who use a rod and reel, the latter making up the vast majority of commercial licenses.
July 16, 2020 — When the meatpacking industry in the U.S. started seeing a rise in COVID-19 cases, local officials in New Bedford, Mass., worried that their city was next. But the city took action, issuing emergency orders that safety experts say should be a model for workplaces across the U.S., if those orders can be properly enforced.
Jon Mitchell, the city’s mayor, issued two COVID-19 orders on May 6 in a city where nearly 15% of the population works in manufacturing and 20% is Latino.
The first measure requires companies to report workers who have, or may have, the coronavirus to the local health department. The second requires industrial facilities such as fish houses to provide personal protective equipment, disinfect work areas and abide by social distancing rules. Every facility is mandated to have a health and safety officer who takes workers’ temperatures at the start of every shift.
July 13, 2020 — Rep. Joe Kennedy III expressed his support to move NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center to New Bedford.
The congressman, who is running against Senator Ed Markey in the Democratic primary, called for the move while visiting Pier 3 in New Bedford.
He was joined by New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, who has not endorsed anyone in the race.
July 13, 2020 — On Friday at New Bedford’s Pier 3 – located off of JFK Boulevard – with a backdrop of the harbor and fishing boats that are the foundation of our local economy, Congressman Joe Kennedy III delivered his vision for a stronger New Bedford and SouthCoast region.
Gathered in attendance were community residents, city officials, and some of our elected leaders, virtually all of whom have endorsed Kennedy’s run for Senate. Among them is Hugh Dunn, New Bedford City Councilor and lead on the visionary Blue Economy project in Southeastern Massachusetts.
“Congressman Kennedy has been a strong advocate for Southeastern Massachusetts for years,” Dunn said. “His work on the Blue Economy demonstrates that he understands the power of convening government, academia, and industry to make our region more globally competitive. He supports us, and I’m glad to support him.”
Kennedy, whose congressional district includes a large chunk of the SouthCoast, remarked that before the Blue Economy, each subregion of Southeastern New England was working separately, and thus inefficiently, on blue economic development. The goal was to bring the region together for a cohesive shoreline economy that maximizes its enormous resources and natural assets.
July 13, 2020 — Massachusetts congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Joseph P. Kennedy III said Friday that government scientists working for NOAA Fisheries should be headquartered in New Bedford instead of in Woods Hole, the scenic community on Cape Cod that hosts a half-dozen leading scientific institutions.
“We have the most important fishing port in the country here. And we have the scientists that have enormous influence about that port decide to be over there instead. Why would you do that?” Kennedy said during a campaign visit to New Bedford’s working waterfront.
The Democrat, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Senator Ed Markey in the Sept. 1 primary, said the concept would move 200 jobs to the city, provide an important investment in an anchor institution, and say to commercial fishermen “that we want your opinion, we need your opinion, and we want to get this right.”
The now-obsolete Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole was completed in 1961, and plans have been afoot to replace it. “It’s going to get rebuilt. The question is where,” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.
July 13, 2020 — A proposal to move the region’s NOAA Fisheries headquarters to New Bedford now has the backing of U.S. Senate candidate Joe Kennedy III.
Kennedy, currently a Democratic congressman, made the announcement in the city Friday while visiting Pier 3 alongside Mayor Jon Mitchell. He spoke with local fishermen about his new COVID-19 economic recovery plan, which calls for large-scale public works and federal hiring programs.
“Listening to local communities, recognizing those bottlenecks and then saying, ‘Hey, with you at a seat at the table, let’s actually design a policy to do that,’” Kennedy said. “The risk that we have in the midst of a shock like this is that small guys essentially get eaten up and closed.”
Fisherman Steven Palmer said he appreciated his conversation with Kennedy, during which he expressed frustration about scallop prices during the pandemic.
“Earlier this year it dropped down to $4 a pound in some spots, so it’s been tough,” Palmer said.
July 13, 2020 — At this time of the year, The Friendly Fisherman on Cape Cod is usually bustling with foreign students clearing tables and helping prepare orders of clam strips or fish and chips.
But because of a freeze on visas, Janet Demetri won’t be employing the 20 or so workers this summer. So as the crowds rush back, Demetri must work with nine employees for her restaurant and market — forcing her to shutter the business twice a week.
“It’s really disturbing because we are really busy,” said Demetri. “We can’t keep up once the doors are open.”
“The work that people on H-2B visas do or on J-1 summer work travel is not something that is alien to Americans,” said Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies, which advocates for restrictions. “Those jobs are already mostly done by Americans whether its landscaping, making beds or scooping ice cream. The employers are just going to have to up their game in recruitment because there are 20 million people who are unemployed whom they could be drawing from.”
Mark Carchidi, whose company Antioch Associates USA II Inc. processes paperwork for H-2B visas on the East Coast, said businesses he works with were counting on an additional 30,000 visas this year beyond the 66,000 already allowed under the program.
Read the full story from the Associated Press at The New York Times