Saving Seafood

NOAA: Lobsters will look for cooler water

July 24, 2020 — Cape Cod is known for its lobsters as much as for its oysters and quahogs. But it’s getting too warm in these waters for the tasty crustacean.

Researchers have projected significant changes in the habitat of commercially important American lobster and sea scallops on the Northeast U.S. continental shelf. They used a suite of models to estimate how species will react as waters warm, and it suggests that American lobster will move further offshore and sea scallops will shift to the north in the coming decades, a recent statement from NOAA Fisheries warned.

Findings from the study were published recently in Diversity and Distributions. They pose fishery management challenges as the changes can move stocks into and out of fixed management areas. Habitats within current management areas will also experience changes — some will show species increases, others decreases, and still others no change.

“Changes in stock distribution affect where fish and shellfish can be caught and who has access to them over time,” said Vincent Saba, a fishery biologist in the Ecosystems Dynamics and Assessment Branch at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and a co-author of the study.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

Massachusetts Lawmakers Pen Letter to NOAA Over Observer Waivers

July 24, 2020 — The following is an excerpt from a letter addressed to NOAA Administrators from Massachusetts Legislators. Lawmakers in Massachusetts have requested the extending of At-Sea Monitoring Waivers in response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Dear Under Secretary Jacobs, Mr. Oliver, Mr. Pentony, and Dr. Hare:

Thank you for extending the waiver for the requirement of At-Sea Monitoring (ASM) in the Northeast groundfishery through July 31, 2020. This action was critical to protecting the health and safety of the men and women in the Massachusetts commercial fishing industry,

While COVID-19 trends in the Northeast have been generally positive, many coastal areas continue to see cases rising, including Suffolk, Bristol, and Barnstable counties here in Massachusetts, all of Rhode Island, and Virginia Beach County, Virginia. As Senator Tarr’s June 30, 2020 letter to you, the commercial fishing industry remains among the most vulnerable to COVID-19 due to the inherent conditions of their working environment at sea. Furthermore, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have warned that this fall and winter will likely see a secondary outbreak of COVID-19.

Read the full letter here

MASSACHUSETTS: Two Cape Lawmakers Call For Vineyard Wind Proposal Approval

July 23, 2020 — State legislators teamed up earlier this month to advocate for the Vineyard Wind project and the broader implementation of offshore wind technology.

In a letter, the lawmakers called upon the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to approve the Vineyard Wind 1 proposal and move forward in the permitting process.

Falmouth State Representative Dylan Fernandes and Cape and Islands State Senator Julian Cyr led the efforts.

“Massachusetts has no fossil fuels and survivors of our winters know that the sun is not our strongest resource,” said Fernandes.

“We do have wind, and a lot of it, and to transition to a clean energy future and energy independence we must move forward with deep-water offshore wind, the future of our planet is at stake and it’s beyond time to move this project forward.”

“Offshore wind projects present a cutting-edge opportunity for both economic growth in our region and long-term sustainability in our energy production,” said Cyr.

“Representative Fernandes and I would like to thank the large, bipartisan coalition of legislators who lent us their support in urging the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to approve the first utility-scale wind farm in our nation with the urgency that it deserves.”

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Status Quo Effort Controls Maintained for the 2020 Atlantic Herring Area 1A Fishery for Season 1

July 23, 2020 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission) Atlantic Herring Management Board members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts met via webinar on July 23rd, and decided to maintain status quo effort control measures for the 2020 Area 1A fishery for Season 1 (June 1 – September 30). Current effort controls for the 2020 Area 1A fishery are detailed in M20-50 which is available on the Commission’s website (click here).

The Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) is 2,957 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for the research set-aside, the 30 mt fixed gear set-aside, and the fact that Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL. The Board allocated 72.8% of the sub-ACL for Area 1A to Season 1 (2,152 mt). The Maine fishery began Sunday, July 19 (6:00 pm), and the New Hampshire/Massachusetts fishery began Monday, July 20 (12:01 am). Landings will be closely monitored and the fishery will be adjusted to zero landings days when 92% of the Season 1 quota is projected to be reached.

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

  • Friday, July 31, at 8:30 – 10:00 am
  • You can join the meeting from your computer, tablet or smartphone at the following link:https://global.gotomeeting.com/join/924867957. 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 (646) 749-3122and enter access code 924-867-957 when prompted.

If it is decided that this meeting is not needed, it may be canceled. Please contact Max Appelman, FMP Coordinator, at mappelman@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740 for more information.

Bernhardt eager for offshore wind ‘that works’

July 21, 2020 — Secretary of the Interior David Bernhardt flew into Boston on Tuesday where he defended putting Vineyard Wind, the nation’s first large-scale wind farm, on hold for more than a year and promised a key permitting decision on the project in December that will work for both wind developers and fishing interests.

Bernhardt, whose boss, President Trump, has shown little interest in offshore wind, said he is eager to launch the offshore wind industry. “I am very eager to do it, but I am eager to do it in a way that works,” he said. “Let me give you an example. In the West we do wind. You know where we don’t put a windmill? In the middle of a highway. You can drive all the roads in the west and you’re not going to drive into a windmill.”

His comment appeared to be a reference to concerns of fishing groups that wind turbines would block access to fishing grounds and hamper navigation.

“We don’t whack people with an unnecessary burden if we can avoid it and do things sustainably,” he said. “I need a development program that is done in a way that’s sustainable for everybody.”

Read the full story at Commonwealth Magazine

MASSACHUSETTS: Mobile COVID-19 unit goes where New Bedford people need it

July 20, 2020 — Free mobile testing for COVID-19 is popping up all across the Whaling City.

Southcoast Health started the trend back in May when it partnered with the city and The Port of New Bedford to offer testing for commercial fishermen on the waterfront.

On Thursday, thanks to funding from wind energy developers, the program was able to relaunch and will continue for several weeks, according to Southcoast Health Public Information Officer Shawn Badgley.

The Port of New Bedford is scheduling the testing appointments for fishermen and Executive Director Edward Anthes-Washburn called the testing wonderful.

Anthes-Washburn said there is no real social distancing on a fishing vessel because you cannot operate safely without having the crew within six feet of each other.

“This testing will allow fishing crews peace of mind during a pandemic so they can focus on what they do best — safely harvesting and landing sustainable fish for consumers around the world,” Anthes-Washburn said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Markey Touts Fisheries Aid, Hedges NOAA Question in New Bedford

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.

Read the full story at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: Markey touts $15 million he steered to New Bedford’s North Terminal

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.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Despite increased supply, South Shore fishermen are finding demand for Atlantic bluefin tuna is way down

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.

Read the full story at Wicked Local