Saving Seafood

Seafood Expo North America prepared for coronavirus impacts

February 28, 2020 — Diversified Communications, the company that organizes Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America (SENA) each year, said it is prepared for potential impacts to the event caused by COVID-19, commonly known as coronavirus.

The Expo, which will take place from 15 to 17 March, has been the subject of speculation regarding the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan, China in December 2019. Rumors that the Expo could be cancelled, or that the event has been heavily impacted, are ”simply not true,” according to Mary Larkin, president, Diversified Communications USA.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Carlos Rafael’s boats set to sail again with new owners

February 27, 2020 — Several boats once owned by disgraced fishing mogul Carlos Rafael, infamous in the region for being nicknamed the “Codfather,” will once again set sail, thanks to new management.

Blue Harvest Fisheries has bought several of the boats that became disused due to Rafael’s conviction for ignoring fishing quotas and limits, as well as smuggling profits overseas. Rafael was sentenced to four years in prison and can never run a fishing operation ever again.

The company says its acquisition will help keep locals employed on the New Bedford waterfront and maintain the tradition that made it the Whaling City for generations of fishermen.

“Our goal here is to create jobs and opportunities for New England fisheries,” Blue Harvest CEO Keith Decker said. “Everyone, in general, is very excited about what this means to the greater New Bedford area.”

Read the full story at WPRI

Boston Seafood Show Organizers Recommend ‘No-Contact, No-Handshake Policy’

February 26, 2020 — There will be a lot of waving going on at Seafood Expo North America in Boston next month. Diversified Communications, the organizers of the Boston Seafood Show, released yet another update for attendees and exhibitors who are concerned about the coronavirus and the upcoming event.

The latest recommendation from Diversified? “No-contact, no-handshake policy.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

Fisheries of the United States, 2018: New Bedford by the Numbers

February 25, 2020 — According to NOAA’s Fisheries of the United States report for 2018, New Bedford is once again the port with the highest value of seafood landed. This is the 19th consecutive year that the Massachusetts port has held the title.

For 2018, New Bedford’s value of seafood landed totaled $431 million. The port truly leads the pack when it comes to value. In the number two spot is Naknek, Alaska, with an overall value of 195 million pounds, which isn’t even half of the value of New Bedford – and Naknek lands 77 million more pounds of seafood than New Bedford.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Blue Harvest Launching First Line of Branded Retail Products at Boston Seafood Show

February 25, 2020 — So far 2020 has been a big year for Blue Harvest Fisheries. Last week the New Bedford-based company completed the acquisition of 12 vessels and 27 fishing permits previously owned by Carlos Rafael. This week Blue Harvest Fisheries announced the launch of their first branded retail product line.

The new product line, which will be showcased at Seafood Expo North America in Boston next month, includes locally harvested and processed MSC-certified Atlantic sea scallops, Atlantic pollock (saithe), North Atlantic ocean perch (Acadian redfish) and haddock. The products in the retail line are quick frozen for freshness and sold in a convenient 16 oz. reclosable bag.

Read the full story at Seafood News

12 finalists to compete for 2020 Seafood Excellence Awards

February 25, 2020 — Twelve finalists will go head-to-head for the 2020 Seafood Excellence Awards on Sunday, 15 March, at Seafood Expo North America/Seafood Processing North America in Boston, Massachusetts, according to event organizer Diversified Communications.

Seventy entries were submitted for this year’s Seafood Excellence Awards, a prestigious competition recognizing the best new seafood products available in the North American market. The remaining 12 finalists will compete before a three-person panel of expert judges in two categories: Best New Foodservice Product and Best New Retail Product.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New England Council Update – February 24, 2020

February 24, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Here are several timely meetings and management actions that directly relate to the work of the New England Fishery Management Council.

SCALLOPS:  The Council’s Scallop Advisory Panel (AP) and Scallop Committee both have a couple of meetings coming up.
  • Scallop AP:  The AP will meet on Wednesday, February 26, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Boston.  The agenda and meeting materials are available here.
  • Scallop Committee:  The Committee will meet on Thursday, February 27, 2020 at the same hotel in Boston.  Here are the meeting materials.
  • Scallop AP and Committee:  The Scallop AP and Committee will meet again back-to-back on Thursday and Friday, March 26 and March 27, 2020 at the Hilton Garden Inn in Boston.  More information will be posted on the Council’s scallop webpage in the near future.
  • Scallop Framework Adjustment 32:  The Council signed off on Framework 32 during its December 2019 meeting.  The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS/NOAA Fisheries) has reviewed the document and is accepting public comments on the proposed rule through March 6, 2020.  Here is the Framework 32 webpage.
  • Of Note:  NOAA Fisheries released its Fisheries of the United States 2018 Report.  Scallops ranked fourth in the nation in the category called “highest value species groups,” coming in at $541 million.  Roughly $532.3 million of that total came from sea scallop landings and the remainder was due to bay scallops.  Scallop landings helped make New Bedford, MA the highest value fishing port in the U.S. for the 19th consecutive year.
ATLANTIC HERRING:  The Council’s Herring AP and Herring Committee will meet on Tuesday, March 3, 2020 at the Four Points by Sheraton in Wakefield, MA.  The AP will start off in the morning at 8:30 a.m. and the Committee will meet after lunch, roughly around 1 p.m.  Here’s the agenda.  Meeting materials for both the AP and Committee meeting are available here.
  • Draft Addendum III:  The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) will hold a hearing on Draft Addendum III to the interstate herring plan at 11:00 a.m. on March 3 at the same location as the New England Council’s Herring AP and Herring Committee meetings.  According to ASMFC, Draft Addendum III “proposes options to better manage the Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) sub-annual catch limit under low quota scenarios.”
FISHERY DATA:  The Fishery Data for Stock Assessment Working Group has delivered its final report to the Council.  The Council established the working group to explore how fishery-dependent data can be used to inform stock abundance and explain how this information is used in stock assessments.  The group developed a number of recommendations.  Learn more about the working group’s charge and membership. 
 
ABC CONTROL RULE CONTRACTOR:  The Council is seeking an independent contractor to develop alternatives for acceptable biological catch (ABC) control rules for groundfish stocks that have undergone analytic assessments as of 2019.  Letters of interest and supporting documents must be received by March 18, 2020.  Details are available at groundfish ABC control rules.  Here’s a link to the announcement.
 
SKATES – SAVE THE DATE:  The Skate AP and Skate Committee will meet jointly on Thursday, March 26, 2020 at the Fairfield Inn in New Bedford.  More information will become available shortly.  Here is the Council’s skate webpage.
  • The Council developed Framework Adjustment 8 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan to set skate wing and skate bait specifications for the 2020-2021 fishing years.  NOAA Fisheries is collecting public comment on the framework through March 6, 2020.  Documents are available on the Framework 8 webpage.
RED HAKE:  Here’s a reminder that the Red Hake Stock Structure Research Track Assessment Meeting will be taking place March 9-12, 2020 in Woods Hole, MA.  The Council is working on an action to rebuild southern red hake.  Visit the Council’s whiting webpage for future developments. 
 
EBFM – SAVE THE DATE:  The Ecosystem-Based Fishery Management (EBFM) Committee and EBFM Plan Development Team will meet jointly on Tuesday, March 31, 2020 at the Fairfield Inn in New Bedford.  More information will become available shortly.  Here is the Council’s EBFM webpage.
 
JOIN US!  MAINE FISHERMEN’S FORUM:  The Maine Fishermen’s Forum will take place March 5, 6, and 7, 2020 at the Samoset Resort in Rockport, ME.  Several Council members and staff are participating in many of this year’s seminars, including a special day-long offshore wind session.  Council representatives also will be taking part in seminars about:  Groundfish Monitoring Amendment 23; changes in the federal Atlantic herring fishery; updates on the federal scallop fishery in the Gulf of Maine; an open forum with fisheries leadership; and reconsideration of Atlantic cod stock structure in U.S. waters.
  • Detailed descriptions of the seminars are available at Maine Fishermen’s Forum 2020.
  • Tables with daily at-a-glance schedules are available on the forum’s forms and schedules webpage.

NOAA Fisheries report: 2018 production down, but value up

February 24, 2020 — NOAA Fisheries has released the “Fisheries of the United States 2018” report, and it indicates that the production of both wild-capture and aquaculture was down in the U.S. in 2018, while the value of both sectors increased.

U.S. commercial fishermen combined to land 9.4 billion pounds (4.3 million metric tons) of seafood, a 5.3 percent decrease of 531 million pounds over the 2017 total. The value of those landings, however, increased by 2.8 percent, or USD 150 million (EUR 138 million), to USD 5.6 billion (EUR 5.1 billion).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: Most of ‘Codfather’ fishing fleet sold

February 24, 2020 — Except for a few loose ends, Carlos Rafael’s fleet has now been sold.

Blue Harvest Fisheries, with facilities in Newport News, Virginia, and Fairhaven and New Bedford, finalized the purchase Thursday of 12 large fish trawlers, 27 fishing permits and their quota allocations that once belonged to the disgraced New Bedford fishing industry mogul.

Once dubbed “The Codfather” for his outsize presence and influence across the Northeast commercial fishing industry, Rafael is serving a 46-month sentence in a federal prison at the former Fort Devens in Harvard. He pleaded guilty to falsely labeling fish, smuggling cash, tax evasion and falsifying federal records as part of a scheme to catch and sell fish for which he did not have the necessary quota.

Under the terms of an agreement in a civil case brought by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Rafael agreed to leave commercial fishing and to sell off all his vessels by December 2020. His attorney, John Markey, said 95% of that divestiture is now complete. All that remain are a herring trawler and its permit, two fishing permits that are already under a sales agreement that has not been executed and two fishing vessels that have no permits.

Blue Harvest CEO Keith Decker and Markey would not disclose the amount paid for the dozen trawlers, but Markey said Rafael has now paid off his debts.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

New Bedford nation’s richest port for 19th year in a row

February 21, 2020 — New Bedford’s reign as the most valuable port in the country reached 19 straight years as NOAA released its report on U.S. Fisheries for 2018.

U.S. fishermen landed 9.4 billion pounds of fish valued at $5.6 billion at ports around the nation — consistently high figures on par with recent years, which bring economic benefits up and down the seafood supply chain, a press release from NOAA stated.

New Bedford and Dutch Harbor in Alaska continue to dominate the list of top ports driven by landings of top-valued sea scallops locally and pollock for Alaska — the nation’s largest commercial fishery.

New Bedford brought in $431 million in 2018, up from $390 million in 2017, making it the top port by value in the country for the 19th straight year. Other top ports by value in the New England/Mid-Atlantic region include Cape May/Wildwood, New Jersey ($66 million), Point Judith, Rhode Island ($64 million), Stonington, Maine ($60 million), Hampton Roads Area, Virginia ($55 million), and Gloucester ($53 million).

According to the Fisheries of the United States report, which is compiled by NOAA, U.S. highest value species groups in 2018 included lobster ($684 million), crabs ($645 million), salmon ($598 million), scallops ($541 million), and shrimp ($496 million).

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times