Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Closes Nantucket Lightship and Closed Area I Closure Areas to Gillnet Gear

December 16, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In compliance with a recent Federal District Court Order, NOAA Fisheries is implementing a closure of the Nantucket Lightship and Closed Area I Groundfish Closure Areas for gillnet gear only.

This rule is effective tomorrow. All gillnetters must remove their gillnet gear from these areas as soon as possible, consistent with safe vessel operations.

Background

The October 28, 2019, Court Order prohibits NOAA Fisheries from allowing gillnet fishing in the former Nantucket Lightship Groundfish Closure Area and the Closed Area I Groundfish Closure Areas (see map below) until NOAA Fisheries has fully complied with requirements of the Endangered Species Act and the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, consistent with the Opinion.

After the Order was issued, we notified gillnetters in these areas on November 1 that all gillnet gear needed to be removed from these two areas and that we would be issuing a formal rule closing these areas. That formal rule has now been issued.

Read the full release here

Fishermen get scant mention in ‘Blue New Deal’

December 16, 2019 — We here at FishOn are simple folk and we live by some pretty simple rules. Rule No. 1 is why stand when you can sit. Rule No. 2 is that any meeting that lasts more than 15 minutes and involves more than three people generally is a colossal waste of time for everyone.

The same principle, of course, can be applied to the various pledges, promises and plans issued by anyone running for elective office. And that brings us to our own Sen. Elizabeth Warren and her seemingly bottomless capacity, in her quest for the presidency, for issuing plans to cure everything but the common cold.

Warren’s campaign last week released its most recent plan — a Blue New Deal for Our Oceans — and let’s just say this is not the most fishing-friendly document on the shelf.

The 15-page document touches on many issues. It addresses expanding offshore renewable energy and building climate-ready fisheries. It talks about expanding community-based seafood markets and investing in regenerative ocean farming and building climate-smart ports.

It urges the protection of ocean habitats and the restoration of marine ecosystems. It calls for the end of offshore drilling and makes the case for that old environmental crowd-pleaser, expanding protected marine areas that would be closed to commercial fishing.

And on and on and on. It’s a Utah lake. About a mile wide and an inch deep.

But nowhere in those thousands of words spread across 15 pages does the plan directly address the plight of the commercial fishing industry and the fishermen who have as much at stake in the blue economy as anyone.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NEW HAMPSHIRE: Offshore Wind Task Force Meeting Draws Crowd; Sununu Pushes For Quick Development

December 13, 2019 — Northern New England began an ambitious planning process for offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine Thursday.

More than 200 stakeholders packed into the first meeting of the new regional wind task force at UNH.

They say the new industry will take years to develop – but it could be a powerful way for Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire to fight climate.

The big turnout surprised organizers with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. One facilitator said he’d never been to a standing-room-only task force meeting before.

Governor Chris Sununu was energized as he kicked off the day-long event. He says he intends to see offshore wind development succeed in the Gulf of Maine as quickly as possible.

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio

MASSACHUSETTS: Scallops and Beer Fundraiser

December 13, 2019 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is partnering with Moby Dick Brewing Co. for a Scallops and Beer Fundraiser on Thursday, December 19th. Enjoy a variety of scallop specials and suggested beer pairings at Moby Dick Brewing Co. (16 S. Water Street) from 4:00pm to close. 15% of the sales from these scallop specials will go towards the Fishing Heritage Center.

This event was inspired by the discovery of an archival image (below) that is captioned, “Dawson’s Brewery of New Bedford, Mass unites with the fishermen’s Union to promote sea scallops across the land using the phrase, “Beer and New Bedford Sea Scallops are made for each other.” Dawson’s Brewery opened in 1889 and remained a local institution in New Bedford through the mid- 1970s.

Stop by Moby Dick Brewing Co. on December 19th to see why beer and sea scallops were made for each other and to support the Fishing Heritage Center.

NEFMC approves scallop framework, projects 52 million pounds in 2020

December 11, 2019 — The New England Fishery Management Council has approved Framework Adjustment 32 to the Atlantic Scallop Fishery Management Plan, giving the first look at what the 2020 scallop season in New England could look like.

The new specifications will most likely result in 52 million pounds of projected landings in 2020, lower than 2019’s projection of more than 62 million pounds. While lower than 2019, the projection is still higher than average, with an expected ex-vessel value of USD 487 million (EUR 438.9 million), according to a release from the council.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: Authorities locate boat that sunk with 4 fishermen aboard

December 11, 2019 — A fishing vessel that capsized and sank miles off Martha’s Vineyard with four fishermen aboard has been found.

The Leonardo, a 57-foot scalloper based out of New Bedford, was located and identified Sunday morning, according to Massachusetts Environmental Police.

Only one of the four fishermen aboard the Leonardo was rescued since the boat went down on Nov. 24. The other three men, Capt. Gerald Bretal, Mark Cormier and Xavier Vega, are considered lost at sea.

Read the full story at Boston.com

New England flounder can offload in three states

December 11, 2019 — A rule change long sought by the southern New England dragger fleet will allow crew to offload their summer flounder catch in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut all in one trip.

The pilot program announced by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries will permit boats to call at ports in all three states during flounder seasons, without the longstanding requirement that they first land their Massachusetts trip limit and then head out for another trip.

Provided boats hold flounder permits in all three states, the reciprocal can let them land three 1,000-pound increments – one in each state – on a single trip. Industry advocates say it will lead to less waste and better safety, particularly during the winter months.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Herring fishing to be limited for months

December 11, 2019 — Federal fishing regulators are limiting the amount of herring that fishermen can catch off New England until the end of the year. The fish is used for food and bait.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it’s implementing a 2,000-pound herring possession limit per trip in the inshore Gulf of Maine until Dec. 31. The inshore Gulf of Maine’s an area that touches coastal Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

The agency says it’s taking the step because 92% of the catch limit in the area has been harvested.

NOAA says no herring fishing is allowed in the area from Jan. 1 to May 31, so the fishery won’t be able to fully resume in the inshore gulf until June.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Missing New Bedford Fishing Boat Found Submerged Off Martha’s Vineyard

December 10, 2019 — A fishing boat that sunk in the waters off Martha’s Vineyard last month was located Sunday. Massachusetts Environmental Police confirmed the Leonardo was found at the bottom of the ocean using sonar and a remote operated camera.

Three New Bedford based fishermen were lost at sea when the boat was hit by rogue waves on November 24.

“We had no time to get survival gear on, not even a life vest,” lone survivor Ernesto Garcia told WBZ-TV days after he was rescued. “It just happened in a split of a second. There was no chance for nothing except holding your breath.”

Boat captain Gerry Bretal, and fishermen Mark Cormier Jr. and Xavier Vega are presumed dead. Rescue crews suspended the search for the men about 24 hours after the accident.

Read the full story at WBZ

NOAA: Rafael’s misreported fish ‘disappeared’ at Whaling City auction

December 10, 2019 — A NOAA official has charged that if federal officials were not watching when Carlos Rafael offloaded fish at the Whaling City Display Auction, the catch simply “disappeared.”

“If there was no observer on the boat, no dockside monitor, no state environmental police, no NOAA law enforcement officer, the fish would just simply disappear,” NOAA Special Agent Troy Audyatis said, “Thousands upon thousands of fish would simply disappear.”

Audyatis made the charge at a Dec. 3 meeting of the New England Fisheries Management Council while making the presentation “Catching the Codfather,” and said the New Bedford display auction was the location where Rafael offloaded much of the thousands of pounds of fish that were either under or misreported.

“Any given day fish would just disappear. There’s fish that he sold [that] he didn’t report having available for sale to NOAA and he didn’t buy from a third party, but yet he sold thousands of pounds of fish that day,” Audyatis said.

If fishing boat owners don’t report their catch to NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), there is no way for the federal government to know how much of a given species is in the ocean. Federal regulations designed to save fish stocks are dependent on knowing how much of a species is present.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times