Saving Seafood

Vineyard Wind seeks help in protecting right whales

May 23, 2019 — The company preparing to build an 84-turbine wind farm off Martha’s Vineyard has put out a call  to universities, technology companies and other innovators that could help implement a system to detect the presence of endangered North Atlantic right whales during construction.

Vineyard Wind said it is seeking a firm or institution that can “provide and operationalize enhanced acoustic monitoring systems that will detect the presence of Right Whales, and transmit information in real-time to project staff so that enhanced protections can be effectively implemented.”

Protection would include vessel speed restrictions, Vineyard Wind said.

Utility companies and the state tapped Vineyard Wind to construct an 800-megawatt wind farm 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard and 34 miles from the mainland to fulfill the first half of a 1,600-megawatt procurement called for in a 2016 clean energy law.

The company has already entered an agreement with a number of organizations to protect the whales.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘Lobster War’ hitting Whaling Museum theater

May 22, 2019 — The New Bedford Whaling Museum, in partnership with the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, is screening a documentary with claws.

“Lobster War” is an award-winning feature-length documentary film about a conflict between the United States and Canada over waters that both countries have claimed since the end of the Revolutionary War.

The disputed 277 square miles of sea known as the Gray Zone were traditionally fished by U.S. lobstermen.

But as the Gulf of Maine has warmed faster than nearly any other body of water on the planet, the area’s previously modest lobster population has surged. As a result, Canadians have begun to assert their sovereignty, warring with the Americans to claim the bounty.

“Lobster War – The Fight Over the World’s Richest Fishing Grounds” is directed by David Abel, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter at The Boston Globe, and Andy Laub, an award-winning documentarian, producers of the acclaimed Discovery channel documentary “Sacred Cod.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Few herring, no eels coming to spawn

May 21, 2019 — It appears, at least for the time being, that Cape Ann largely has fallen off the list of favorite places to visit for river herring and American eels.

And no one really seems to know the reason why the river herring have been so sparse at the West Gloucester alewife fishway and American eels have been absent from the eel trap set up at Millbrook Pond in Rockport.

“Officially, I’d say we’ve spotted fewer than 10 in our fish counts of river herring making their way up to the Lily Pond,” said Eric W. Hutchins, a fisheries biologist for NOAA Fisheries and the Gulf of Maine restoration coordinator. “Without a doubt, it’s significantly down this year and there isn’t much time left.”

The city, in cooperation with NOAA Fisheries, organizes volunteer fish counters at the alewife fishway to document the number of river herring making their way out of the Little River, up the fishway and into the Lily Pond to spawn. Three to six weeks later, they head back to the ocean.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Right whales extending their stays in Cape Cod Bay

May 21, 2019 — With the count of North Atlantic right whale sightings in Cape Cod Bay down to zero Thursday, the end-of-season findings by the Center for Coastal Studies indicate what could be new realities: More animals are showing up each year, and the length of time they’re staying in the bay is longer.

“There are two trajectories,” said Charles “Stormy” Mayo, the center’s right whale ecology program director. “Our trajectory is going up while the total number of right whales is going down, fairly steeply.”

The center has studied the right whales in the bay for several decades, currently with airplane surveys for population counts and boat surveys to identify food densities in the water. The data collected is used, in part, to help the state Division of Marine Fisheries place and lift restrictions in the bay on trap gear fishing and vessel speeds.

The right whales — now considered at risk of extinction in the coming decades along the Atlantic coast due to deaths and injuries from being caught in fishing rope and hit by ships — have a current population of around 411. They typically arrive to feed in Cape Cod Bay in late winter and leave by the end of April, along an annual migratory path that stretches from Florida to Canada.

So far, the center has confirmed 267 individual right whales seen by either plane or boat for the current season, making that roughly 65 percent of the estimated total population. Considering the complete range of the whales’ migration along the East Coast, the concentration in the relatively small area known as Cape Cod Bay is “remarkable,” Mayo said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Vineyard Wind: May 22 Notice to Mariners and Fishermen

May 22, 2019 — The following was released by Vineyard Wind:

We wanted to let you know that Vineyard Wind will begin geological surveys on or about May 22. The estimated duration is approximately 77 days, ending on August 7, 2019. Surveys will take place in Vineyard Wind Lease Areas 501 and 522. Please see the full notice to fishermen and mariners here.

We encourage fishermen who may be working in the survey area to contact the fishery liaison.

This survey will gather data on seabed and subfloor conditions that will assist in identifying potential locations for future siting of offshore wind turbines and refine inter-array cable routes between each turbine.

Vineyard Wind is committed to communicating and working with the local fishermen in the region during all stages of development of the proposed offshore farm.

If you have any questions, please contact Crista Bank, Fishery Liaison via email at cbank@vineyardwind.com or via cell phone at 508-525-0421.

MASSACHUSETTS: Jon Mitchell gives Markey credit for $15 million upgrade to Port

May 20, 2019 — Sen. Edward Markey and others talked about the things he’s done for New Bedford Friday and local leaders talked about other things they’d like Markey to do.

It was classic “bring home the bacon” at a SouthCoast Legislative Luncheon at White’s of Wesport, sponsored jointly by the SouthCoast and Bristol County chambers of commerce.

Mayor Jon Mitchell introduced Markey to the gathering, attended by some members of the SouthCoast legislative delegation but not by indicted Fall River Mayor Jasiel Correia. Mitchell told of Markey’s role in obtaining a $15.4 million federal transportation grant to improve the Port of New Bedford. The money will be used to extend the bulkhead and remove contaminated materials.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Commercial fishermen gain skills for sea survival at annual training

May 17, 2019 — Fishing is one of the world’s most dangerous jobs.

To help save lives and prevent injuries, a group from Massachusetts is on a mission to travel around New England and train commercial fisherman on what to do in emergencies.

They were in Tenants Harbor Thursday.

“Anything you can do to make it better and that much safer for anybody by being out here is totally worth it.”

Read the full story at WABI

Vineyard Wind: Notice to Mariners and Fishermen

May 16, 2019 — The following was released by Vineyard Wind:

Please be advised that Fugro USA Marine, Inc will perform met-ocean monitoring for the Vineyard Wind project site located at approximately 43 nm from the port of New Bedford and approx. 17nm off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard. The Vineyard Wind Lighted Research Buoy (VWM-01) with a water level recorder will be deployed at the above coordinates on May 16, 2019 and is expected to remain on site though 2019. Fishermen and mariners are requested to note the buoy location and to maintain a safe distance during fishing and marine activities. The buoy is moored using open link chain, with a heavy chain anchor.

The currently deployed buoy and mooring will be removed and a replacement buoy will be deployed nearby at the coordinates below. Download notice here.

Correction to the Proposed Rule for 2019 Groundfish Recreational Regulations in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank

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

NOAA Fisheries has published a minor correction to the proposed rule for 2019 groundfish recreational measures. In the published version of the proposed rule, the Federal Register made a transcription error in Table 2. The table stated incorrectly that the Groundfish Committee recommended a 15-inch minimum fish size for Gulf of Maine haddock. The Committee’s recommendation and our proposed minimum size for Gulf of Maine haddock is 17 inches.

Read the correction as published in the Federal Register. The proposed rule as published in the Federal Register will still display the incorrect value in Table 2.

How to Comment

You may submit comments online through the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal or by mail to: Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator, NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930. Please mark the envelope: “Comments on the Fishing Year 2019 Groundfish Recreational Measures.”

The comment period closes May 28, 2019.

Recreational Cod Fishing Could Restart, Barely, In Gulf Of Maine

May 16, 2019 — In a story May 16 about recreational cod fishing, The Associated Press erroneously reported the proposed catch limit. It would be one Gulf of Maine cod per day during two seasons in September and April that last 15 days each, not one per year during those limited seasons.

A corrected version of the story is below:

The recreational fishery for a species of fish that has experienced population collapse in recent history could reopen.

Recreational fishing for Atlantic cod has not been allowed in the Gulf of Maine recently due to concerns about the decline in the fish’s population. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the fish could withstand a very limited fishery at the moment.

Federal regulators are considering a proposal to allow recreational fishermen to catch one Gulf of Maine cod per day during two limited seasons that last 15 days each in September and April. The Gulf of Maine is a body of water off Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire that once teemed with cod, which is the namesake of Cape Cod.

Read the full story from the Associated Press