Saving Seafood

Tide turns as striped bass stock falters

February 19, 2019 — Striped bass, a summertime favorite with fishermen and diners, has joined the ranks of New England’s overfished species.

A summary from the Feb. 6 meeting of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Striped Bass Management Board stated that a computer population model revealed the species was overfished in 2017 and that fishermen were still catching too many fish to sustain the population.

The report is part of a scheduled deeper, peer-reviewed analysis by the commission and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries. Known as a benchmark assessment, it incorporates new information and gives fishery managers a more accurate picture of the status of a fish stock than an annual assessment. It’s a reality check, and while it isn’t official, the result of the striped bass assessment will likely be the same as the draft version when the final report is issued at their next meeting April 30, said Michael Armstrong, chairman of the striped bass board and an assistant director at the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries.

Declaring the species overfished does not mean a return to the 1980s, Armstrong said, when a coastwide moratorium was instituted after striped bass stocks collapsed due to overfishing and degraded environmental conditions, particularly in spawning areas.

“The sky is not falling,” he said. “Stocks don’t fall overnight.”

Even though recent species barometers have indicated a downturn in population, the stock remains at levels far above what they were nearly 40 years ago.

Read the full story from the Cape Cod Times at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Extended: Voluntary Vessel Speed Restriction Zone South of Nantucket to Protect Right Whales

February 19, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area – DMA) previously established south of Nantucket has been extended to protect an aggregation of 19 right whales sighted in this area on February 17.

This DMA is in effect through March 5, 2019.

Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Nantucket DMA coordinates:

41 12 N
40 28 N
070 36 W
069 31 W

Active Seasonal Management Areas (SMAs)

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

Cape Cod Bay SMA — in effect through May 15

Mid-Atlantic U.S. SMAs (includes Block Island) — in effect through April 30

Southeast U.S. SMA — in effect through April 15

More info on Seasonal Management Areas

Right Whales Are Migrating

North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. With an unprecedented 20 right whale deaths documented in 2017 and 2018, NOAA is cautioning boaters to give these endangered whales plenty of room as they migrate south. We are also asking commercial fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales, remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements, and use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.

Right Whales in Trouble

North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are slightly more than 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

More Info

Recent right whale sightings

Find out more about our right whale conservation efforts and the researchers behind those efforts.

Download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone

Acoustic detections in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston TSS

Send a blank message to receive a return email listing all current U.S. DMAs and SMAs.

Details and graphics of all ship strike management zones currently in effect.

Reminder: Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.

Questions? Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, at 978-281-9103

Read the full release here

Free training prepares fishermen because ‘every second counts in an emergency at sea’

February 19, 2019 — Fishing Partnership Support Services is offering programs in New Bedford to make life safer for those who have one of the world’s most dangerous jobs, commercial fishing.

Safety and Survival Training will be from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. March 7 at the School for Marine Science and Technology of the University of Massachusetts, 706 S. Rodney French Blvd. Drill Conductor Training will be at the same location from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. March 8. There is no charge for either program, and lunch is provided both days.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Feds hear SouthCoast voices at Vineyard Wind hearing

February 19, 2019 — So many people turned out for Thursday’s hearing on Vineyard Wind — about 140 — that some had to stand where they could not see the presentation.

But no one came for the presentation on the proposed 800-megawatt wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard; they came to officially register their comments with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and to hear others’ remarks.

The hearing at the Waypoint Event Center was one of five around the region to collect public comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement, a required step before the wind farm can win approval.

An emcee from BOEM invited each commenter to sit across from a panel of three BOEM employees at the front of the room. Commenters’ backs faced the audience. A court reporter recorded the entire session.

Vineyard Wind intends to build 84 turbines, but the federal document would allow up to 100, depending on the turbines’ capacity.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Exhibit captures the faces of area commercial fishermen

February 14, 2019 — The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center has announced the opening of Commercial Fishermen of New England, a series of charcoal portraits by award winning artist Suzanne Starr.

An opening reception will take place on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. during AHA! Night. The exhibit will run through April 7.

Starr’s drawings depict commercial fishermen working local waters today.

“Whether chasing ground fish, squid, lobsters or scallops, most continue the work of their fathers and grandfathers,” a press release about the exhibit states. “As a series, these images offer a richer portrait of the fishing community than any individual portrait might.”

Suzanne’s husband, Markham Starr is a documentary photographer whose goal has been to preserve something of the working cultures of New England, now rapidly disappearing. On Friday, he will screen his film “Point Jude: Portraits of a Fishing Port” as part of the Dock-u-mentaries series, a co-production of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center. The screening will take place at the National Park Theater (33 William Street).

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New measures proposed for Gulf of Maine scallops

February 13, 2019 — Federal fishery regulators are considering new measures for the Atlantic sea scallop management plan and have scheduled a series of public hearings from Maine to Virginia to collect public comment.

The public hearings, which include an April 3 session at the state Division of Marine Fisheries’s Annisquam River Station on Emerson Avenue in Gloucester, will touch upon three primary issues contained in Amendment 21 currently being developed by the New England Fishery Management Council:

* Measures to support a growing scallop fishery in the federal waters of the northern Gulf of Maine.

* Increasing the individual fishing quota possession limit of 600 pounds for those fishing with a limited access general permit.

* Measures that would allow limited access vessels to transfer quota to vessels fishing on a limited access general permit.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

Vineyard Wind: Massachusetts Certifies Environmental Impact Report

February 13, 2019 — Vineyard Wind announced on 5 February 2019 that Massachusetts Secretary of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) Matthew A. Beaton has certified the Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the United States’ first utility-scale offshore wind farm.

The decision finalizes the Massachusetts Environmental Policy Act (MEPA) review process for the proposed 800 megawatt (MW) offshore wind generation and transmission project, allowing the project to proceed with state, regional and local permitting.

“The MEPA environmental review process provided a significant benefit to the project, allowing numerous stakeholders, advocacy groups, and interested citizens to help identify and address impacts so they can be effectively managed or mitigated,” said Erich Stephens, Chief Development Officer for Vineyard Wind. “Our team will continue to work collaboratively with state, regional and local regulatory agencies – as well as all stakeholders- as the project moves forward.”

With MEPA’s certification, the project will now seek permit review from the Cape Cod and Martha’s Vineyard Commissions, and the Barnstable Conservation Commission, among others.

Read the full story at Ocean News & Technology

 

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘She won’t be replaced:’ Harriet Didriksen remembered as a fishing ‘icon’

February 11, 2019 — A procession of visitors entered a hospital room at St. Anne’s in Fall River last weekend to bid farewell to Harriet Didriksen.

Her son, Dana, saw his mother. With each new person who entered the room, he began to see, in many ways, the matriarch of the waterfront.

“She’s intrinsically dedicated to this lifestyle for the good of herself and other people,” Dana said. “For me it’s been quite eye opening and it’s been very soothing, very nice.”

Didriksen died Sunday at age 76. Dana returned to his home in Manhattan on Thursday morning. With each day he spent in the SouthCoast, though, the bond between his mother and the fishing industry grew more and more visible.

By the docks in Fairhaven, an electrician Dana didn’t remember approached him to share stories about Didriksen.

“Your mother did a lot of things for the fishing industry that weren’t to her benefit as an owner,” Dana recalled him saying. “Your mother sacrificed stuff to the detriment of her business.”

Didriksen inherited New Bedford Ship Supply from her aunt and uncle in 2000, but worked there her entire life. The business will continue under Dana.

“There were plenty of guys that are just starting out, they didn’t have credit. They would come to us and ask for a favor. ‘Would you guys give me a hand in getting me started in getting some gear.’ We did that for quite a few customers,” said Joe Couto, who had worked with Didriksen at Ship Supply since 1977.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Digitizing New Bedford’s fishing memories

February 11, 2019 — Bob Demanche taps the nifty round mini light on the table in front of him and grabs a magnifier. He opens the box that is also on the table and takes out one of the hundreds of slides it contains and looks at each of them…one by one. There are three more similar boxes to go through.

Welcome to Scanning Day at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center. Volunteers at the center set aside the second Saturday of each month to scan photos, documents, letters, slides and more from the general public that are relative to the city’s commercial fishing industry.

“We have a team of four volunteers who help on scanning days,” said Sarah Bowen, operations manager. It’s all pretty streamlined: one volunteer scans the items while another speaks with the person who brought them in, gathering information about the photo or document. The owner is then given a digitized version of the items, along with their originals.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Striped Bass Rule Changes Aim to Conserve Stocks, Regulators Say

February 11, 2019 — State regulators are considering a series of rule changes for the striped bass fishery that could affect fishermen along the East Coast, including on the Vineyard.

The changes would open the commercial striped bass fishery two weeks earlier, require circle hooks for fishermen who use live bait and ban the use of gaffing to land fish.

Proposed by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), the changes are intended to help reduce striped bass mortality, especially among fish that are caught and released.

“We’re in a little bit of a down period,” said Mike Armstrong, assistant director for DMF, speaking to the Gazette by phone this week. “The only way to rebuild the stock is to lower fishing mortality. A good portion of fishing mortality is catch and release, mostly recreational.”

Read the full story at The Vineyard Gazette