Saving Seafood

The secret lives of New England sharks

February 28, 2019 — The New Bedford Science Café returns Wednesday March 6 with fisheries biologist Megan Winton, a PhD candidate at the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST), UMass-Dartmouth.

His presentation, “You’re gonna need a bigger dataset: How statistics are shedding light on the secret lives of sharks,” is slated for 6 to 8 p.m. at Greasy Luck, 791 Purchase St., New Bedford. Open to everyone. Free, except for beer and food.

Little is known about the great white sharks that swim in these waters. Sharks are notoriously difficult to study in the wild, especially as they migrate vast distances, are elusive and difficult to capture, a press release about the event states. But, as Winton will relate, that’s changing thanks to the rapid development of electronic tags that are capable of recording a tagged shark’s location, movement patterns, and local environment. Scientists now have unprecedented volumes of information to make sense of.

How does the collected data tell scientists what an animal is actually up to? What can be revealed about the broader population? Since 2015, Winton has been working with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Atlantic White Shark Conservancy to unravel mysteries about great white sharks off the coast of Cape Cod. As a quantitative fisheries biologist, she employs both math and her knowledge of species biology to gain insights into fish populations. The science, in the long run, can lend to better ways of protecting sharks and improving safety for humans.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

$2B offshore wind farm gets R.I. approval

February 27, 2019 — Vineyard Wind cleared a major hurdle on Tuesday when Rhode Island coastal regulators determined the $2-billion wind farm proposed in offshore waters to be consistent with state policies.

Although the 84-turbine project is planned in Atlantic Ocean waters south of Martha’s Vineyard where the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management holds lead permitting authority, it needs consistency certifications from the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council and its counterpart in Massachusetts primarily because it would affect the states’ fishing industries.

With the Massachusetts approval still under consideration, the decision from the Rhode Island coastal council represents a step forward for a project that has divided opinion and would have come as a relief to Vineyard Wind.

“It has a been a long process. It has been a very intense process. It has also been a process when emotions have run high from time to time,” said company CEO Lars Pedersen.

Even though the Rhode Island council ended up voting unanimously in favor of the wind farm, it was far from certain until just a few days ago whether Vineyard Wind would be able to secure the approval at all.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

Rhode Island fishermen accept Vineyard Wind mitigation

February 26, 2019 — A group representing commercial fishing interests in Rhode Island voted over the weekend in favor of a funding package the Vineyard Wind project proposed to help mitigate the possible impacts from the 84-turbine wind farm proposed for waters 14 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

The unanimous, but non-binding, vote of the Rhode Island Fishing Advisory Board to accept a mitigation package of roughly $16.7 million from Vineyard Wind comes as the proposed 800-megawatt wind farm project faces an important regulatory vote in Rhode Island on Tuesday evening.

The mitigation package is intended to address concerns raised by Rhode Island fishermen that the wind farm could lead to economic hardship for fishermen by forcing them to alter their routes to fishing grounds and that electromagnetic fields around the turbines could cause species displacement.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

R.I. fishermen, Vineyard Wind reach deal on compensation

February 25, 2019 — A Rhode Island fishing board on Saturday voted in favor of a revised compensation offer from offshore wind developer Vineyard Wind in a decision that boosts the New Bedford company’s chances of securing a key approval from state coastal regulators later this week.

In a unanimous vote at the special meeting, the Fishermen’s Advisory Board accepted the new offer that includes $4.2 million in payments over 30 years for direct impacts to commercial fishermen from Vineyard Wind’s 84-turbine wind farm proposed in Rhode Island Sound, as well as the creation of a $12.5-million trust set up over five years that could be used to cover additional costs to fishermen resulting from the project.

The Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council is now set to vote Tuesday night on whether it believes the $2-billion project is consistent with state coastal activities, including fishing. With the vote by the fishermen’s board, the prospects of Vineyard Wind winning approval appear much improved from just weeks ago when the two sides were mired in negotiations.

But the board’s decision does not amount to an endorsement of the 800-megawatt proposal, which is aiming to be the first large-scale offshore wind farm in the nation, following the completion two years ago of a test project off Block Island.

Read the full story at the Providence Journal

Vineyard Wind one step closer to building offshore wind farm

February 25, 2019 –Vineyard Wind has come to an agreement with the state-appointed Fisheries Advisory Board in terms of a compensation package to mitigate any disruption to the fishing industry when the company’s proposed 84-turbine offshore wind farm is constructed and in operation off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard.

The two parties had a deadline of February 25 to come to a compensation agreement, following a week of negotiations. Vineyard Wind Spokesman Chris Hunter sent Eyewitness News a statement saying that they came to an agreement with a vote held on Saturday, February 23. The statement says:

Read the full story at WPRI 12

Feds propose rules for scallop fishery with season coming

February 22, 2019 — This year’s Atlantic sea scallop fishing year begins in several weeks, and federal regulators are proposing new management measures for the valuable fishery.

The fishing season for scallops begins on April 1. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says it plans to set quota and other allocations that are similar to those set for the previous year.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WABI-5

Lund’s adds former Sea Born owner Lang, customer services pro Pimental

February 22, 2019 — Lund’s Fisheries, the Cape May, New Jersey-based squid, scallop and pelagic species harvester, processor and exporter, announced two new additions to its team this week, both with ties to New Bedford, Massachusetts.

Jeffrey Lang, a nearly 30-year seafood veteran who most recently served as the president of Sea Born Products, in New Bedford, has joined the Lund’s sales and marketing squad. He is expected to add a considerable amount of scallop sourcing knowledge while providing retail, wholesale and commodity sales advice.

Lang started Sea Born 18 years ago after working seven years for Seafood Resources, in East Providence, Rhode Island, he told Undercurrent News in an email.

Lund’s also has added Donna Pimental, who it says will be heading a customer service team in New Bedford, while also integrating sales and purchasing with the Cape May corporate office. She “brings a wealth of knowledge in facilitating imports, domestic supply chain logistics and order fulfillment”, the company says.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Public Comment Period for Vineyard Wind Closes Friday

February 21, 2019 — The public comment period for Vineyard Wind’s Draft Environmental Impact Statement closes Friday.

The DEIS is a preliminary analysis by the federal government describing the project’s environmental and socioeconomic impacts of the offshore wind proposal.

The project seeks to construct an 800-mega-watt wind farm about 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard. Visit Cape Cod dot com for comment submission options.

The purpose of the review is to ensure the technical accuracy of all aspects of the document and offer an opportunity for the public to raise questions, express concerns and provide comment.

Comments can be submitted online at www.regulations.gov and searching for BOEM-2018-0069.

Comments can also be submitted by mail. Envelopes should be labeled “Vineyard Wind COP Draft EIS” and postmarked by February 22.

The submission address is Program Manager, Office of Renewable Energy, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 45600 Woodland Road, Sterling, VA 20166.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

MASSACHUSETTS: Lund’s Fisheries Hires Seafood Veterans for Sales, Customer Service

February 21, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Lund’s Fisheries is welcoming some new faces to their sales and customer service teams. The Cape May, New Jersey, based company announced on Wednesday that they have hired seafood veterans Jeff Lang and Donna Pimental.

Lang will be joining Lund’s Fisheries as a member of their Sales and Marketing team. With over 30 years of experience in the industry, Lang brings “extensive scallop sourcing knowledge to his role.”

“Jeff’s expertise in scallop imports is recognized throughout the seafood business, and we look forward to his input in expanding our imported scallop and squid offerings,” said Randy Spencer, Director of Sales & Marketing at Lund’s.

Meanwhile, fellow seafood veteran Pimental will be a part of the Lund’s Customer Service team. With background in facilitating imports, domestic supply chain logistics and order fulfillment, Pimental will be working to head up support functions at the New Bedford Lund’s location. In addition, she will be integrating sales and purchasing functions at the Lund’s corporate office in Cape May.

“With the addition of Jeff and Donna, Lund’s will continue to focus on building and maintaining long term relationships with customers as well as suppliers,” said Lund’s Fisheries president Wayne Reichle. “Trust and confidence are integral to our success.”

This story was originally published by SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

NOAA Fisheries Proposes Management Measures for the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery 2019 Fishing Year

February 20, 2019 — The following was released by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration:

Today, NOAA Fisheries published the proposed rule to set management measures for the Atlantic Sea Scallop fishery for the 2019 fishing year (April 1, 2019 – March 31, 2020). Framework 30 would:

  • Set specifications for the scallop fishery for fishing year 2019, including days-at-sea (DAS) allocations, individual fishing quotas (IFQs), and sea scallop access area trip allocations. These allocations would be similar to those set in the 2018 fishing year. This action would also set precautionary default 2020 specifications, in case we implement the next framework after the April 1, 2020 start of the 2020 fishing year;
  • Allocate effort into three rotational access areas (Mid-Atlantic, Nantucket Lightship-West, and Closed Area 1). Scallop landings allocated to Closed Area 1 would be “flexible” and could be landed from any available access area;
  • Set a 205,000 lb Northern Gulf of Maine total allowable catch (TAC) for 2019 that would be split as 137,500 lb for the limited access general category (LAGC) and 67,500 lb for the limited access fleet;
  • Standardize default specifications for limited access DAS and LAGC IFQ allocations; and
  • Standardize the approach used to set the number of access area trips available to the LAGC IFQ fleet.

To get all the details on these proposed modifications, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register today.

We are accepting comments through March 7, 2019.

Please submit comments either through the online e-rulemaking portal or by mailing your comments to:

Michael Pentony, Regional Administrator
National Marine Fisheries Service
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA, 01930.

Please mark the outside of the envelope, “Comments on the Proposed Rule for Scallop Framework 30.”

Questions?
Fishermen: Contact Travis Ford at 978-281-9233
Media: Contact Allison Ferreira at 978-281-9103 or at