August 17, 2018 — In many ways, the city is the mecca for scallops. Now, Dana Rebeiro wants to expand that to oysters.
The Ward 4 councilor filed a written motion Thursday asking the Committee on Fisheries to help draft an ordinance that Mayor Jon Mitchell’s administration has been crafting regarding aquaculture permits.
The permits would allow fishermen to begin growing oysters as part of the city’s movement toward aquaculture.
August 17, 2018 — Federal regulators are shutting down the fishery for a popular food fish in Massachusetts because of concerns about exceeding quota.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says vessels are prohibited from bringing summer flounder to the docks in Massachusetts for the remainder of the fishing year. The closure went into effect on Tuesday.
The NOAA says the closure is needed because Massachusetts fishermen had caught 85 percent of their quota by Aug. 4 and were projected to reach their limit by Tuesday.
August 17, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities:
Late last month, members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC) submitted two letters asking Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to consider the economic importance of the commercial fishing industry before deciding where to site windmills in the New York Bight.
367 individuals signed a national letter calling on Secretary Zinke not to rush offshore energy development and to ensure projects are “sited, constructed, and operated using the best scientific information available.”
“The Interior Department should provide for intelligent and deliberate offshore renewable energy development, rather than fall prey to the gold rush mentality promoted by BOEM and financially-interested wind developers, most of which are foreign-owned,” the NCFC members wrote.
The signers also invoked President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to support working class Americans.
“When President Trump campaigned and was elected, he promised to look after America’s working middle class, of which we are all a part,” the letter stated. “You will not be honoring the President’s commitment if you allow BOEM to lease ocean areas first, and ask and answer the necessary questions later.”
Another 103 individuals and 32 vessels and businesses from Massachusetts signed a separate letter asking BOEM to reconsider its plan to develop four offshore wind farms in the New York Bight. They specifically cited the damage such development would cause to important Northeast fisheries such as the scallop fishery.
“This is an ill-conceived idea that will cause irreparable economic harm within the fishing communities along the entire East Coast,” the signers wrote. “The harm to Massachusetts will be especially significant, given that it is the center of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery and contains major surf clam and ocean quahog operations.”
The letter pointed out that, on average, nearly $54 million is generated by scallop landings annually from the areas under consideration in the New York Bight, according to data from the National Marine Fisheries Service. An additional $8 million is generated by surf clam and ocean quahog.
August 16, 2018 — Two local chefs.
One mystery fish.
One local farmers’ market. And a live New Bedford audience.
We usually talk music in Spotlight, my friends, but this slice of outdoor summer entertainment is way too fun not to mention this week.
Think Food Network’s “Iron Chef,” but with local chefs, local ingredients, local judges, and a live showdown performed in downtown New Bedford. Oh, and it’s free. Limited sampling will be available.
Yup, you’re invited to bring a lawn chair to Custom House Square Aug. 23 at 5:30 p.m. for New Bedford’s 2018 Seafood Throwdown. The event is presented by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, in collaboration with the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, Coastal Foodshed, and New Bedford Farmers’ Market.
This year it’s UMD vs. URI, baby.
In one corner, [ding ding ding!] we have Chef Kevin Gibbons, executive chef at UMass-Dartmouth. In the other corner, we have Chef Michael Comire, executive chef at the University of Rhode Island.
August 16, 2018 — The city’s Gloucester Fresh seafood marketing program got another boost this week when the Seaport Economic Council awarded it $110,000 to continue branding and promoting locally landed seafood to restaurants, retail seafood dealers and institutional purveyors.
The money, part of the $3.8 million dispersed in the latest round of Seaport Economic Council grant awards, will help the city enhance its website with more video and other technologies to attract what appears to be a growing international audience.
“We’re really excited about the attention the program is getting,” said Sal Di Stefano, the city’s economic development director and its point man on the Gloucester Fresh campaign. “This was just a concept a few years ago and now it’s an internationally recognized brand. We’re really proud of that.”
The grant also will allow Gloucester Fresh to embark in a new direction: to brand the Massachusetts lobster — thus removing it from the formidable shadow of Maine — and increase awareness of Gloucester as the Bay State’s premier lobster landing port.
In 2017, Massachusetts trailed only Maine in lobster landings, hauling in 16.57 million pounds with an estimated value of $81.54 million.
“We’re going to be working with the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association to promote and brand lobsters caught in our state’s waters,” Di Stefano said. “It’s time to bring attention to that. I know here in Gloucester, our mayor is tired of hearing about Maine lobsters. So, we want to get the word out there.”
August 16, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — NOAA announced on Tuesday that they will fund 100% of New England At-Sea Monitoring costs for 2018, as part of an additional $10.3 million added to the budget by New England congressmen, including NH Senator Jeanne Shaheen.
In addition, they will provide an additional 25% subsidy for 2017 costs, based on the money they saved from Carlos Rafael’s fleets not fishing. Since there was less need for monitoring, the overall program cost was lower.
The cost to vessels for an at-sea monitor is about $710 per day. This can have a significant impact on the profitability of smaller trips.
In 2016, NOAA supported 80% of this cost. In 2017 that dropped to 60%, with NOAA making the argument that the costs eventually had to be fully paid by fishermen. However, with the additional funds from 2017, the subsidies for that year will now be 85%.
For 2018 NOAA will cover 100% of the costs.
Part of the additional money will be used to further develop electronic monitoring and less costly systems.
“This is very welcome money and good news all the way around,” Jackie Odell, executive director of the Northeast Seafood Coalition told the Gloucester Times. “It’s a lot for groundfishermen to pay for, especially as quotas decline and they lose access to key stocks.”
Senator Jeanne Shaheen said “Our state’s commercial fishing industry is operating on razor-thin margins and urgently needs relief from these burdensome fees, which is why I’m thrilled that funding is now available to cover the costs of at-sea monitoring.”
“Relieving our fishermen of these fees has been a top priority for me since NOAA unfairly shifted the responsibility for at-sea monitoring costs on to the backs of our fishermen. The commercial fishing industry plays a role in New Hampshire’s economy, history and culture, so ensuring its longevity will always be important to me. Negotiating this federal funding was one of my top priorities in the government spending bill.”
This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.
August 13, 2018 — When it comes to shellfish, oysters get all the glory. It’s understandable, since they’ve played a significant role in the history of cuisine. But scallops? Those beautiful bivalves are a bit of a culinary mystery.
Despite their current popularity, you might be surprised to learn that scallops were often more prized for their aesthetically-pleasing shells than the rich, sweet flavor of their meat. But these days, it seems like almost every fine dining establishment with seafood on the menu has its own take on them, from ceviche to pan-seared to provencal. What’s more, East Coast scallop fisheries are positively booming.
But it hasn’t always been this way.
Underappreciated Treasures of the Deep
As you may know, the earliest settlers in what we now know as New England had access to a bounty of seafood. From fish to eel to a wide variety of shellfish, they had their pick of oceanic delights. By the time the Pilgrims arrived on the shores of Cape Cod in the 1600s, Europeans had been fishing for cod on nearby George’s Bank (a.k.a. St. George’s Bank) for well over a century.
Wild Atlantic scallops, which grew prodigiously in those cold northern waters, were also inevitably harvested for food. However, they weren’t considered highly desirable. Food historian Sandy Oliver, author of “Saltwater Foodways” and “Maine Home Cooking,” explains, “Scallops and mussels…ranked far below oysters, clams, and lobsters. Since scallops have a funny sweet taste, it didn’t line up with what people liked back then.”
But tastes change, and an appreciation for scallops in the U.S. gradually increased throughout the 19th century. One of the earliest known written recipes for cooking scallops, which called for lightly sauteeing or stewing them, was published in 1846 in “Miss Beecher’s Domestic Receipt Book.” Over the following decades, recipes for fried, boiled, steamed, stuffed, and pickled scallops began to appear more often in cookbooks. By the 1920s-30s, they had become a regular part of the American diet, especially in coastal communities.
By the mid-20th century, dishes like Coquille St. Jacques, which features scallops served in the shell with butter, cream, cheese, shallots, and herbs, appeared on the menus of French restaurants in cities nationwide. Meanwhile, fried scallops could often be found (and still can) at seaside clam shacks and other casual dining spots.
August 13, 2018 — Whether you fish the sometime-angry seas of Buzzards Bay from a power boat, its quiet inshore waters from a rowboat, or if you prefer to keep your feet firmly planted along the 245 miles of her shoreline from Wareham to Westport, you can find fish of all shapes and sizes eager to tug on your line and put a welcome bend in your fishing rod, bringing primal excitement to anglers of all ages and abilities.
It’s a combination of factors that make the Bay the popular fishing destination it is, explains Marine Fisheries Aquatic Biologist II John Boardman, who works from the New Bedford office, overlooking the Bay.
“Buzzards Bay has a variety of structure, such as rocky bottom, ledges and wrecks where many different species of fish congregate, and there’s an abundance of baitfish and other food sources like crustaceans and shellfish,” said Boardman. “Accessibility is another component with the coastline offering many boat ramps, marinas and shore fishing access. From spring through fall, there are fish to catch in the Bay.”
Boardman also notes that the black sea bass fishing has become phenomenal in the spring, during the spawning season at the east end of the Bay. “As the fish disperse after the spawn, they still can be caught through the summer and fall in deeper water,” he said. “The sea bass fishing is a big draw for fishermen.”
As coordinator for Marine Fisheries’ Saltwater Fishing Derby, Boardman also said he’s had many submissions into the derby for black sea bass running from four to six pounds this season. He also said that in the late summer and fall, anglers can look forward to the tautog fishing picking up, along with the fall run of stripers and bluefish.
August 9, 2018 — As offshore wind companies jockey for position in preparation for Massachusetts’ next round of bidding, Bay State Wind announced an adjustment to its proposal earlier this week.
According to Lauren Burm, the head of public affairs for Bay State Wind, after speaking with “key stakeholders including the fishing community,” the company altered its proposal in terms of spacing between turbines to a nautical mile in rows running east to west..
“Based on their helpful feedback we have adjusted our layout to better accommodate fishing patterns and vessel transiting through the wind farm, while also maintaining efficiency and maximizing power production,” Burm said.
Those within the industry disagree that the adjustment by Bay State Wind, a partnership between Orstead and Eversource, helps fishermen navigate.“There’s no way a mile spacing would result in a safe transit,” New Bedford scalloper Eric Hansen said.
Similar sentiment has been expressed in the past by fishermen.
Hansen said he traveled to Europe, specifically Great Britain, to learn more about the offshore wind farms.
He said the turbines are spaced less than a mile apart, however, the fishing vessels are much smaller, too.
When he spoke to fishermen across the pond, he learned they were wary of navigating between the turbines.
August 7, 2018 — In response to feedback from fishermen and community members, Bay State Wind has revised the turbine layout pattern for its Massachusetts offshore wind project.
The new plan realigns the layout so that the turbines are located in rows running east to west, the preferred orientation for fishing, according to the developer. The updated layout also includes an average of one nautical mile between turbine rows to create distinct fishing corridors while continuing to optimize wind energy production.
According to Bay State Wind, feedback from the local fishing community indicated that the irregular pattern of the previous plan could make fishing in and transiting through the wind farm area difficult, especially in bad weather or during towing or setting gear.
Bay State Wind is a partnership between global offshore wind developer Ørsted and New England electric transmission company Eversource. The partners will submit a construction and operations plan to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management in early 2019, which will include the updated turbine layout.