Saving Seafood

NEW BEDFORD STANDARD-TIMES: Lifting federal ban on groundfishing a good first step toward rebuilding industry

July 23, 2018 — New Bedford fishermen last week received the news they had been waiting to hear for eight months. Federal regulators lifted their ban against Sectors VII and IX — two groundfishing groups tied to Carlos Rafael.

The ban, which had been in place since Nov. 20 of last year, prevented 17 boats and roughly 80 fishermen from going out to sea. And it caused a ripple effect that was felt around the seaport.

Fuel suppliers, fish processors, boat engine mechanics and all the other support industries that work with the fishing fleet were hurt. By one estimate, some 240 jobs were lost to the ban.

So Thursday’s announcement from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration was welcome news.

“It’s finally happening,” said U.S. Rep. Bill Keating, who had long pressed for a timely resolution.

“We’re happy,” he said. “It’s something that we’ve been doing everything in our power to encourage.”

At The Standard-Times, we think NOAA’s action — albeit too long in coming — was a good first step. But we’re not ready to uncork the champagne yet.

Read the full opinion piece at the New Bedford-Standard Times

Previously closed areas dominate as big US scallop sources in 2018

July 20, 2018 — There’s a good chance scallop boat captains in the US are going to be belting out an old Connie Francis tune when they head out to sea over the next few months, but changing a few words in the chorus. They’ll be singing instead, “Where the big scallops are”.

The answer is the previously shut down Nantucket Lightship Closed Area South (NLCA-S) and Closed Area 1, where it’s believed that many U-10s and U-12s still wait.

That’s what Undercurrent News learned when it reviewed New Bedford, Massachusetts, seafood auction data provided and organized by the global scallop titan Eastern Fisheries.

NLCA-S and Closed Area 1 were responsible for 1.3 million — roughly 54% — of the combined 2.4m pounds of U-10 and U-12 scallops harvested and sold at the Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE), another name for the auction, over the first three months of the season, April 1 to June 30, based on Undercurrent‘s review.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

End of groundfishing ban only the first step of many for fishery

July 20, 2018 — It’s “finally” over, but it’s only the first step.

A saga that dragged on for nearly eight months ended Thursday when NOAA lifted its groundfishing ban that sidelined about 17 vessels and 80 fishermen.

What shocked Cassie Canastra, who is on the board of Sector VII, about NOAA’s final interim rule, was its finality.

“It was in effect immediately. That was shocking to me. That was great news. It allows us to start leasing right away …,” Canastra briefly paused before finishing her thought, “if we can. It’s tough.”

NOAA waived any comment or delay period, although comments will still be accepted. It approved Sector IX’s lease-only operational plan and allocated quota to Sector VII, establishing it as a lease-only operation until Carlos Rafael’s vessels are sold to an independent party.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Regulators to allow banned fishermen to sell quota

July 20, 2018 — In a long-awaited decision that could have a significant impact on New Bedford, federal regulators said Thursday they will allow fishermen who had been banned from operating to sell their quota to other vessels, a move that city officials hope will boost the local economy.

Last fall, in an unprecedented punishment, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration banned 60 fishing permit-holders in the New Bedford area from allowing their boats to sail, after the owner of many of those vessels failed to account for the fish they caught and pleaded guilty to orchestrating a major fraud.

That decision resulted in the forced docking of 22 groundfishing boats operated by Carlos Rafael, a disgraced New Bedford fishing mogul known as “The Codfather.”

Many of the boats’ captains and crews, who collectively held a quota of 20 million pounds — or roughly 10 percent — of the region’s cod, flounder, and other bottom-dwelling species, have been out of work since November. The ban has also hurt many related businesses in New Bedford that supplied the vessels with rope, fuel, ice, and other fishing necessities.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

NOAA Lifts Groundfishing Ban on Northeast Sector IX Vessels; Will Issue Interim Rule

July 19, 2018 — WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — Tomorrow, NOAA is scheduled to publish an interim final rule that “determines the quota overages that Northeast Fishery Sector IX is responsible for paying back, allocates annual catch entitlements to Northeast Fishery Sectors VII and IX for the 2018 fishing year, approves a new lease-only operations plan for Northeast Fishery Sector IX, and approves a substantive amendment to Northeast Fishery Sector VII operations plan,” in the Federal Register. When the rule is published, the supporting documentation, including the approved operations plans, will also be available. NOAA Fisheries will accept comments for 30 days and reserves the right to change the rule based on comments and/or new information.

The Standard-Times in New Bedford, Massachusetts has reported that, “Nearly eight months to the day after NOAA closed groundfishing for Carlos Rafael vessels, the agency lifted the ban on Thursday that had put at least 80 fishermen out of work.”

Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren issued the following statement: “This plan allows our fishing families and business to get back to work. One man committed criminal actions and he’s justifiably in jail, but a lot of innocent people and businesses paid a price for his fraud. Finally, the industry can now move forward and I will continue to do everything to help fishermen and their way of life that embodies the Massachusetts spirit.”

Massachusetts Senator Ed Markey issued the following statement: “NOAA’s actions mean that our impacted New Bedford fishermen will be able to get back in the water. I am glad that fishing sectors IX and VII finally have a path forward to restore the important balance between sustainable fishing and fishermen’s livelihoods. I will continue to monitor this situation to ensure continued progress and a fair resolution so we can ensure that our Massachusetts fishermen and fishing-related businesses thrive.”

“It’s finally happening,” U.S. Rep. Bill Keating said. “We’re happy. It’s something that we’ve been doing everything in our power to encourage and to affect a swift resolution.”

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell issued the following statement: “NOAA’s long-awaited decision to approve sector operation plans and allow limited groundfish operations to resume is an important first step and welcome relief to many New Bedford fishing families and waterfront businesses impacted by the closures of Sectors 7 and 9. I applaud all those industry leaders and elected officials who worked with the City and the Port Authority to constructively engage NOAA and highlight the economic consequences of the closure on innocent parties. Our focus now will be to advocate for the timely conclusion of the remaining civil enforcement case against Carlos Rafael and the transfer of his vessels and permits to third parties in the Port of New Bedford. Only then can we move past lease-only arrangements and return to normal groundfishing operations and management.”

Read more coverage at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Read the full interim rule here

 

Change in Area 1A Trimester 2 Effort Controls and Meeting Notice

July 19, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission) Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts revised the effort control measures for the 2018 Area 1A Trimester 2 (June 1 – September 30) fishery. 

Days Out of the Fishery

  • Vessels with a herring Category A permit that have declared into the Trimester 2 Area 1A fishery may land herring five (5) consecutive days a week. One landing per 24 hour period. Vessels are prohibited from landing or possessing herring caught from Area 1A during a day out of the fishery.
    • Landing days in New Hampshire and Massachusetts begin on Monday of each week at 12:01 a.m.
    • Landings days in Maine begin on Sunday of each week at 6:00 p.m.
  • Small mesh bottom trawl vessels with a herring Category C or D permit that have declared into the Trimester 2 fishery may land herring seven (7) consecutive days a week.

Weekly Landing Limit

  • Vessels with a herring Category A permit may harvest up to 640,000 lbs (16 trucks) per harvester vessel, per week. 
  • 160,000 lbs (4 trucks) out of the 640,000 lbs weekly limit can be transferred to a carrier vessel (see below).

At-Sea Transfer and Carrier Restrictions

The following applies to harvester vessels with a herring Category A permit and carrier vessels landing herring caught in Area 1A to a Maine, New Hampshire, or Massachusetts port.

  • A harvester vessel can transfer herring at-sea to another catcher vessel.
  • A harvester vessel is limited to making at-sea transfers to only one carrier vessel per week.
  • Carrier vessels are limited to receiving at-sea transfers from one catcher vessel per week and can land once per 24 hour period. A carrier vessel may land up to 160,000 lbs (4 trucks) per week. The carrier limit of 4 trucks is not in addition to the harvester weekly landing limit. Carrier vessel: a vessel with no gear on board capable of catching or processing fish. Harvester vessel: a vessel that is required to report the catch it has aboard as the harvesting vessel on the Federal Vessel Trip Report.

The Area 1A sub-annual catch limit (ACL) is 32,084 metric tons (mt) after adjusting for a carryover from 2016 and the research set-aside. The Section allocated 72.8% of the sub-ACL to Trimester 2 and 27.2% to Trimester 3. After incorporating the 295 mt fixed gear set-aside and the 8% buffer (Area 1A closes at 92% of the sub-ACL), the seasonal quotas are 21,291 mt for Trimester 2 and 7,955 mt for Trimester 3.

These effort controls are projected to extend the Trimester 2 fishery through the end of August. Landings will be monitored closely and the fishery will be adjusted to zero landing days when the trimester’s quota is projected to be reached.

The Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts are scheduled to reconvene via conference call to review fishing effort on:

  • Wednesday, August 8 at 12:30 pm

To join the call, please dial 888.585.9008 and enter conference room number 845-202-505 when prompted. 

Fishermen are prohibited from landing more than 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip from Area 1A on no landing days. Please contact Megan Ware, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at mware@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740 for more information.

A copy of the announcement can be found here –http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerringDaysOutTri2_July2018.pdf. 

Coast Guard medevacs sick fisherman 6 miles off Nantucket

July 19, 2018 — A Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod aircrew medevaced a 40-year-old man experiencing abdominal pain from a fishing vessel Tuesday six miles southwest of Nantucket.

The aircrew hoisted the fisherman to the helicopter and flew him back to Air Station Cape Cod where he was transferred to awaiting emergency medical services personnel, the Coast Guard said.

The captain of the fishing vessel Provider notified Coast Guard watchstanders shortly after 2 p.m. of the sick crew member, the Coast Guard said.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Ex-manager says processor repacked expired seafood

July 19, 2018 — Gloucester Seafood Processing, the largely shuttered local subsidiary of Illinois-based Mazzetta Co., is a defendant in a lawsuit accusing the seafood giant of artificially manipulating lobster prices and repackaging expired seafood into new packaging with new expiration dates.

The accusations are contained in a wrongful termination suit brought by Corey Thompson, a former general manager at Mazzetta’s Atwood Lobster subsidiary in South Thomaston, Maine. Besides Gloucester Seafood Processing, the action also names Mazzetta Co. and its parent company, JorZac Inc., as well as Atwood, Londonderry Freezer LLC., and other Mazzetta subsidiaries as defendants.

Thompson claims in the lawsuit that he was fired with no explanation on May 26, 2017 — five days after he sent an email to Mazzetta Co. owner Tom Mazzetta and another company executive “expressing his concern that artificially deflated raw material prices” to benefit other Mazzetta subsidiaries “was illegal and in violation of domestic and international tax laws.”

In the same email, attached to the lawsuit as an exhibit, Thompson “expressed his concern that repacking expired seafood with new expiration dates was morally wrong and illegal.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Report Urges State Officials to Dramatically Expand Clean Energy

July 18, 2018 — The push for Massachusetts to completely rely on renewable energy by the year 2050 is growing as state officials consider whether to pass legislation that would accelerate the growth of clean energy.

The state House and Senate has until July 31, the end of legislative session, to decide on enacting a law that would dramatically expand renewable energy in Massachusetts. It would also eliminate arbitrary caps on solar power and increase the renewable portfolio standard by three percent per year.

In anticipation of the July 31 deadline, the Environment Massachusetts Research & Policy Center has released a report that includes a state-by-state assessment of the growth of clean energy technologies over the past decade. The report, entitled Renewables on the Rise 2018: A Decade of Progress Toward a Clean Energy Future, compares the Commonwealth’s progress to that of other states in key areas such as wind energy, solar energy, electricity energy efficiency programs, electric cars, and energy storage.

State Director of Environment Massachusetts Ben Hellerstein and President and CEO of the South Coast Chamber of Commerce Rick Kidder presented the report to the media at Fall River’s Kennedy Park on Tuesday. Hellerstein says that the legislation being discussed at the state house require the state to work to reach goals of fifty-percent reliability on renewable energy by 2030, and 100-percent by 2050.

Read the full story at WBSM

Low prices have arrived in New Bedford but where are the big scallops?

July 18, 2018 — The seafood fortune tellers got a lot of things right about the 2018 Atlantic sea scallop season, including a dramatic decline in prices for the largest sizes.

From April 1 through June 30, the first three months of the season, buyers paid an average of $10.13 for U-10 scallops at the Buyers and Sellers Exchange (BASE), the  seafood auction house in New Bedford, Massachusetts, BASE reports. That’s a 29% decline from the $14.37 paid for such scallops during the first three months of the 2017 season.

U-12s, meanwhile, went for $9.16 during the most recent three-month period, 37% less than the $14.58 paid during the same period in 2017, according to BASE.

Data provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) indicate that just 516,840 (7%) of the roughly 7.6 million pounds sold at the auction between April 1 and June 30 were U-10s — the size designation for the largest scallops, meaning it would take 10 to fill a standard-size bucket. During the most recent period studied — the first 11 days of July — an average of $9.71/lb was paid for the 89,864 lbs of U-10s sold on the auction floor, all from the region known as Closed Area 1, according to the NOAA data.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News