Saving Seafood

Massachusetts: Thousands of pogies washed up in Everett, but it’s due to natural causes

July 27, 2018 — Thousands of dead fish washed up in the Mystic River in Everett and Somerville this week, blanketing the muddy shorelines and emanating a stench that customers and employees at a nearby Costco store said could be whiffed from the parking lot.

But city and state officials, as well as local environmentalists, said Thursday that while the sight was alarming, the fish had died due to natural causes.

Patrick Herron, executive director of the Mystic River Watershed Association, said the Department of Environmental Protection and state Division of Fisheries and Wildlife were investigating what he called a “die-off” that left tens of thousands of menhaden — or, as they’re more commonly known, “pogies” — in the area.

Herron said the likely explanation is that the fish were driven into the shallow, warmer waters by a predator. Once in that area of the river, the fish depleted the oxygen supply and ultimately perished, he said.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

 

Rep. Seth Moulton: Fishing industry also needs relief from trade war

July 27, 2018 — President Donald Trump is sending $12 billion in emergency aid to American farmers to mitigate the damaging impact of the escalating trade war with China and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton says the nation’s fishing industry also should receive compensation.

As the primary author of the letter to Trump and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, as well as in introduced legislation, Moulton made the case that restricting the emergency aid to the agricultural sector ignores the parallel economic pressure being foisted on fishing stakeholders by the Chinese reaction to Trump’s imposed tariffs.

“Farmworkers are not the only Americans that are losing out in this trade war with China,” Moulton and other members of Congress wrote in the letter. “We respectfully request you give the same consideration to the hardworking fishermen and women of America who are being hurt by your policies and direct the U.S. Department of Commerce to provide emergency assistance to working families of the water.”

The letter pointed out that “American fishermen and women are getting hit on both ends by your trade policies,” including U.S. tariffs on imported Chinese steel and aluminum imports and the retaliatory 25 percent tariffs — in addition to the 7 percent tariffs already in place — imposed by the Chinese on 170 imported U.S. seafood products.

The letter also pointedly states the emergency assistance only is necessary because of the detrimental impact of Trump’s trade policies.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Fishermen safety training involves tips on yoga, administering Narcan

July 27, 2018 –Fishing Partnership Support Services aims at focusing on the health and well-being of fishing families in New England. Sometimes that involves aid with health insurance, but Thursday in its New Bedford office at 114 McArthur Drive it meant yoga mats, Narcan and AEDs.

The organization conducted a four-hour CPR and first-aid training certification seminar for those associated with the fishing industry.

“The hard job that fishermen have to do for an extended amount of time really does put them in a risk situation,” safety training coordinator Luis Catala said. “This is a hard to reach, underserved community that really needs these services. That’s why we do our best to make ourselves accessible and bringing training to them.”

The seminar, which ended with those participating receiving CPR certification, covered everything from administering Narcan and EpiPens to dealing with amputated digits as well as performing CPR and using automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Falmouth Research Group Receives Monkfish Grant

July 26, 2018 — A Falmouth-based nonprofit has received a grant through NOAA Fisheries and the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Monkfish Research Set-Aside Program.

The Coonamessett Farm Foundation received a two-year cooperative research project grant to improve the understanding of monkfish biology.

The study will explore non-lethal techniques for determining the sex of the fish and evaluate the maturity stage of Southern New England Monkfish.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

National Fish accuses former employee of sharing trade secrets in recent lawsuit

July 26, 2018 –Kathleen Scanlon – the former head of research, development, and quality assurance for National Fish & Seafood – was ordered not to work for her new employer, Tampa Bay Fisheries, and return National Fish property in a heated court battle.

Pacific Andes-owned National Fish, based in Gloucester, Massachusetts, filed a complaint against Scanlon, Tampa Bay, and a “John Doe” on 20 July, alleging that Scanlon “unlawfully acquired NFS’ confidential information and trade secrets” involving its proprietary clam production process.

NFS, which markets the longstanding Matlaw’s stuffed clam and seafood line, said Scanlon’s action were “part of a scheme to harm NFS’ position in the seafood-supply industry,” according to the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Dover, Florida-based Tampa Bay Fisheries specializes in private label seafood for retailers and restaurants. Both suppliers recently tried to secure a national listing with Whole Foods Market, according to the complaint.

After working for NFS for 20 years, Scanlon voluntarily resigned on 11 July. She was set to begin working for Tampa Bay Fisheries on 23 July.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

All shell, no shock: Lobster prices strong, season picks up

July 26, 2018 — New England’s lobster industry faces big new challenges in selling to Europe and China, but the trouble hasn’t caused prices to budge much for American consumers.

The business is in the midst of its busiest part of the year, when tourists flock to coastal states with a beachside lobster dinner in mind. Summer is also when prices tend to fall a bit because it’s when the majority of lobsters are caught.

But the prices haven’t fallen much. Retailers are selling live lobsters in the $7 to $12 per pound (per 0.45 kilogram) range in Maine, where the American lobster industry is based. That’s not too far behind recent summers.

“It’s starting to pick up, so of course the price is dropping. But that’s pretty normal,” said William Adler, a lobsterman out of Green Harbor, Massachusetts. “Now it’s starting to come alive, and prices are still good right now.”

Members of the industry are concerned about heavy new tariffs applied by China to U.S. seafood this month, because that country is a major lobster buyer. Canada also recently brokered a deal with the European Union to remove tariffs on Canadian lobster exports to Europe, while the U.S. has no such agreement.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Akron Legal News

Democrats Press Trump for Tariff Relief for Fishing Industry

July 26, 2018 — Democratic members of Congress are pressing the Trump administration for compensation for fishermen hit with losses as a result of President Donald Trump’s escalating trade disputes with China and other countries.

The group, led by Rep. Seth Moulton of Massachusetts, points to the administration’s announcement Tuesday that it will provide $12 billion in emergency relief to help American farmers hurt by foreign retaliation to Trump’s tariffs.

The five members of Congress said Wednesday in a letter to Trump the fishing industry is getting hit by administration tariffs on steel and aluminum imports needed for boats, fishing hooks, and lobster and crab traps — and by the 25 percent retaliatory Chinese tariff on 170 American seafood products.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

National Fish & Seafood sues former employee

July 25, 2018 — Care for a side order of alleged corporate espionage with your stuffed clams? Belly on up to the bar.

As in the legal bar.

Gloucester-based National Fish & Seafood is accusing its former head of research, development and quality assurance of absconding with confidential processing information and other corporate trade secrets when she resigned recently to take a similar position with a Florida-based seafood competitor.

In a civil lawsuit filed Friday in U.S. District Court in Boston, NFS alleges Kathleen A. Scanlon, who worked at NFS for more than 20 years before resigning about two weeks ago, used company-issued equipment to help steal confidential recipe, processing and customer information as a means of assisting her new employer, Tampa Bay Fisheries Inc. of Dover, Florida.

The suit also names Tampa Bay Fisheries as a co-defendant, along with an unnamed John Doe at Tampa Bay Fisheries who allegedly helped hatch the plan.

Officials at Tampa Bay Fisheries did not respond to phone calls Monday seeking comment.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

CPR, first aid training for fishermen to include opioid awareness

July 25, 2018 — Fishing Partnership Support Services is bringing its CPR / First Aid training to New Bedford from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday at the Massachusetts Fishing Partnership Office, 114 MacArthur Drive.

Cost is $25 payable on the day of the event. However, if payment is a problem, contact Deb Kelsey, Fishing Partnership Navigator, to discuss scholarship opportunities.

Fishing Partnership Support Services is incorporating two additional offerings for free: ergonomics and opioid awareness. The ergonomics training was designed specifically for commercial fishermen and will provide information on ways to reduce pain and injury through more efficient work practices. Opioid awareness training provides information on recognizing signs of opioid addiction, understanding how to recognize an overdose, and administering Naloxone (Narcan), an opioid antagonist, during an overdose.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

To great white sharks off Maine: Smile, you’re on research cameras

July 24, 2018 — Marine researchers have deployed underwater cameras in hopes of documenting great white sharks off the coast of southern Maine for the first time.

The effort is part of the first study dedicated to learning about the habits of the sharks near Maine. Scientists say great whites – the world’s largest predatory fish – have increased in number in the Atlantic Ocean and will continue to do so in the Gulf of Maine.

Two cameras, each attached to a crate of chum to attract large fish, were deployed by University of New England professor James Sulikowski and undergraduates two weeks ago near Stratton Island, 2 miles from Old Orchard Beach. The island was chosen because a radio receiver that Sulikowski placed on a nearby buoy detected a tagged great white shark last fall.

“The goal is to get a better understanding of the ecosystem and what white sharks are coming in, and to find out how prevalent they are,” said Sulikowski, a marine biologist.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald