Saving Seafood

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

Bristol sheriff’s captain convicted in ‘Codfather’ case

July 17, 2018 — A captain in the Bristol County sheriff’s office was convicted Sunday by a federal jury in connection with helping Carlos Rafael, the New Bedford fishing magnate, smuggle profits from his illegal overfishing scheme to Portugal, the US Attorney’s office in Boston said in a statement.

Jamie Melo, 46, of Dartmouth was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States and one count of structuring the export of monetary instruments. He was acquitted of one count of bulk cash smuggling. Melo was indicted October 2017.

Rafael, known as “The Codfather,” allegedly told undercover agents that he would conduct his smuggling schemes sometimes by himself and sometimes using others.

During the trial, evidence showed that Melo traveled with Rafael to the Azores in Portugal for a charity event sponsored by the Bristol County Sheriff’s Office. At the time, Melo was an administrative captain with the sheriff’s office.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing Heritage Center serving up a Seafood Soiree

July 17, 2018 — You are invited to enjoy a Seafood Soiree that will showcase the bounty of the sea with signature appetizers created by some of the area’s finest chefs.

Gypsy jazz music featuring Hot Club Cheese Roll, live and chance auctions, complimentary champagne, and a cash bar are all part of the gala evening.

“We invite the community to join us for this fun and delectable evening, a showcase of seafood from the nation’s most valuable fishing port,” said New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center Executive Director Laura Orleans. “We are grateful to all our chefs, restaurants, seafood companies, and sponsors for their role in helping us promote the local seafood industry.”

The cocktail hour from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. will feature sushi from Turk’s Seafood in Mattapoisett; shrimp cocktail from Kyler’s Catch in New Bedford; and a cheese platter donated by The Pasta House in Fairhaven.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

First U.S. Offshore Wind Developer Acts on Fishing Gear

July 16, 2018 — U.S. offshore wind developer Deepwater Wind has adopted a first-of-its-kind procedure designed to prevent impacts to commercial fishing gear from its activities.

Deepwater Wind’s Block Island Wind Farm is America’s first offshore wind farm, and the company is currently in active development on utility-scale wind farms to serve Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Maryland.

The procedure was developed in close coordination with the commercial fishing industry and is based off extensive feedback from fishermen in ports up and down the Atlantic coast. Deepwater Wind believes that keeping fishermen informed is the key to preventing damage to fishing gear.

“We know that offshore wind and all other ocean users can coexist – we see that happening every day at the Block Island Wind Farm. We are committed to working with the commercial fishing industry and ironing out our differences. We want to be good neighbors out there,” said Deepwater Wind CEO Jeffrey Grybowski. “We’re taking this important step because it’s the right thing to do.”

The procedure’s key focus is on providing frequent updates on offshore activities to fishermen, via Deepwater Wind fisheries liaisons and a team of fisheries representatives based in regional ports, as well as through online updates for mariners and twice-daily updates on VHF channels.

While Deepwater Wind expects there will be only limited impacts on fishing gear from offshore wind activities, the company has included a process for gear-loss/damage claims should they occur. Beth Casoni, executive director of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, said: “We are hopeful these won’t be needed and with the multiple notices to mariners and ads in the MLA newspaper, our members are actively engaged in the development of offshore wind in Southern New England.”

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

Gloucester fishermen ‘desperate’ for federal bill to ease catch limits

July 16, 2018 — A bill passed by the U.S. House of Representatives earlier this week is being cheered by fishermen in Gloucester who are hoping for a lifeline for the struggling industry.

“It’s desperate. We are in a desperate situation. We need a change,” said Angela Sanfilippo, president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association. “It’s a good start.”

The new law would allow more flexibility for fish populations to be rebuilt, and give more authority to the regional fishery management councils, which may be more in touch with the local industry.

The bill, which passed the House on Wednesday, would change a decades-old fisheries law meant to restrict overfishing in a way proponents say can protect both fishermen and fishing stocks.

“My bill will update (the law) to ensure a proper balance between the biological needs of fish stocks and the economic needs of fishermen and coastal communities,” said Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska). “We know that each region works within their unique conditions, which is why I fought to ensure the management process will be improved by allowing regional fisheries to develop plans that meet their local needs.”

Read the full story at the Boston Herald

Front line of climate change: Black sea bass surge off R.I.

July 16, 2018 — Scientists tell us that some fish will be winners and others losers as oceans warm.

In Rhode Island, count lobster, silver hake and winter flounder among the losers, their numbers plummeting as climate change drives water temperatures higher. On the list of winners so far are squid, summer flounder, butterfish.

And black sea bass. The population of the dusky-colored fish with striking blue accents has historically been strongest off the mid-Atlantic Coast, but over the past decade or so its numbers have spiked off New England and it is becoming a more important catch for the region’s fishermen.

In a telling sign of black sea bass’s surge in Rhode Island, the state Department of Environmental Management last month loosened regulations governing the recreational fishery for the species, extending the season by 31 days and increasing the fall possession limit to seven fish per person per day, from five.

Read the full story at The Providence Journal

MASSACHUSETTS: Whale safety cited as state Senate votes to ban plastic bags

July 16, 2018 — The Massachusetts Senate went on record again in favor of a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags with sponsors pointing to the harm such bags have done to whales.

The Senate then rejected a proposal that Minority Leader Bruce Tarr of Gloucester said was intended to reduce the risk of sea mammal entanglement.

Debating an environmental bond bill Thursday, the Senate adopted a Sen. Jamie Eldridge amendment to ban stores from providing single-use carryout bags to customers at the point of sale starting in August 2019. Speaking on the amendment, Eldridge mentioned a whale that died in Thailand in June and was found to have 80 plastic bags in its stomach.

“There is no need for our sea life or wildlife to have such an ending of their lives,” Eldridge said.

Sen. Cynthia Creem also spoke in favor of the amendment, holding up a photo of a whale and pointing senators to the internet to find examples of other animals dying as a result of plastic bag waste.

“If we care not only about our environment but we care about those that live in the ocean and we care about our children and our future, we cannot have these plastic bags strewn around,” Creem said.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times