Saving Seafood

Vineyard Resumes Blade Installation Five Months After Fracture

December 19, 2024 — The Vineyard Wind offshore wind farm being developed by Avangrid and Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners resumed blade installation last weekend five months after it was forced to suspend operations due to one blade fracturing. The project which is working with GE Vernova received permission from federal regulators for the work to proceed on a “case-by-case” basis and notified Nantucket’s elected official of the plans to resume blade installation.

A spokesperson for the wind farm developer confirmed to the local media in Massachusetts that it had received initial permission from the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement which is responsible for oversight of the construction and operation of offshore wind farms. Previously, the regulators were only permitting cabling work, and then in late October permission was received to resume installing the additional monopile foundations with the DEME’s vessel Orion expected to resume work on or about October 28.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

Endangered whales found entangled in rope off Massachusetts

December 19, 2024 — Two endangered whales have been spotted entangled in fishing gear off Massachusetts, and one is likely to die from its injuries, the federal government said.

They are North Atlantic right whales, which number less than 400 and face existential threats from entanglement in gear and collisions with ships. An aerial survey found the whales swimming about 50 miles southeast of Nantucket on Dec. 9, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.

One of the whales is a juvenile that has a thick line that passes across its head and back and is likely to succumb to the injury, the agency said in a statement. The other whale is an adult female who biologists think has suffered a sublethal injury from the entanglement, NOAA said.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

MASSACHUSETTS: Abandoned Fishing Gear Measures Become Law

December 18, 2024 — The following was released by the Office of Massachusetts Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr:

The powerful authority to remove abandoned fishing gear from the Commonwealth’s waters, long championed by State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) is now law, following the inclusion of Tarr’s language into the final version of a sweeping economic development bill (H.5100, An Act relative to strengthening Massachusetts’ economic leadership) by the legislature and the approval of that bill by Governor Maura Healey (D- Mass) when she signed it into law on November 20th, 2024. The bi-partisan, bicameral language was also co-sponsored by Senators Joan Lovely (D-Salem), Mark C. Montigny (D-New Bedford) and Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth).

“Left unchecked, abandoned fishing gear poses several threats to our marine environment and ecosystems,” said Tarr. He added that, “It ‘ghost fishes,’ increasing mortality without any harvest benefit, it presents a major risk for entanglement for right whales and other species, it clutters and pollutes the ocean floor, and it presents ongoing problems for coastal communities that have to deal with this form of pollution when it washes ashore and must be collected and disposed of before it does further damage.”

Currently, because Massachusetts law treats abandoned gear as private property even when it is unclaimed and no owner can be identified, state regulators at the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) cannot effectively develop and implement regulations to facilitate the systemic removal of the gear from state waters despite the clear and multiple environmental threats it poses on a continuing basis. This amendment reframes and restructures relevant portions of state law to allow the agency to engage the public process of creating new regulatory measures to allow the gear to be responsibly removed while respecting private property considerations.

“Derelict fishing gear has no place in our environment. Over 9% of fishing gear is lost or abandoned annually, but outdated state laws prevent efforts to recover it. This is a persistent problem—abandoned gear is a threat to endangered right whales, a safety hazard for mariners, a nuisance on our beaches, and a costly burden for municipalities to clean up,” said Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Tom O’Shea. “Thank you to Senator Bruce Tarr for leading this effort to modernize state law and streamline our department’s efforts to recover derelict gear.”

The passage of this amendment follows months of research on the subject by the DMF, and collaboration with Tarr and other legislators, with a focus on prioritizing the protection of right whales while recognizing the high price currently being paid by those in the commercial lobster fishery to protect this endangered species through the extreme economic sacrifice of enduring fishery closures that last for months and prevent harvesters and others from being able to earn a living.

“This amendment will support and maintain the integrity of fishing operations in Massachusetts,” said Lovely. “By taking this important action, we are protecting the livelihoods of our fishing communities. Thank you to Senator Bruce Tarr for his leadership and partnership on this amendment.”

Preserving the health of our waterways, coastlines, and fishing grounds is vital for the well-being of our oceans and the entire marine ecosystem,” said O’Connor. “Our commercial fishing partners have stood as steadfast advocates for their industry, and this amendment offers a decisive solution to address the issue of removing debris and lost gear that often washes ashore and has been challenging to manage in the past.”

“Abandoned and lost fishing gear can persist for many years on the ocean floor, in the water column, and on our beaches,” said Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Director Daniel J. McKiernan. “We are grateful to the lobster industry leaders and conservation community leaders who came together with us to devise strategies to dispense of this marine debris and minimize the ecological impacts that it could create.”

“The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) is proud to support this Abandoned Gear amendment that will modernize the law to help local communities with their beach cleanup efforts,” said Executive Director of the MLA, Beth Casoni. “The commercial lobster industry also helps with many of these cleanup efforts to maintain clean beaches for everyone to enjoy.”

This new law establishes the legal framework for the chronic nemesis of abandoned fishing gear to be removed from the state’s waters through appropriate regulations promulgated by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF). This bi-partisan, bi-cameral amendment was originally filed as a stand-alone bill (S.2793) earlier this year garnering co-sponsorship support from Senator Patrick O’Connor (R-Weymouth) and Representatives Ann Margaret Ferrante (D-Gloucester) and Kathleen LaNatra (D-Kingston). It was reported favorably by the Committee on Environmental and Natural Resources on June 17th, 2024.

“Our communities depend on a clean and unobstructed ocean. Abandoned and unused fishing gear threatens navigation of vessels, as well as the travel lanes of some of our marine species,” said Ferrante. “This amendment allows for the removal of legitimately abandoned fishing gear, protects marine life, while maintaining the private property rights of our fishermen and lobstermen.”

“Abandoned fishing gear presents a clear threat to the health and safety of marine wildlife and our ocean ecosystem as a whole. Yet, current statute prevents us from cleaning up our oceans and being proper stewards of our most important and vital resource,” said LaNatra. “I am proud to co-sponsor this amendment to ensure that our oceans and waterways are not being cluttered by gear that is no longer providing any economic benefits to the Commonwealth, and only adds to the threats that our marine ecosystems face today.”

The passage of this amendment follows several other initiatives spearheaded by Tarr, with the overwhelming support of the legislature, to protect right whales and support the state’s commercial fishing industry over the past several years.

They include:

Funding for Directed Patrols by the Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP) of Areas Closed to Fishing Due to the Potential for Right Whale Presence

Tarr secured $250,000 in Fiscal Year 2022, and again in Fiscal Year 2024 for these targeted efforts to prevent harm to right whales during the peak times for their presence in Massachusetts waters. These efforts came at the request of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, because of the organization’s concern that injuries not related to active fishing could occur even as lobster harvesters were making the significant economic sacrifices caused by state waters being closed to lobstering.

The funding from this program has been highly effective in protecting right whales through several measures, including:

Prevention of Illegal Activities:

Increased patrols act as a deterrent to illegal activities in closed areas. These areas are designated to protect right whales during critical times, such as calving and feeding. Patrolling helps enforce regulations and prevents unauthorized fishing activities, reducing the risk of entanglement and collisions between whales and fishing gear.

Reduction of Entanglement Risks:

Closed areas are often established to minimize the risk of entanglement, a significant threat to right whales. Fishing gear, such as lines and traps, can pose a danger to whales if they become entangled. Patrolling closed areas ensures that fishing activities comply with regulations, reducing the likelihood of abandoned or improperly managed gear that could entangle right whales.

Enhanced Response to Gear Debris:

Increased patrols enable authorities to respond promptly to any fishing gear debris found in closed areas. Abandoned or lost gear, known as fishing gear debris, can continue to pose risks to marine life. Patrols help identify and remove such debris, preventing potential harm to right whales and other marine species.

Protection of Critical Habitats:

Closed areas are often designated in important habitats for right whales, such as calving grounds and feeding areas. Patrolling ensures that these critical habitats remain free from disturbances that could disrupt the natural behavior of the whales. Protecting these areas contributes to the overall well-being and reproductive success of the right whale population.

Research and Monitoring Opportunities:

Patrolling closed areas provides opportunities for research and monitoring efforts. Observations made during patrols contribute valuable data on the behavior, health, and distribution of right whales. This information is essential for implementing effective conservation measures and adapting strategies to better protect the species.

Funding for Gear Designed to Protect Right Whales

In Fiscal Year 2023, Tarr authored successful legislation to create a program for grants to lobster harvesters for replacement gear required for the protection of right whales. The grant program, funded at $500,000, provided the funds needed for harvesters to be able to afford the substantial cost of such essential fishing gear as “weak rope,” constructed to break in the event of high stress due to a whale entanglement.

DMF awarded approximately $475,000 to 162 Massachusetts lobster fishers to purchase whale safe rope and gear marking supplies.  The awards ranged from $1,000 to $3,025.

Endangered Species: North Atlantic Right Whales

The North Atlantic right whale is recognized for their massive size, distinctive callosities on their heads, and broad, deeply notched tails. These marine giants once thrived in the waters along the eastern coast of North America; however, their population has dwindled to critically low numbers, making them one of the rarest large whale species on the planet.

One of the defining features of North Atlantic right whales is their annual migration in which they embark on a seasonal pilgrimage, covering vast distances from their feeding grounds in chilly northern waters to their calving areas in the warmer, southern regions. The North Atlantic right whale’s migration typically occurs in late fall and early winter when they travel southward to give birth and nurture their calves in the subtropical waters off the southeastern United States.

During the spring (March to June), North Atlantic right whales can be spotted in the waters of New England as they migrate northward. This period coincides with their return journey from their calving grounds in the warmer southern waters. As the waters in New England begin to warm up, these whales travel along the Atlantic coast, feeding on plankton-rich areas.

It is important to note that the exact timing of their arrival and departure may vary each year, influenced by factors such as oceanographic conditions and the availability of their primary food sources. Understanding the intricacies of their migration patterns and addressing the threats they encounter during these journeys are critical steps in the conservation efforts, which aim to track and protect these whales during their migrations, especially given the various threats they face in their journey, such as vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear.

Appeals court upholds Vineyard Wind ruling, rejecting attempt by fishermen to stop project

December 12, 2024 — The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has rejected an attempt by commercial fishermen to stop a large-scale offshore wind energy development project.

Vineyard Wind, which is to be located off the coast of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, is intended to be an 800-megawatt project built across 75,000 acres. The lawsuit, originally filed in 2022, was filed by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA) against several federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of the Interior, U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), and NOAA Fisheries and claimed the agencies took shortcuts past statutory and regulator requirements intended to protect the environment.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Aquinnah tribe supports wind lawsuit

December 11, 2024 — The leader of the Martha’s Vineyard Native American tribe, and a tribal citizen who runs a popular charter fishing business, are supporting a lawsuit against a wind farm that is undergoing construction off Aquinnah’s coast.

The chair of the Wampanoag Tribe of Gay Head (Aquinnah), Cheryl Andrews-Maltais, filed a declaration in federal district court in Washington, D.C., stating that the tribe has suffered as the result of the government’s actions approving Revolution Wind, a development under construction 12 miles from the Vineyard.

William (“Buddy”) Vanderhoop has filed a similar declaration; both read like witness statements. Vanderhoop said that the fishing grounds that he brings customers to have not been as productive as in prior years, and he worries about his business as a result.

Describing themselves as a grassroots organization, the Rhode Island group Green Oceans is alleging in the lawsuit filed at the beginning of this year that the federal government has violated a number of laws — including the Endangered Species and Clean Water acts — by approving the construction of Revolution Wind. Some 35 other plaintiffs are part of the lawsuit, including the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance and Save Right Whales Coalition.

Revolution Wind is expected to consist of 65 Siemens Gamesa turbines — which feature blades more than 300 feet long — with the capacity to generate up to 400 megawatts for Rhode Island and 304 megawatts for Connecticut, enough to power more than 350,000 homes.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management approved the wind farm in November last year.

But tribal members, including Andrews-Maltais, worry about the impact the offshore wind development is having on many significant cultural practices, the environment as well as wildlife in the area.

Read the full article at Martha Vineyard Times

Council advances plan to cut Northeast US scallop quota 28 percent

December 6, 2024 — The New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) voted to enact Framework 39 for the 2025 scallop fishing season – which includes a significant drop in the scallop allowable catch.

The Fisheries Survival Fund – which was established to advocate for the long-term sustainability of the Northeast U.S. scallop stock – supported the council’s decision and advocated for it to select Framework 39 before the council meeting. The organization said the allocations “reflect the need for pragmatic balancing” of fishing effort in the region to ensure the continued success of the fishery.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell also wrote to the council in support of Framework 39. New Bedford, Massachusetts is consistently ranked among one of the top ports by value in the U.S. – in part thanks to the high value of the scallop fishery.

“The scallop industry is a cornerstone of New Bedford’s economy, supporting not only fishermen and their families, but also the numerous shoreside businesses that rely on its success,” Mitchell wrote.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

$2M Grant to Fishermen’s Alliance Means More Boats Gathering Ocean Data

December 5, 2024 — Strange things have been happening in recent years in the Gulf of Maine, the 36,000 square miles of relatively enclosed ocean stretching from Cape Cod to Nova Scotia. Low-oxygen zones have become annual occurrences, a large brown algae bloom in summer 2023 grew from Maine to northern Massachusetts, and looming over it all is the accelerating warming of surface waters. The Gulf of Maine is warming three times faster than the global average, according to the Maine Climate Council, which is faster than 99 percent of the world’s oceans.

Understanding these phenomena and their effects on fisheries is difficult, said Owen Nichols, Director of Marine Fisheries Research at the Center for Coastal Studies, because of the lack of data available on the ocean water below the surface — at the depths where most fish live.

There is one group of people, however, who regularly put equipment deep in the ocean: fishermen. And many of them are already working with scientists to gather data on the water.

But on Oct. 31, Gov. Healey’s administration announced a nearly $2 million grant to the Chatham-based Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance that will significantly expand fishing vessel-based measurements. The grant is from the quasi-public Mass. Technology Collaborative.

Since 2001, a Northeast Fisheries Science Center project has partnered with local fishermen to try to fix the lack of data about the depths. The project, called eMOLT (Environmental Monitoring on Lobster Traps and Large Trawlers), has so far installed sensors on about 100 fishermen’s gear to gather data on stratification of water temperature, dissolved oxygen levels, and other parameters.

Read the full story at The Provincetown Independent

Tracking Sea Creature Stress Related to Wind Turbine Construction

December 5, 2024 — With hundreds of towering offshore wind turbines planned to be built in the waters south of Martha’s Vineyard, a team of local scientists is working to find out if the construction noise will hurt ocean life.

As regulators consider projects up and down the east coast, researchers at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution have been simulating the booming sound of pile driving turbine monopiles to see if it has an effect on a variety of species. So far, results have been mixed.

While there’s been research into how turbine construction impacts the endangered right whale, the ocean’s small ground critters have largely been left to fend for themselves, said Aran Mooney, an associate scientist at WHOI.

“This is a knowledge gap, and it could really impact the fisheries,” he said.

The research team has been replicating construction and observing its effects on lobsters, sea scallops, flounder, squid and black sea bass. Mr. Mooney’s work was contracted by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the federal agency that oversees offshore wind energy.

In the past few years, the WHOI scientists have determined the impact the noise has on squid by playing an audio recording of pile driving as they were enclosed in a tank.

“The sound profiles are pretty much the same as what we see in offshore wind, actual construction.” Mr. Mooney said.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

First Circuit likely to save the whales despite lobstermen’s complaints

December 3, 2024 — An epic sea battle unfolded at the First Circuit Tuesday as Massachusetts fishermen tried to harpoon federal regulations that protect the North Atlantic right whale. But it appeared the judges were on the whales’ side and, as in “Moby Dick,” the fishermen may end up shipwrecked.

At issue is a federal rule that limits lobster and Jonah crab fisheries’ use of buoy lines, which can entangle and kill whales.

The fishermen’s lawyer, Daniel Cragg, told the judges that the rule resulted from Congress making a “drafting failure,” but the judges seemed incredulous.

“As between ‘Congress didn’t know what it was doing’ and ‘Congress did something that makes sense,’ it seems like making sense is the better option,” U.S. Circuit Judge Seth Aframe commented dryly during oral arguments.

For centuries right whales, which average 50 feet long and 50 to 75 tons, were targeted by whalers due to their docile nature and high blubber content. By 1937, when hunting them was banned worldwide, there were only about 100 left. The species rebounded a little, but in 1970 they were listed as endangered and the population today is estimated to be around 350.

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service

With Trump, New Bedford’s fishermen hope for better times

December 2, 2024 — A cold wind cut across New Bedford harbor as Jim Kendall, a retired scallop boat captain, surveyed the city’s main fishing pier. Many of the boats sat idle, while a few crew members cleaned their decks and repaired equipment.

Kendall remembers how busy these docks used to be years ago, when there were fewer regulations and closures, and fishermen could head out most days of the year.

Now, “if you can fish, say, 60 days a year, you’re doing pretty damn good,” he said.

New Bedford is the most valuable commercial fishing port in the country, landing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of seafood every year. But Kendall said bringing in that haul is getting harder, and the margins tighter. He blames Washington, and specifically the Democratic Party, for the change in fortunes.

“A lot of the Democrats had basically forgotten about the fishing industry or just don’t pay much regard to it,” he said.

As for President-elect Trump, “the fishing industry is really supporting him.”

All across Massachusetts’ South Coast, cities and towns that voted for President Biden in 2020 flipped to Trump’s column in 2024. The former president even came close to winning here in New Bedford, a storied working-class city that overwhelmingly supported Biden just four years ago.

Kendall said he’s surprised Trump didn’t win New Bedford outright, given all the support he sees among the fishermen.

Read the full story at WBUR