Saving Seafood

Outsiders to eyeball fisheries council

January 4, 2019 — It staged a rolling tour of a dozen port meetings at the end of 2017 that would have made the Grateful Dead proud and now the New England Fishery Management Council continues to urge fishing stakeholders to weigh in on what the council does well and where it needs to improve.

The council embarked on its external review in November, visiting port cities up and down the northern Atlantic coast — with two port meetings remaining next week in New York and New Jersey — and continues to conduct a webinar that allows stakeholders to make their cases online.

The website address for the online survey is http://bit.ly/2AiZkMn.

This week, the council selected the six individuals — three fishery managers and three scientists — to serve on the independent review panel. The panel, according to the council, is set to meet March 13 to 16 at the Hilton Garden Inn at Boston’s Logan Airport. The meetings will be open to the public.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

Maine: Bills to address commercial license glitches

January 3, 2018 — ELLSWORTH, Maine — The Legislature’s Joint Committee on Marine Resources will meet next Wednesday for hearings on three bills aimed at fine-tuning the state’s commercial fishing license system.

One bill, LD1652, would allow the Department of Marine Resources to set up a limited entry system for shrimp fishermen in any year when the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission sets the state’s northern shrimp landings allocation at less than 2,000 metric tons. Currently there is a moratorium on shrimp fishing in the Gulf of Maine.

The ASMFC allowed Maine, New Hampshire and Massachusetts to establish limited entry programs in their individual shrimp fisheries in 2011 but, so far, that hasn’t happened anywhere.

LD1652 “was a department (DMR) bill,” committee Co-chairman Rep. Walter Kumiega (D-Deer Isle) said last week, adding that Commissioner Patrick Keliher was “reluctant” to establish a limited entry program for the fishery because “once you close it, it’s hard to reopen.”

Despite that difficulty, Kumiega said, given the poor status of the shrimp stock, “we may not have a choice. We don’t know when the next season will be, but it doesn’t hurt to have one in place”

The two other bills are more technical.

LD 1720 would extend the maximum duration of a temporary medical allowance for lobster and crab fishing license holders from one year to two. The bill also establishes a temporary terminal illness medical allowance that would allow the spouse or child of the terminally ill holder of a lobster and crab fishing license to fish on behalf of their family member in limited circumstances.

According to Kumiega, use of the medical allowance provisions is required “more often than you’d think,” and he recounted a personal exposure to a situation in which one spouse was able to haul gear for her husband while he was injured.

Read the full story at the Ellsworth American

 

Massachusetts: Battling Ice On A New Bedford Fishing Boat

January 3, 2018 — The normally bustling docks along New Bedford harbor were practically deserted Tuesday as an arctic cold front kept some boats off the water.

On one pier, a deckhand heaved a sledge hammer against the ice-caked roof of the Gabby G, a fishing boat on the New Bedford pier. Ice covered practically every exposed surface of this 105-foot dragger.

The boat’s captain, Mario Gonsalves, said he wanted to get another run in before a snow storm that’s predicted to hit Thursday.  But first, the crew had to de-ice the boat.

“You’re seeing a lot of ice build-up from spray from the ocean,’’ he said. “The boat goes up and down and the spray from the waves…just freeze(s) instantly, almost. This is what happens when you fish and it’s really cold out.’’

Gonsalves and his five-member crew fish for squid and whiting, also known as Silver Hake. Once they catch the fish they store them in boxes with packing ice – not to keep the fish cold, he said, but to stop them from freezing.

Read the full story at Rhode Island Public Radio 

 

ASMFC: States Schedule Hearings on Draft Addenda XXVI & III to the American Lobster and Jonah Crab FMPs

January 2, 2018 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

States from Maine through New Jersey have scheduled their hearings to gather public input on American Lobster Draft Addendum XXVI/Jonah Crab Draft Addendum III. The details of those hearings follow.

Maine Department of Marine Resources

January 10, 2018; 6 PM

Scarborough Middle School Cafeteria

21 Quentin Drive

Scarborough, ME

Contact: Pat Keliher at 207.624.6553

January 11, 2018; 6 PM

Ellsworth High School

24 Lejok Street

Ellsworth, ME

Contact: Pat Keliher at 207.624.6553

New Hampshire Fish and Game Department

January 16, 2018; 7 PM

Urban Forestry Center

45 Elwyn Road

Portsmouth, NH

Contact: Doug Grout at 603.868.1095

Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries*

January 19, 2018; 1PM

Resort and Conference Center of Hyannis

35 Scudder Avenue

Hyannis, MA

Contact: Dan McKiernan at 617.626.1536

* The MA DMF hearing will take place at the MA Lobstermen’s Association Annual Weekend and Industry Trade Show

Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife

January 17, 2018; 6 PM

University of Rhode Island Bay Campus

Corless Auditorium, South Ferry Road

Narragansett, RI

Contact: Conor McManus at 401.423.1943

Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection

January 18, 2018; 7 PM

CT DEEP Boating Education Center

333 Ferry Road

Old Lyme, CT

Contact: Mark Alexander at 860.447.4322

New York Department of Environmental Conservation

January 9, 2018; 6:30 PM

NYSDEC Division of Marine Fisheries

205 N. Belle Mead Road

East Setauket, NY

Contact: Jim Gilmore at 631.444.0430

New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife

January 8, 2018; 6 PM

Wall Township Municipal Building

Lower Level Community Room

2700 Allaire Road

Wall Township, NJ

Contact: Peter Clarke at 609.748.2020

The Draft Addenda seek to improve harvest reporting and biological data collection in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries. The Draft Addenda propose using the latest reporting technology, expanding the collection of effort data, increasing the spatial resolution of harvester reporting, and advancing the collection of biological data, particularly offshore.

Recent management action in the Northwest Atlantic, including the protection of deep sea corals, the declaration of a national monument, and the expansion of offshore wind projects, have highlighted deficiencies in current American lobster and Jonah crab reporting requirements. These include a lack of spatial resolution in harvester data and a significant number of fishermen who are not required to report. As a result, efforts to estimate the economic impacts of these various management actions on American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries have been hindered. States have been forced to piece together information from harvester reports, industry surveys, and fishermen interviews to gather the information needed. In addition, as American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries continue to expand offshore, there is a greater disconnect between where the fishery is being prosecuted and where biological sampling is occurring. More specifically, while most of the sampling occurs in state waters, an increasing volume of American lobster and Jonah crab are being harvested in federal waters. The lack of biological information on the offshore portions of these fisheries can impede effective management.
 
The Draft Addenda present three questions for public comment: (1) what percentage of harvesters should be required to report in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries; (2) should current data elements be expanded to collect a greater amount of information in both fisheries; and (3) at what scale should spatial information be collected. In addition, the Draft Addenda provide several recommendations to NOAA Fisheries for data collection of offshore American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries. These include implementation of a harvester reporting requirement for federal lobster permit holders, creation of a fixed-gear VTR form, and expansion of a biological sampling program offshore. 
 
The Draft Addenda, which are combined into one document that would modify management programs for both species upon its adoption, is available at http://www.asmfc.org/files/PublicInput/LobsterDraftAddXXVI_JonahDraftAddIII_PublicComment.pdf or on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org (under Public Input).Fishermen and other interested groups are encouraged to provide input on the Draft Addenda either by attending state public hearings or providing written comment. Public comment will be accepted until 5:00 PM (EST) on January 22, 2018 and should be forwarded to Megan Ware, FMP Coordinator, 1050 N. Highland St, Suite A-N, Arlington, VA 22201; 703.842.0741 (FAX) or at comments@asmfc.org (Subject line: Lobster Draft Addendum XXVI).

Learn more about the ASMFC by visiting their site here.

 

Wandering seal pup rescued at Yarmouth pizza shop

January 2, 2018 — YARMOUTH PORT, Mass. — A harbor seal pup seemed to have her heart set on an anchovy pizza when she wandered a couple of miles inland Friday night and wound up in the parking lot of Yarmouth Pizza by Evan.

Brian Sharpe, manager of Marine Mammal Rescue and Research for the International Fund for Animal Welfare in Yarmouth Port, said it appeared the 6-month-old pup had followed winding White’s Creek inland from Grays Beach through a marsh and crossed Route 6A near Weir Road where the creek goes under the road.

“This does happen, especially with the younger ones,” said Sharpe. He and a veterinarian from IFAW responded to the pizza shop’s parking lot where the 3-foot-long, 40-pound seal had been placed into a box, then transferred to a pet crate by passerby who were concerned the animal would cross Route 6A again and get hit by a vehicle.

Although they were well-intentioned, Sharpe cautioned the public against approaching or handling marine mammals. The National Marine Fisheries Service guidelines ask people to remain at least 150 feet from seals.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Phil Paleologos: Bullard’s Wrongheaded Assessment

December 29, 2017 — John Bullard is a likable guy. I know him to be an attentive listener and someone who must be applauded for his revitalization efforts through local historic preservation. But over the past five years, as one of five regional fisheries administrators of NOAA, John Bullard has made some wayward decisions, from imposing a moratorium on fishing cod to responding to the Carlos Rafael scam.

With little signaling, he sent shock waves through the fishing community when he announced he was prohibiting 60 permit holders connected with Rafael from going out to sea until next May and perhaps beyond that! Bullard was not willing to listen to all the parties who are losing millions and millions of dollars in our local economy. He told the Boston Globe, “That’s something the sector should have thought about when they were failing to do their job.” So much for his so-called inspirational essay in the Boston Globe appealing to our better angels.

John Bullard is more concerned with the debt that must be paid by our local sector for the unknown number of species overfished rather than the job-killing measures he approved!

Read the full opinion piece at WBSM

In plea deal, former National Fish president likely to pay $1m in restitution

December 29, 2017 — Former National Fish and Seafood president Jack Ventola will likely pay $1 million in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and face jail time after defrauding his former company, which is majority owned by Hong Kong-based conglomerate Pacific Andes International Holdings (PAIH).

Ventola was arrested on Nov. 23, 2015, in connection with failing to pay taxes on more than $2 million in income he earned from 2006 to 2009, according to the US attorney’s office for the district of Massachusetts. He was indicted on three counts of filing false tax returns and one count of conspiracy to defraud the IRS.

Ventola and two others, former National Fish senior sales executive Richard Pandolfo, and Michael Bruno, an accountant who didn’t work for the company but served on its board, face charges that include tax fraud in connection with an alleged scheme that reportedly charged the company for labor services never provided.

Pandolfo and Bruno pleaded guilty but have yet to be sentenced. Ventola had initially pleaded not guilty but later signed a plea agreement with prosecutors that was filed on Dec. 19. As part of that agreement, Ventola admitted to seven counts of making and subscribing a false tax return while prosecutors dropped three more serious charges: conspiracy, wire fraud and mail fraud.

For the charges he admitted to Ventola could face a maximum of three years in prison, three years supervised release, a $250,000 fine and restitution.

However, prosecutors will instead recommend a lesser prison sentence, a to be determined fine and $1.073m in restitution. Judge Douglas Woodlock is slated to sentence Ventola on March 27.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

 

BULLARD: Blame Rafael, not NOAA, for Sector IX Shutdown

December 28, 2017 — When the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration closed down Sector IX to groundfishing back on November 20, many felt the organization was punishing New Bedford fishermen for the actions of “The Codfather” Carlos Rafael. It was Rafael’s vessels that went over catch limits as part of his overfishing scheme that sent him to federal prison.

NOAA regional administrator John Bullard told WBSM News that shutting down the sector isn’t about any kind of sanctions or punitive actions for Rafael’s scheme, but rather for cleaning up the mess he left behind.

“The basic responsibility of a sector is to report the catch, and to keep vessels within the limits for that sector for all the species of groundfish,” Bullard said. “To this date, we don’t know how many fish the vessels in Sector IX have caught. We don’t know how much they have exceeded the limits on some of their catch, and we think some of those overages are significant.”

Bullard said that since 2012, when NOAA went to the quota-based system, it has been each sector’s responsibility to keep track of its own catch.

“They can lease back and forth within a sector, they can lease fish from one sector to another,” he said. “That’s all designed to maximize efficiency and keep government kind of out of it, and allow the efficiency of the private sector to work. Mr. Rafael misused that system, and until we understand how much they went over and what species, we’re not about to let the boats go fishing again.”

Bullard said NOAA initially reviewed the sector’s operation plan back in May along with those of all the other sectors, as the fishing year begins on May 1.

“I decided at that time, that even though there were problems with Sector IX last May, we would allow them to continue operating because the trial had not taken place. We felt we should let them operate until the trial concluded,” he said. “We faced a lot of criticism for that decision.”

But once the trial was completed and Rafael was sentenced to about four years in prison, the decision was made to halt operations in Sector IX until the extent of the overfishing could be determined. As part of the shut down, the Sector IX vessels cannot join other sectors, or the common pool.

Read the full story at WBSM

Ex-National Fish president pleads guilty to tax fraud

December 28, 2017 — The former president of East Gloucester-based National Fish pleaded guilty to seven counts of tax evasion on Friday as part of a deal with federal prosecutors that removed more serious conspiracy charges involving at least one other National Fish executive.

Jack A. Ventola of Ipswich changed his plea to guilty last Tuesday and now faces up to three years in prison, three years of supervised release and a fine of at least $250,000 for each of the seven counts. Ventola also was ordered to make restitution of $1.07 million to the IRS.

As part of the agreement, Ventola, whose sentencing is set for March 27 in U.S. District Court in Boston, must pay at least $200,000 of the restitution at or before sentencing.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Fishing is a deadly business, but many fishermen won’t wear life preservers

December 27, 2017 — One rogue wave or false step, an ankle caught in a line, is all it takes to cast a fisherman overboard. But those risks have never been enough to convince Rick Beal that it’s worth wearing a life preserver.

Even though he has never learned how to swim.

Commercial fishing ranks among the most dangerous professions, but fishermen — fiercely independent and resistant to regulations — have long shunned life preservers, often dismissing the flotation devices as inconvenient and constraining.

Between 2000 and 2013, 665 US fishermen died at sea, nearly one-third of them after falling overboard. Not one of the latter group was wearing a life preserver, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. Unlike many mariners, commercial fishermen aren’t required to wear them, although the government requires their boats to carry life preservers.

When a clam boat sank off Nantucket earlier this month, two fishermen who were apparently not wearing flotation devices died, while a pair of crew members who managed to put on life-saving gear survived.

The fatal capsizing of the Misty Blue has renewed calls for requiring fishermen to wear life preservers, just as bikers must wear helmets and drivers use seat belts. Those safety measures also faced considerable resistance before gaining acceptance.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe