Saving Seafood

Atlantic Herring Eastern Maine Spawning Closure in Effect Starting August 28, 2017 through September 24, 2017

August 23, 2017 — ARLINGTON, Va. — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic herring Area 1A (inshore Gulf of Maine) fishery regulations include seasonal spawning closures for portions of state and federal waters in Eastern Maine, Western Maine and Massachusetts/New Hampshire. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Atlantic Herring Section approved a forecasting method that relies upon at least three samples, each containing at least 25 female herring in gonadal states III-V, to trigger a spawning closure. However, if sufficient samples are not available then closures will begin on predetermined dates.

There is currently only one sample for the Eastern Maine spawning area to determine spawning condition; therefore, the Eastern Maine spawning area will be closed starting at 12:00 a.m. on August 28, 2017 extending through 11:59 p.m. on September 24, 2017. Vessels in the directed Atlantic herring fishery cannot take, land or possess Atlantic herring caught within the Eastern Maine spawning area during this time and must have all fishing gear stowed when transiting through the area. An incidental bycatch allowance of up to 2,000 pounds of Atlantic herring per trip/calendar day applies to vessels in non-directed fisheries that are fishing within the Eastern Maine spawning area.

Eastern Maine spawning area includes all waters bounded by the following coordinates:

Maine coast   68° 20’ W

43° 48’ N       68° 20’ W

44° 25’ N       67° 03’ W

North along the US/Canada border

For more information, please contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Director, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

A PDF version of the announcement can be obtained here –http://www.asmfc.org/files/AtlHerring/AtlHerring_EasternMaineSpawningClosure_Aug2017.pdf.

JIM KENDALL: Even ‘smart’ video monitoring is onerous to fishermen

August 23, 2017 — I would like to make several observations regarding Michael Bonner’s Aug. 21 article, “Delegation supports Rafael’s forfeiture toward electronic monitoring.”

First of all, state legislators’ support for utilizing the forfeiture to fund the electronic monitoring (surveillance), presupposes that this form of electronic monitoring will be supported and adopted. It surely does not seem to be the favored choice of monitoring, as far as the groundfish industry is concerned. In fact, they are not in favor of any form of monitoring that has been proposed to date.

I know that many of those in the NMFS/NOAA or the conservation industry would claim that my last statement is an expected response from someone who is either in the fishing industry or who supports their way of life. However, show me someone who would like to have basically every minute of their working life surveilled and overseen by “Big Brother,” or anyone else, for that matter.

As an American, you are considered innocent until proven otherwise, but in this case, you are expected to bear the additional burden and costs of video surveillance, along with the costs of the already-imposed vessel tracking systems. The fishing vessel crews already have the considerable burden of paying for the tracking systems that monitor their positions on (at least) an hourly basis. The vessel tracking systems are now a precondition that must be met, endured and paid for by the fishermen if they wish to obtain a permit to fish in almost any of the current local fisheries.

NOAA fisheries Regional Administrator John Bullard (soon to be retiring) is quoted as saying that he thinks that video monitoring is a major benefit to the industry. I’m not sure who he thinks he’s going to convince with that statement. Surely not the fishing industry. If that were the case, New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel likely would not be requesting that this “benefit” be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read the full letter at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Working Waterfront Festival Returns on September 23rd

August 23, 2017 — The following was released by the New Bedford Working Waterfront Festival:

The nation’s #1 fishing port hosts the Working Waterfront Festival – a free, family friendly celebration of the commercial fishing industry – on the working piers of New Bedford. The Festival takes place on Saturday, September 23rd from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with whaleboat races kicking off the morning at 8:00 a.m.

More than simply a celebration, the Working Waterfront Festival is a unique opportunity for the public to get a first-hand look at the culture of fishing and for the commercial fishing industry to tell its own story.  The event presents all that goes into bringing seafood from the ocean to the table in a way that is hands-on, educational, and fun.

This year, the Festival is partnering with the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.  Located in the heart of the City’s historic downtown, the Center’s mission is to tell the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through exhibits, programs, and archives.  This partnership is a natural fit for two organizations dedicated to celebrating the commercial fishing industry.

The Festival will be presented in two locations: at Steamship Pier on New Bedford’s historic waterfront and at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center at 38 Bethel Street.  These two sites will be linked by a free shuttle bus, allowing visitors to enjoy all the Festival has to offer.

Steamship Pier will host fishermen’s contests, industry demos, vessel tours, on water activities, cooking demonstrations, a food court, and more!  Contest highlights include scallop shucking and nautical tattoos. Safety demos as well as demonstrations of skills such as rigging and wire splicing will be presented. Whaleboat races and a tug boat muster will take place with viewing from the head of the pier. Visitors can learn more about fisheries science and other aspects of the industry from non-profit and corporate exhibitors and purchase handmade items from maritime artists. Cooking demonstrations, featuring New Bedford seafood, will take place at the Foodways Area.  The Food Court will feature fresh, local seafood prepared by Seafood Hut, Oxford Creamery, and Destination Soups.

The Fishing Heritage Center will host performances of music and fisherpoetry on Main Stage; Mug Up sessions with author readings and signings; kids activities; and their current exhibit Nautical Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them: Portraits by Phil Mello. Visitors will also be able to visit the Center’s gift shop and see the main exhibit, ­­­­From Boat to Table, featuring a full-sized wheelhouse and a variety of hands-on activity stations. Alice’s Food Truck will be on hand serving fresh seafood dishes and more.

As always, the Festival will bring together a unique array of music, storytelling, and fisherpoetry. Many of the performers have close ties to the industry and reflect its’ ethnic diversity.   Performances of traditional sea chanteys by the New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus and the edgier punk rock sea chantey sounds of Sharks Come Cruisin’ will have the audience singing and dancing along.  Portuguese fado singer Ana Vinagre and her ensemble will share the soulful songs of love, the ocean, and loss.  NOIR brings the music of Norway and Ireland to the Festival stages.  Singer/songwriter Jon Campbell will share his his humorous take about the lives of those living and working on the coast. Alaskan Fisherpoet Dave Densmore will share poetry he writes, often from the wheelhouse, to capture a way of life that is changing and give voice to those who work the sea.

Commercial fisherman and author Linda Greenlaw will return to the Festival for a Q & A session with Mindy Todd of WCAI – Cape & Islands NPR Station. She will talk about fishing, writing and her newest book, Shiver Hitch, which was released in June.  A book signing will follow.

Finest Kind: The New Bedford Fishing Industry is the new, original documentary produced by the Center, will be shown throughout the day. The film interweaves interviews, historic and contemporary footage, and photographs to provide a sense of the rich history and culture of the New Bedford/Fairhaven fishing industry.

Parking is free at all meters and at the Elm Street Garage.The free shuttle departs from the Center and Steamship Pier.   For more information, visit www.WorkingWaterfrontFestival.org.

The Festival is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as support from many local businesses, the City of New Bedford, and the Harbor Development Commission.

 

Mass delegation supports putting Carlos Rafael’s forfeiture toward electronic monitoring

August 22, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — John Bullard wants to arm fishing vessels with a smartphone — figuratively speaking.

“Nobody has rotary phones anymore, we just assume smartphones are the way we communicate and all the benefits of smartphones we’ve come to expect as normal,” Bullard said. ”(Electronic monitoring) is what we’re going to transition to, but it’s going to take time.”

NOAA’s Northeast Regional director said he believes current methods can lead to inaccurate science. Last week, NOAA conducted a fishing stock assessment meeting in New Bedford where similar concerns of bad science emerged. The root of the concern was data from false reports.

Electronic monitoring, specifically cameras on vessels, would provide accurate information.

“This is a major, in my opinion, improvement,” Bullard said. “I think it’s a major benefit to the industry.”

A letter signed by 12 members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives sparked discussion of electronic monitoring. The group, which included Patricia Haddad representing Bristol’s 5th District, sent the letter to Charlie Baker asking the governor to use any capital forfeiture associated with Carlos Rafael’s sentencing to pay for electronic monitoring.

Rafael pleaded guilty in March to false labeling fishing quotas. His sentencing hearing is Sept. 25 and 26 in Boston.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Trump team nears decision on national monuments

August 21, 2017 — As Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke approaches the 24 August deadline for his recommendations to President Donald Trump on whether to alter dozens of national monuments, conservation proponents say it remains all but impossible to predict which sites the administration could target for reductions or even wholesale elimination.

In recent months, Zinke has traveled from coast to coast as he conducted the review, which included 27 national monuments created since 1996, the majority of which are larger than 100,000 acres.

Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, Atlantic Ocean

Obama created the first Atlantic marine monument in 2016 when he designated nearly 5,000 square miles for preservation off the coast of Massachusetts.

But the decision — which barred oil and gas exploration in the area and restricted commercial fishing — drew a lawsuit from Northeastern fishermen, including the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, Atlantic Offshore Lobstermen’s Association, Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance and Garden State Seafood Association.

The case is pending in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, but a judge stayed action in the case in May to await the outcome of the Trump administration’s reviews (E&E News PM, May 12).

During his visit to the East Coast in June, Zinke stopped in Boston to meet with both fishermen’s groups and scientists about the monument.

The Boston Globe reported that Zinke appeared sympathetic while meeting with about 20 representatives of New England’s seafood industry.

“When your area of access continues to be reduced and reduced … it just makes us noncompetitive,” Zinke said at the time. “The president’s priority is jobs, and we need to make it clear that we have a long-term approach to make sure that fishing fleets are healthy.”

Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, Hawaii

This site near Hawaii is the world’s largest marine protected area at nearly 600,000 square miles.

Bush first designated the site — originally named the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument — in 2006, then renamed it to Papahānaumokuākea in early 2007 in honor of Hawaiian gods Papahānaumoku and Wākea, whose mythology includes the creation of the Hawaiian archipelago and its people.

In 2016, Obama opted to quadruple the site’s size to protect the 7,000 species that live in the monument’s boundaries, as well as to extend prohibitions on commercial fishing and extractive activities (E&E Daily, Aug. 26, 2016).

The Trump administration could opt to try to roll back those prohibitions as well as the monument’s size.

Read the full story from E&E News at Science Magazine

New Bedford Standard-Times: Court, NOAA should put Rafael assets to greatest good use

August 21, 2017 — Carlos Rafael’s challenge of the forfeiture of 13 permitted groundfish vessels stirs the concerns of hundreds — maybe thousands — of fishermen and fishing support workers, municipal officials from Rhode Island to Maine, and state and federal officials left with all the more uncertainty of the impact of his punishment once it’s finally handed down.

His guilty plea in March, to three decades of cheating in the groundfish fishery, hasn’t stopped his boats from fishing out of New Bedford, where they bring in 75 percent of the groundfish landed each year, representing 10 percent of all the landings in the nation’s richest port.

New Bedford’s mayor has argued convincingly that removing all 13 vessels from the Port of New Bedford would have an immediate, significant impact on the livelihoods of scores of workers and their families, and the court’s granting of postponements while a full exit from fishing (including nearly two dozen scallopers) is negotiated by Mr. Rafael and the government suggests official harmony on that point.

Read the full editorial at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Boston Fish Pier gets historic place designation

August 21, 2017 — Visitors to the Boston Seafood Festival on Sunday can savor the lobster bake, watch fish-cutting demonstrations, or throw one back at the beer garden. Most will be unaware the place where they’re standing — the Boston Fish Pier — has become a touchstone in the struggle to hold on to the city’s historic character.

The pier just landed on the National Register of Historic Places. The decision was expected: The Massachusetts Historical Commission had voted to endorse the listing, and the National Park Service typically adheres to this kind of recommendation.

Local politicians — such as Nick Collins and Michael Flaherty, both of South Boston — pushed for this, in part as a way to help reassure the pier’s seafood businesses of their future on a rapidly changing waterfront.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

Carlos Rafael files motion of opposition to forfeiture

August 21, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Carlos Rafael filed a court motion Monday opposing the government’s motion for preliminary order of forfeiture.

The New Bedford fishing heavyweight made the request in light of “ongoing discussions” regarding the vessels and permits associated with the guilty plea he made four and half months ago.

Rafael pleaded guilty to falsifying labels and fish identification, cash smuggling and tax evasion on March 30. In the plea agreement, Rafael admitted the vessels listed in the indictment were subject to forfeiture. The agreement reserved Rafael the right to challenge the forfeitures.

Rafael took advantage of that right, citing the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment and saying an order of forfeiture may not be required. The motion requested any hearing associated with forfeitures be held as needed during sentencing on Sept. 25 and 26.

“The parties have been discussing possible resolutions of the forfeiture issues that may obviate the need for briefing and hearings on those issues,” Rafael’s motion stated.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

ASMFC Atlantic Herring Days Out Call for August 23 Cancelled

August 18, 2017 — 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 set effort control measures for the Area 1A fishery via Days Out meetings/calls.

The previously scheduled Days Out call on August 23, 2017 at 10:00 AM has been cancelled. The Atlantic Herring Section members from Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts will continue to monitor landings information and will schedule a call if necessary. If a call is scheduled, at least 48 hours’ notice will be provided.

Please contact Toni Kerns, ISFMP Director, at tkerns@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740 for more information.

Another right whale found dead

August 18, 2017 — There doesn’t seem to be an end to the bad news on right whales this summer. With a dozen found dead this year, most of them in a flurry of deaths since June, the Coast Guard reported right whale death number 13 Monday, 145 miles east of Cape Cod.

On Thursday, the whale was identified by matching the pattern of hardened patches of gray skin with photos found in a database at the New England Aquarium. The right whale Couplet was a frequent visitor to the Cape, arriving here first as a yearling in 1992, and seen in Cape Cod Bay mostly in April to feed on abundant plankton blooms for 15 of the 26 years of her life. The last time she was sighted here was in 2015, and she brought her last of her five calves to Cape Cod in 2014.

“We study this unique animal and it is hard not to get attached to it,” said Amy James, aerial survey coordinator for the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown. “You get used to seeing the same ones come back year after year.”

The loss of females is especially tragic, James said.

The Northwest Atlantic right whales are among the most endangered whale populations on earth with around 500 individuals and less than 100 breeding females.

“All of her future calves, the ones she could have gone on to create, that opportunity has been lost,” James said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times