Saving Seafood

Albertsons Companies Becomes First Major Grocer to Sell Fair Trade Certified™ Scallops

May 5, 2017 — Albertsons Companies today announced that it has expanded its Fair Trade Certified™ seafood program and its commitment to responsible sourcing by becoming the first major grocer to carry Fair Trade Certified™ scallops.

The Fair Trade Certified™ program addresses the social and environmental needs of fishing communities across the globe by protecting fundamental human rights of workers, preventing forced and child labor, establishing safe working conditions, regulating work hours and benefits, and enabling responsible, sustainable resource management.

“Albertsons Companies takes our commitment to socially and environmentally responsible seafood seriously,” said Buster Houston, Group Director of Seafood at Albertsons Companies. “By providing Fair Trade Certified™ seafood, we are able to support the domestic industry, provide our customers with the highest quality product, and support the health of ocean ecosystems and communities that depend upon them.”

The new product, Santa Monica Seafood® Signature Sea Scallops, is sourced from the Port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, an iconic fishing village with a rich history of American seafood production. These large scallops are not only responsibly sourced, but are also recognized worldwide as having unparalleled texture and flavor. Santa Monica Seafood® Signature Sea Scallops are available at Albertsons, Vons and Pavilions stores in Southern California and will be available at Safeway stores in Northern California this summer.

Read the full story at PR Newswire

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center presents Safety at Sea in collaboration with New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park’s Every Kid in a Park Program

May 4, 2017 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

During the month of May, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will present programs for more than 1,000 fourth graders from the New Bedford Public Schools as part of the National Park’s Every Kid in a Park program.  These programs will provide students with an introduction to the Center with a focus on Safety at Sea. 

Commercial fishing is one of the most dangerous occupations in the nation. During their visit to the Center, students will learn how fishermen train to keep themselves safe while at sea.  A few lucky students will try on a survival suit to experience what it is like to wear one.  Center staff and volunteers from the fishing industry will present this program, sharing their knowledge with the students.

The Center is grateful to BankFive for providing a grant to support the Center’s educational programs. Educators who are interested in learning about program options are encouraged to contact the Center.  Programs can be tailored to the particular interests and grade level of students.

The Center is open free of charge, Thursday through Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m,. and is located at 38 Bethel Street, in the heart of the National Park. The Center is wheelchair accessible and has free off-street parking.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through archives, exhibits, and programs. For more information, please contact the Center at programs@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.

MASSACHUSETTS: Gloucester condemns Commercial Street wharf

May 4, 2017 — The city is continuing its investigation into what caused a wharf at 80 Commercial St. to collapse into Gloucester Harbor on April 28, taking a tin outbuilding with it.

City Building Commissioner Bill Sanborn said the remaining portions of the pier and the damaged building have been condemned and the owners ordered to remove it.

“We’re still investigating and haven’t determined the cause,” Sanborn said Wednesday. “We’re working with the owners, requiring them to bring in an engineer to tell us what caused the failure and how they’re going to make it safe.”

Sanborn said the city has not cited the owners for any violations, but reiterated that the investigation is ongoing.

City assessor records list the owner of the 80 Commercial St. site as the Anthony Curcuru Trust et al, but Sanborn said the ownership is more complicated than that.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center hosting Scanning Day

May 3, 2017 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will host Scanning Day on May 13, 2017 from 10:00 a.m. to noon. Scanning Day is an opportunity for the public to share and preserve a digital image of their fishing industry photographs, documents, and other records for future generations.

The Center invites the public to bring their fishing industry related photographs, both historic and contemporary, as well as documents such as settlement sheets, union books, or news clippings to be scanned. Staff will scan the materials and record any information the owner shares about each piece.  The owner will leave with their originals along with a digital copy  of the scans on a flash drive. The Center is working to create a digital archive of these materials which will be made available to researchers and the public. These documents will help us to tell the story of the fishing industry.  This event is free and open to the public.

If you have a collection you would like to contribute to the Center’s digital archive and you are not able to attend Scanning Day, please call (508)993-8894 or email Center staff at info@fishingheritagecenter.org to make an appointment to have your collection scanned.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through archives, exhibits, and programs. For more information, please contact the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center at info@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.

Fishing and offshore wind can co-exist, leaders say

May 3, 2017 — New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell and about 20 civic, business, and academic representatives spent the first full day of their wind-focused trade visit to England Tuesday in Grimbsy, the largest fishing port in the world in the 1950s — which gives the New Bedford group food for thought.

New Bedford has landed the highest dollar-value catch in the United States for 16 years running. But in Grimsby and England at large, the fishing industry declined sharply in the 20th century following a period known as the “Cod Wars,” when Iceland asserted territorial authority over waters where English vessels were fishing.

Thus, as SouthCoast leaders learn from Grimsby about its success in offshore wind, they also have their minds on fishing, and how the two industries can coexist.

Around 5:45 a.m., some of the New Bedford group left their hotel for the Grimsby Fish Auction. Grimsby still handles about 70 percent of all the fish processed in the United Kingdom, according to Neil Mello, Mitchell’s chief of staff.

Among the auction visitors was John F. Quinn, a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives who now chairs the New England Fisheries Management Council. Asked if he could see evidence that offshore wind is compatible with the fishing industry, he said, “most certainly.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford-Standard Times

MASSACHUSETTS: What’s next for Carlos Rafael’s fishing permits?

May 3, 2017 — Almost a week ago, City Council members asked for their names to be attached to a late file agenda pertaining to Carlos Rafael’s groundfish permits.

Behind Ward 4 Councilor Dana Rebeiro, Council President Joseph Lopes and Ward 5 Councilor Kerry Winterson, the council requested “that the Committee on Internal Affairs meet with Attorney General Maura Healey and NOAA to discuss how current owners and mariners operating in New Bedford have the first right of refusal to acquire licenses to be auctioned as result of the plea agreement in the case of The United States vs. Carlos Rafael…”

The written motion was a bit premature.

Following Thursday’s council meeting, Rebeiro acknowledged the measure was “to get ahead of the ball” in terms of where the permits may land.

So what’s next?

Rafael’s plea agreement with the United States lists 13 vessels and the accompanying permits that could be potentially forfeited. However, none of his assets will be surrendered without an order of forfeiture, which describes exactly what will be taken.

According to the U.S Attorney’s office, the order of forfeiture will be issued “at and after sentencing,” which is scheduled for June 27.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Author Talk with Rachel Rowley Spaulding

May 2, 2017 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center presents Author Talk with Rachel Rowley Spaulding on Thursday, May 11th at 7:00 p.m. during AHA Night.  Ms. Spaulding will share how Arthur Moniz’s painting of the F/VEllen Marie inspired her to learn more about the vessel which led to her book, In Search of Ellen Marie.  This free presentation will be followed by a Q & A and book signing. 

In Search of Ellen Marie is the true story of a painting-inspired, passionate pursuit to locate a fishing vessel.  It’s really about life, a boat’s life, but also about lives of people and their power to affect others: the fisherman in South Bristol, Maine who put his work on hold to chat and share an important phone number; Ellen Marie’s Captain of the 1960s and ‘70s in New Bedford, Massachusetts who challenged her stereotypical thinking about fishermen and took her on an imaginary trip to Georges Bank; and the nose-ringed bartender in Newport, Rhode Island who gladly put up her poster and gave her a drink on the house. Spaulding says,”It’s about being human and experiencing the psychological defense of denial when I didn’t want to believe something, and experiencing compassion when I heard the grief of loved ones left behind when fishermen lost their lives at sea.  It’s about the awe-inspiring realization that I had been injected into the historic era soon to be lost forever of wooden commercial fishing boats manned by a unique breed of courageous fishermen.”

Born on Cape Cod, Rachel Rowley Spaulding holds a business degree from Boston University, and has worked primarily in the financial field.  She gained her writing education from UMass Dartmouth. Rachel now lives in Wareham, her childhood home, close to New Bedford, the historic fishing port she has come to love. 

The Center is open Thursday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free. Located at 38 Bethel Street in the heart of the National Park, the Center is wheelchair accessible with free off-street parking.  The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through archives, exhibits, and programs. For more information please contact the Center at programs@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.

Associated Fisheries of Maine Says Rafael’s Permits Must Go Back into Quota Pool

May 2, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — In a statement today, Maggie Raymond, Executive Director of the Associated Fisheries of Maine, said that NMFS only legal option with Carlos Rafael’s permits is to cancel the permits and return them to the quota share pool.

Raymond says “Carlos Rafael’s environmental crime spree, spanning two decades, will finally come to an end. Rafael pled guilty to federal charges of falsifying fish catch reports, conspiracy and tax evasion. He will serve at least four years in jail and will forfeit millions of dollars in fishing assets.  For law-abiding fishermen, this day is long overdue.”

“While other fishermen were complying with steep reductions in fishing quotas, Rafael decided those rules didn’t apply to him. Rafael’s violations set back groundfish rebuilding requirement and forced others to compete with his illegal activity on the fishing grounds and in the market. Rafael has harmed the entire groundfish industry, and fishermen from Maine to New York deserve to be compensated.”

“Rafael’s history is so egregious that the National Marine Fisheries Service is obliged to cancel all his groundfish permits and fishing privileges. Existing regulations describe a process for re-distributing the fishing privileges from cancelled permits to all other permit holders in the fishery – and this is precisely the process that should be followed in this case.”

The current New England groundfish management plan that established industry sectors and allocated quota based on fishing histories from 1996 to 2006 provides that if a permit is canceled, NMFS must recalculate the quota shares of all remaining fishing permits within that category, as the allocations were made based on a certain level of eligible fishing history.

The Associated Fisheries of Maine is saying that this system should be followed in Rafael’s case, meaning the catch share confiscated from Rafael due to illegal activity would be then redistributed among all remaining valid permit holders.

This is the option that concerns New Bedford because it would mean a re-distribution of some groundfish quota rights to other ports.  However, Raymond argues that all New England fishermen who did abide bycatch limit rules were adversely affected by Rafael’s illegal fishing and that they deserve to be compensated.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission. 

SEAN HORGAN: Trump take on marine monuments may be good for Cashes Ledge

May 1, 2017 — Last week, President Trump’s declaration that his Interior Department will apply the gimlet eye to the newly designated protected areas — particularly those born of the dreaded single-organism parentage, Antiquitatum Actum — was quickly followed by reports that the prez found his new gig required more heavy lifting than expected.

It’s as if his emergence onto the ramparts of the hostilities over the widespread and autonomous creation of the national monuments areas by the Obama administration finally, utterly convinced Trump that being the fearless leader really is a beast.

Trump’s grand entrance should inflame the narrative even more (if that’s possible), re-energizing all of those city-states — conservationists, fishing stakeholders, energy and mining companies and local communities — spread across Gatsby’s dark fields of the republic.

It also might be better news for one New England area that wasn’t designated than it is for one that was.

Trump’s edict may or may not result in the rollback of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, also known as the New England Coral Canyons and Seamounts area, located about 150 miles off Cape Cod.

Read the full opinion piece at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center and New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park to Offer Free Summer Camp Program

May 1, 2017 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, and the Whaling History Alliance are teaming up to offer two one-week summer camp programs for New Bedford children entering grade 4 in the fall of 2017.  Something Fishy Summer Camp is designed to give kids an introduction to the history and culture of the working port from whaling days to present day commercial fishing. Camp activities will include hands-on marine science, arts and crafts, daily field trips, a fishing vessel tour, and more. 

The camp will run from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. during the weeks of July 10th and July 17th. It will be based out of the National Park’s Corson Maritime Learning Center on William Street.  The camp will be offered free of charge to all campers. 

Interested families must complete and submit an application form by May 23, 2017.  Campers will be selected through a lottery process and will be notified by June 5, 2017.  If you are interested in obtaining an application, please visit the Center’s website at http://fishingheritagecenter.org/programs/something-fishy-camp/.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through archives, exhibits, and programs. For more information, please email programs@fishingheritagecenter.org or call the Center at (508) 993-8894.

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park was established by Congress in 1996 to help preserve and interpret America’s nineteenth century whaling industry. The park, which encompasses a 13-block National Historic Landmark District, is the only National Park Service area addressing the history of the whaling industry and its influence on the economic, social, and environmental history of the United States. The National Park visitor center is located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. It is open from 9 AM-5 PM, and offers information, exhibits, and a free orientation movie every hour on the hour from 10 AM-4 PM. The visitor center is wheelchair-accessible, and is free of charge. For more information, call the visitor center at 508-996-4095, or go to www.nps.gov/nebe. Everyone finds their park in a different way. Discover yours at FindYourPark.com