Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center presents Good Luck, Bad Luck: Superstitions at Sea

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

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will host Good Luck, Bad Luck: Superstitions at Sea on March 9, 2017 from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m. during AHA night.  Fishermen and sailors will share superstitions and stories with the public in what is sure to be an entertaining discussion.

The men and women who work and play on the sea hold many superstitions.  From bananas to suitcases, there are many things not allowed on certain vessels for fear these items will bring bad luck. In an environment which can be unpredictable, beliefs, behaviors and practices can help a crew feel in control, perhaps guaranteeing the success of a trip or protecting the crew. 

As Linda Greenlaw wrote in her book, The Hungry Ocean, “Fishermen, especially those of an earlier vintage, are superstitious; we have a unique set of superstitions by which we live. Some landlubbers will think certain sea going rituals foolish and consider bizarre our avoidance of seemingly harmless words, actions, and things. However, when the stakes are high and the consequences that threaten sever, even the most rational among us will observe the rituals—just in case they hold merit.”

In addition, the Center will co-host the 123rd anniversary celebration of the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey’s first trip. A lucky ship in her own right, she left Gloucester on March 14, 1894 and returned a highliner in July. To celebrate, the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey Association invites visitors to enjoy a piece of cake which will be served at 7:00 p.m.

The Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey Association, Inc. (SEMA) is a 501c(3) not-for-profit corporation with the purpose of raising funds to provide for the maintenance, equipment, manning, programming and operation of the Schooner Ernestina-Morrissey as a sail training vessel, school ship, and educational enterprise. SEMA is currently raising funds to match a $375,000 1:1 grant received by the Manton Foundation to fund the current rehabilitation work.

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. Located at 38 Bethel Street, the Center is wheelchair accessible. Parking is available in the lot adjacent to the Center. Admission is free.

For more information, please contact the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center at info@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.

 

Coast Guard escorts boat that took on water off Chatham

February 27, 2017 — The Coast Guard was escorting an 83-foot fishing vessel Friday after it took on water 50 miles off Chatham.

Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England received a call from the crew of the Krystle James at around 11:30 a.m. saying water was entering the ship, reportedly through a hole in the hull, according to a statement from the Coast Guard. Six people were on board.

Coast Guard Air Station Cape Cod sent a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter to deploy a dewatering pump, and Coast Guard Station Chatham sent a lifeboat crew. The 42-foot lifeboat began escorting the vessel to land after the pump brought the flooding under control, according to the statement.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Bad hull, flooding led to fatal sinking of Orin C

February 24, 2017 — The deadly sinking of the Gloucester-ported Orin C nearly 15 months ago probably was caused by structural problems with the vessel’s wooden hull and subsequent flooding, according to reports from the National Transportation Safety Board and Coast Guard released Thursday.

The two reports detailed the marine tragedy that resulted in the drowning of 47-year-old Capt. David C. “Heavy D” Sutherland during the final stages of the Coast Guard’s rescue that saved crewmembers Rick Palmer and Travis Lane on the night of Dec. 3, 2015.

Neither Palmer nor Lane could be reached Thursday for comment.

The Coast Guard report did not recommend any changes to its training, rescue procedures or the equipping of its rescue vessels. That, however, does not mean it won’t make changes in the future, according to District 1 Deputy Commander Brad Kelly.

“That is something the Coast Guard is always looking at in trying to determine what should be included into all of our rescue platforms,” Kelly said. “That is an ongoing process.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing center hosts hands-on activities

February 23, 2017 — The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will offer free, hands-on activities during February vacation, Feb. 23 to 26, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Activities will include knot-tying, scallop-shell decorating and a scavenger hunt.

Visitors of all ages can try their hands at knot-tying, a skill needed by all who make their living on the water. Budding artists can decorate a scallop shell in the make-and-take craft area while learning more about scallops. A scavenger hunt will provide an opportunity for all to learn more about the commercial fishing industry while exploring the center’s exhibits.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Island fishermen implore state to protect squid

February 23, 2017 — For the past couple of years, Nantucket fishermen have had a hard time finding striped bass in the rips and alongshore where they were accustomed to catching them.

They think they know why: no squid.

“This was where all the bass were caught. Now, no bait, no fish, no stripers to speak of,” said Pete Kaizer, a charter boat captain and commercial tuna fisherman.

Kaizer and other Nantucket fishermen petitioned the state Division of Marine Fisheries to prohibit fish draggers and scallopers that tow nets or large metal dredges along the ocean bottom from state waters, up to 3 miles out from shore all around the island. The ban would run from May 1 to Oct. 31 with the idea of protecting spawning longfin squid.

Kaizer said squid boats target the squid when they spawn because they come together in large schools and are easier to catch. Following mating, female squid drop to the bottom and put down a sticky substance that adheres to the sandy bottom, rocks or vegetation. They then deposit tubelike sacks containing over 100 embryos apiece, that stick to that patch and can resemble an underwater chrysanthemum, but are prosaically known as “squid mops.”

Nets or dredges towed across the bottom can dislodge these mops or even bring them up to the surface along with fish or squid. There is some debate about whether any young can survive this, but some lab studies have shown that older embryos hatch prematurely when the mop is dislodged from its adhesive anchor and tend to die, said Lisa Hendrickson, a fishery biologist specializing in squid with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

As seas rise, city mulls a massive sea barrier across Boston Harbor

February 21, 2017 — It would be a massive, highly controversial wall sure to cost billions of dollars. But this barrier would be much closer to home — and potentially more expensive — than the one President Trump has proposed along the Mexican border.

As rising sea levels pose a growing threat to Boston’s future, city officials are exploring the feasibility of building a vast sea barrier from Hull to Deer Island, forming a protective arc around Boston Harbor.

The idea, raised in a recent city report on the local risks of climate change, sounds like a pipe dream, a project that could rival the Big Dig in complexity and cost. It’s just one of several options, but the sea wall proposal is now under serious study by a team of some of the region’s top scientists and engineers, who recently received a major grant to pursue their research.

With forecasts indicating that Boston could experience routine flooding in the coming decades, threatening some 90,000 residents and $80 billion worth of real estate, city officials say it would be foolish not to consider aggressive action, no matter how daunting.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

$3M to ‘enhance’ marine research

February 17, 2017 — Gov. Charlie Baker traveled to Gloucester on Thursday to bestow nearly $3 million in Massachusetts Life Sciences Center state grants to the Gloucester Genomics Institute and four North Shore schools — including two in Gloucester.

Moments into his remarks, while discussing the $109,154 going to Gloucester High School and the $56,933 headed to the O’Maley Innovation Middle School, Baker hit a particularly dense passage about “providing the O’Maley students the unique opportunity to study disease processes through aquaponic systems.”

The governor leaned his towering frame toward the audience.

“Now I have absolutely no idea what that means,” he said to great laughter from the approximately 70 people gathered in the GMGI conference room. “But it sounds wicked good.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Chatham Dogfish Goes To College

February 16, 2017 — Dogs are going to college and it’s not a case of affirmative action run amok. The Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman’s Alliance is spearheading a new program to get dogfish into university dining halls.

A new “from boat to campus” version of a fish-to-table program is putting the fish on the tables of some of America’s leading universities including Yale, UMass, and Ohio State.

UMass has already ordered thousands of pounds for this academic year, and Yale plans to feature spiny dogs for their next Thanksgiving feast.

Christopher Howland is director of purchasing for UMass. He says, “Supporting local and regional farmers and fishing communities is extremely important to our team at UMass Dining. We’re very excited to be able to feature local and sustainable dogfish on the menu. Our talented chefs have been able to develop creative recipes that our students love.”

Read the full story at The Cape Cod Chronicle

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing Heritage Center hosting Scanning Day

February 15, 2017 — The following has been released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will offer free, hands-on activities during February vacation, February 23rd to 26th, from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Activities will include knot tying, scallop shell decorating, and a scavenger hunt.

Visitors of all ages can try their hand at knot tying, a skill needed by all who make their living on the water.   Budding artists can decorate a scallop shell in the make and take craft area while learning more about scallops.  A scavenger hunt will provide an opportunity for all to learn more about the commercial fishing industry while exploring the Center’s exhibits.

In addition to the vacation week activities, visitors are invited to try on foul weather gear; explore the wheelhouse; and race the clock while donning a survival suit.  The Working Waterfront Photography of Peter Pereira will be on exhibit in the Center Gallery.

Admission to the Center is free.  The Center is located at 38 Bethel Street with free parking in the adjacent lot.   Open Thursday – Sunday 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and by appointment.

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 info@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.

Fishing regulators look to reduce tangled turtles

February 15, 2017 — By Aug. 1, Chatham fisherman Jamie Eldredge has pulled the 200 conch pots he has in Nantucket Sound.

He has made the summer switch to fishing for dogfish in the Atlantic Ocean.

In doing so, Eldredge has avoided what has become a major headache for conch fishermen — large leatherback turtles that get tangled up in conch and lobster lines while pursuing jellyfish. In Nantucket Sound, a significant number of those turtles die, three times more than anywhere else in Massachusetts, and state fishery scientists are worried they may be targeted by a lawsuit charging they are not doing enough to protect an endangered species. In a series of public hearings held in coastal and island communities this month, they asked conch fishermen for ideas on how to deal with the problem.

State Division of Marine Fisheries officials think they know the answer: pull all conch pots in August.

“There’s something about that overlap of animals at that time of year, and what’s happening in the fishery, that’s very deadly for them (leatherbacks),” said Erin Burke, a Division of Marine Fisheries aquatic biologist specializing in endangered species.

Read the full story at The New Bedford Standard-Times