Saving Seafood

Chinese travel pros test Gloucester’s waters — and lobster

June 9, 2016 — The world, it seems, keeps coming to Gloucester. And eating pretty well when it’s here.

The last two years have seen the city’s international profile grow significantly through its participation in events such as the Seafood Expo North America in Boston and subsequent city-organized visits to America’s oldest seaport by seafood buyers from around the world.

In April, the city hosted a large delegation of Chinese seafood buyers and executives to lay the groundwork for potentially generating more seafood trade — particularly lobsters — between Gloucester and the most populous country on the planet.

Each of the events has usually involved a luncheon showcasing the bounty of seafood that local fishermen pull from the waters around Cape Ann and the Gulf of Maine.

On Wednesday, the city shifted gears a bit by welcoming a group of 10 travel and tour professionals from Sichuan Province in southwest China. The group is being hosted by the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism to explore bringing more Chinese tourists to Massachusetts — and, by extension, Gloucester.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

MASS. STATE REP. BILL STRAUS: Baker has the right to change board’s makeup

June 9, 2016 — To the editor:

On May 24, your paper published an article regarding the action of the Baker administration in replacing seven of the nine members of the state’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission.

All seven members whom Gov. Baker replaced were serving as hold overs whose statutory terms had long expired; five of them had begun on the panel as appointees of Republican governors going back to 1991.

I believe the new appointees reflect a diverse experience in fisheries and no one quoted in your article could credibly assert that the new members aren’t qualified for this panel.

Read the full letter at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center to Open June 25th

June 8, 2016 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center: 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center opens to the public on Saturday, June 25th. A Grand Opening Celebration is slated for 11:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.   A ribbon cutting and remarks will be followed by a mini-festival.  The event is free and open to the public. The Center is located at 38 Bethel Street in the heart of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park. The 3000 square foot space will accommodate changing exhibits, public programs, school groups, archives, and community gatherings.

“The commercial fishing community deserves a place to preserve and present its stories and artifacts, share its skills and knowledge, and educate the public about its rich traditions, heritage, and contemporary existence. We are excited to provide that opportunity.” Executive Director, Laura Orleans.

The Center’s inaugural exhibit From Boat to Table presents all aspects of the industry from the time a keel is laid on a vessel to the time the catch is landed and brought to market. A variety of interactive components include a net mending activity, dress up area, and Eastern Rig style pilothouse designed and built by Fairhaven Shipyard with electronics provided by Furuno USA.  The Center worked with Chris Danemayer and Neal Mayer of Proun Design to take the exhibit from concept to fabrication. A team of volunteer carpenters have assembled many of the exhibit components.

The June 25th Grand Opening is envisioned as a mini-festival with demonstrations of industry skills such as net mending, dredge making, shucking, and filleting, as well as safety demos, model boat making, author signings, fishermen-led walking tours, and hands on kid’s activities.  The Oxford Creamery will offer lobster rolls, chowder, and ice cream for sale and Center exhibits will be open free of charge during the event.

During 2016 the Center will continue to present Dock-u-mentaries, its monthly film/speaker series and Something Fishy, its free summer camp program presented in collaboration with the National Park and Whaling History Alliance. Weekly cruise ship programs and fishermen-led walking tours will be offered during the summer months.  A variety of public programs including author readings, talks, occupational demonstrations, and performances will be presented.  The Center is also working in collaboration with MIT Sea Grant, UMass Dartmouth, UMass Boston, and the New Bedford Free Public Library on a year-long initiative to create a digital archive of fishing community history with funding from the National Endowment for the Humanities.

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Fisheries meetings pushed back

June 2, 2016 — The state Marine Fisheries Advisory Commission was scheduled to hold its regular monthly meeting in Gloucester on Thursday, but that was before Gov. Charlie Baker purged seven of its sitting members and replaced them with new appointees.

Those wholesale changes on the nine-member board, which prompted charges of political tampering from many of the outgoing members, forced the Baker administration to reschedule Thursday’s meeting until later in the month.

Actually, two meetings.

The first, which Baker administration officials describe as an informal orientation meeting to help indoctrinate the new members on the workings of the commission, has been set for June 15 at a Division of Fisheries and Wildlife Field Headquarters in Westborough.

The second will be the regular monthly business meeting, set for June 28, also at the DFW facility in Westborough. That will be the first time the full board has met for a business meeting since April.

Read the full story in the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: No Saltonstall-Kennedy grant money headed for Cape Ann this year

June 7, 2016 — Cape Ann has been shut out this year from sharing any of the $11 million NOAA said it will distribute as part of the Saltonstall-Kennedy grant program.

Neither of the area’s two applicants — the Gloucester Fishing Community Preservation Fund (GFCPF) and the Gloucester Marine Genomics Institute (GMGI) — were among the 50 applicants the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recommended for funding.

The recommendations are not absolute guarantees for receiving funding, according to NOAA. Final approval is subject to funding availability and a final review and approval by NOAA’s grants management division and the Department of Commerce’s financial assistance law division.

“It’s disappointing because we believe we had a great proposal,” GMGI Executive Director Chris Munkholm said.

The GMGI proposal was to use genetic-based testing to better classify the cod populations from various fisheries, Munkholm said.

“We believe this will help lead to developing the innovative technology that will be the future for classifying all species of fish,” she said.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rules for Northeast Skate Fishery

June 6, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region:

Today, NOAA Fisheries proposes, and opens for public comments, new management measures for the northeast skate fishery.

These were developed through Framework Adjustment 3 to the Northeast Skate Complex Fishery Management Plan at the recommendation of the New England Fishery Management Council.

The proposed measures are:

  • New quotas for the skate wing (8,372 mt) and bait (4,218 mt) fisheries for the 2016 and 2017.
  • All skate trip limits are proposed to remain unchanged from current levels.
  • Splitting the skate wing fishery quota into two seasons (May through August and September through April) to allow the directed fishery to be temporarily closed in-season if the seasonal quota is reached.

Read the proposed rule as filed in the Federal Register.

The comment period is open until 5pm on June 21.

Please submit your comments online or by mailing them to:

John Bullard, Regional Administrator
NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region
55 Great Republic Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930

Please mark the outside of the envelope “Comments on Northeast Skate Fishery Proposed Rule.”

Northward Movement of New England Lobsters Putting Strain on Industry, Trade Group Says

June 6, 2016 — One of Southern New England’s most iconic sea creatures is being displaced by a warming planet.

A trade group says rising ocean temperatures has been putting a strain on lobster fisheries in Southern New England, including Southern Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.

According to a report from the National Observer, the Lobstermen’s Association of Massachusetts revealed that lobsters are moving further north, seeking habitats in colder waters.

“This is a real concern for us,” Beth Casoni, executive director of the Lobstermen’s Association of Massachusetts told weather.com in a phone interview.

Megan Ware, Lobster Fishery Management Plan Coordinator at the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, explained to weather.com that the number of adult lobsters in Southern New England —south of Cape Cod— has plummeted to “roughly 10 million.”

Read the full story at The Weather Channel 

New Bedford Standard-Times: Cooperation pushes fishery advocacy to next level

June 6, 2016 — Last Thursday, House Natural Resources Committee Chair Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) joined Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) and Mayor Jon Mitchell in New Bedford, Mass., to discuss issues relevant to the local seafood and fishing industries. The National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC), which helped organize Rep. Bishop’s visit, hopes to continue working with the Natural Resources Committee and its staff to arrange bipartisan visits to all the seaports where NCFC members conduct their business.The following editorial about Rep. Bishop and Rep. Keating’s visit to New Bedford was published yesterday by the New Bedford Standard-Times:

Geography is both a blessing and a curse for commercial fishermen in the U.S. They have access to rich fishing grounds along thousands of miles of seacoast, but the distance between the fish they catch and the American consumer prevents a full understanding of the lives of fishing communities.

The visit to New Bedford’s waterfront Thursday by the chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, U.S. Rep. Rob Bishop, R-Utah, was more than a step in the right direction, it’s proof of treading the right path. The committee is responsible for ocean issues, including the current reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

City support

The National Coalition for Fishing Communities was formed with city-directed grant money, and the Harbor Development Commission’s membership in the coalition emphatically states the city’s commitment and leadership. Their advocacy is often first to be heard, which means they’ll wait longest for remedy.

Advocacy

Saving Seafood’s years of advocacy in Washington on behalf of the Port of New Bedford and the East Coast has enabled the creation of the coalition. More than two dozen municipalities, businesses, and associations from around the country are represented: Alaska, Hawaii, West Coast, Gulf Coast and East coast. Members from Rhode Island, Long Island, New Jersey and around New England had their voices heard by the chairman on Thursday. An industry with such diversity had its voice heard on national issues and discovered new resources to address local issues more effectively.

The coalition’s website says: “We are committed to the tenets of National Standard Eight of the Magnuson-Stevens Act,” which is summed up in the balancing of the sustainability of both the ocean environment and the fishing community. For the record, The Standard-Times is similarly committed.

Good government

There seems little good to be done recounting the sins of either fishermen or government agents, but it is instructive when considering the case of an alternative for the monument designation proposed to protect corals in fishing grounds south of Cape Cod. Industry representatives cooperated at the White House Executive Office level, the Council on Environmental Quality, to produce an alternative that satisfies preservation and fishing goals alike.

In addition, the CEQ’s counsel can influence how frequently deference might be claimed by regulators, nudging court decisions more in line with the statutory balancing act of National Standard 8.

The chairman’s visit to New Bedford is a recognition that there remain injustices and inequities in the administration of Magnuson-Stevens; reaching out leads to better decisions.

Bipartisanship

Chairman Bishop’s congressional district in Utah borders on the Great Salt Lake, which sees millions of pounds of brine shrimp eggs landed each year. The industry can move more than a billion dollars through the economy annually, but its fortunes are fickle. The lake’s changing salinity affects shrimp reproduction, which can shut the season down if severe enough.

The chairman may have seen the workers in his district reflected in those at the display auction in New Bedford on Thursday, icing down Gulf of Maine flounder. Or at Northern Wind, where workers use machines to process vast amounts of scallops, the port’s signature harvest.

The only “politics” surrounding the chairman’s visit was of the traditional variety: How can we get the people’s business done? New Bedford’s Democratic U.S. Rep. Bill Keating could readily see eye to eye on the issues of fishing communities as they toured the New Bedford waterfront together.

Managing ocean resources may never be easy, but cooperation is what gets the people’s business done, moving toward National Standard 8’s goal of a sustainable balance between humanity and the environment.

Read the editorial at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Rep. Bishop Discusses Federal Policy Reforms with Regional Fishing Leaders in New Bedford

Bishop 7

From left: Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA), Mayor Jon Mitchell, and Rep. Rob Bishop (R-UT) talk with representatives of New Bedford’s seafood industry on Thursday, June 2. (Photo: House Committee on Natural Resources)

June 3, 2016 — The following was released by the House Committee on Natural Resources:

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Today, House Committee on Natural Resources Chairman Rob Bishop (R-UT) spent the day touring the United States’ highest grossing commercial fishing port in New Bedford, Massachusetts and meeting with Mayor Jonathan Mitchell, Rep. Bill Keating (D-MA) and local fishing leaders. June 1, 2016 marks the one-year anniversary of the House passage of H.R. 1335, legislation reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act. This legislation tailors federal fishery management plans to allow more flexibility and local input while also supporting a more robust domestic seafood industry.

Despite bipartisan support in the House and backing from Democratic elected officials in many of the nation’s coastal fisheries communities, the bill waits for action in the Senate.

“I thank Mayor Mitchell, local fishermen and area residents for the warm welcome during today’s visit. I’m also thankful that Congressman Keating was able to join me during this educational experience.

“Today’s trip to New Bedford was another reminder of the challenges facing America’s fisheries and how lackluster policies from Washington are a root cause of the problem. As we heard today, the science and data used to regulate the industry is inadequate, outmoded and must be reformed.

“Threats from Washington of a unilateral national marine monument designation off the coast of Cape Cod is another major concern for these communities. This will only worsen access and do irreparable damage to the fishery industry in the Nation’s top grossing port and others.

“I look forward to working with colleagues on both sides of the aisle to modernize our fishery laws and bring hope to our coastal communities that rely upon a robust and enduring fishing industry.”

The trip included a tour of a shipyard, seafood processing plant and the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

The House Committee on Natural Resources has jurisdiction over federal fisheries laws.

Click here for additional information on the H.R. 1335.

CHRISTIAN PUTNAM: Voters need to take action to save fishing industry

June 3, 2016 — Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker recently made significant changes to the state fisheries board after the board became bogged down in an internal struggle over which board member should be in charge. Bringing new blood into a broken governmental process is a smart move by an executive with significant private industry experience.

The federal government could take a page from Gov. Baker’s playbook when it comes to breaking through bureaucratic roadblocks and promoting efficiency. Instead the Obama administration created the National Ocean Policy in 2010 by executive order as a way to deal with the oceans and the future of commercial fishing.

In 2012, an implementation plan was outlined, resulting in a 2016 work plan. The National Ocean Policy was billed as a process by which stakeholders could have more direct and immediate control over stewardship of the oceans and the resources within. Instead it has turned into a regulatory burden that requires the participation of many federal agencies, creating an extended process in reacting to changes in the environment and the needs of stakeholders, including the endangered New England Commercial Fisherman.

Read the full story at the Scituate Mariner