Saving Seafood

New tool to help industry deal with fishing disasters

March 21, 2016 — The Fishing Partnership Support Services has developed a new manual to help fishermen prepare for potential crises on the water and to serve as a blueprint for communities dealing with fishing tragedies.

The manual, which the fishing advocacy organization assembled with help from researchers from Harvard University’s School of Public Health and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, will be unveiled Thursday afternoon at an event scheduled at the U.S. Coast Guard’s Station Gloucester.

“It’s something that we’ve been working on for a while,” said J.J. Bartlett, executive director of the Fishing Partnership Support Services. “The fishing communities, such as Gloucester, have developed incredible networks of support for people performing these most dangerous jobs and we wanted to come up with a standard operating procedure manual that everyone involved can use.”

Bartlett said the five-chapter manual will be available via free download from the Fishing Partnership Support Services website, as well as by hand-outs.

Read the full story at The Gloucester Times

Eight arrested in drug raids on New Bedford fishing boats

NEW BEDFORD, Mass — Eight people were arrested on local fishing boats over the past two days in drug raids by national, state and local law enforcement, who seized heroin and opiates that fishermen were intending to use at sea, police said.

“This is the second time we’ve done this, and it’s actually a continuing effort to (stop) the flow of illegal drugs from getting to sea, aboard fishing vessels,” said Major Patrick Moran of the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

“This operation, we had eight arrests,” he said.

Moran said environmental police worked with the New Bedford Police Department’s marine unit and local officers from the Department of Homeland Security in the two-day operation.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

DAVID GOETHEL: Should catch share management be indicted?

March 16, 2016 — According to accusations from Federal investigators, the seafood business run by Carlos Rafael “laundered” fish to evade quotas, sold fish for cash to evade taxes, and cheated captains and crews by paying them for lower-valued fish than what they landed. These are serious criminal accusations, but they also raise a disturbing question: Is the system known as “catch shares” at least in part responsible for what occurred?

Catch shares are a system of managing fish where fishermen are given fixed quota for each species, which they can either catch or lease. All legal fish must be retained, and the quota cannot be exceeded. According to proponents of the system, giving fishermen economic incentive not to exceed limits will promote sustainability.

Fifty-three million dollars has been spent implementing catch shares in New England. Since implementation, the NOAA regional office moved into a new four-story building with room to accommodate all the new hires and subcontractors maintaining the program, while environmental non-governmental organizations have wrung millions from their multimillionaire donors to run a relentless promotional public relations campaign. A cottage industry of companies, consultants, and academic institutions has received millions in grants to implement, monitor, and study catch shares. Meanwhile, most fishermen and their families, other than a handful of winners, have been eliminated from the fishery or reduced to near bankruptcy.

As a fisherman, you either work or you don’t eat. The people running Mr. Rafael’s boats essentially became modern-day sharecroppers. The exorbitant cost of leasing quota was deducted from their share of the catch, and, as of March 1, they are additionally responsible for the cost of government-mandated monitoring. Mr. Rafael also allegedly told the captains how to fill out their logbooks so that his fish-laundering scheme could operate. The captains, who signed the logbooks under penalty of perjury, had a choice: Sign, or do not eat.

Read the full story at The New Bedford Standard-Times

Massachusetts lobstermen want to create in-state processing industry

March 12, 2016 — With two of the top five lobster ports in the state, the South Shore could see newly created jobs and increased income for its local fisherman if legislators pass a law clearing the way for lobster parts to be processed in Massachusetts.

The bill to allow shell-on lobster parts to be processed, transported and sold in the state passed the State Senate in January and is waiting on action by the House, possibly before April, said co-sponsor Rep. James Cantwell, D-Marshfield.

Approval would allow Massachusetts to compete with Maine lobster processors that are going up against the dominant players globally – lobster meat processors based in Canada’s Maritime Provinces.

The dynamics of the international lobster processing market are starting to shift. America exported about 69 million pounds of lobster to Canada in 2014, and the 2015 figure was less than 67 million, federal data show.

Massachusetts lobstermen are eager to enter this market, especially on the South Shore.

Read the full story at The Patriot Ledger

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford’s Azorean whaleboats await major spring overhaul

March 13, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD — Major maintenance and repairs are in store this spring for the three proud Azorean whaleboats built in New Bedford between 1997 and 2000.

To pay the $23,000 estimated cost, the Azorean Maritime Heritage Society is hosting two fundraisers — one on Tuesday at Estoril in Fall River, and the other on May 21 at the Sails of Portugal Wine and Food Tasting at the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

One of the three boats, the Bela Vista, now rests on the ground floor of the Whaling Museum’s new education center, in a still unfinished space.

It still looks glorious in its wildly festive pink, blue and yellow paint, colors that don’t signify anything beyond fun and excitement in the Azorean culture.

But as Sara Quintal, society president, pointed out to a visitor, the 40-foot whaleboat suffers many maladies as the result of heavy use and uneven and sometimes harsh storage conditions.

The wetting and drying of the hull “has caused the planks to shrink,” she said. That leaves gaps and so “this boat leaks like a sieve,” she said.

Repair surveys and estimates have been done on the boats, and it seems as if almost every part and every piece will need replacement or repair to get them into shape for the next Azorean regatta, set for 2017.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Politicians seek historic recognition for Boston Fish Pier

March 11, 2016 — A group of South Boston politicians is pushing state officials for new measures to protect the Boston Fish Pier, including putting the 102-year-old wharf on the National Register of Historic Places.

The effort comes as the Seaport area undergoes massive changes, with high-end offices, restaurants, apartments, and condos opening near the pier. Meanwhile, the pier continues to operate as the city’s primary fishing port: More than 20 commercial fishing boats have berths there, and 15 seafood businesses, primarily processors and distributors, occupy two of the pier’s three buildings. It’s also home to the No Name Restaurant, a popular seafood eatery.

Last month, five politicians wrote to Secretary of State William Galvin, asking for his direct involvement in preserving the Fish Pier. Galvin chairs the Massachusetts Historical Commission, which administers the National Register program in this state on behalf of the National Park Service.

A National Register listing brings recognition for a property, the potential for tax incentives, and some limited protections from federally funded projects. The listing also automatically puts a property on a similar state register, which then offers eligibility for state-funded grants for restoration projects.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

Mayor, supporters intensify push for fisheries center to move from Woods Hole to New Bedford

March 10, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD — A broad group of SouthCoast supporters is backing an intensified push for moving the Northeast Fisheries Science Center from Woods Hole to New Bedford, saying in a letter to the top NOAA administrator this week that bringing government scientists closer to the fishing industry could ease long-simmering tensions.

The letter was sent Monday to NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, written by Mayor Jon Mitchell and signed by more than 50 people, including port representatives, fishermen, SouthCoast politicians, local economic leaders and more. It describes “persistent distrust between NOAA and the fishing industry” over the last 20 years and says moving the science center to New Bedford could “restore the agency’s credibility in fishing communities,” by fostering communication.

“We have tried over the years to establish a more constructive dialogue with NOAA, and it just hasn’t happened,” Mitchell said Thursday. “I have long stressed that the best way to improve the government’s understanding of fishing communities is to get them to operate in one, and New Bedford is the undisputed center of the commercial fishing industry on the East Coast.”

The National Atmospheric and Oceanic Administration (NOAA), under the federal Department of Commerce, has been assessing the Woods Hole science center for more than a year.

The issue caught broad attention in December, when Falmouth town officials discussed a possible relocation of the center at a public meeting. Teri Frady, spokeswoman for NOAA at the science center, said at the time that repairs, renovations or replacement were possible options.

Paul Doremus, deputy assistant administrator for operations at NOAA Fisheries, said in December that NOAA’s assessment of the Woods Hole laboratory would be completed this spring.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times

LIVE FROM SENA: Plenty of Fish in the Sea

March 9, 2016 — In the immediate wake of the 2016 Seafood Expo North America, the overwhelming impression is of bounty. As always, there was a plethora of product to sample, with plenty of standout items. Traversing the show floor at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center this week, Progressive Grocer noted even more breaded/crusted offerings than in past years, with shrimp, crab, clams, calamari, oysters, catfish, cod, tilapia, grouper, haddock and rainbow trout all getting the crunchy treatment, some in the form of bite-sized chunks. Also observed: a continuing trend towards zesty spices, sauces and marinades, with Southwestern flavors – as evidenced by the fish tacos served up by Miramar, Fla.-based Regal Springs, which donated 5 pounds of tilapia for every taco sampled to hunger relief nonprofit SeaShare – and sriracha particularly prevalent.

At the National Fish & Seafood booth, Nancy Peterson, VP of marketing at the Gloucester, Mass.-based company, was particularly excited about the company’s newest product introduction under its Matlaw’s brand: the seven-SKU Big Bag Value line, which Peterson noted offers on-trend flavor, variety and affordable price in clear, super-sized bilingual (English and Spanish) packaging enabling customers to see just what they’re purchasing. Among the products in the convenient frozen line are Shrimp Jalapeño Mac & Cheese Bites, leveraging consumer interest in breaded, bite-sized, spicy items. National Fish & Seafood is considering adding a lobster option to the line, according to Peterson, who adds that the company gets many of its ideas for retail products from items developed for foodservice. “That’s worked very well for us,” she asserted.

Read the full story at Progressive Grocer

Cape group pushes dogfish as viable seafood option

March 9, 2016 — BOSTON — The Seafood Expo is the largest seafood show in North America covering over 516,000 square feet of exhibition space this week at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center.

For the second year in a row, members of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance spent three days talking dogfish with international and national buyers and sellers, and executive chefs at the show as part of an ongoing campaign to put the small shark on restaurant menus and on the dinner table as a sustainably caught, local whitefish.

“I think the market is gigantic and, if you talk to the fishermen in Chatham, they will tell you, you can’t drop a hook in the water without getting a dogfish. Between those two facts, (the market) will continue to build over time, but it’s already gaining a lot of traction,” said Michael Dimin, founder of Sea to Table, a company that markets artisanal fish directly to chefs across the country.

Processers successfully campaigned to get dogfish certified by the Marine Stewardship Council a few years back because the population was booming and the dogfish daily trip limit is kept low at 5,000 pounds. Chatham catches about 6 million pounds out of the state’s 9 million pounds in annual landings. The total landings of 16 million pounds fall far below the 50 million pounds scientists consider a sustainable catch.

Compared with other species, dogfish, a small coastal shark, are close to shore and easy to catch. Cod are now far offshore, as are haddock, and monkfish involves a three-day trip, hundreds of miles roundtrip in relatively small boats.

Read the full story at Cape Cod Times

Would you eat dogfish? How about smoked dogfish beignets with a red pepper aioli?

March 8, 2016 — Dogfish, aka spiny dogfish, dogfish shark, or Cape shark is small species of shark caught commercially along the Eastern Seaboard, from Maine to North Carolina. On Cape Cod, it’s relatively easy to catch using longline or gillnets within 10 miles of Chatham, Mass.

“In the summertime we find the dogfish literally as soon as we fall outside the harbour,” says Nick Muto, a Cape Cod fisherman, and a member of board of directors for the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. “We have miles of dogfish.”

Dogfish has become abundant in the waters off New England, and codfish has all but disappeared due to the confluence of warming oceans, says Muto.

“But out of that has risen this emerging dogfish fishery that has become a real building block of our harbor.”

Abundant it may be. But Americans aren’t yet buying it.

It might be an image problem. Or maybe the name “dogfish” is enough to turn seafood consumers away. Maybe it’s the taste.

Whatever it is, the abundant fish has been seen in the US as a lower-valued species — “trash fish” — so that much of the catch is exported overseas.

Read the full story at PRI