Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: 31 right whales seen in shipping lanes off the Massachusetts coast

February 27, 2024 — Authorities are urging boats traveling in shipping lanes off Cape Cod to slow down after 31 North Atlantic right whales were found in the area last week, the New England Aquarium said Monday.

The right whales were discovered in two separate groups by an aerial survey of the Great South Channel, the aquarium said in a press release. The first group of whales surfaced while “feeding about 35 miles east of Nantucket,” and a second group was seen 20 miles east of Chatham.

The Great South Channel overlaps with shipping lanes to and from Boston, and NOAA Fisheries urged ships in the area to travel no faster than 10 knots until March 7 to protect the whales, the aquarium said. The restriction is voluntary.

Right whales are a critically endangered species, with an estimated population around 360.

“These protections are particularly important given the recent loss of two female right whales—one found off of Georgia after being struck by a vessel,” the aquarium said.

Read the full at the Boston Globe

Right whale often seen in Cape Cod Bay spotted with newborn calf

February 24, 2024 — An endangered North Atlantic right whale that’s been frequently sighted in Cape Cod Bay was recently seen swimming with her new calf down south.

“Skittle” and her calf were spotted east of Kure Beach in North Carolina on Feb. 16. Skittle is often seen swimming in Cape Cod Bay in March.

It’s believed Skittle is at least 23 years old and gave birth to her first calf in 2010, but that calf likely did not survive. The New England Aquarium explains that Skittle gets her name from her skin pattern that resembles a bowling pin used in the British sport of Skittles.

Read the full article at CBS News

Massachusetts lobstermen sue NOAA over restricted fishing area

February 15, 2024 — The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) has launched a new lawsuit against NOAA over proposed permanent area closures related to protecting the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale, soon after the Maine lobster industry scored a court win over NOAA rules.

The MLA submitted its lawsuit on 9 February, claiming NOAA’s plan to permanently close the Massachusetts Restricted Area Wedge – and include the wedge in the Massachusetts Restricted Area annually from 1 February to 30 April – is unlawful under the Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2023. The MLA called the move a “continuation of NOAA’s unlawful conduct” in a press release about the issue.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MASSACHUSETTS: Mass. proposes new protections for horseshoe crabs

February 15, 2024 — The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries is proposing new regulations that would prohibit harvesting horseshoe crabs during the spring spawning season, from April 15 to June 7. Horseshoe crabs are harvested for bait and also for use in the biomedical industry.

Federal law already prohibits horseshoe crab harvest within the Monomoy National Wildlife Refuge and the Cape Cod National Seashore. But stricter state rules would align Massachusetts with other states’ regulations, according to the proposal from Division of Marine Fisheries director Daniel McKiernan. Massachusetts is one of four states where horseshoe crabs can be harvested for both bait and biomedical uses, and has the weakest protections of the four.

Read the full article at wbur

Lawmakers demand accounting for shortchanged Blue Harvest fishermen, vendors

February 15, 2024 — Massachusetts members of Congress are demanding an explanation of Bregal Partners’ liquidation of Blue Harvest Fisheries in New Bedford, Mass., in a letter listing how the international investment firm walked away from an estimated $100 million in debts.

The Feb. 12 letter from Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Edward Markey and Rep. William Keating, all D-Mass., presented a list of itemized questions to Charles Yoon, a managing partner at Bregal’s New York City office.

“After years of putting private equity profits ahead of workers and small businesses, Bregal Partners – which owned and stripped Blue Harvest of its assets – owes the community an explanation,” the lawmakers wrote. “Your actions have harmed New England’s fishing industry and left over 1,000 independent contractors, businesses, and other creditors saddled with debt.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MASSAHCUSETTS: USCG responds to fishing vessel that ran aground

February 5, 2024 — The United States Coast Guard responded to a fishing vessel that ran aground on Friday at Ballston Beach in Cape Cod.

The incident happened around 2:30 a.m. when USCG Sector SE New England was notified by the fishing vessel Miss Megan. There were three people onboard a the time.

USCG Station Province Town, USCG Air Station Cape Cod and USCG inspections and pollution response staff were called to the scene.

Read the full article at WPRI

New round opens for testing pop-up lobster gear

February 3, 2024 — A new series of testing ropeless lobster gear got underway Feb. 1 in waters off Massachusetts and Rhode Island, a cooperative effort with up to 30 commercial lobster crews working with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

The fishermen are testing  on-demand (also called ropeless) fishing gear  in state and federal waters that are otherwise closed to lobster and Jonah crab fishing with static vertical lines, seasonal closures aimed at protecting endangered North Atlantic right whales from danger of entanglement.

“Participating vessels will fish trap trawls without any surface gear marks in the ‘potential on-demand testing areas.’ The fixed gear involved in this research will not be visible at the surface since it has no surface buoys,” according to a NEFSC advisory.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

Why Vineyard Wind is a legal test case for US clean energy

January 21, 2024 — Three lawsuits down, at least three appeals to go.

So it goes for Vineyard Wind, the 62-turbine offshore wind farm under construction south of Massachusetts. The three cases — which all challenge the project’s federal permits — are now in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the First Circuit.

How those lawsuits fare will help determine whether the Biden administration can meet its goals to boost renewable power generation while satisfying traditional environmental laws meant to protect wildlife and ecosystems. President Joe Biden has committed to permitting 16 offshore wind projects by the end of this year — a build-out opposed by commercial fishing interests and conservative groups who argue installing wind turbines harm marine ecosystems and endangered species.

Read the full article at E&E News

MASSACHUSETTS: Officials press to end child labor in New Bedford seafood plants

January 18, 2024 — The photograph was passed from one top official to the next. It was passed first to Police Chief Paul Oliveira, then to City Councilor Shane Burgo, then to schools Superintendent Andrew O’Leary and to state Rep. Chris Hendricks.

The 8×11 print showed scabbed, purple boils forming a ring around the wrist of a child who had been burned by chemicals while working an overnight shift at a New Bedford seafood processing plant.

“The chemical went through the glove and burned his hand,” explained Dax Crocker, of labor activist group Centro Comunidad de Trabajadores (CCT), which on Monday hosted a meeting with civic leaders to address the issue of child labor in New Bedford’s fish houses.

The picture was an example of a quiet but pervasive problem in New Bedford — illegal child labor in the city’s seafood processing plants and the risks that the dangerous jobs pose to undocumented, underage workers with little protection or other options for work.

In November, the U.S. Department of Labor launched a sweeping investigation into child labor and other potential labor law violations at multiple New Bedford seafood processing plants. The Labor Department has levied fines at meatpacking and food processing companies across the country for violating child labor laws. But with no action or fines yet imposed here, local officials have stepped up, saying it’s time to end the exploitative and often illegal labor trend.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Ocean Cluster Has a New Project on the Horizon

January 11, 2024 — In its second full year, the New Bedford Ocean Cluster continues its focus on the four industries that reflect the blue economy in New Bedford as momentum picks up in terms of increasing the visibility of the Port of New Bedford and the region and its potential.

The four marine pillars are offshore wind and renewable energy, commercial fishing and processing, aquaculture, and innovation and technology.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com