Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: New England Wind bid now has federal approval. What could that mean for New Bedford?

July 8, 2024 — Avangrid, Inc. — one of the entities connected to the offshore wind farm project known as Vineyard Wind 1 — announced this week that its Construction and Operations Plan, or COP, for the New England Wind 1 and 2 offshore projects now has “full federal approval.” If one or both are selected to move forward, Avangrid has plans to bring an industry-first to New Bedford, according to the company.

In its announcement, Avangrid, Inc. called the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s approval “a critical milestone” that “largely completes the federal, state, and local permitting process for Avangrid’s 791 Megawatt New England Wind 1 project.” New England Wind 2 is contingent upon a version of the plans in which New England Wind 1 also moves forward. Another version accounts for New England Wind 1 moving forward alone. Decisions on proposals for the next round of wind projects involving Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut should be made by state officials sometime in August, according to Avangrid’s release.

“New England Wind 1 is the only project in the solicitation that has all federal, state, and local permits; the ability to start construction in 2025; and deliver power by 2029,” the release reads.

Read the full article at The Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Mayor Jon Mitchell responds to work being halted on Northern Edge scalloping grounds

July 3, 2024 — The New England Fishery Management Council has decided to halt work on opening the Northern Edge scalloping grounds to commercial fishermen.

Back in April, Mayor Jon Mitchell before the board in Mystic, Conn. and said that making these areas available would benefit the industry greatly, to create a “key new source of scallops.”

“While there are multiple species that are harvested by New Bedford fishing vessels, scallops are the prime drivers of economic activity within the Port of New Bedford,” he said.

“The fishermen of New Bedford know this, and they take great care in maintaining the resource and recognize the strategic long-term importance of managing the biomass,” he continued.

Read the full article at ABC 6

MASSACHUSETTS: Statement from New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell on NEFMC decision on Northern Edge

July 3, 2024 — The following statement was released by New Bedford, Massachusetts Mayor Jon Mitchell:

“I am disappointed by the New England Fishery Management Council’s decision last week after scant public notice to reverse itself and halt further discussion of the opening of the Northern Edge scallop access area. The decision comes less than three months after the Council voted to advance the opening of the Northern Edge, which was grounded in more than a decade of research showing that scallops are abundant in the area. Halting work on the Northern Edge so abruptly is an affront to scallop fishermen who were given every reason to believe that the council was working toward a fair, long-term solution.”

MASSACHUSETTS: A million acres of ocean for offshore wind: ‘Wow, that’s awfully close to Cape Cod.’

July 1, 2024 — As a July 1 deadline approached for comments to be submitted to the federal government regarding a proposal to auction offshore wind leases in the Gulf of Maine — including off the outermost Cape towns — the region’s leaders wanted more time to weigh in.

The Cape & Islands Municipal Leaders Association, an organization of 105 elected officials representing all 22 towns on the Cape, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard, has sent a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management requesting to extend the deadline to July 22.

BOEM opened the public comment period on the proposed sale notice for leases on May 1, a day after announcing its plan for first-time ever offering of nearly a million ocean acres in the Gulf of Maine for offshore wind production.

“This comment period extension will allow for additional public meetings to address comments and concerns and provide for a more streamlined permitting, construction and operation of what is likely the most significant investment in energy facilities ever to be made,” the association’s June 25 letter reads.

Read the full article at Yahoo News!

 

MASSACHUSETTS: As new wind lease areas are eyed off Cape Cod, leaders seek ‘a seat at the table’

June 28, 2028 —  Three ocean areas east of Cape Cod may be some of the next marine real estate to be auctioned for offshore wind energy production, with some turbines possibly distantly visible, in very clear conditions, from the Atlantic Ocean bluffs in Truro.

Located due east of Wellfleet and Truro, the areas total 363,305 acres starting about 24 miles offshore and stretching eastward. They are among eight potential lease areas — adding up to nearly a million acres — that the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has delineated for offshore wind projects off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.

In anticipation of the sale, local legislators are working to ensure the outermost Cape towns are part of the discussion and residents are kept well-informed. The federal government is also gathering public comments.

Read the full article at Cape Cod Times

Ten Vineyard Wind turbines operating; Sunrise Wind construction approved

June 27, 2024 — The Vineyard Wind 1 project off southern New England now has 10 turbines in operation and is on track to soon install the 22nd turbine on the first utility-scale offshore wind project in U.S. waters, developer Avangrid Inc. said Tuesday.

“With 10 turbines now in operation, Avangrid is delivering enough clean energy to power more than 60,000 homes and businesses in Massachusetts,” said Avangrid CEO Pedro Azagra. “Our Vineyard Wind 1 project continues to demonstrate the significant benefits that offshore wind offers the New England region, delivering well-paying union jobs, local investment, and clean energy that is helping Massachusetts meet its growing demand for electricity.”

With a nameplate rating of 136 megawatts the 10 turbines are the leading edge of the project with 47 foundations and transition pieces and 21 turbines already installed toward the total of 62 generators. When complete the project will be rated at 806 MW.

Read the full article at WorkBoat

Police seize 3,000 pounds of illegal haddock in New Bedford

June 26, 2024 — Massachusetts Environmental Police (MEP) seized more than 3,000 pounds of illegally harvested haddock from a New Bedford processing plant on Thursday in the first commercial-scale bust of the groundfish season, MEP officials said.

Acting Col. Patrick Moran said he was carrying out a routine foot patrol inspecting processing plants on the New Bedford waterfront when he discovered what appeared to be undersized fish in an assembly line ready to be filleted. He ordered the processing plant to temporarily cease operations as he measured the fish, determining about 3,000 of the 11,000 total pounds of haddock were under the legal limit of 16 inches.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford State Pier proposal makes fishing a destination attraction. What to know.

June 25, 2024 — One of the seven proposals for New Bedford’s State Pier is really a two-fer.

It’s a joint proposal from Buyers and Sellers Exchange seafood and New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.

They say their $15 million proposal will promote economic growth and education, wrapped up in a destination-style attraction.

BASE, the seafood auction house founded in New Bedford in 1994, would off-load the incoming catch at the Pier, and then hold its daily seafood auctions before the scallops and fish are sent on their way to myriad outlets.

All in view of the visiting public.

Read the full article at the Standard-Times

Massachusetts Cold-stunned Sea Turtles: A Sign of Climate Change?

June 19, 2024 — Four species of sea turtles—Kemp’s ridley, loggerhead, green, and leatherback—are seasonal residents of New England. They arrive in May and June, feeding in our coastal waters through the summer and early fall. When temperatures drop in mid-fall, these reptiles need to migrate south into warmer waters for the winter. However, sometimes their migration is affected by geographic barriers: The hook shape of Cape Cod can trap them within Cape Cod Bay for weeks to months. This puts turtles at risk of being exposed to waters that are too cold for them.

Cold-stunned Turtles Need Rescue

Since they are cold-blooded, sea turtles’ body temperatures mirror those of surrounding waters. When turtles have a low body temperature, they stop feeding; their body systems slow down; their immune systems become suppressed. This is all part of a condition called cold stunning. When cold-stunned turtles wash up on local beaches, they need immediate rescue or they will not survive. Luckily,the Sea Turtle Stranding and Salvage Network collects sick, injured, and cold-stunned turtles from beaches and brings them to rehabilitation facilities for medical care.

In Massachusetts, Mass Audubon’s Wellfleet Bay Wildlife Sanctuary rescues cold-stunned sea turtles off Cape Cod beaches. They bring live turtles to two Massachusetts rehabilitation facilities: the New England Aquarium and the National Marine Life Center. There, turtles are slowly warmed up, given medical care, reintroduced to swimming and feeding, and stabilized. It can take weeks to months for these debilitated turtles to be healthy enough to be released again into the ocean.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

MASSACHUSETTS: Large concentration of sei spotted near the Vineyard

June 18, 2024 — Over 160 whales were spotted just south of the Vineyard and Nantucket and 7 different whale species were identified during a single survey as reported by marine observers last week.

3Of these species spotted was the sei whale, with 93 found, one of the highest concentrations of that particular species that the survey team had ever seen during a single survey flight.

A Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s North Atlantic Right Whale team spotted the whales on May 25.

“It’s not uncommon to see a lot of whales in the area, just because there’s a lot of food this time of year,” said Teri Frady, Chief of Communications at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “But it’s unusual to see this many on one particular day.”

Read the full article at MV Times