Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Massive wind turbine parts arrive in New Bedford harbor

May 25, 2023 — The first wind turbine components arrived in the Port of New Bedford Wednesday afternoon on a nearly 500-foot heavy load carrier, sailing through the hurricane barrier without incident at around 4:50 p.m. and wowing those who watched the massive ship enter the harbor.

After days of travel across the Atlantic Ocean, the UHL Felicity arrived from Portugal, met by New Bedford Police boat escorts and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which manages the New Bedford hurricane barrier.

Small groups of curious onlookers and reporters watched from both the New Bedford and Fairhaven sides of the barrier gates as the blue-hulled carrier, with white tower components lying on top, glided into the harbor. It took about an hour after that for it to slowly back in — with the help of two tugboats — and dock at the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal.

The Light for nearly two weeks has been tracking several vessels in the U.S. and Europe that are set to support the nation’s first commercial-scale wind farm, Vineyard Wind. With New Bedford serving as the construction and staging base, several barges, carriers and supply ships will be coming to the port in the next several months, some making repeated trips.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

Striped bass are in trouble again. Can an emergency measure save them?

May 24, 2023 — To understand the emergency catch limits being rushed into place for recreational anglers who chase striped bass — by far the most popular saltwater fish in the Northeast and the centerpiece of a multibillion-dollar industry — you have to understand “the slot” and how the “class of 2015″ is swimming right into it.

The slot refers to the size range of fish an angler is allowed to keep. In Massachusetts, where an estimated quarter-million anglers chase “stripers” each year, the slot has been 28 to 35 inches since 2020.

As a management practice, the restrictions allow for the harvest of wild food — licensed anglers can keep one slot fish per day — while protecting the larger fish, which are the most important breeders, requiring they be released back into the ocean to replenish the population.

Read the full article at the Boston Globe

New Bedford Port Authority weighs in on fisheries mitigation for offshore wind

May 24, 2023 — As offshore wind companies seek permits for new projects, officials in New Bedford are weighing in on the impact on the fishing industry.

SouthCoast Wind, formerly Mayflower Wind, is proposing a 2,400-megawatt offshore wind project located 30 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard.

New Bedford Port Authority Executive Director Gordon Carr is calling for SouthCoast Wind to follow Vineyard Wind’s lead in support of local fisheries programs and projects. Vineyard Wind is closing in on construction of its wind farm.

In a letter to the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management that oversees the process, Carr responded to the request for comments about SouthCoast’s draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) outlining the impact of the project.

Read the full article at the Standard-Times

Judge rejects lawsuit by Nantucket residents to block wind turbines, protect right whales

May 19, 2023 — A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit brought by Nantucket residents who argued that the planned construction of dozens of wind turbines off the affluent resort island threatens the survival of endangered Northern Atlantic right whales.

Nantucket Residents Against Turbines said Vineyard Wind’s proposed project of some 62 turbines in waters 14 miles (22 kilometers) south of the island is in a crucial area for foraging and nursing for the dwindling species, which researchers estimate to number about 340.

In a ruling issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani found the group failed to show that either the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management or the National Marine Fisheries Service violated the Endangered Species Act or the National Environmental Policy Act in issuing a 2021 biological opinion or final environmental impact statement for the wind energy project.

Read the full article at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Sanfilippo invited to Rose Garden for salmon fight

May 19, 2023 — For more than a decade Angela Sanfilippo, president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association, has helped advocate for the cause to protect Bristol Bay in Southwest Alaska and the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery from a proposed open-pit gold and copper mining project near the bay’s headwaters.

She did so even though Gloucester, the nation’s oldest seaport, and Bristol Bay are some 3,600 miles apart on opposite coasts of the United States.

On Thursday at 4 p.m., Sanfilippo attended a celebration in the Rose Garden of the White House that marked the protection of Bristol Bay from the Pebble Mine project.

According to his remarks, President Joe Biden told advocates his administration had used its authority under the Clean Water Act to ban the disposal of mine waste in the Bristol Bay watershed. Sanfilippo helped advocate for this cause, got others in the local and regional fishing industry onboard, and helped those in Alaska organize in their David vs. Goliath fight.

Biden pointed out the Bristol Bay salmon fishery supports 15,000 jobs in fishing, processing and tourism with an economic value of $2.2 billion.

Once back in Gloucester, Sanfilippo said in an interview Tuesday that Biden was so on point she wondered how she could get him to protect the Massachusetts fishery with its 70,000 jobs from the threat posed by looming offshore wind energy projects.

Read the full article at Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Profitable Port of New Bedford draws IRS scrutiny of tax evading fishermen

May 10, 2023 — The national average for federal tax compliance is 83.6% over every type of industry.

In the commercial fishing industry, that compliance rate drops to 65%, said Joleen Simpson, special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office.

“That’s well under the average. So we’re really trying to make sure that we have the industry come under compliance,” Simpson said.

As the nation’s number one commercial fishing port, New Bedford is very much on the radar.

“The statistics we have cover the six New England states but really the fishing industry is significant in Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts, with, of course, New Bedford being the most valuable port not only in New England but in the United States,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Supervisory Special Agent Matthew Amsden.

Read the full article at Standard-Times

New England groundfish fleet faces long rebuilding period

May 10, 2023 — When the new fishing year began May 1, Northeast ground fishermen faced new regulations and management.

In Massachusetts, some people are hopeful that a new cadre of aspiring fishermen in Cape Cod are paying close attention. That’s because a training program, offered by the non-profit Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, is focused on bringing younger people into local fisheries — including learning about what it takes to enter into what has been described as “a graying fishery.” In New England, the average age of groundfish and lobster captains is 55 according to the New England Young Fishermen’s Alliance (NEYFA).

The Fishermen Training program offered by Cape Cod Fishermen’s Alliance links new or beginner fishermen to local fishing fleets, and offers potential opportunities in a very hands-on way. There was a time when everyone participating in the training might have been focused almost exclusively on learning about fishing on well-established species like cod and haddock. But, the dynamics of being a successful groundfisherman have shifted.

“I love hearing stories from the old timers about cod and haddock,” says Stephanie Sykes, the program and outreach coordinator of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, “whereas now, our gillnet fleets tend to target skates and dogfish.”

The  training program has adapted to the realities of Cape Cod’s fisheries, including less of a focus on cod. “There are a few boats that still groundfish,” adds Sykes, “but their business is usually diversified.” In other words, groundfishing remains part of the training, but it is one small part of the larger equation for Cape Cod fishermen.

“One of the things I’ve seen over the past five years is a pivot to really strongly supporting and encouraging the diversification of a fishing business, to withstand a pandemic, market gluts, and other things,” says Sykes. “Diversification creates a more resilient fishing business.” Sykes knows firsthand about the importance of diversification now, as she is a commercial fisherman  who used to gillnet for groundfish — but nowadays, focuses more on conch and black sea bass.

In places like Cape Cod, where the name reveals the one-time dominance of cod, shifting to and then educating consumers about other local (but less known) sustainable fish, such as hake, is one part of the solution. According to NOAA data, Atlantic cod was plentiful in the past, but by 2021, the catch dropped to about 1.3 million pounds harvested (valued at $2.9 million)  — the lowest haul in recorded history. A 2019 stock assessment revealed that the Gulf of Maine cod was making “inadequate progress” toward rebuilding.

The regulatory New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), alongside various policy, management and commercial fishing partners, have been working for some time to rebuild Gulf of Maine cod. However, council spokeswoman Janice Plante says “the stock is classified ‘overfished,’ meaning the biomass is below where it should be, with ‘overfishing occurring,’ meaning fishing mortality is too high, since 2011, as well as in some of the years before that.”

Read the full article at the the National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: Vineyard Wind CEO Meets with Fishermen Ahead of Journey to Support Offshore Wind

May 3, 2023 — Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller visited the State Pier in New Bedford to wish Captain Tony Alvernaz and the crew of the FV Kathryn Marie before the crew set out on an 8-day trip aimed at supporting offshore construction for America’s first commercial-scale offshore wind energy project.

“Local fishermen bring tremendous value to our operations. Their unique local knowledge and network is a huge part of the successful construction of Vineyard Wind,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller.  “This emphasizes that the development of offshore wind would bring opportunities for our industries to work together, and we hope that the precedents we’ve set will become the norm for each and every project.”

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

Winning the fight for the lives of whales

April 23, 2023 — Massachusetts officially declared April 24 as Right Whale Day to raise awareness about the endangered. North Atlantic right whales, the state’s official marine mammal.

Right whales have been coming to Cape Cod Bay in April for as long as there has been a Cape Cod Bay. These sandy, shoaly waters warm faster than deeper, dark-bottom ocean realms. In the Gulf of Maine, a sea beside the Atlantic Ocean, seawater rotates counterclockwise fastest in April, driven by river water coming off the land. Nutrient-rich waters are upwelled on the threshold of Stellwagen Bank, defining the east boundary of Massachusetts Bay and drift on into Cape Cod Bay where phytoplankton blooms, feeding zooplankton feeding right and sei whales. Forage fish, including sand lance, herring, and mackerel eat zooplankton and are then scooped up by gaping-mouthed minke, fin, and humpback whales.

It’s time for the National Marine Fisheries Service to slow down to 10 knots or less the speeds of all vessels. Ships were slowed down from March 1 to April 30. There were no vessel-related right whale deaths during the spring season from 2008 until 2016.

On May 5, 2016, a right whale calf was found dead off Morris Island in Chatham. It was the first right whale fatality by ship strike since speed restrictions were implemented in 2008. The 30-foot-long calf weighing about 10,000 pounds was the eighth right whale born to a whale named Punctuation. Mother and calf were observed swimming together in Cape Cod Bay on April 28. As a result, speed restrictions were extended in the Race Point area after April 30.

On April 13, 2017, a juvenile female right whale was found dead off Barnstable, where speed restrictions were in effect from Jan. 1 to May 15. This second right whale death was the first ship strike death documented in or near a seasonal management zone since the speed rule was enacted.

Read the full article at Gloucester Times

Blown Away: Offshore wind regulators ignore danger to fishing industry

April 18, 2023 — Last May, Tommy Beaudreau touted the potential of renewable energy sources like offshore wind to an audience that included some of his government colleagues and former industry clients.

“This industry, this group of people in the room today, really are the key to unlocking that clean energy future,” Beaudreau, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, proclaimed at a conference hosted by the American Clean Power Association, a lobbying group largely funded by offshore wind developers.

Just one year earlier, Beaudreau had been a corporate lawyer, earning part of his $2.4 million income from offshore wind developers. Then he was appointed to regulate the industry he was previously paid to represent. During Beaudreau’s tenure, developers including several of his former clients have gained preliminary or final approvals for an unprecedented expansion of offshore wind, despite repeated warnings from federal scientists about potential harms to marine life and the fishing industry.

While the Trump administration put roadblocks in the path of offshore wind development, the Biden administration is fast-tracking clean alternatives like wind and solar to expand domestic energy production and slow the pace of climate change. In the next decade, 3,411 turbines and 9,874 miles of cable are slated to be built across 2.4 million acres of federally managed ocean.

Beaudreau is part of a revolving door between the government and offshore wind. Much as the Trump administration had a pipeline to and from oil and natural gas companies, in recent years at least 90 people have shuttled between federal, state or local government and the offshore wind industry, a ProPublica/New Bedford Light investigation has found. They range from rank-and-file bureaucrats to top policymakers like Beaudreau.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light