Saving Seafood

Major Massachusetts offshore wind project no longer viable

November 7, 2022 — A major offshore wind project in the Massachusetts pipeline “is no longer viable and would not be able to move forward” under the terms of contracts filed in May. Both developers behind the state’s next two offshore wind projects are asking state regulators to pause review of the contracts for one month amid price increases, supply shortages and interest rate hikes.

Utility executives working with assistance from the Baker administration last year chose Avangrid’s roughly 1,200-megawatt Commonwealth Wind project and a 400 MW project from Mayflower Wind in the third round of offshore wind procurement to continue the state’s pursuit of establishing cleaner offshore wind power. Contracts, or power purchase agreements (PPAs), for the projects were filed with the Department of Public Utilities in May.

But last week, Commonwealth Wind filed a motion for a one-month delay in DPU’s review, telling the state that their project can no longer move forward as planned. A one-month freeze, the developer said, “would give the parties an opportunity to evaluate the current situation facing the project and potentially agree upon changes to the PPAs, along with other measures, that could allow the project to return to viability.”

“As has been publicly reported in recent weeks, global commodity price increases, in part due to ongoing war in Ukraine, sharp and sudden increases in interest rates, prolonged supply chain constraints, and persistent inflation have significantly increased the expected cost of constructing the project. As a result, the project is no longer viable and would not be able to move forward absent amendments to the PPAs,” attorneys for Commonwealth Wind wrote in their motion.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Light

Atlantic Capes Fisheries raises bar with BSP certification for its entire supply chain

November 3, 2022 — Based in Fall River, Massachusetts, U.S.A, Atlantic Capes Fisheries has become the first company to achieve Best Seafood Practices (BSP) certification for its supply chain. The company processes more than 20 percent of U.S scallop landings.

BSP is a certification program developed by the Global Seafood Alliance (GSA) to provide assurance that wild seafood products were harvested and processed in ethical and responsible ways. It is also the world’s only third-party certification program that can link certified fisheries to certified vessels, and further to processing plants.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Massachusetts wind power project ‘no longer viable’ without contract adjustments, says developer

November 1, 2022 — The developer for a major offshore wind power project in Massachusetts has asked state regulators to pause review of the contract for one month, saying that global price hikes, inflation and supply chain shortages are disrupting the plan.

The Commonwealth Wind project, which would supply 1,200 megawatts of offshore wind power starting in 2028, “is no longer viable and would not be able to move forward” without amendments to the power purchase agreement (PPA), according to a motion recently filed by the developer.

Attorneys for Commonwealth Wind in the motion cited global commodity price increases, in part because of the war in Ukraine, the sudden spike in interest rates, prolonged supply chain constraints and persistent inflation as reasons for the increased expected cost of construction.

Read the full article at CNBC

Blue Harvest defends its business amid rumored DOJ probe into New England groundfish rules

October 11, 2022 — New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Blue Harvest Fisheries is defending its business practices amid pressure about the fisheries’ legal structure, and signs of a potential antitrust probe by the U.S. Department of Justice.

The concerns were kicked off in July 2022 by a story published in ProPublica via a partnership with The New Bedford Light highlighting the growing influence of foreign equity in U.S. fishing interests as a result of changes to federal rules adopted in 2010.

Read the full article at SeafoofSource

New England council votes down scallop leasing

September 30, 2022 — Capping six months of intense debate among fishermen, the New England Fishery Management Council voted this week against considering changes to allow scallop leasing within the fleet.

Fishermen crowded the council’s Sept. 27 meeting at Gloucester, Mass., for a debate on whether to develop an amendment to the scallop plant that would allow limited access scallop leasing for both access area trips and days-at-sea allocations.

Proponents of leasing, organized as the Scallopers Campaign, contended it would increase efficiency, cut costs and help operators when they face a major problem that takes a vessel out of action.

Opponents saw leasing as another avenue for consolidation of the fishery under fewer owners – as has happened in the Northeast groundfish fleet – with crew members and smaller independent operators at a disadvantage compared to fleet owners.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Atlantic sea scallops at lowest biomass in over 20 years — what that means for New Bedford

September 30, 2022 — A Scallop Survey Report presented at the New England Fishery Management Council meeting Tuesday showed the Atlantic sea scallop fishery is facing its lowest biomass in over 20 years.

From a peak of more than 250,000 metric tons in 2017, to under 100,000 in 2022.

“There has been a decline since 2018 due to a large harvest and natural mortality,” Jonathon Peros, an NEFMC staffer, told the Council. “Biomass in 2022 is the lowest since 1999.”

Throughout NEFMC jurisdiction, the survey estimated a biomass decrease of almost 30%. The Georges Bank region saw the largest drop, around 36%.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Division, scallop catch had been on an upward trajectory following its 1998 nadir of 5,564 metric tons.

Read the full article at South Coast Today

Fishing regulators shoot down scallop leasing plan

September 28, 2022 — In a ballroom overlooking Gloucester Harbor, the council regulating New England’s fisheries rejected a controversial proposal on Tuesday to develop a leasing program in the region’s lucrative scallop fishery after failing to agree on the presented motions.

The New England Fishery Management Council deliberated on three motions for more than two hours, with all three failing. The final motion during the meeting failed with 15 votes against, one in favor and one abstention — with leasing supporters viewing it as too narrow.

The latest leasing push comes 12 years after a proposal to allow it was defeated in a close 9-to-7 council vote, with one member abstaining.

Current regulations in the limited access scallop fishery allow one permit per vessel, which entitles a vessel to a certain number of days at sea, as well as a given number of access area fishing trips. A leasing program would have enabled a permit-holder (and his or her vessel) to lease and fish additional days or trips from another permit.

The third motion, put forward by Michael Pentony, regional administrator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, proposed initiating an amendment to develop a days at sea leasing and access area trip transfer program with some specific features.

During discussion of this motion, Jeffrey Pike of the Scallopers Campaign (the group behind the latest leasing effort) communicated a late shift in stance. He told the council the campaign wanted to “take the word ‘leasing’ out of the lexicon” and promote only internal transfers of allocations — noted in the motion as transfers within a company — stating he took the advice of the New Bedford Port Authority.

He said it was a hard decision as it would not help single-vessel owners who would not have another vessel to internally transfer allocations to.

Pike said internal transfers would mean no lease fees or broker fees. Leasing critics — many of them crew members — said they believed crew would bear the brunt of a leasing program, just as crew in the groundfish fishery, for example, pay a leasing charge.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

New England Fishery Management Council nixes proposed scallop license leasing program

September 28, 2022 — After months of efforts by proponents, the New England Fishery Management Council chose not to move forward with the development of a scallop license allocation leasing program for the limited access fishery at its September meeting.

Around 100 were in attendance Tuesday at the Beauport Hotel, mostly scallopers, many of whom were from New Bedford, including Justin Mello.

“I’m obviously happy,” Mello, who spoke against the leasing program before, said after the move died.

“The Council did its job,” said Tyler Miranda, another New Bedford scalloper. “I actually have faith in the process again.”

Leasing would have allowed owners of limited access scallop licenses to sell portions of their days at sea to other boat owners.

“This leasing would be great for me,” said Paul Weckesser, owner of six scallopers and multiple shoreside enterprises. “I’m pretty vertically integrated.”

Read the full article at South Coast Today

Regulators to vote on controversial scallop leasing plan Tuesday

September 26, 2022 — After months of heated debate between scallop fleet owners, captains andcrew, fisheries regulators are set to decide on a proposal to allow leasing in New England’s lucrative scallop fishery.

The New England Fishery Management Council will vote on the contentious issue in Gloucester on Tuesday. Days ahead of the vote, the council’s scallop advisory panel passed a motion recommending the council proceed with developing a leasing program in the limited access component. However, exemplifying how divisive the issue is, the scallop committee could not reach a consensus — failing to pass any recommendations to the council in two split votes.

Supporters say leasing of fishing allocations will improve efficiency, cut operational costs, minimize emissions amid climate change, ameliorate port congestion and increase flexibility in the event a vessel fails. Opponents say it’s a means of furthering consolidation, with crew and independent shoreside businesses likely to bear the cost.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTES: Rising seas threaten Mass. South Coast and prosperous fishing port, report finds. Here are 5 takeaways

September 20, 2022 — A new report from an environmental nonprofit finds that Massachusetts’ southern coast will see increased flooding and erosion, as well as more destructive bombardment from storms. The report, from the Trustees of Reservations, says that sea levels along the South Coast are projected to rise over two feet by 2050.

The Trustees is the largest private owner of coastal land in in Massachusetts, overseeing 120 miles of coastline. In 2020, after seeing increased flooding and erosion on their properties, the group began to produce annual reports on the current and expected effects of climate change on the Massachusetts coast.

Their first report looked at the North Shore; the 2021 report covered Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket and Gosnold; this year’s focuses on the 14 South Coast towns that border Narragansett Bay and Buzzards Bay.

Like previous reports, the latest predicts big climate change impacts on these towns over the next few decades. Here are five takeaways:

New Bedford has a hurricane barrier that works really well.  But that ain’t gonna last.

After being battered by hurricanes in 1938, 1944 and 1954, engineers built a harbor barrier to protect the Port of New Bedford, the most prosperous seafood port in the country. The barrier keeps water in the harbor at a level that protects infrastructure from flooding; when a storm threatens high water, the Army Corps of Engineers closes the gates. In 2019, they closed the barrier 26 times.  With projected 2050 sea level rise, they’ll have to close the barrier at every high tide — that means 1-2 times a day.

“That’s clearly not doable for a working port, it’s not sustainable,” said Cynthia Dittbrenner, director of Coast and Natural Resources at the Trustees of Reservations.

The New Bedford Port Authority and the Town of Fairhaven are looking at ways to make critical infrastructure in the harbor more resilient to flooding, either by raising, moving or replacing it.

Read the full article at WBUR