Saving Seafood

New Bedford officials say BOEM must demand mitigation, monitoring from wind developers

September 9, 2022 — The federal Bureau of Offshore Energy Management must make a stand on requiring offshore wind developers to commit to mitigation and monitoring to safeguard the $5.5 billion U.S. commercial fishing industry, the New Bedford Port Authority says in a detailed, insistent new commentary to the agency.

“BOEM has the clear statutory authority to require certain actions and hold developers to standards as part of” granting permits for offshore wind projects, the Port Authority says in its nine-page Aug. 22 missive to BOEM Director Amanda Lefton, signed by port authority interim executive director George Krikorian Jr.

“Any ability left to the wind developers to choose their own procedures will always result in them taking the least expensive path most favorable to them, not commercial fishing.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

 

Fishing Industry Calls for Additional Review of Offshore Wind Industry

September 7, 2022 — One of the U.S.’s leading commercial fishing ports has joined a growing list of stakeholders demanding greater protection of the fishing industry from possible threats emanating from the rapidly expanding offshore wind industry. The New Bedford Port Authority (NBPA) in a letter to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is calling for the federal government to increase protections for the commercial fishing industry. They are cautioning that current policies for offshore wind development could greatly underestimate the shoreside impacts on seafood processors and fleet operations in ports.

In a letter to BOEM Director Amanda Lefton, NBPA says that the ongoing plans to advance offshore wind must safeguard the viability of commercial fishing enterprises. The letter addresses BOEM’s draft guidelines for Offshore Wind Fisheries Mitigation and supplements comments the NBPA submitted in January advocating for efforts requiring offshore wind developers to commit to mitigation measures for the fishing industry.

Read the full article at The Maritime Executive

MASSACHUSETTS: Gordon Carr named New Bedford Port Authority executive director

August 29, 2022 — Gordon Carr will be the next executive director of the New Bedford Port Authority, coming on as the Massachusetts South Shore port undertakes extensive modernization to expand its fishing, processing, offshore wind energy and other maritime industries.

Currently deputy director of real estate strategy and policy at the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport) in Boston, Carr has more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors in the areas of public policy, economic development, and enterprise strategy.

His career has already included New Bedford projects.

“As an independent consultant in 2014-15, Carr conducted a comprehensive assessment of both the New Bedford Economic Development Council and the city’s Harbor Development Commission, which has guided the strategy of both organizations in the years since,” according to a statement from Mayor Jon Mitchell’s office.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: Gordon Carr selected as the New Bedford Port Authority’s new executive director

August 26, 2022 — Gordon Carr, current deputy director of Real Estate Strategy and Policy at the Massachusetts Port Authority, has been selected as the next executive director of the New Bedford Port Authority.

Carr has more than 25 years of experience in the public and private sectors in the areas of public policy, economic development, and enterprise strategy, including on projects related to the city, according to a press release. As an independent consultant in 2014-15, Carr conducted a comprehensive assessment of both the New Bedford Economic Development Council and the City’s Harbor Development Commission, which has guided the strategy of both organizations in the years since.

At Massport, Carr has worked in a variety of capacities and leadership roles, each of which closely involved and supported the diverse operations of the Port of Boston. Importantly, he served as the primary lead on a range of topics advocating for the working port, maritime industrial/seafood interests, and freight networks, including leading an in-depth study and analysis of the future of the seafood cluster in Boston.

Read the full article at South Coast Today

Woods Hole Group is acquiring Faria Watchdog VMS

August 23, 2022 — Woods Hole Group, Inc. and Riverside Mfg. have entered into an agreement in which Woods Hole Group will purchase the entire fleet of Faria Watchdog Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) dedicated to fisheries products, technologies and services. Woods Hole Group, headquartered in Bourne, Massachusetts, is a subsidiary of CLS (Collecte Localisation Satellites) based in France, and is a supplier in good standing with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) within NOAA.

Faria Watchdog VMS systems have supported NMFS in the United States and international fisheries programs for more than a decade, and the fisheries fleet of Faria subscribers has grown to approximately 1,000 vessels, the companies stated in a press release. Riverside will transition active VMS subscriptions, technologies and specific assets to Woods Hole Group “over the next several months with no interruption to service for customers.”

“We are pleased to come to terms with Fred Merritt and his professional team at Riverside to expand our thriving sustainable fisheries business,” says Bob Hamilton, Woods Hole Group CEO. “We look forward to transitioning Riverside’s fisheries client base and technologies to Woods Hole Group, providing quality customer service and access to our industry-leading fisheries intelligence solutions.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Candidates for governor, AG, tackle fishing industry concerns

August 15, 2022 — Representatives of the Gloucester fishing industry caught the ears of Democratic candidate for governor Attorney General Maura Healey, and a Democratic candidate for attorney general, Andrea Campbell, during a meeting at the Gloucester House Restaurant on Rogers Street around noon before a campaign canvass kickoff.

The pair heard concerns about the high cost of fuel and offshore wind, among others.

“The price of fuel is killing us right now,” said fisherman Joe Orlando, president of Northeast Fishery Sector II.

“I can’t even imagine. How much does it cost?” Healey asked.

Orlando said the cost went from $2,000 to $6,000.

Healey said it is important for the state to support the fishing industry economically, culturally and historically.

Read the full article at Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSSETTS: New Bedford city councilors look for solution to shellfish bed pollution

August 11, 2022 — The New Bedford City Council Committee on Fisheries voted Tuesday to submit a motion to Mayor Jon Mitchell, requesting he petition the state’s fisheries agency to consider the relocation of shellfish to clean waters.

Since late 2019 to early 2020, shellfishing areas in Clarks Cove and the outer harbor have been closed due to contamination concerns, which has affected people who catch quahogs recreationally and commercially.

Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) staff say the areas have remained closed because releases of sewage from the city’s old sewer system through combined sewer overflows (CSOs) were unmanageable and unpredictable.

Read the full article at New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTS: 2022 Boston Seafood Festival: Monkfish, local seafood and how Tommy Lee Jones came up

August 10, 2022 –It was a banner day at the Boston Seafood Festival Sunday.

I suspect the sultry 95-degree temperatures kept some of the crowds at bay, which was nice because while the event, sponsored by the Boston Fisheries Foundation, was well attended it wasn’t a swirling mass of humanity.

Vendors were set up in a long, large horseshoe anchored by the Harpoon beer garden at the water end of the pier. There was also a small stage and a handful of performers while we were there, activities for kids, cooking demonstrations, and thankfully free, cold water everywhere. It was a happy, if not sweaty, crowd.

And there was plenty of both food and information. The event was equal parts education and ingestion. NOAA, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, the Seafood Nutrition Partnership, and several other organizations were all namely there for two reasons. One was to remind people that eating local isn’t just about vegetables and craft beer, it extends to seafood as well and two, to be mindful of the preservation of that seafood.

I briefly chatted recipes with a guy from NOAA, when I picked up a recipe card for monkfish. Monkfish is just one of those, frankly frightening-looking fish I’ve yet to try but according to NOAA, it’s a good option.

Wild-caught monkfish are sustainably managed and responsibly harvested according to NOAA. It’s also a good source of protein and rich in other nutrients — just don’t Google a photo of it

Read the full article at WickedLocal.com

MASSACHUSETTS : Shellfish areas remain closed in New Bedford as city works to fix old sewage system

August 9, 2022 — When there is heavy rainfall — and sometimes when it’s dry — openings along New Bedford’s shoreline function as relief valves for the city’s old and overloaded sewer system, spewing into nearby waters a mixture of stormwater and untreated sewage from homes and businesses.

Some of these receiving waters contain beds where people recreationally or commercially harvest little necks, cherry stones and chowders — all types of quahogs.  But when the openings release enough effluent, those areas must temporarily close due to possible contamination.

The state department overseeing fisheries determined in 2020 that New Bedford’s closures due to releases into Clarks Cove and the outer harbor were no longer predictable or manageable, with some overflows going unreported by the city.

As a result, “conditionally approved” areas for shellfishing in those waters have been continuously closed since late 2019 to 2020. More than two years later, a staff member with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF) has expressed concern that these shellfishing areas in waters shared by New Bedford, Fairhaven and Dartmouth will be permanently closed due to the sewage releases.

“I am concerned that due to these issues FDA will require both areas be downgraded and reclassified to Prohibited,” wrote the state’s shellfish program manager Jeff Kennedy in a May memo to DMF Director Daniel McKiernan.

The city is engaged in a multi-year improvement plan, under a decree from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, and laid out a plan to spend more than $260 million through at least 2036 to upgrade the system. As this work moves along, the city is still grappling with remediating problems created by old, costly-to-fix systems.

According to the EPA, sewage discharges are a “major problem” in the country and cause some bodies of water to remain unsafe for swimming and fishing, with the problem being “especially acute” in New England, where more than 100 communities are affected.

These openings, called combined sewer overflows (CSOs), have decreased in number since the 1990s, and consequently, the city through sewer separation efforts has reduced the amount of sewage outfall from an estimated 3.1 billion gallons in 1990 to about 183 million gallons in 2016, according to a city report.

It was further reduced to 181.9 million gallons from July 2020 through June 2021, according to a city spokesperson.

While the city’s work to improve the system has resulted in thousands of acres of previously closed shellfish areas opening, the affected areas currently closed are about 4,000 acres.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light