Saving Seafood

Northeast scallops: Prices high as rotational closures reduce supply, boost production costs

June 4, 2021 — The Atlantic sea scallop fishery — predominantly centered around New Bedford, Mass.; Point Judith, R.I.; Cape May, N.J.; and Norfolk, Va., ports — is the largest and most valuable wild scallop fishery in the world. Projected landings in the federal fishery are expected to be around 40 million pounds in 2021.

“The allocation was developed using survey data from 2020, and then projecting growth, harvest, natural mortality and recruitment,” says Jonathon Peros, fishery analyst and scallop lead at New England Fishery Management Council.

In 2019, commercial landings of Atlantic sea scallops totaled more than 60.6 million pounds (shucked meats) valued at around $570 million. Landings have dropped by 10 million pounds per year the last two years.

“This was expected,” adds Peros. “There were two exceptional year classes in 2012 and 2013 that the fishery has been catching. We are in the twilight of those two cohorts.”

Despite expected declines in landings this fishing year, prices in late April were up, particularly for the largest market grades (U10 and U12). Prices on the New Bedford auction surpassed $30 per pound for U10s and U12s. “Prices on all market grades are up from where they were at this time last year,” adds Peros.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NOAA Fisheries: It All Started in a Shed

June 3, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The first marine station in the United States started out small: in a borrowed shed. The value of the research conducted there was proven early on. However, getting a larger, permanent space required a leader with personality who was also a gifted scientist and persuasive administrator.

Original Lab (1871–1885)

The original lab for the U.S. Fish Commission was in a shed borrowed from the Lighthouse Board on the shore of Little Harbor in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The shed was renovated and expanded in 1875, with federal and private funds, into a more permanent, two-story laboratory with a windmill for pumping seawater for the research aquaria.

The first floor was focused on research on fish, the second for biologists studying invertebrates. A small part of the shed, unofficially known as the “Sharks Parlor,” was set aside for conversations, reading, and relaxation. A piano was often seen on the back of a carriage parked nearby.

Most research was conducted during the summer months, when students and university researchers would join the Fish Commission staff. Collecting species in local waters and studying them was a priority since many were unknown. Year-round operations continued on a much smaller scale under local resident Vinal Nye Edwards. Edwards was a naturalist and collector and the first federal fisheries employee.

A Permanent Home (1885 –1958)

As the scope of research activities and staff grew, a larger and more permanent facility was needed. Baird decided that the south coast of New England, specifically Woods Hole, was the best option for permanent facilities due to water quality and other factors. The other location under consideration was Newport, Rhode Island.

Baird used his many persuasive powers to convince local business leaders, scientists, and several colleges and universities to donate funds or land for the new research station. Collaborators included Old Colony Railroad, Isaiah Spindel and Company, John M. Forbes, Joseph Story Fay, Alexander Agassiz, Mrs. Robert L. Stuart, Johns Hopkins University, Princeton University, and Williams College. Baird had offered use of a research table and facilities at the proposed new lab to a researcher from each academic institution in exchange for their support. Land at the end of Water Street, owned by Fay, was deeded to the U.S. government.

Construction on the lab commenced in 1884, beginning with a seawall and refuge for small vessels. The cost: $52,000—about $1.4 million in today’s dollars—with $25,000 for construction, about $681,000 in today’s dollars. At the same time as excavation and dredging were underway for the piers, foundation work started on housing for personnel. Known locally as the Residence, the living quarters became a local landmark.

Read the full release here

GLOUCESTER DAILY TIMES: Money and focus on endangered whales

June 3, 2021 — Money and focus on endangered whales

A move to earmark more money for Massachusetts Environmental Police to conduct more patrols to monitor the endangered right whales in state waters is the right step but must be part of a comprehensive plan to save this species.

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, filed an amendment to the $47 billion state budget to add just $250,000 for more of these patrols, which many people say could sharpen the lookout for whales and spot lost or abandoned fishing gear, which often entangles and kills right whales.

Although some advocates for North Atlantic right whales, which scientists say number about 360, urge a ban on lobstering and fishing in state waters, that extreme measure is impractical and would doom a vital Massachusetts industry.

Fisheries officials do impose temporary closures of some areas when whales are migrating, one of many measures meant to protect the species. The most recent example was earlier this year, when the state’s lobster fishery was closed for more than a month following whale sightings.

Statehouse reporter Christian Wade reported last week that fishing groups support more funding for marine patrols, because more surveillance could help reduce collisions with non-fishing vessels and likely pinpoint more “ghost nets” which have been broken off or abandoned by fishing boats.

Read the full opinion piece at the Gloucester Daily Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Martha’s Vineyard Seafood Collaborative opens its doors

June 3, 2021 — A small but lively crowd of people clapped excitedly as John Keene, president of the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, cut the red rope Tuesday, signaling the opening of the Martha’s Vineyard Seafood Collaborative. The red rope was a significant symbol because it is a weak line that’s mandatory for fishermen to use for traps because it breaks at a certain weight and is safer for whales, according to the Trust’s executive director, Shelley Edmundson.

The Seafood Collaborative was created as an extension of the trust, and will act as a wholesale market to connect Island fishermen to buyers. According to the collaborative’s website, the focus is “to wholesale a seasonal variety of local species both on- and off-Island to restaurants, markets, private chefs, caterers, and larger wholesale distributors.”

Present at the event were Keene, Edmundson, and Pete Lambos, director of operations for the collaborative.

Keene said the collaborative works to cooperate with the fish markets and fishermen of the Islands. He said the collaborative wants to conduct business “without disrupting balances that are already in place.” It will sell fishermen’s catches to various food providers, but not to individuals, to avoid being a competitor to local markets.

Read the full story at the MV Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Former New Bedford seafood company employee sentenced for embezzling nearly $600,000

June 2, 2021 — The former bookkeeper of a New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based seafood company who reached a plea deal in January for embezzling nearly USD 600,000 (EUR 491,257) from her employer has been sentenced to 18 months in prison and a fine of nearly USD 780,000 (EUR 638,646).

Kara Howland, of New Bedford, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Denise J. Casper after she pleaded guilty to bank fraud and filing a false tax return in January. Howland admitted in court papers that she had embezzled from her former employer by writing unauthorized checks, filing a false tax return in 2018, and failing to pay taxes on the stolen money.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center Launches New Exhibit

June 2, 2021 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is excited to announce the opening of its new, permanent exhibit, More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry.

The Center will celebrate the grand opening of the new exhibit as well as its 5th Anniversary on Saturday, June 26 from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. with a free public event. The celebration at 38 Bethel Street will include demonstrations of industry skills, kids’ activities, and live music by the Rum Soaked Crooks. A speaking program will begin at noon with remarks delivered by Congressman Bill Keating, State Representative Tony Cabral, and Brian Boyles, Executive Director of Mass Humanities.

“The nation’s most valuable port has long deserved an institution dedicated to telling its story,” said Executive Director Laura Orleans. “The Fishing Heritage Center fills that void, and our new exhibit offers visitors the sort of immersive experience usually reserved for larger museums,”

More Than a Job provides visitors with an introduction to the New Bedford fishing industry. Visitors can explore the changing nature of work and community through displays that present labor history, immigration, and sustainability. They can also experience a working deck, which includes a scallop dredge, galley table and bunks. Guests can view historic and contemporary images and footage, and listen to more than sixty audio clips sharing the many voices of the fishing community:

“My husband, he didn’t tell me this, but he fell overboard while they were out to sea. They brought up the net, and he was in it. . . Now those kind of things our husbands didn’t tell us, because they didn’t want us to be upset over it.” -Barbara Calnan, fisherman’s wife

This quote is one from among the bounty of audio excerpts presented in More Than a Job, mined from the Center’s extensive collection of audio recordings to create five listening stations and an interactive touch screen.

In 2004, the Working Waterfront Festival began documenting the history and experiences of the fishing community through interviews and facilitated discussions with industry members. When the Fishing Heritage Center opened its doors in 2016, this rich collection became the foundation for the Center’s archive. Since then, the Center has doubled the size of its digital collection, engaging in several significant projects.

Funding for More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry is provided by a major grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities and significant support from Bristol County Savings Bank. Major in-kind support for this exhibit was provided by Fairhaven Shipyard and Blue Fleet Welding.

About New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center
Over the past five years, the Fishing Heritage Center has welcomed thousands of visitors, hosted hundreds of local students, recorded dozens of oral history interviews, created numerous exhibits, and hosted a wide variety of educational programs. See the Center’s website for updates on this event, www.fishingheritagecenter.org.

Located in the nation’s most valuable fishing port, New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through exhibits, programs, and archives. The Center is open Thursday-Sunday, 10:00am-4:00pm. Admission is free through June 30. Beginning July 1, admission is $5; $4 for seniors and students; and free for members and children under 12. To schedule a small group tour of the new exhibit or to learn more about the exhibit, contact programs@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.

MASSACHUSETTS: Fighting for fishing grounds in face of wind farms

June 1, 2021 — For almost a half century, Angela Sanfilippo has spearheaded campaigns to protect the physical and economic health of commercial fishermen, their families and the communities in which they live.

The longtime president of the Gloucester Fishermen’s Wives Association waged battle with energy behemoths while opposing two live natural gas pipeline terminals within about a dozen miles of Gloucester’s shores.

She fought foreign encroachment into U.S. fishing grounds and wrestled with fishing regulators over onerous fishery management regulations that have shrunk access to the rich fishing grounds that surround Cape Ann.

Now Sanfilippo is saddling up one more time to try to prevent the inexorable march of offshore wind projects in Massachusetts waters from blowing away elements of the Bay State’s historic and productive fishing industry.

“We are not crazy enough to think we’re going to stop this massive thing now,” Sanfilippo said at the beginning of an extended interview following the federal government’s final approval on May 10 of the Vineyard Wind 1 offshore wind project, located south of Martha’s Vineyard. “But we want to be at the table.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

South Fork Wind Farm to reduce turbines but fishing group has ‘serious concerns’

June 1, 2021 — Developers of a planned offshore wind farm to power the South Fork have agreed to reduce the number of turbines for the LIPA-contracted project to 12 from 15, but Rhode Island fishermen offered a $12 million compensation package say the turbine reduction won’t help and the package is inadequate.

Orsted and Eversource, partners on the $2 billion-plus project set to be built off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts by 2023, disclosed the change last week before a Rhode Island coastal commission that is considering whether to issue a permit for the project.

In a statement, the companies said they will “move forward with the reduction of the project’s total turbines from 15 to 12,” while offering a compensation package for Rhode Island fishermen. The $12 million, if accepted, would cover lost earnings, among other things, for those kept from fishing either by construction or placement of the turbines themselves.

Read the full story at Newsday

Headwinds: Offshore wind will take time to carry factory jobs to U.S.

May 28, 2021 — When U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration approved the country’s first major offshore wind farm this month, it billed the move as the start of a new clean energy industry that by the end of the decade will create over 75,000 U.S. jobs.

Industry executives and analysts do not contest that claim, but they make a clarification: For the first several years at least, most of the manufacturing jobs stemming from the U.S. offshore wind industry will be in Europe.

Offshore wind project developers plan to ship massive blades, towers and other components for at least the initial wave of U.S. projects from factories in France, Spain and elsewhere before potentially opening up manufacturing plants on U.S. shores, according to Reuters interviews with executives from three of the world’s leading wind turbine makers.

That is because suppliers need to see a deep pipeline of approved U.S. projects, along with a clear set of regulatory incentives like federal and state tax breaks, before committing to siting and building new American factories, they say – a process that could take years.

“For the first projects, it’s probably necessary” to ship across the Atlantic, said Martin Gerhardt, head of offshore wind product management at Siemens Gamesa, the global offshore wind market leader in a comment typical of the group.

Read the full story at Reuters

MASSACHUSETTS: Meet the women of New Bedford’s Waterfront — she finds safety and security for fishermen

May 28, 2021 — On a sunny Friday morning, Deb Kelsey made her way to the Fairhaven Police Department with a box of Narcan, the overdose-reversing drug, in her car trunk. Inside she met with Sgt. Michael Bouvier and Peter Lagasse, a certified alcohol and drug counselor, to discuss what homes they would visit that day.

The three form part of Fairhaven’s Opioid Crisis Task Force. Within six weeks of a medical incident, sometimes an overdose, they make house calls and inform community members of different resources available to help them. They also offer packs of Narcan.

Bouvier went through his notes from previous meetings and recent incident logs. As he named people and addresses, Kelsey took notes in her notebook. They recalled whether the individual was home last time or who answered the door.

Kelsey, a 54-year-old New Bedford native, works as a “navigator” for Fishing Partnership Support Services, a nonprofit with four locations in Massachusetts, including New Bedford. As a certified recovery coach and community health worker, she enrolls fishermen in health insurance, connects them with recovery resources for substance use disorder, walks the piers to inform captains of training opportunities and makes house calls with local police and pastors.

“I like to think of myself as a bridge builder,” she said.

Kelsey previously worked in commercial printing and found her current job by chance when an acquaintance informed her of a part-time job opportunity.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times