Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: State, New Bedford officials and local leaders criticize state’s offshore wind bid process

May 18, 2021 — In 2019, Mayflower Wind submitted multiple bids for offshore wind projects to the state. One had a higher price tag, but included investment promises for the region, such as a plan to build a factory at Brayton Point that would have employed as much as 200 people, according to Mayor Jon Mitchell; another lacked that plan, but had a lower price tag. The state selected the latter, he said.

That decision is one example the mayor cited to argue that the state has valued price over economic investment to the detriment of Southeastern Massachusetts.

In an April comment letter sent to the Baker administration and state Department of Public Utilities (DPU) — which oversees bid procurement — Mitchell, Fall River Mayor Paul Coogan, state representatives, city councilors and various New Bedford business leaders said they are concerned the state’s approach to procuring offshore wind energy contracts will make it “more difficult for this region to achieve its potential.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

The following is a letter from local stakeholders regarding the offshore wind bid process:

Dear Secretary Marini:

We are a group of public sector, business, and civic leaders in Southeastern Massachusetts who continue to be concerned that the Commonwealth’s approach to procuring offshore wind energy contracts will make it more difficult for our region to reach its full potential as a national leader in the industry. We offer the following comments to the draft RFP and the Initial Comments submitted last week.

The Current RFP Repeats the Mistakes of the Past

We have written previously about the state’s wind energy procurement process, and how it has yielded little in the way of permanent industry investment in Southeastern Massachusetts. As articulated by the Attorney General in her Initial Comments, the current proposed Request for Proposals for Long-Term Contracts for Offshore Wind Energy Projects, despite modest improvements, essentially repeats the mistakes of the first two solicitations. The root of the problem is the Commonwealth’s continued insistence on obscuring the value of economic benefits in the evaluation of project proposals, coupled with its leaving the evaluation of economic benefits entirely in the hands of the state’s utilities. As the developers themselves explicitly noted in their comments to the draft RFP, the net effect again will likely be an award based almost exclusively on price, and the continued capturing of still more industry investment by East Coast states that have been more eager to compete for it.

Our frustration is based on our intensely felt recognition that attracting capital to formerly industrial cities that are not part of a major metropolitan area is inherently difficult. In America’s winner-takes-all economy of the last twenty years, in which so-called “superstar” cities like Boston have pulled in the lion’s share of the country’s investment capital, the offshore wind industry offers a rare opportunity for our region to expand its economic base. With its close proximity to wind energy areas, maritime workforce, and high-functioning port infrastructure, Southeastern Massachusetts is naturally suited to attract a wind industry cluster and the well-paying jobs that would come with it.

Many of us have worked for most of the last decade to cultivate the industry’s interest in our region, and we are proud that our early work laid the foundation for industry’s acceptance across Massachusetts and beyond. Although we are excited that the industry will help to lower America’s carbon emissions, our effort has been primarily about economic development. So it has been troubling for us to witness the establishment of headquarters and regional offices of major wind companies in Boston.

We fear that the DOER’s tweaks of the previous RFP will not meaningfully change the outcome. As the Attorney General notes, “The Proposed RFP’s evaluation protocol, including the failure to disclose the relative value that evaluators will place on each of the Proposed RFP’s required commitments, may result in missed opportunities for the Commonwealth.” See AGO’s Initial Comments at 5-6. We couldn’t agree more, and we fear that the developers, not knowing the actual value assigned to economic benefits, will again submit alternate bids, and the utilities again will select one that is light on investment commitments. Unless the utilities are required to disclose how they will score economic benefits, our region could lose out again.

Read the full letter here

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘America’s leader in offshore wind’: What Vineyard Wind final approval means for New Bedford

May 12, 2021 — Vineyard Wind received final federal approval on Tuesday to construct its 800-megawatt offshore wind project off the coast of Southern Massachusetts. It will be the first large-scale offshore wind project in the country.

The U.S. Department of the Interior called it a “major milestone” that would “propel” the country toward a clean energy future. Project approval had stalled during the Trump administration, but picked up in the first months of the Biden administration, which set a goal of deploying 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.

“Today’s offshore wind project announcement demonstrates that we can fight the climate crisis, while creating high-paying jobs and strengthening our competitiveness at home and abroad,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo in a statement. “This project is an example of the investments we need to achieve the Biden-Harris administration’s ambitious climate goals, and I’m proud to be part of the team leading the charge on offshore wind.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: More Than a Job: New Bedford’s work and community

April 28, 2021 — As parts of our communities begin to reopen, the fishing industry is a reminder that essential services never stopped running in the year since businesses and even public services in the United States began to shutter their doors.

The crown jewel of Massachusetts’ fishing industry, New Bedford’s history is inexorably tied to its working waterfront. This month, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will reopen to the public with a new exhibit — More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Fishing Industry.

“Fishing industry workers often describe what they do as ‘more than a job,’” said Laura Orleans, the center’s executive director. “We are excited to share our new permanent exhibit with the public, giving visitors a chance to hear directly from the fishing community by sharing dozens of audio clips from oral histories conducted over the past two decades. We are grateful to many in the industry for supporting the project and for sharing their stories, skills, time, and knowledge.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Quinn Fisheries, Blue Harvest sue Rafael trustee for blocking vessel sale, lawsuit says

April 28, 2021 — Quinn Fisheries and Blue Harvest Fisheries filed a lawsuit last week against Carlos Rafael’s trustee and three arbitrators, alleging they are blocking a multimillion-dollar transaction of vessels and permits that was scheduled to happen April 16.

The permits are for scallops and multi-species fish. The fishing seasons have already started or will soon start and because the transaction cannot be finalized, Quinn Fisheries and Blue Harvest state they will experience serious and irreparable financial harm.

According to the 19-page complaint, Quinn Fisheries planned to transfer certain vessels and permits to Blue Harvest, and then purchase vessels and permits from Blue Harvest.

The companies state the transaction will not “significantly dilute or otherwise jeopardize” the Rafael trust. The trust was established in 2019 to hold certain assets that, if not for a settlement agreement, would be held by Rafael, according to a document.

Rafael was convicted in 2017 for conspiracy and falsifying federal records, but was recently released from prison. As part of his settlement with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), he was required to leave the fishing industry and sell his commercial fleet and permits.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Scituate fishermen push to keep catch local

April 21, 2021 — Cod brought in by a Scituate fisherman doesn’t stay in town for long; it is loaded onto a truck and taken to New Bedford, cut into filets, trucked to the Boston Fish Pier and sold to the highest bidder, shipped to a retailer or restaurant and becomes dinner for someone hundreds of miles from where it was brought to shore.

It is far from the simple sea-to-table fishing industry that once thrived on the South Shore, but has since been overshadowed by a global marketplace that locals say they can’t compete with.

Now, the few remaining federally-permitted fishermen in Scituate are hoping to turn back the clock by partnering with a fish peddler to have fish caught by local fishermen processed and sold within a one-mile radius of the Scituate town pier. The fishermen say the system will reduce their shipping costs, reduce wholesale prices for local restaurants and bolster the economy of a harbor that has largely shifted away from the fishing industry.

“The fish coming out of Scituate Harbor is the best around, but it all goes to New Bedford and Boston, none of it stays here,” Phil Lynch, one of the four remaining federally-permitted fishermen in Scituate, said. “We’re hoping something like this here in town will work for us.”

Read the full story at Wicked Local

After Years Of Uncertainty, Expected Decision On Vineyard Wind Could Launch New Industry

April 20, 2021 — New Bedford’s Marine Commerce Terminal is a huge spread of open concrete jutting into the harbor. On a recent day, a few refrigerated trucks were unloading seafood at a processing plant next door, but the terminal itself just looked like a giant empty parking lot. As the wind swept across the vast space, the biggest action was the crowds of seagulls hunkered down, squawking at each other.

This is where Bruce Carlisle wants you to use your imagination.

“In my mind’s eye, I see the tower sections stacked and lined up. I see the blades all ready to go. I see forklifts and cranes and crawlers and just all sorts of activity,” says Carlisle, managing director of offshore wind at the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center, or MassCEC.

The goals are ambitious. But not everyone is thrilled.

“They may play it down like there’s no effect on the ecosystem. I can’t see how it can’t, when you start putting hundreds and hundreds of these poles in the water,” says Peter Anthony, who has worked in the New Bedford fishing industry for 40 years and now serves as treasurer for the seafood supply company Eastern Fisheries. “We’ve been here forever. The fishing communities have been fishing these areas because they’re fertile fishing areas.”

Anthony says many fishermen have felt blind-sided by the federal government’s support for offshore wind. And while companies like Vineyard Wind have made some accommodations to the fishing industry — like increasing the space between turbines in the water — he still feels like it’s all moving too quickly.

Any day now the Interior Department will approve, deny, or suggest changes to Vineyard Wind’s construction plan. The company will need a few small permits and federal sign-offs afterwards, but this represents the last big hurdle for the project. If the ruling is favorable, which seems likely, Vineyard Wind could start offshore construction next year and deliver power by the end of 2023.

“I’m sure they’ll be drinking champagne and pumping their fists and they will be all happy about it, but I think in the fishing community they’re going to look at it as a loss,” Anthony says.

Anthony says fishermen feel like the country has decided to trade one renewable resource — seafood — for another: wind energy. And he thinks it’s a shame.

Read the full story at WBUR

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘More than a job’: New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center reopens Thursday with new exhibit

April 15, 2021 — Just a few minutes from the city’s waterfront sits a collection of films, photos, audio recordings and artifacts that tell the story of an industry not often seen firsthand by the general public: the fishing industry.

After closing in December, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center reopens this Thursday with its new exhibit, “More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry.” The center describes it as an “introduction” to New Bedford’s preeminent industry.

“The nation’s most valuable port has long deserved an institution dedicated to telling its story,” said Laura Orleans, executive director of the center. “The Fishing Heritage Center fills that void.”

The exhibit explores the industry in New Bedford beginning in the 1900s by considering sustainability, labor unions, diversity, family, community and the “American dream.” It illustrates what the industry does and represents through the voices and stories of those in it, Orleans said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: You Can’t Scallop Over Zoom: New Bedford Works to Vaccinate Seafood and Fishing Communities

April 14, 2021 — New Bedford is the country’s largest commercial fishing port and has the largest collection of seafood processing plants in the United States.

But these two accolades also create some unusual circumstances for the city when it comes to reaching and vaccinating those communities.

This past weekend, New Bedford held a vaccine clinic specifically geared towards those working in these industries. More are planned for this week.

Mayor Jon Mitchell said the city made a push with workers, as well as their employers.

“One of the big barriers to vaccine uptake, not just here in New Bedford but everywhere, is the fact that shift workers just have a harder time, for reasons that everyone can understand, getting away from work and going to a vaccine appointment,” Mitchell said. “If you’re a professional, if you’re a lawyer, a doctor, or an accountant, it’s no matter just to go break away from your work for an hour to go get your shot. But if you’re on a shift, and you are, like many shift workers, given two specififed periods of the day to take a break, you can’t readily get away to get a shot.”

Read the full story at WGBH

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘We’re helping make a difference’: New Bedford waterfront center administers 1,100 vaccines

April 13, 2021 — The new vaccination center on New Bedford’s waterfront vaccinated 1,100 people on Saturday, many of whom work in the fishing industry, according to Greater New Bedford Community Health Center leadership.

Noelle Kohles, chief nursing and clinical operations officer at the health center, said there were about 1,200 appointments on Saturday and that most belonged to workers from the fishing industry.

Cheryl Bartlett, CEO of the health center, said all the fish house businesses encouraged their workforce to sign up or signed them up directly through the health center.

The city’s stated focus for the new center is workers in the fishing industry, of which there are about 6,200, according to a 2019 report from the New Bedford Port Authority.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times