Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: July Fish Fry to Benefit New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — July 1, 2015 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will hold a Fish Fry Fundraiser on Friday, July 17th from 6-11 pm at Cotali Mar Restaurant (1178 Acushnet Avenue).  Guests will enjoy platters of fresh local fish donated by Bergie’s Seafood and prepared by the chefs at Cotali Mar. Live music will be provided by Paul Savoie and Richie Canastra. The event will include a cash bar, and silent and live auctions. Tickets are $35 ($15 for kids 12 and under) and may be purchased at The Arthur Moniz Gallery, Euro Ship Store, Whaling City Seafood Display Auction, Jardin & Dawson Settlement House, and Reidar’s Manufacturing.  Tickets may also be purchased on-line through the Center’s Facebook page. All proceeds will benefit the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, a 501c3 non-profit organization.   For more information contact the Center at 508-993-8894 or nbfishingheritagecenter@gmail.com.

“We consider this event to be a “friend-raiser” as much as a fundraiser,” says Phil Mello, chairman of the board.  In addition to enjoying the bounty of the sea, guests will have a chance to learn about the Center’s plans and share their ideas.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to the preservation and presentation of the history and culture of New Bedford’s fishing industry through archives, exhibits, and programs. The Center recently completed a 12-week residency at Alma del Mar Charter School in which students visited five shoreside businesses and interviewed people who work in the industry. The Center also produces a monthly film/speaker series and runs a summer camp program in collaboration with the National Park Service.

A community driven organization, the Center’s board of directors is made up of individuals who work in, or closely with, the fishing industry. Phillip Mello (Chair) is the Manager of Bergie’s Seafood. Anne Jardin-Maynard (Treasurer) is owner of Jardin & Dawson Settlement House. Kirsten Bendiksen (Secretary) is co-owner of Reidar’s Manufacturing (a gear shop). Stephanie Rafael DeMelo is co-owner of Bela Flor Seafood Brokerage and Manager of Northeast Fishery Sector IX. Cassie Canastra is co-owner of Bela Flor Seafood Brokerage. Kevin Stokesbury is the Chair of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography at SMAST at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Madeleine Hall-Arber is the maritime anthropologist at MIT Sea Grant who has worked with the fishing industry for over 30 years. Laura Orleans, Executive Director of the Fishing Heritage Center, is a folklorist and founding director of the Working Waterfront Festival.

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DON CUDDY: If it’s the same, it will never be different

June 23, 2015 — DON CUDDY — We are having a serious problem in New England with the performance of the models used in fishery management. To remedy a situation that, along with some other factors, has led to the current crisis in the groundfish industry, we need new data … and maybe we need new models.

All the researchers will tell you that the existing models have trouble performing well when fish stocks, such as Gulf of Maine cod, Georges Bank cod and Georges Bank yellowtail are low. With healthy stocks, a certain amount of scientific uncertainty can be factored in as a buffer. But with low abundance, the margin for error is very thin, and fishermen and their families pay the price. When catch limits are cut, a small variation can mean the difference between an independent fisherman remaining on the water or being forced out of business.

I had a call last Monday from a producer of the “Today” show in New York. They were looking to profile a day in the life of a New England fisherman. I contacted veteran fisherman Frank Mirarchi, whose opinion pieces will be familiar to readers of The Standard-Times. In fact, his latest one, advocating electronic monitoring of the catch, ran that same day. But Frank told me he just sold his boat and is an ex-fisherman. This is what is happening to the single-boat owner around New England.

Getting better data is a theme familiar to anyone with connections to the fishing industry in New England. It is central to the mission at the Center for Sustainable Fisheries and was the focus of the forum CSF sponsored at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in May.

Read the full opinion piece from The New Bedford Standard-Times