Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Greater New Bedford Sees $2.3 Million in State Seaport Grants

December 15, 2022 — The Greater New Bedford area — including the towns of Dartmouth and Fairhaven — is set to receive more than $2.3 million in state Seaport Economic Council grants for projects relating to coastal access and the maritime industry.

According to an announcement from the outgoing Baker-Polito administration on Tuesday, New Bedford itself will see more than $1.2 million in funding for maritime projects.

These include $880,000 for the New Bedford Port Authority for design, engineering, and permitting to eventually replace Homer’s Wharf, as well as a $320,000 grant for the port authority to split with the town of Fairhaven to update the municipal harbor plan.

It also includes $50,000 in funding for a feasibility study on expanding the Community Boating Center of New Bedford.

Fairhaven is also set to receive a $1 million grant for the final phase of the 10-year effort to reconstruct Union Wharf to modern standards.

Read the full story at WBSM

Regulators see hard years ahead for the scallop fishery, New Bedford’s cash cow

December 10, 2022 — Scientists report that young scallops off the eastern seaboard have been struggling to grow to maturity for nearly a decade now, constraining one of the nation’s most lucrative fisheries to its lowest biomass in more than 20 years.

In a presentation before the New England Fishery Management Council on Wednesday, the council’s scallop analyst Jonathon Peros projected that the latest regulations adopted by the council will cap next year’s scallop harvest at 25 million pounds — a steep drop from a record harvest of 61 million pounds recorded just four years earlier.

Still, the projections are higher than a historic lull the scallop fishery experienced in the late 1990s, according to data collected by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The fishery’s subsequent recovery followed a decision to close and monitor fertile scallop grounds and is now touted by NOAA as a “fishery success story.”

Read the full article at The Publics Radio

MASSACHUSETTS: MAYOR MITCHELL ADVOCATES FOR SCALLOP INDUSTRY

December 8, 2022 — In conjunction with a meeting today of the New England Fisheries Management Council in Newport, Rhode Island, Mayor Jon Mitchell advocated for the opening of the so-called ‘North Edge’ scallop grounds to scallop fishermen.

In written testimony submitted to the NEFMC, the Mayor cited new research from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution that finds that the area of the ocean can sustain scallop harvesting.

Attached is the letter submitted to the Council by the Mayor.  New Bedford Port Authority Director, Gordon Carr, will be speaking before the NEFMC in Newport on behalf of the Mayor and the Port of New Bedford.

Read the full release here

Commentary: Fishing rules are strangling honest, hard-working, blue-collar fishermen

December 7, 2022 — Well, where do I start?

I guess the nation no longer cares for the fishing industry. Our government agencies have regulated us to the breaking point. Their data is unjust and from what fishermen see and what they are saying are on two ends of the spectrum.

You can set a net almost anywhere in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank and catch a white hake. But the assessment team that NOAA and NMFS has says there isn’t any hake, so they put unrealistic quota restrictions. So, that means boats with not enough quota have to purchase leased fish in hopes to catch other fish. But leasing hake quota is $1.50 a pound before you leave the dock. The average price to the boat for landing those fish is  $1.40, and that number is being generous. So, you lose money on catching a fish in hopes of catching another fish that lives in the same habitat.

Read the full article at The New Bedford Light

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford’s port director on balancing fishing and offshore wind

November 18, 2022 — The following excerpt is from The Publics Radio:

Ben Berke: We’re making more money from seafood in this port than any other port in America. But there are some fisheries that aren’t financially stable anymore. As offshore wind starts to move in, do you think the fishing industry’s physical presence in New Bedford will shrink?

Gordon Carr: No. I don’t. What I have seen with that industry over 20 or 30 years of observing it is that it’s an extraordinarily resilient commercial industry that is also sustainable and understands the importance of the ecology of the ocean to their livelihood. They adapt and have for decades. I will say that it is a top priority of the Port Authority, and certainly the City of New Bedford to help them do that however we can — making sure that we have the facilities that they need, the policies in place that they need, and that we advocate on their behalf at every level.

Berke: Last year, the owner of New Bedford’s biggest fishing fleet, Roy Enoksen, actually sued the city over a proposal that could basically force him to give up a piece of the waterfront he leases from the city to the offshore wind industry. When a conflict like that arises, how do you pick between leasing to a fishermen versus leasing to an offshore wind contractor?

Carr: Well, I think it’s sort of hard to speculate on something like that. That’s a hypothetical. But that’s what long term planning is for, right? It’s to not get yourself into that sort of bind.

Berke: But this piece of the waterfront that Enoksen sued over is a real example of this kind of conflict. So in the end, does the Port Authority simply give the lease to whoever’s willing to pay more?

Carr: I don’t think so. I mean, I’m not going to prejudge our decisionmaking on the use of the site. There’s all kinds of other factors that go into that. Somebody could offer to spend a lot of money and create relatively modest or minimal economic impact or jobs, and that’s a judgment call that we will want to make.

Read the full article at The Publics Radio

MASSACHUSETTS: Tyler Miranda fights for New Bedford fishermen

November 9, 2022 — Tyler Miranda went on his first fishing trip on his father’s lobster boat when he was six years old.

“It was a day trip to Vineyard Sound,” the 37-year old said. “I was doing the worst job on the boat: fixing the bait. I had to deal with the smells and all that.”

Little did that child know that over 30 years later he would launch to prominence among New Bedford scallopers when he led the charge against a proposed limited access permit leasing program earlier this year.

“I don’t want to be a Wal-Mart fisherman,” he said before representatives of the New England Fishery Management Council in May. “I think the fisherman’s voice should be heard.”

The oldest of four children, Miranda said he dropped out of school at age 15 in order to pursue a career in the fleet.

“By then I had to tape the lobsters,” he said, adding he earned 10 cents per crustacean. “It was a little more responsibility because now I had to keep count of it.”

Read the full article at South Coast Today

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

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

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