Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Exhibit captures the faces of area commercial fishermen

February 14, 2019 — The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center has announced the opening of Commercial Fishermen of New England, a series of charcoal portraits by award winning artist Suzanne Starr.

An opening reception will take place on Thursday, Feb. 14 at 6:30 p.m. during AHA! Night. The exhibit will run through April 7.

Starr’s drawings depict commercial fishermen working local waters today.

“Whether chasing ground fish, squid, lobsters or scallops, most continue the work of their fathers and grandfathers,” a press release about the exhibit states. “As a series, these images offer a richer portrait of the fishing community than any individual portrait might.”

Suzanne’s husband, Markham Starr is a documentary photographer whose goal has been to preserve something of the working cultures of New England, now rapidly disappearing. On Friday, he will screen his film “Point Jude: Portraits of a Fishing Port” as part of the Dock-u-mentaries series, a co-production of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park and the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center. The screening will take place at the National Park Theater (33 William Street).

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: ‘She won’t be replaced:’ Harriet Didriksen remembered as a fishing ‘icon’

February 11, 2019 — A procession of visitors entered a hospital room at St. Anne’s in Fall River last weekend to bid farewell to Harriet Didriksen.

Her son, Dana, saw his mother. With each new person who entered the room, he began to see, in many ways, the matriarch of the waterfront.

“She’s intrinsically dedicated to this lifestyle for the good of herself and other people,” Dana said. “For me it’s been quite eye opening and it’s been very soothing, very nice.”

Didriksen died Sunday at age 76. Dana returned to his home in Manhattan on Thursday morning. With each day he spent in the SouthCoast, though, the bond between his mother and the fishing industry grew more and more visible.

By the docks in Fairhaven, an electrician Dana didn’t remember approached him to share stories about Didriksen.

“Your mother did a lot of things for the fishing industry that weren’t to her benefit as an owner,” Dana recalled him saying. “Your mother sacrificed stuff to the detriment of her business.”

Didriksen inherited New Bedford Ship Supply from her aunt and uncle in 2000, but worked there her entire life. The business will continue under Dana.

“There were plenty of guys that are just starting out, they didn’t have credit. They would come to us and ask for a favor. ‘Would you guys give me a hand in getting me started in getting some gear.’ We did that for quite a few customers,” said Joe Couto, who had worked with Didriksen at Ship Supply since 1977.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Digitizing New Bedford’s fishing memories

February 11, 2019 — Bob Demanche taps the nifty round mini light on the table in front of him and grabs a magnifier. He opens the box that is also on the table and takes out one of the hundreds of slides it contains and looks at each of them…one by one. There are three more similar boxes to go through.

Welcome to Scanning Day at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center. Volunteers at the center set aside the second Saturday of each month to scan photos, documents, letters, slides and more from the general public that are relative to the city’s commercial fishing industry.

“We have a team of four volunteers who help on scanning days,” said Sarah Bowen, operations manager. It’s all pretty streamlined: one volunteer scans the items while another speaks with the person who brought them in, gathering information about the photo or document. The owner is then given a digitized version of the items, along with their originals.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Vineyard Wind hearing rescheduled for Valentine’s Day

February 5, 2019 — After more than a month’s delay due to the government shutdown, a public hearing on the environmental effects of Vineyard Wind has been rescheduled for Valentine’s Day, Feb. 14.

The hearing in New Bedford is one of five across the region that will address environmental issues in Vineyard Wind’s construction and operations plan. The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is collecting public comment on the Draft Environmental Impact Statement before the draft is finalized.

As the winner of Massachusetts’ first commercial contract for offshore wind energy, Vineyard Wind intends to build 84 turbines in federal waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. The hearings are a required part of the federal permitting for the 800-megawatt project.

On Friday, Vineyard Wind Chief Development Officer Erich Stephens spoke at a meeting of local business leaders, who have been looking for details about how the money the company has committed for worker training and business development will be put to use.

The New Bedford hearing will take place at the Waypoint Event Center, with an open house from 5 to 8 p.m. and presentation and question-and-answer session at 6 p.m.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Coast Guard investigates sunken vessel in New Bedford Harbor

February 5, 2019 — The Coast Guard is investigating what caused a 45-foot fishing vessel to sink early Sunday morning by steamship pier.

The Coast Guard received a call from the owner of the fishing vessel Moonraker at 8:17 a.m., according to the agency. The owner discovered the vessel was submerged about a half hour earlier.

The Coast Guard said there was 100 gallons of fuel within the vessel and 50 escaped into the harbor.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Another Government Shutdown Could Sink Scallop Fishery Profits

February 1, 2019 — The world is smitten with scallops. Their subtle sweetness and firm but somehow delicate bite has many wanting more. When I previously worked in seafood sales, I couldn’t believe how much chefs in Los Angeles would pay to put the great New Bedford sea scallop on their menus. We’re talking over $35 per pound for the big ones. I’d think to myself, “These chefs know there are scallops in the Pacific, right?”

They did know, of course, but Pacific scallops lack one thing that consumers have grown to demand – heft. The Atlantic sea scallop is the largest commercially fished scallop species, with meat weights of up to 70 grams. This means restaurants can put four on a plate and sell their dish for $30 or more, and still make a profit.

For the most part, scallopers are thriving. Scallops caught in the U.S. each year are worth more than $430 million – making them one of the most valuable seafoods in the nation. But recently, there has been a major setback.

During the longest government shutdown in American history, fishermen and businesses in the seafood industry struggled to stay afloat. Until the partial closure ended on January 25, the National Marine Fisheries Service, the federal agency in charge of regulating fishermen’s operations, was closed, with only “essential” personnel working. This caused cascading effects all the way down the seafood supply chain, from processors to distributors to restaurants. Without the full NMFS workforce available, scientific data collection was put on hold, which restricted the ability of fisheries managers and federal workers to do their jobs.

Read the full story at Forbes

Atlantic Capes Fisheries settles sexual harassment suit for USD 675,000

January 31, 2019 — Atlantic Capes Fisheries and BJ’s Service Company, Inc. have agreed to pay a total of USD 675,000 (EUR 587,600) in a settlement with the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission related to four women who said they were sexually harassed in the workplace.

The lawsuit, which was settled on 30 January, stems from allegations by the EEOC that sexual harassment was perpetrated by managers, line supervisors, and co-workers of IQF Custom Packing Inc. in Fall River, Massachusetts. The allegations include unwanted touching, solicitations for sex, and crude comments, according to the EEOC, which constitute violations of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act.

The settlement will be paid out between Atlantic Capes and BJ’s – a staffing agency located in New Bedford, Massachussets. The terms include Atlantic Capes paying USD 130,000 (EUR 113,000) to three women, and USD 75,000 (EUR 65,200) to one woman. According to Atlantic Capes, three of the women have decided to remain employed with the company, while the workers who harassed the women are no longer employed at either company.

According to Atlantic Capes, the lawsuit stems from claims that “largely predate” the company’s acquisition of the Fall River packing facility in 2013.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

‘We need to fish’ New Bedford fishermen tell toll of shutdown

January 28, 2019 — Many things fell into place Friday that led to the government reopening, including the words of a New Bedford scalloper in the nation’s capital.

Capt. Jack Morris, director of operations for FV Holdings LLC, spoke on a panel conducted by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce as the shutdown prevented one of his vessels from fishing.

“We’re bleeding,” Morris said. “We need to go fishing.”

Hours later, President Donald Trump announced a deal had been struck to reopen the government through Feb. 15.

The shutdown didn’t allow Morris to transfer a license from an out-of-service vessel to a new one.

“It’s a simple application that’s done all the time, and it’s sitting on the desk of the permit office in Gloucester,” Morris said. “There’s nobody at that desk. It’s empty.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New Bedford Fishing Captains Discuss Impacts of Shutdown

January 28, 2019 —  Jack Morris and Justin Dube, scallop boat captains fishing out of New Bedford, Massachusetts, shared with Saving Seafood how the recent federal government shutdown negatively affected their businesses.

Capts. Morris and Dube discussed how the closure of NOAA offices prevented them from getting necessary permits from the agency for their scallop fishing vessels. Without these permits, they were unable to fish during the shutdown, negatively impacting their livelihoods and those of their crews.

The captains were in Washington for a Chamber of Commerce event where people from around the country shared how they were negatively affected by the 35-day shutdown.

View the full interview here

New England Fisherman to Share Shutdown Experience on U.S. Chamber of Commerce Panel

January 24, 2019 – WASHINGTON – A New Bedford fishing captain will share how he has been impacted by the federal government shutdown as part of a U.S. Chamber of Commerce panel tomorrow in Washington.

Captain Jack Morris will take part in “Day 35: The Real Economic Impact of the Government Shutdown,” hosted by the Chamber of Commerce Foundation. The event will “[bring] real people to Washington to talk about the real hardships the shutdown is causing in all 50 states.” It will feature “owners of small businesses that are suffering in communities across the country, as well as representatives of companies that are stepping up to help federal workers at a time of deep and prolonged need.”

The impact of the government shutdown on the fishing industry was part of a recent Washington Post report on the shutdown.

The handful of exempt NOAA officials currently working are doing their best to keep the agency functioning. Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) complimented the “outstanding work” of Chris Oliver, NOAA assistant administrator for the National Marine Fisheries Service, in keeping Alaska fisheries in business. Mr. Oliver tapped funds the agency had collected from the industry to bring some employees back from furlough.

But there are not enough staff working to address everyone’s needs. John Lees, a scallop vessel owner on whose vessels Captain Morris works, discussed how the closure of NOAA offices has prevented him from catching up to $1.5 million worth of seafood. “All we’re looking for now is for NOAA to just assign a number. That’s it,” Mr. Lees told the Post, when describing how the shutdown has prevented him from completing the necessary paperwork to transfer required fishing permits to his new boat. Without those permits, Mr. Lees’ vessel will remain unable to fish.

The event will take place Friday, January 25, from 8:30-10:30am, at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce headquarters at 1615 H Street NW, Washington DC. More information on how to register to attend in person, or to view the panel discussion via live stream is available here.