Saving Seafood

As fishermen weather the winter cold, are they truly prepared for survival?

January 27, 2021 — The temperatures were awfully chilly this weekend.

On Saturday night, 27 degrees at Provincetown Municipal Airport, with winds at 25 miles per hour and gusts to 37. The low Saturday night was 22 degrees.

It felt like the first truly freezing temperatures this winter on the Outer Cape.

That chill is a reminder of what fishermen have to consider every time they leave the dock.

At a December training in Sandwich, 25 crewmen and captains from Cape and New Bedford fishing vessels sat down in slushy snow to wriggle into what could be the most important article of clothing they will ever try on.

They call them Gumby suits, or immersion or survival suits. A survival suit is bright orange with oversized hands and feet and a tight-fitting hood that reveals only a small moon of flesh: eyes, nose and mouth. The water temperature on that training day was 47 degrees, and Dan Orchard, the vice president of Fishing Partnership Support Services, had the men suit up and jump into the water within a half-hour of arrival. Going from comfort to cold, disorienting water temperatures was about as close to the real thing as could be had shoreside.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

Fishing industry moves to head off Northeast canyons monument reversal

January 27, 2021 — Northeast fishing advocates mobilized as President Biden moved fast to reverse executive orders from the Trump administration — possibly including Trump’s move to back off fishing restrictions in the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Monument.

Biden ordered a broad review of more than 100 actions by the Trump administration on environmental issues, including the former president’s attempts to alter national monuments. Fishing advocates moved to get in early and persuade the new administration that the U.S. fisheries management system that’s been in place for more than 40 years can handle protecting the Northeast offshore habitat without executive intervention.

“We kind of saw it coming, and we sent letters off to politicians,” said Jim Budi, who owns a swordfish and tuna longline vessel that works out of New Bedford, Mass. “We had great fishing there this year. If it wasn’t for that, we’d be in the red.”

Environmental groups pushed Biden on Jan. 20, Inauguration Day, to reinstate the Obama administration’s offshore monument declaration, with its potential to foreclose most fishing at the edge of the continental shelf.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

MASSACHUSETTS: Ed Anthes-Washburn Leaving Port of New Bedford for Private Sector

January 15, 2021 — Ed Anthes-Washburn is leaving his job as director of the the New Bedford Port Authority for a position in the private sector.

Washburn is joining Crowley Maritime as director of business development for the Northeast and for the company’s work in the offshore wind space. Crowley is a U.S.-owned and operated logistics, government, marine and energy solutions company headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, the firm’s website states.

“I’m incredibly excited,” Washburn said. “Crowley’s maritime knowledge and shipping capacity is second-to-none.” He said he won’t be moving, and can work for Crowley from New Bedford.

Washburn has been with the port authority for 11 years, six of those years as director. He said moving on is “bittersweet” but that he’s convinced his new position will help him continue to support the city and the port.

Washburn said Crowley already operates vessels within the Jones Act trade in the Gulf Coast and the Northwest. He said in the Northeast, Crowley will develop business relationship as it grows its shipping and logistics presence within the maritime economy.

Read the full story at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford High School to Expand Marine Technology Program

January 11, 2021 — New Bedford High School has landed a $250,000 state grant to build a state-of-the-art Marine Technology Laboratory.

The new facility will prepare students for careers in marine and maritime industries. Skills training will be provided within the school’s Career Vocational Technical Education Program. The Massachusetts Skills Capital Grant was announced by the Baker-Polito administration.

“At a critical time in our Commonwealth, these Skills Capital Grants will increase flexibility and support for schools and educational institutions to launch new programs and help more students develop important technical skills and prepare them for high-demand industries,” Governor Charlie Baker stated.

Read the full story at WBSM

Plea deal reached in bank fraud case involving Massachusetts seafood company bookkeeper

January 11, 2021 — A bookkeeper who embezzled nearly USD 600,000 (EUR 493,204) from her former employer, a New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based fishing and seafood processing company, will spend up to three years in prison under a plea agreement reached with federal prosecutors.

The company Howland embezzled from went unnamed in court papers and the news release. However, online searches associate her with M & B Sea Products Inc. of New Bedford.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Something’s fishy: Recent study discusses harmful consequences of mislabeled seafood

January 8, 2021 — In 2017, Carlos Rafael was sentenced to nearly four years in prison, fined $3 million, and prohibited from ever returning to his job, all because of one thing: fish. Specifically, 800,000 pounds of mislabeled fish.

The fishing magnate, perhaps better known as the “Codfather,” had been caught illegally overfishing American plaice and selling it as haddock in order to avoid paying for larger quotas. Estimated to have caught 10% of the entire annual catch limit, Rafael had done significant damage to the plaice population by the time he was arrested.

Illegal practices like Rafael’s that threaten to endanger or overexploit marine life aren’t entirely uncommon.

As a recent study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS) points out, mislabelling doesn’t only mean the wrong species’ name appearing on the wrapper. Information about the seafood’s geographical origin and whether or not it was farmed or wild can also be misrepresented, undermining consumers’ ability to buy from well-managed and sustainable fisheries.

Read the full story at The Daily

MASSACHUSETTS: January at New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center

January 4, 2021 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

While 2020 has been an unexpectedly challenging year, the Fishing Heritage Center is excitedly looking ahead to 2021. This coming June will mark the Center’s five year anniversary! Over these past five years, we have 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. We look forward to celebrating these past five years with our community this coming summer.

This year the Center will open its new, permanent exhibit, More than a Job: Work and Community in New Bedford’s Commercial Fishing Industry. This exhibit will feature a replica working deck, scallop dredge, galley table, bunks, historic images and footage, and more than sixty audio clips sharing the many voices of the fishing community. The new exhibit will provide visitors with an introduction to the workings of the fishing industry as well as explore themes including labor history, immigration, sustainability, and the changing nature of work and community.

In order to install this new exhibit, the Fishing Heritage Center will be closed to the public in January and February 2021. If you’re interested in scheduling a private visit during these months, please email info@fishingheritagecenter.org. While we are closed to visitors, we will continue offering virtual programs and events. See our online calendar for a regularly updated list of virtual programs. Additionally, you can explore our online digital exhibits by clicking here. We can’t wait to welcome you back in the spring to explore our new, permanent exhibit!

In addition to our new exhibit, many of our programs for this coming year will focus on the various roles women play in the fishing industry. Stay up to date with our online calendar as we announce upcoming lectures, concerts, and documentaries that center the voices of women. You can view our online calendar by clicking here.

If you have any questions about the Center’s closure, upcoming programs, or exhibits, please contact Hannah at programs@fishingheritagecenter.org.

Wellfleet fisherman among those trained in Sandwich to survive the winter sea

December 28, 2020 — Temperatures at the Sandwich Marina on Friday morning, Dec. 18, stood at the freezing mark, with a bitter wind and driving snow. Despite this, 25 crewmen and captains from Cape and New Bedford fishing vessels sat down in slushy snow to wriggle into what could be the most important article of clothing they will ever try on.

They call them Gumby suits, and it’s easy to see why. A survival suit is bright orange with oversized hands and feet and a tight-fitting hood that reveals only a small moon of flesh: eyes, nose and mouth.

The water temperature in the marina was 47 degrees, and Dan Orchard, the vice president of Fishing Partnership Support Services, had the men suit up and jump into the water within a half-hour of arrival. The shock of going from comfort to cold, disorienting water temperatures was about as close to the real thing as could be had shoreside.

Orchard and other staff from the fishing partnership were conducting a day of survival training for fishermen after captains requested it following the sinking of the Emmy Rose. Four fishermen died with the wreck 20 miles east of Provincetown in the early morning hours of Nov. 23.

Read the full story at Wicked Local

Cape Cod, New Bedford fishermen train to survive the winter sea

December 21, 2020 — Temperatures at the Sandwich Marina on Friday morning stood at the freezing mark, with a bitter wind and driving snow. Despite this, 25 crewmen and captains from Cape and New Bedford fishing vessels sat down in slushy snow to wriggle into what could be the most important article of clothing they will ever try on.

They call them Gumby suits, and it’s easy to see why. A survival suit is bright orange with oversized hands and feet and a tight-fitting hood that reveals only a small moon of flesh: eyes, nose and mouth.

The water temperature in the marina was 47 degrees, and Dan Orchard, the vice president of Fishing Partnership Support Services, had the men suit up and jump into the water within a half-hour of arrival. The shock of going from comfort to cold, disorienting water temperatures was about as close to the real thing as could be had shoreside.

Orchard and other staff from the fishing partnership were conducting a day of survival training for fishermen after captains requested it following the sinking of the Emmy Rose. Four crew members and their captain died with the wreck 20 miles east of Provincetown in the early morning hours of Nov. 23.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

America’s scallop catch expected to dip somewhat in 2021

December 18, 2020 — The United States’ scallop catch is likely to decline by more than a fifth in the coming year, federal regulators have said.

The catch is predicted to come in at about 40 million pounds (18.1 million kilograms), the New England Fishery Management Council said in a statement. That’s a dip from a projected 51.6 million pounds (23.4 million kilograms) this year and 60.5 million pounds (27.4 million kilograms) in 2018.

The scallop fishery has benefited from a very large number of new scallops that began growing in 2012 and 2013, said Janice Plante, a spokesperson for the council. Those scallops are reaching the end of their lives, and that likely means fewer will eventually find their way to the docks, she said.

New Bedford, which has been the nation’s most valuable fishing port for 19 straight years, relies heavily on the scallop catch. In 2018, scallops accounted for 80 percent of the seafood landed in New Bedford.

New Bedford, which has been the nation’s most valuable fishing port for 19 straight years, relies heavily on the scallop catch. In 2018, scallops accounted for 80 percent of the seafood landed in New Bedford.

Despite the likely drop in catch, the scallop fishery remains strong, said Andrew Minkiewicz, a Washington attorney who works with fishing advocacy group Fisheries Survival Fund. The projected catch would still be more than any of the year from 2013 to 2015.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the New Bedford Standard Times