Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Blue Harvest Relaunches Blue Water, Company’s Latest Upgraded Vessel

December 2, 2020 — The following was released by Blue Harvest Fisheries:

Blue Harvest Fisheries has relaunched the Blue Water, the latest vessel in the company’s fleet to undergo extensive refurbishment and restoration. Another significant investment in the company’s future, Blue Water now features many state-of-the-art improvements that set the standard for safe, sustainable fishing.

As one of eight scalloping vessels purchased from the Peabody Corporation in 2015, Blue Water has undergone two years of extensive upgrades to improve efficiency and safety. Blue Water rejoins Blue Harvest’s fleet of 15 scallop vessels, which fish out of Fairhaven, Massachusetts, and Newport News, Virginia.

“Over the last year we’ve made major investments in the long-term future of our company and the fisheries we work in,” said Keith Decker, President and CEO of Blue Harvest. “Blue Water is just one more example of these investments, which will help make Blue Harvest a leader in the scallop fishery for years to come.”

The restoration process included updating the vessel’s electronics, generators and hydraulic systems, as well as rebuilding two 400 horsepower engines. These upgrades allow Blue Water to operate far more efficiently than older vessels, lowering operating costs and reducing the vessel’s overall carbon footprint. The upgrades also include significant safety improvements, and the vessel’s interior was completely refitted to include quieter, more spacious rooms for the crews, to improve the workplace experience.

Read the full release here

Foley Fish navigating the pandemic with retail, direct-to-consumer sales

December 1, 2020 — Like most other seafood processors and distributors, New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based Foley Fish had to quickly pivot when the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States in early March.

The 114-year-old company supplies retail, foodservice, and consumer accounts across the country, but the coronavirus proved an existential threat to the company’s existence.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford seafood giant Cooke buys insolvent U.S. fish processor, expands global reach

October 29, 2020 — A division of New Brunswick seafood giant Cooke Inc. has acquired Mariner Seafood LLC of New Bedford, Mass., expanding the family-owned company’s operations in the United States.

True North Seafood, the flagship brand and processing arm of Cooke, purchased Mariner Seafood for US$2.75 million after the U.S. company filed for bankruptcy protection last month. The sale was approved by a Massachusetts court Monday.

The sale includes two processing plants in the port of New Bedford capable of processing more than 8,000 tonnes a year of seafood product, including scallops, haddock, cod, salmon and shrimp.

Glenn Cooke, CEO of Cooke, said it has been a dream of the family seafood company to have a presence in the historic, high-value fishing port.

“We now have over 4,000 Cooke employees in 22 U.S. states and we will continue to invest and grow our New Bedford processing operations,” he said in a statement.

Cooke, which started in rural New Brunswick in 1985 with three employees, now has a global workforce of more than 10,000 employees in 10 countries. It claims to be the largest privately held family seafood company in the world.

Read the full story at the Preeceville Progress

MASSACHUSETTS: Hook-A-Cure hosting blood drive

October 27, 2020 — The nice folks at Hook-A-Cure, whose fishing tournament has been part of raising $200,000 in the past for cancer treatment and research, has had to cancel many of their events because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

But they remain undaunted. They are sponsoring their inaugural Red Cross Blood Drive to help increase blood supplies for transfusions needed by cancer patients.

The event is set for Nov. 7, from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. at the True North Brewery at 116 County Road in Ipswich. Donors, because of the pandemic restrictions, must preregister at redcrossblood.org or by calling 800-733-2767.

Organizers said they need 36 donors to make the drive a success. So, pack a vein and head on out to Ipswich for a fine cause.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Massachusetts lawmakers press Perdue for more Section 32 Atlantic seafood purchases

October 23, 2020 — A group of Massachusetts lawmakers in Washington wrote to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue on Wednesday, 21 October, to say they were thankful the Department of Agriculture has included Atlantic seafood in its purchases for public food programs. Now, they want to see more of it.

Since announcing a USD 20 million (EUR 16.9 million) Section 32 program solicitation for Atlantic pollock, haddock, and redfish in May, the USDA has made just once purchase agreement from that opportunity, and that came last month when the department purchased USD 4.4 million (EUR 3. million) worth of groundfish from New Bedford, Massachusetts-based Blue Harvest Fisheries.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford port nets $20 million to protect against natural disasters

October 21, 2020 — A $16 million grant is bound for the city of New Bedford to improve the city’s port, helping prepare it for future natural disasters.

According to a U.S. Economic Development Administration press release, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross announced the grant funding on Tuesday.

The money, according to the press release, will “make port infrastructure improvements needed to protect commercial fishing businesses from floods and severe weather events.”

The Economic Development Administration (EDA) grant, to be located in a Tax Cuts and Jobs Act Opportunity Zone, will be matched with $4 million in local funds and is expected to create or retain more than 400 jobs and spur $4 million in private investment, the press release states.

According to a Tweet from New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, a majority of the matching funds will come from the state, with the New Bedford Port Authority chipping in $500,000.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford Lands $16M Federal Port Infrastructure Grant

October 21, 2020 — New Bedford has landed a $16 million federal grant for port infrastructure improvements to protect commercial fishing businesses from floods and severe weather events.

The investment will be matched with $4 million in local funds, and is expected to create or retain 400 jobs and spur $4 million in private investment. The matching funds will come from from the state and the New Bedford Port Authority. The funding was made possible because the port is located in a federal tax cuts and opportunity zone.

The Economic Development Administration grant was announced by U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross on Tuesday.

“The Trump Administration is committed to helping disaster-impacted American communities obtain the modern infrastructure they need to build resilience against natural disasters,” said Ross in a media release. “These port infrastructure improvements will better protect New Bedford’s commercial fishing industry from flooding, and the project’s location in an Opportunity Zone will drive additional private investment to the community.”

The grant represents “another major step in our effort to modernize the Port of New Bedford and maintain its standing as America’s leading commercial fishing port and the economic hub of Southeastern Massachusetts,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell. “Enhancing the resilience of port infrastructure is central to both our economic development strategy and climate adaptation efforts.”

Read the full story at WBSM

East Coast remains committed to Maine Fair Trade Lobster brand, despite sale of Gouldsboro facility

October 16, 2020 — East Coast Seafood Group told SeafoodSource on Friday, 16 October, it remains committed to its Maine Fair Trade Lobster brand despite the announcement it had sold its 100,000-square-foot facility in Gouldsboro, Maine, U.S.A. to salmon aquaculture start-up American Aquafarms.

The New Bedford, Massachusetts, U.S.A.-based company did not disclose the sale price, but said it will continue operations there until the transfer is finalized.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

MASSACHUSETTS: Dana Rebeiro hired as community liaison by Vineyard Wind

October 14, 2020 — Vineyard Wind announced the hiring of former New Bedford City Councilor Dana Rebeiro as Community Liaison with a particular focus on New Bedford, the South Coast and Cape, according to a news release from Vineyard Wind.

Her hiring comes at a time when the company is gearing up to bring both clean, renewable energy and job opportunities to the area, the release said.

“We’re pleased to bring Dana on board at this critical juncture for our first project,” said Chief Development Officer Rachel Pachter in the news release. “Vineyard Wind 1 is going to need a well-trained and diverse workforce to meet the needs of this growing industry as well as frequent opportunities to engage with the company. Dana’s experience will be a tremendous asset as we work to ensure that local communities receive the greatest possible benefit when it comes to jobs and other opportunities and are well informed as the project moves forward.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times