Saving Seafood

JON MITCHELL: New York Wind Farms Could Harm Fishing Industry

August 30, 2018 — The city is continuing progress in developing the offshore wind industry without adversely affecting the commercial fishing industry. Mayor Jon Mitchell says we’ll see more activity in the area within the coming months.

However, in his weekly appearance on WBSM, the mayor voiced his concerns with proposed offshore wind farms that are proposed in the waters off New York and New Jersey

Mayor Mitchell said that those waters are much more heavily fished by New Bedford-based vessels than the wind farm areas off Massachusetts. He said that if those proposed wind developments become a reality, it will have a very adverse effect on the local fishing industry.

Read the full story at WBSM

Former captain of New Bedford fishing boat pleads guilty to interfering with Coast Guard inspection

August 24, 2018 — The former captain of a New Bedford-based commercial fishing boat, admitted Thursday to interfering with a U.S. Coast Guard inspection of his vessel after he sunk the ship’s fishing net, prosecutors said.

Thomas D. Simpson, 57, of South Portland, Maine, pleaded guilty in federal court in Boston to destruction or removal of property subject to seizure and inspection, the U.S. attorney’s office said in a statement.

Sentencing was set for Nov. 28.

Simpson was the captain of the Fishing Vessel Bulldog, which was fishing off the Massachusetts coast May 31, 2014, when the Coast Guard conducted a routine inspection of the vessel, the statement said.

Officers asked Simpson, who was in the ship’s wheelhouse, to haul in the vessel’s fishing net. Instead, Simpson let out more of the cable attached to the net until it detached from the ship and sank to the ocean floor, officials said.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

 

Ex-New Bedford fishing captain pleads to hindering Coast Guard inspection

August 24, 2018 — A former New Bedford fishing boat captain pleaded guilty Thursday to interfering with a U.S Coast Guard inspection and faces sentencing Nov. 28, federal prosecutors said.

Thomas D. Simpson, 57, of South Portland, Maine, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to one count of destruction or removal of property subject to seizure and inspection, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Simpson was the captain of the Bulldog, a New Bedford-based commercial fishing vessel and one of several fishing vessels owned by Carlos Rafael, the news release said. On Sept. 25, 2017, Rafael was sentenced in U.S. District Court, Boston, to 46 months in federal prison on charges related to the operation of his commercial fishing business.

On May 31, 2014, the Bulldog was engaged in commercial fishing off the coast of Massachusetts when the USCG boarded the vessel to perform a routine inspection, the news release said. At the time of the boarding, the Bulldog’s net was deployed in the water and the crew was actively fishing.

The USCG boarding officer encountered Simpson in the wheelhouse and instructed him to haul in the fishing net for inspection, the news release said. Instead of hauling the fishing net onto the vessel, he let out more of the cable attaching the net to the vessel.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford, the city of oysters? City Council wants to explore that idea

August 17, 2018 — In many ways, the city is the mecca for scallops. Now, Dana Rebeiro wants to expand that to oysters.

The Ward 4 councilor filed a written motion Thursday asking the Committee on Fisheries to help draft an ordinance that Mayor Jon Mitchell’s administration has been crafting regarding aquaculture permits.

The permits would allow fishermen to begin growing oysters as part of the city’s movement toward aquaculture.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford’s Seafood Throwdown shows how delicious under-appreciated fish can be

August 16, 2018 — Two local chefs.

One mystery fish.

One local farmers’ market. And a live New Bedford audience.

We usually talk music in Spotlight, my friends, but this slice of outdoor summer entertainment is way too fun not to mention this week.

Think Food Network’s “Iron Chef,” but with local chefs, local ingredients, local judges, and a live showdown performed in downtown New Bedford. Oh, and it’s free. Limited sampling will be available.

Yup, you’re invited to bring a lawn chair to Custom House Square Aug. 23 at 5:30 p.m. for New Bedford’s 2018 Seafood Throwdown. The event is presented by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, in collaboration with the Northwest Atlantic Marine Alliance, Coastal Foodshed, and New Bedford Farmers’ Market.

This year it’s UMD vs. URI, baby.

In one corner, [ding ding ding!] we have Chef Kevin Gibbons, executive chef at UMass-Dartmouth. In the other corner, we have Chef Michael Comire, executive chef at the University of Rhode Island.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Bay State Wind alters proposal to allow more distance between turbines

August 9, 2018 — As offshore wind companies jockey for position in preparation for Massachusetts’ next round of bidding, Bay State Wind announced an adjustment to its proposal earlier this week.

According to Lauren Burm, the head of public affairs for Bay State Wind, after speaking with “key stakeholders including the fishing community,” the company altered its proposal in terms of spacing between turbines to a nautical mile in rows running east to west..

“Based on their helpful feedback we have adjusted our layout to better accommodate fishing patterns and vessel transiting through the wind farm, while also maintaining efficiency and maximizing power production,” Burm said.

Those within the industry disagree that the adjustment by Bay State Wind, a partnership between Orstead and Eversource, helps fishermen navigate.“There’s no way a mile spacing would result in a safe transit,” New Bedford scalloper Eric Hansen said.

Similar sentiment has been expressed in the past by fishermen.

Hansen said he traveled to Europe, specifically Great Britain, to learn more about the offshore wind farms.

He said the turbines are spaced less than a mile apart, however, the fishing vessels are much smaller, too.

When he spoke to fishermen across the pond, he learned they were wary of navigating between the turbines.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

DON CUDDY: Sector reopening’s benefit to New Bedford remains to be seen

August 6, 2018 — The news emerged on July 19 that NOAA approved a plan that may now permit some New Bedford fishermen to go back to work.

It has been eight months in the making since the National Marine Fisheries Service shut down Sector IX last November after Carlos Rafael was convicted for falsifying landings and jailed. His fishing operation was so large that the closure impacted a lot of people in the business, both afloat and ashore.

In March, fishermen with quota in Sector IX moved to join Sector VII, which also operates out of New Bedford, but that quota remained frozen while the people at NMFS worked to determine how to correct for the “overage” — how much and of what species — that resulted from the fish caught and mislabeled by Rafael’s boats.

So while this decision is a small step forward for the groundfish industry here, it is not yet time to set the church bells ringing since the majority of the inactive quota is owned by inactive fishermen. When the catch share system was introduced in 2010 it gave all permit holders a slice of the pie — the “pie” being a share of the TAC, or total allowable catch, for the annual fishing year, which for groundfish begins on May 1. Individual allocations were based on a permit holder’s catch history over a ten-year period from 1998 to 2008, I believe it was.

This effectively means that all of the cod, haddock and flounder swimming around on Georges Bank, more than one hundred miles offshore, have someone’s name on their back, similar to a herd of cattle. And like cattle, these fish can be leased, sold or traded. So this allowed some fishermen to retire, stay home every year, and lease their quota. Also, you are not required to have a boat to keep a permit.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: People are eating fish caught in New Bedford Harbor, survey shows

August 6, 2018 –People are eating fish they catch in New Bedford Harbor despite a public awareness campaign against it.

In a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency survey of people seen fishing in 2017, 56 people said they catch and eat fish from the inner or outer harbor, known as Areas 1 and 2. That’s 81 percent of people who were willing to answer.

For the last few years, the New England EPA office has hired local people, some bilingual or trilingual, to visit fishing spots in spring, summer and fall. They talk to people fishing from shore in New Bedford and Fairhaven, both inside and outside the hurricane barrier.

In 2017, survey workers recorded making 111 visits to 18 locations. They observed 252 people fishing and spoke with 218 people, not all of whom were fishing at the time.

Fishers reported catching a variety of species in the harbor, including scup, tautog, bluefish, striped bass and sea bass.

While not much has changed since 2016, EPA spokeswoman Kelsey Dumville said the good news is that not many people reported frequently eating fish from the most contaminated portion of the harbor, Area 1, which includes everything north of the hurricane barrier.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Fishermen safety training involves tips on yoga, administering Narcan

July 27, 2018 –Fishing Partnership Support Services aims at focusing on the health and well-being of fishing families in New England. Sometimes that involves aid with health insurance, but Thursday in its New Bedford office at 114 McArthur Drive it meant yoga mats, Narcan and AEDs.

The organization conducted a four-hour CPR and first-aid training certification seminar for those associated with the fishing industry.

“The hard job that fishermen have to do for an extended amount of time really does put them in a risk situation,” safety training coordinator Luis Catala said. “This is a hard to reach, underserved community that really needs these services. That’s why we do our best to make ourselves accessible and bringing training to them.”

The seminar, which ended with those participating receiving CPR certification, covered everything from administering Narcan and EpiPens to dealing with amputated digits as well as performing CPR and using automated external defibrillators (AEDs).

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

CPR, first aid training for fishermen to include opioid awareness

July 25, 2018 — Fishing Partnership Support Services is bringing its CPR / First Aid training to New Bedford from 8 a.m. to noon Thursday at the Massachusetts Fishing Partnership Office, 114 MacArthur Drive.

Cost is $25 payable on the day of the event. However, if payment is a problem, contact Deb Kelsey, Fishing Partnership Navigator, to discuss scholarship opportunities.

Fishing Partnership Support Services is incorporating two additional offerings for free: ergonomics and opioid awareness. The ergonomics training was designed specifically for commercial fishermen and will provide information on ways to reduce pain and injury through more efficient work practices. Opioid awareness training provides information on recognizing signs of opioid addiction, understanding how to recognize an overdose, and administering Naloxone (Narcan), an opioid antagonist, during an overdose.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times