New Bedford Archives - Page 63 of 113

Feds closing part of New England scallop fishery

May 2, 2018 — GLOUCESTER, Mass. — Federal regulators are closing a key scallop fishing area off of New England for nearly 11 months.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration says it is closing the northern Gulf of Maine to a class of fishermen who fish under a federal permit starting Wednesday at 12:01 a.m. The closure will last until March 31, 2019.

NOAA says the vessels will not be allowed to fish for, possess, or land scallops from the area, which is off of Maine, Massachusetts and New Hampshire. The agency says regulations require that it closes the area once it projects that all of the quota has been harvested.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Seattle Times

Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery; Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area for Limited Access General Category Vessels

May 2, 2018 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) Scallop Management Area is closed to all federally permitted Limited Access General Category (LAGC) scallop vessels effective 0001 hr, on May 2, 2018, except as exempted below. The scallop regulations require that we close this area once we project that 100 percent of the 2018 LAGC total allowable catch for this area will be taken. This closure is effective through March 31, 2019.

LAGC vessels that have declared a trip into the NGOM Scallop Management Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code, and have crossed the VMS demarcation line before 0001 hr, May 2, 2018, may complete their trip and retain and land scallops caught from the NGOM Scallop Management Area. Except for vessels that have met these trip completion requirements, no LAGC scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations subject to this closure may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the NGOM Scallop Management Area.

This closure does not apply the Limited Access (LA) fleet. The LA TAC will be harvested solely by vessels who are participating in the 2018 scallop Research Set-Aside Program and have been issues letters of authorization to conduct compensation fishing activities.

Exemption for Maine and Massachusetts Vessels Fishing Exclusively State Waters

Vessels issued a Limited Access General Category (LAGC) NGOM (LAGC B) or Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) scallop permit (LAGC A) may continue to fish in the Maine and Massachusetts state waters portion of the NGOM Scallop Management Area under the State Waters Exemption program provided they have a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop permit and fish only in that states waters.

Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) Vessel Owners Please Note: An IFQ scallop vessel must have scallop IFQ allocation to fish for scallops at any time or place. For vessels fishing under an (IFQ) scallop permit (category LAGC A), all scallop pounds landed, including scallops caught under a state waters only trip, will be deducted from the vessel’s IFQ allocation.

Read the full bulletin at NOAA Fisheries

Massachusetts: GOP Senate candidate Geoff Diehl visits New Bedford waterfront

May 1, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The endorsed GOP candidate for U.S. Senate visited the city’s Pier 3 on Monday promising to be more hands on for the city and fishermen, according to a news release.

“New Bedford deserves a dedicated senator who will put in the long hours to make a positive difference,” state Rep. Geoff Diehl said in the release. “Sen. (Elizabeth) Warren has been more focused on selling books than saving the fishing licenses in New Bedford. … Her lack of action will cost New Bedford vital jobs and cripple the local economy.”

Diehl, an early President Donald Trump supporter who served as co-chair of his Massachusetts campaign, was endorsed by Saturday’s state Republican convention with 55 percent of the vote.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Massachusetts Business Leaders Call for Wind Development that Works with Fishing Industry

April 30, 2018 — A group of leading Massachusetts executives have endorsed a call from Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities to ensure that the commercial fishing industry is protected in any offshore wind power development. The group, a standing committee of the New Bedford Economic Development Council’s (NBEDC) know as the “Regeneration Project,” made the recommendations as part of an April 19 letter to Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker to ensure on the ongoing offshore wind solicitation process.

The Regeneration Project is a coalition of New Bedford-area business and community leaders with c-level experience in industry, finance, communications, and public affairs whose goal is to “articulate a strategy for the city’s economic regeneration.” In the letter, the Council touts New Bedford as a liaison to the region’s important commercial fishing industry, and positions the city as a future hub of offshore wind development.

The NBEDC emphasizes the need for the Commonwealth to work closely and cooperatively with the commercial fishing industry to avoid negative impacts from offshore wind projects. The letter states that offshore wind must be “developed in such a way that it ‘fits in'” with commercial fisheries, and must not “exacerbate unintended consequences of negative impacts to commercial fishing and ongoing maritime trades.”

To avoid these impacts, the letter asks that initial wind development be limited to 400mw, to allow for study of its impact on other ocean users. The NBEDC further recommends that the Port of New Bedford serve as the main facilitator between offshore wind and commercial fishing interests.

The letter also highlights New Bedford’s previous experience with wind energy, and the city’s plans to be become “the central cluster of offshore wind for the east coast.” According to the NBEDC, the city “includes all major facets of the industry such as port services, construction training, research, engineering and manufacturing.”

Read the letter here

Frozen fish: NMFS approves Sector IX management plan

April 25, 2018 — Fishing boats in New England’s Sector IX groundfish fleet that were in danger of being barred from leasing groundfish quota moved into Sector VII in late March in order to recoup losses from a post-Carlos Rafael trip shutdown of the New Bedford groundfish industry. But the process of approving new operating plans will keep that quota frozen until midsummer at the latest.

NMFS reported that Sector IX was shut down completely in order to determine how much of the sector’s quota was illegaly used to cover Rafael’s quota evasion scheme.

Under a new plan operating plan put forward by the sector, which was narrowly recommended for approval by the New England Fishery Management Council with a 7-5-5 vote, NMFS will treat illegal catch in each fishing year as if it was known immediately after the end of the season, eliminating any carryover of unused quota into the next fishing season if there was any illegal fishing.

The council recommended that that NMFS authorize the “lease only” operations plan “with the condition that all overages attributable to the known misreporting are paid in full.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Massachusetts: Through the Lens: Our Fishing Heritage

April 24, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is pleased to announce the opening of Through the Lens: Our Fishing Heritage on Thursday, May 10th at 6:30 p.m. during AHA. This juried show captures the working waterfront and our fishing heritage as seen through the lenses of area photographers.

Photographers allow us to look at life through their lens and capture moments we might otherwise miss. Through their art, they focus our attention on the world around us. This exhibit explores a world many do not see – our working waterfronts and those who make their living at sea and on shore.

Organized by the Whaling City Camera Club, this show showcases the talents of local photographers. Award winning photojournalist, Peter Pereira, will select the winners with awards being presented during the opening reception. Proceeds from this show benefit the Center and its educational programs.The Center is grateful to the Whaling City Camera Club for the support with a special thanks to guest curator Sally Erickson and juror Peter Pereira.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to preserving and presenting the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through archives, exhibits, and programs. For information, email programs@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.

Massachusetts: New Bedford fishermen docked for season’s start

April 23, 2018 — The New Bedford groundfishing fleet will remain at dock — and without the ability to lease quota to other fishing entities — when the 2018 fishing season dawns on May 1. What happens after that is anybody’s guess.

NOAA Fisheries staffers informed the New England Fishery Management Council earlier this week that operations plans for New Bedford-based Northeast Fishing Sectors VII and IX will not be completed in time for the opening of the 2018 fishing season.

But the discussion following the briefing, as well as the council’s widely split vote on a draft recommendation to NOAA Fisheries, reflected stark divisions within the council and the Northeast groundfish fishery at large over how NOAA should resolve the issues borne from the long-standing catch misreporting and conviction last year of New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael.

It also recommended that, following full repayment of the overages associated with Rafael’s cheating, NOAA Fisheries work with Sector VII “to ensure that the 2018 sector operation plan and associated conditions” are fully implemented.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

NE Fishery Management Council Divided Over New Plan For Rafael’s Fishing Sector

April 20, 2018 — In a divided vote, the New England Fishery Management Council is backing a new operations plan for a sector of New Bedford boats that have been prohibited from fishing. However, the council said the plan should only be approved if certain conditions are met.

The sector of boats, called Sector IX, has been banned from catching groundfish, such as cod and haddock, for the past five months. Federal regulators from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration made the decision to prohibit all sector activity after fishing mogul Carlos Rafael, who has also been referred to as “The Codfather,” pleaded guilty to misreporting the numbers of fish his boats were catching.

Now, Sector IX wants to be operational again as a “lease-only” sector, which means the boats would remain docked but could still make money by leasing their fishing allocation to other fishermen.

Read the full story at Rhode Island Public Radio

Massachusetts: NOAA Plans Keep Sector IX Boats Moored

April 19, 2018 — MYSTIC, Conn. — Officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration say fishing vessels that transferred to Sector VII from Sector IX in New Bedford may have to wait until mid-summer to begin leasing quotas.

NOAA closed down fishing out of Sector IX in order to assess just how much quota was illegally used up by fishing magnate and now convicted “Codfather,” Carlos Rafael.

At a meeting of the New England Fishery Management Council on Wednesday, NOAA proposed a plan for Sector IX that would treat illegal catch in each fishing year as if it was known immediately after the end of the season, eliminating any carryover of unused quota into the next fishing season if there was any illegal fishing.

Read the full story at WBSM

Massachusetts: Despite sector shuffle, New Bedford fishermen will still be on sidelines in May

April 19, 2018 — MYSTIC, Conn. — Whispers filled the convention room at the Hilton Wednesday as the dozens in attendance attempted to count the raised hands, which signified votes of the New England Fishery Management Council.

The three attempts to accurately tally the votes only added to the drama of a discussion that involved a groundfishing ban that’s affected New Bedford since November.

In the end, the vote didn’t provide a resolution for those fishermen out of work and the shoreside businesses affected by the ban.

The final count was 7 yes votes, 5 no votes and 5 abstaining. The motion approved recommendations of a Sector IX lease-only plan and authorization of Sector VII’s full operational plan after repayment of overages.

While the motion was approved, it is only a recommendation to NOAA. The meeting and discussion, which are parts of an overall larger process, acted as a procedural matter to allow the NMFC an opportunity to express its opinion on the issue. NOAA is not obligated to follow the recommendation.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times