Saving Seafood

Jon Mitchell: Wind Developers Must Take Fishermen Seriously

April 12, 2018 — Earlier this week, fishing industry officials sent a letter to Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker asking for a larger role in the decision making when it comes to granting the state’s first offshore wind contract.

The letter particularly asked for the New Bedford Port Authority to act as the mediator between commercial fishing and wind energy, and in his weekly appearance on WBSM, Mayor Jon Mitchell said that request makes “all the sense in the world.”

“The place where these two industries intersect more than anywhere else will be New Bedford,” he said, noting he agrees that the fishermen haven’t been given enough of a voice. “That’s why we’re prepared to do something about it.”

Mitchell, who as mayor is also chair of the Port Authority, says the fishermen have valid concerns that he feels may have fallen on deaf ears.

“It has to do with safe navigation through wind farms, and with the siting of new wind farms that might intrude on traditional fishing grounds,” he said. “Wind developers have to do a better job of taking fishermen seriously, and we’re going to work on that. We’re going to make sure that they are taken more seriously.”

Read the full story at WBSM

Massachusetts: Hoping for a state contract, Bay State Wind offers more than $2 million in environmental research grants

April 11, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — In what could be the final weeks before Massachusetts awards its first offshore wind contract, Bay State Wind has announced more than $2 million in grants it would provide for fisheries research and whale protection, contingent upon Bay State Wind winning a contract.

The grants include:

• $1 million for a marine science grant program to be administered by Bay State Wind. It would fund research in the Bay State Wind lease area designed to address specific questions and concerns raised by the fishing industry.

• $500,000 to the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution for a multi-year grant to develop advanced whale detection systems.

• $250,000 each to the New England Aquarium right whale research project and the Lobster Foundation of Massachusetts to prevent gear entanglement of the North Atlantic right whale.

The deadline for the state and electric companies to announce one or more winners of offshore wind contracts is April 23, but the decision could be delayed, State House News Service reported last week.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Massachusetts: AHA! celebrates ‘Sustainable SouthCoast’

April 11, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Spring has sprung, bringing with it new life, warmer weather and longer days. This month AHA! Night— just in time for Earth Day— pays homage to the “Sustainable SouthCoast.”

Join in celebrating the earth and explore how the community can create a sustainable environment for ourselves and others. Plus new art, live music, kids activities, film screenings and more.

AHA! (Arts, History and Architecture!) is a free family-friendly event held rain or shine on the second Thursday of each month from 5 to 9 p.m. in historic downtown New Bedford.

Here’s just a sample of the night’s events. For a full list, visit ahanewbedford.org.

  • Celebrate Earth Eve with the largest people-powered parade in New England. Marchers, including eco-floats — anything a person or group can wear, roll or carry — convene at 5 p.m. in front of the New Bedford Public Library. Parade begins at 5:30 p.m. Part of the Earth Eve festivities will be the crowing of mother earth and father ocean. Selected by the Greater New Bedford Earth Eve Committee for their exceptional stewardship towards our natural environment, New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell and Lorraine Perry of New Bedford are mother earth and father ocean 2018. Perry and Mitchell will be bestowed with unique crowns created by former Mother Earth Diana Painter at 5:20 p.m.
  • There’s loads of fun at the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park (33 William St.), including:

– Upcycle many small plastic bags into one larger, stronger tote to keep plastic bags out of the ocean.
– Watch and discuss “A Plastic Ocean” in the park theater.
– As artist Andy Tedesco demonstrates printmaking, try cutting your own linoleum prints. The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center (38 Bethel St.) presents “Sustaining New England’s Wild Seafood,” a conversation with Eating with the Ecosystem.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Massachusetts: Gov. Baker vows to hear voice of fishermen regarding offshore wind

April 11, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Gov. Charlie Baker sat about 1,000 feet from the city’s waterfront as he discussed various aspects of the state with The Standard-Times on Tuesday. The proximity to the most valuable port in the United States wasn’t lost on him.

“I do not want (the fishing industry’s) voice to get lost, period,” Baker said. “And it won’t be.”

Through the National Coalition for Fishing Communities, scores of fishermen and organizations sent a letter to Baker on Monday to emphasize their concerns regarding the implementation of offshore wind facilities in areas where they make a living.

“Based on the past several months of interaction with the offshore wind industry, we do not have confidence that our interests are being adequately taken into account, nor will be in the future,” the letter said.

The letter also calls for the New Bedford Port Authority to take on the role of a central facilitator in discussion between the industries.

“I’m happy to have them as part of the mix, but there are a lot of people at the state and federal level who have an oar in this water as well, but, yeah, happy to have them as part of the mix,” Baker said.

The letter addressed to Baker outlined three aspects of concern held by the fishing industry: the project side and number of turbines; a lack of plan/process to study impacts; and no coordination or communication among projects.

Read the full industry letter here

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Massachusetts: Fishing groups back New Bedford as wind liaison

April 10, 2018 — BOSTON — Fishing officials are calling for the New Bedford Port Authority to be the “central facilitator” for discussions between the offshore wind industry and fishermen.

Monday’s letter to Gov. Charlie Baker was sent by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities, a project of Saving Seafood, a group that New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell previously said was created by industry players in his city.

New Bedford is both the nation’s top fishing port as measured by the value of catch, mostly owing to the scallop fishery, and offshore wind developers have agreed to use the Whaling City’s harbor facilities as a staging area, so it is on its way to becoming an offshore wind hub, as well.

In the letter, officials also urged him to make the state’s first offshore windfarm “as modest in size and scope as possible” so that its effects can be studied and called for a possible delay in the selection of offshore wind partners.

“Three separate, developer-led outreach efforts have been launched, and all are stumbling to produce meaningful dialogue or move us closer to real solutions in areas ranging from navigation, access, cable routes, radar interference, and gear loss,” the coalition wrote. “Equally troubling, it has become clear that offshore wind developers are unwilling or unable to coordinate their interactions with commercial fishermen to tackle issues that cut across multiple project areas.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

New Bedford vessel cited for hiding scallops

April 9, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — A commercial scallop vessel was found to be hiding scallops following an inspection of the fishing boat on Sunday, April 8, according to the Massachusetts Environmental Police.

The vessel was on a “closed area trip” which restricts the landing limit for scallop meats to a certain poundage. Upon completion of the off-load, the vessel was found to be over the limit by three-hundred pounds. Multiple bags of scallop meats were found hidden throughout the interior of the vessel.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Coast Guard continues to investigate Misty Blue’s sinking

April 4, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The Coast Guard continues to investigate and has not determined the cause of the sinking of the Misty Blue, a New Bedford-based fishing vessel that sank in December, a spokeswoman said.

Two fishermen — Michael Roberts, 49, and Jonathan Saraiva, 32 — died when the 69-foot surf clam harvester sank Dec. 4 about 10 miles southeast of Nantucket. Capt. Eric Arabian, 44, and Colby McMullen, 22, were rescued by a nearby fishing Enterprise.

Coast Guard Petty Officer 3rd Class Nicole J. Groll said Sector Southeastern New England Marine Causality Division is handling the investigation. She did not say when the probe will be completed, but said these investigations can take as long as a year, depending on the nature of the case.

“The investigators are doing their best to be thorough. After it is finalized, it will need to be reviewed through the Coast Guard investigation chain of command that culminates at Coast Guard headquarters before publication,” she said in an email to The Standard-Times.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times   

 

New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center: April Dock-U-Mentaries to feature Counting Fish

April 4, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:   

The Dock-U-Mentaries Film Series continues on Friday, April 20th at 7:00 PM with Counting Fish a film by Don Cuddy.  Dock-U-Mentaries is a co-production of New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park, the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, and the Working Waterfront Festival.  Films about the working waterfront are screened on the third Friday of each month beginning at 7:00 PM in the theater of the Corson Maritime Learning Center, located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. All programs are open to the public and presented free of charge.

New England groundfishermen are in trouble. The annual catch limits are now set so low that many boats remain tied to the dock. But controversy abounds. The fishing industry has expressed no confidence in the NOAA trawl survey that provides the raw data for the stock assessment. But counting fish in the ocean is no easy task. While everyone agrees that more and better data is needed NOAA Fisheries says its resources are already overtaxed.

UMass Dartmouth marine scientist Kevin Stokesbury believes he may have found a solution- using cameras to record fish passing through a net that is intentionally left open, allowing them to escape unharmed. The video is then taken ashore and analyzed to obtain an estimate of stock abundance for a variety of species. Don Cuddy documented this new technology in action and the results can be seen in this splendid documentary. He will lead a post-film discussion.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, located at 38 Bethel Street, is a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving and presenting the history and culture of New Bedford’s fishing industry through exhibits, programs, and archives.

New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park was established by Congress in 1996 to help preserve and interpret America’s nineteenth century whaling industry.  The park, which encompasses a 13-block National Historic Landmark District, is the only National Park Service area addressing the history of the whaling industry and its influence on the economic, social, and environmental history of the United States.  The National Park visitor center is located at 33 William Street in downtown New Bedford. It is open seven days a week, from 9 AM-5 PM, and offers information, exhibits, and a free orientation movie every hour on the hour from 10 AM-4 PM.  The visitor center is wheelchair-accessible, and is free of charge.  For more information, call the visitor center at 508-996-4095, go to www.nps.gov/nebe or visit the park’s Facebook page at http://www.facebook.com/NBWNHP. Everyone finds their park in a different way. Discover yours at FindYourPark.com.

 

Sector IX vessels make a move to lease quota

March 30, 2018 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Fifty-five vessels have left Sector IX, but they still can’t fish. However, they can lease their groundfish quota.

The 55, including four Carlos Rafael vessels subject to forfeiture, were submitted to be included in Sector VII for the 2018-19 fishing season, according to NOAA and Sector VII.

The move comes after six months of negotiations with NOAA in trying to get an operational plan approved, which would have lifted the groundfishing ban.

Had a move not been made, the vessels would have remained in Sector IX without the ability to lease quota. Three Sector IX vessels will remain in the sector.

The deadline for vessels to change sectors was Monday.

“What are we supposed to do,” Sector VII President Richie Canastra said. “The enrollment was Monday where you have to choose your sector for the 2018 and 2019 fishing season. No answer (from NOAA) was there yet. So those vessels and the permits owned by Carlos went to Sector VII.”

Canastra said the vessels affected by NOAA’s ban can only return to fishing with authorization from the agency or if they are sold to an independent party.

“It’s really straight forward. None of this was done to try to pull the wool over someone’s eyes or being sneaky,” Canastra said. “I just think it’s the right thing to do. I really believe the people in the industry will understand it’s the best move for everyone.”

The shift in sectors also included the additions of Richie Canastra as President, Tor Bendiksen as Treasurer and Cassie Canstra as Clerk to Sector VII.

In a letter from NOAA’s Regional Administrator Michael Pentony to the Chair of the New England Fishery Management Council John Quinn, he confirmed that the vessels would be allowed to transfer quota. He also confirmed that all vessels owned by Rafael would be inactive, unless they are sold to in independent party.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Atlantic marine monument suit can move forward

March 30, 2018 — Fishing organizations are set to proceed with their suit against the federal government to reopen fishing grounds in New England.

President Obama established the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts National Marine Monument, which included a blanket commercial fishing ban in an area that was already closed to some gear types under the New England Fishery Management Council’s jurisdiction.

The lawsuit has been held up since April 2017 by a Trump administration review of several national monuments created under the Obama administration. Recent filings at the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia say the hold was lifted in mid-March.

The lawsuit argues that Obama never had the authority to establish the monument under the the Antiquities Act, given that the ocean is not “land owned or controlled by the federal government,” as the act stipulates.

In December, Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke recommended making changes to marine national monument policies and proposed shifting the responsibility for controlling fishing within the monument to the regional fishery management councils.

“No president should use the authority under the act to restrict public access, prevent hunting and fishing, burden private land, or eliminate traditional land uses, unless such action is needed to protect the objects,” wrote Zinke in his recommendation.

Since Zinke’s official recommendations, no public action has been taken by the administration to address his statement.

Fishing industry leaders involved with the suit are ready to pick up where they left off.

“The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association is optimistically encouraged, given the forward movement of the lawsuit,” said Beth Casoni, executive director of The Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association. “We are hopeful to regain the fishing grounds that were taken away from the fleet and to set a legal precedent through the court that will prevent any further draconian actions against the fleet.”

While lobster and deep-sea red crab fisheries were granted a 7-year grandfather period, all other commercial fishing was banned when the 5,000-square-mile monument was established in order to protect deep-sea corals and vulnerable species like North Atlantic right whales.

“To lose a big area that we have historically fished has quite an impact on quite a lot of people here,” Jon Williams, a New Bedford, Mass., crabber and a member of plaintiff group Offshore Lobstermen’s Association told the Associated Press.

Read the full story at National Fisherman