New Bedford Archives - Page 73 of 113

Massachusetts: Divers recover bodies of 2 missing men from sunken fishing boat

December 19, 2017 — Divers have recovered the bodies of the two missing crewmen of the Misty Blue, a fishing boat that sank 10 miles off the coast of Nantucket on Dec. 4, authorities said Monday.

The first body was recovered at 10:30 a.m. and the second at 4:20 p.m., State Police spokesman David Procopio said. Relatives of the two men expressed gratitude to those involved in the search. In a statement, the Saraiva family thanked “everyone involved in helping to find and bring their son Jonathan and Mr. Roberts home.”

Michael Flynn, a lawyer for Roberts’s widow, said their “thoughts and prayers go out to” Saraiva’s family.

“Mrs. Roberts looks forward to moving through the grieving process and trying to move forward,” he said.

Danny Cohen, president of Atlantic Capes Fisheries, the New Bedford-based seafood company affiliated with the Misty Blue, said the company was “thankful and saddened” that the men’s bodies had been recovered.

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

MASSACHUSETTS: F/V Misty Blue Missing Crewmembers Found

WASHINGTON – December 18, 2017 – The bodies of two missing fishermen from the F/V MISTY BLUE have been recovered by Massachusetts State Police divers. Jonathan Saraiva, 32, and Michael Roberts, 49, were on board the vessel when it rolled over and sank on Dec. 4.

“Our divers recovered two bodies from the sunken vessel Misty Blue today. The first recovery was at 10:30 a.m., the second at 4:20 p.m. We offer our deepest condolences to their families. I have no further information to relay,” said Massachusetts State Police spokesman Dave Procopio.

Atlantic Capes Fisheries issued the following statement this evening:

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. – Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Inc. (“ACF”) is thankful and saddened to receive the news that divers have recovered the bodies of the missing crewmen of the F/V MISTY BLUE. All of the ACF team members extend their deepest condolences to the families of Michael Roberts and Jonathan Saraiva.

“This is a sorrow-filled day for everyone, not only at Atlantic Capes but also in the greater New England fishing community,” said Danny Cohen, President of ACF. “Our thoughts and prayers are with the Roberts and Saraiva families during this difficult time.”

“Michael was a five year veteran of Atlantic Capes, and Jonathan had just joined our team. We were all devastated to lose an old friend and new colleague. We join with their families and the rest of the harbor in mourning their loss,” said Chad Brayton, the Vessel Manager. “The divers deserve our deepest respect. That was a difficult dive, in strong currents on Nantucket shoals, which has to be accomplished in very limited time.”

“We recognize the great risks and technical difficulty involved in this recovery effort, so on behalf of Atlantic Capes, we wish to thank the Coast Guard, the Massachusetts State Police, the dive teams, and everyone whose brave efforts made it possible for Michael and Jonathan to be returned to their grieving families,” said Sam Martin, Vice President of Operations. “We hope the recovery brings some comfort to their friends and loved ones at this difficult time.”

Boston Globe: What’s fair in breaking up Carlos Rafael’s empire?

December 18, 2017 — Randy Cushman, a fourth generation fisherman in Maine, knows what the crimes of Carlos Rafael cost him.

Cushman fishes out of the bucolic village of Port Clyde, population 307, the sort of place many New Englanders might still associate with the region’s storied, struggling fishing industry. Last season, he had to pay $49,000 for fishing quota, most of it for American plaice, a species of groundfish commonly known as dabs. Cushman’s own allowance on the fish ran out after only four days on the water, forcing him to bargain with other fishermen for more.

Up the coast, Rafael had been catching dabs in the Gulf of Maine too. But in an elaborate criminal scheme, the New Bedford fishing tycoon, owner of about 40 vessels, was directing his captains to report dabs as other kinds of fish, often haddock, which is subject to much higher limits. Breaking the rules let Rafael evade the kind of payments that Cushman made. It also depressed prices by flooding the market with black-market fish. Worst of all, the scheme also meant fishing regulators were getting inaccurate information about how many fish Rafael’s empire was scooping out of the Atlantic, bad data that fishermen suspect distorted how scientists analyzed ocean trends, and Cushman believes skewed the way regulators set the amount each fishermen can catch before having to start paying.

“He definitely hurt my business,” Cushman said. Bottom line: “I should have ended up with more allocation on dabs,” he said.

Rafael, whose downfall came after he boasted of his scheme to undercover IRS agents posing as Russian mobsters, is now serving a 46-month sentence in federal prison. The made-for-TV story, complete with an illicit cash buyer in New York, bank accounts in Portugal, allegations of corrupt sheriff deputies, and broad hints that other players on the waterfront must have been in the know, has transfixed New England’s close-knit fishery. Rafael’s arrest has thrust arcane fisheries policies into the spotlight, touched off a political battle between Massachusetts and Maine about the future of his businesses, and raised questions about how fishing regulators can provide justice for his victims and prevent a scheme like his from infecting the fishery again. The feds have already seized some of his permits and four of his boats, but more punishments are widely expected. A spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Jennifer Goebel, said the regulatory agency was considering further sanctions against Rafael but that “it’s longstanding NOAA policy not to discuss pending enforcement matters.”

Read the full editorial at the Boston Globe

MASSACHUSETTS: New Bedford City Council seeks action on Carlos Rafael’s fishermen

December 18, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The City Council took aim at former Mayor John Bullard and his decision to prevent Sector IX, the fishing division populated by Carlos Rafael vessels, from landing groundfish.

“It’s important that we get turn this around,” [Ward 4 Councilor Dana] Rebeiro said. “He’s a very reasonable man. He loves New Bedford. I know he’s very concerned about Carlos Rafael, as we all are, and the fact that he was able to do what he did for so long. But I think there has to be a way that we can make sure that justice is served but not at the expense of these families.”

The council agreed to send a letter to Bullard, the Northeast Regional Administrator for NOAA and the federal delegation asking for immediate reversal of the ban.

The ban took effect Nov. 20 as a result of Bullard believing the division still hadn’t addressed issues resulting from Rafael’s illegal behavior.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

‘It’s devastating’: Fishermen try to cope as NOAA shuts down groundfishing

December 13, 2017 — NEWPORT, R.I. — Cesar Verde only knows fishing.

The New Bedford resident learned the craft in his native Portugal. For the past 17 years, he’s worked in the fishing industry in his new home, and he’s been a captain for the past decade.

However, for the last two weeks, he’s been out of the water because NOAA prohibited Carlos Rafael’s vessels from groundfishing.

Verde captains fishing vessel Ilha do Corvo.

“So far, (I’m) pitching in on the little savings I have. Soon I’ll run out,” Verde said. “It will very soon become survival mode all the way up to putting food on the table.

“My hands and feet are totally tied up. This is what I do. This is the only thing I know how to do.”

The decision came as NOAA believed the executives who manage fishing Sector IX, which Rafael’s vessels populate, haven’t corrected some lingering issues associated with the fishing mogul’s illegal behavior including preventative measures and updated catch reports.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New Bedford mayor pushes Chris Oliver for help with Sector IX

December 12, 2017 — The mayor of New Bedford, Massachusetts, traveled to Washington D.C. last week to ask Chris Oliver, the assistant administrator for Fisheries at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), to help get the fishermen of Northeast Fishery Sector IX back on the water.

Sector IX, comprised of 22 vessels manned by 80 fishermen, was barred from fishing for groundfish when the National Marine Fisheries Service withdrew approval of its operations plan on 20 November. The sector is mostly composed of vessels belonging to Carlos “The Codfather” Rafael, the former fishing magnate who pleaded guilty to falsifying fish quotas, tax evasion, and bulk cash smuggling.

New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell told South Coast Today that, in his meeting with Oliver on 5 December, he argued that NOAA’s action on Sector IX was harming fishermen and city businesses. The meeting was a follow-up to a letter sent to NOAA by Sector IX President Virginia Martins arguing for a reconsideration of NOAA”s action against the sector.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Massachusetts: Jack Spillane: In gratitude for fishermen

December 11, 2017 — “They that do down to the sea in ships, that do business in great waters;

These see the works of the Lord, and his wonders in the deep.”

— Psalm 107

Misty Blue.

In the wake of its tragic destiny, even the name seems to betoken sadness.

Misty Blue, of course, could also bring to mind peace and beauty. And surely there was a time when the rugged guys who worked the surf clammer on a gentle Atlantic day thought about their boat that way.

In New Bedford, we’re well familiar with the ever-present danger of making a living on the sea. And yet, every time it happens, every time a boat goes down, it takes our breath away.

How? How? How?

Did they have time to get away? No. Could we have possibly done more for them? No.

The initial reports Monday night were that two fishermen had been rescued 10 miles southeast of Nantucket, but two remained missing.

The 69-foot Misty had put out a distress call at 6:10 p.m. and by 6:30 she was said to have rolled over and sunk. The public details of what happened are still sketchy.

Eric Arabian, 44, Michael Roberts, 44, Jonathan Saraiva, 32, and Colby McMullen, 22, were a crew and they should be listed together as a crew.

Arabian, the captain, and McMullen, were rescued by the fishing boat Enterprise and physically are said to be fine. Or as fine as they can ever be after such catastrophe.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Massachusetts: Still Haunted By Rafael New Bedford Fishermen Forced Back to Port

December 8, 2017 — Just before Thanksgiving, federal regulators took the unprecedented move of shutting down part of New Bedford’s fishing fleet known as sector 9, and ordering fishermen back to port. It was a shocking move that has kept 22 fishing boats tied up at the dock and put more than 80 commercial fishermen out of work. In addition, more than 300 dockside support workers who provide everything from ice and fuel to nets and accounting are affected, and if the shutdown continues, will be forced out of business.

Regional Fisheries Administrator John Bullard — who happens to be a former mayor of New Bedford — ordered the shutdown because of what he said was gross mismanagement of the sector, pointing to the infamous “Codfather,” Carlos Rafael, as the culprit. Rafael dominated the sector 9 fleet, which he was in part tasked with managing. His massive fishing operation was brought down when undercover agents discovered a scheme in which he sold illegally caught cod and flounder and big profits, sending the money to Portugal. He is now serving a four-year prison term after admitting to the charges.

Read the full story at WBGH

Massachusetts: Mitchell pleads fishermen’s case to NOAA head

December 8, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — In a meeting with one of NOAA’s top administrators in Washington D.C, Mayor Jon Mitchell made his case for easing recent sanctions that he said are harming fishermen and city businesses.

“It’s all sort of related,” Mitchell said. “The idea is that these matters should be wrapped up. I pledged to continue to bring the parties together in however I can, as I have been doing for some time now.”

New Bedford’s mayor met with Assistant Administrator of NOAA Chris Oliver on Tuesday as part of a two-day trip to the nation’s capital.

The fishermen out of work due to NOAA’s groundfish ban for Rafael’s vessels sat atop his agenda. When NOAA made its announcement on Nov. 20, Mitchell strongly condemned the decision saying it will affect innocent third parties.

It was a similar argument Mitchell conveyed in a letter to Oliver’s predecessor in June suggesting the best tool to use against Rafael was a global settlement.

Mitchell advocated for a global settlement because he’s said it would remove Rafael from the industry and prevent him from profiting from a prison cell. It would also keep the vessels in New Bedford.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard Times

New England council hears from Canastra, ship captains, emotional crew

December 7, 2017 — Twenty vessels have been pulled from the water at the Port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, effecting the livelihoods of about 80 fishermen, as a result of the recent decision by John Bullard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s region chief, to stop the groundfishing season five months early for New England’s Sector IX.

Canastra, one of two brothers who own the New Bedford seafood auction and also have a deal to buy Carlos Rafael’s large fishing fleet there, was among many to travel to the NEFMC meeting in Newport, Rhode Island, and use a public comment period to detail the impact of Bullard’s Nov. 20 move, which the council earlier supported.

Raymond Canastra, Richard’s brother, is a member of Sector IX’s revised board of directors, which has formally asked Bullard to reconsider his action.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News