Saving Seafood

JIM KENDALL: Even ‘smart’ video monitoring is onerous to fishermen

August 23, 2017 — I would like to make several observations regarding Michael Bonner’s Aug. 21 article, “Delegation supports Rafael’s forfeiture toward electronic monitoring.”

First of all, state legislators’ support for utilizing the forfeiture to fund the electronic monitoring (surveillance), presupposes that this form of electronic monitoring will be supported and adopted. It surely does not seem to be the favored choice of monitoring, as far as the groundfish industry is concerned. In fact, they are not in favor of any form of monitoring that has been proposed to date.

I know that many of those in the NMFS/NOAA or the conservation industry would claim that my last statement is an expected response from someone who is either in the fishing industry or who supports their way of life. However, show me someone who would like to have basically every minute of their working life surveilled and overseen by “Big Brother,” or anyone else, for that matter.

As an American, you are considered innocent until proven otherwise, but in this case, you are expected to bear the additional burden and costs of video surveillance, along with the costs of the already-imposed vessel tracking systems. The fishing vessel crews already have the considerable burden of paying for the tracking systems that monitor their positions on (at least) an hourly basis. The vessel tracking systems are now a precondition that must be met, endured and paid for by the fishermen if they wish to obtain a permit to fish in almost any of the current local fisheries.

NOAA fisheries Regional Administrator John Bullard (soon to be retiring) is quoted as saying that he thinks that video monitoring is a major benefit to the industry. I’m not sure who he thinks he’s going to convince with that statement. Surely not the fishing industry. If that were the case, New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel likely would not be requesting that this “benefit” be reviewed by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Read the full letter at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

MASSACHUSETTS: Working Waterfront Festival Returns on September 23rd

August 23, 2017 — The following was released by the New Bedford Working Waterfront Festival:

The nation’s #1 fishing port hosts the Working Waterfront Festival – a free, family friendly celebration of the commercial fishing industry – on the working piers of New Bedford. The Festival takes place on Saturday, September 23rd from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. with whaleboat races kicking off the morning at 8:00 a.m.

More than simply a celebration, the Working Waterfront Festival is a unique opportunity for the public to get a first-hand look at the culture of fishing and for the commercial fishing industry to tell its own story.  The event presents all that goes into bringing seafood from the ocean to the table in a way that is hands-on, educational, and fun.

This year, the Festival is partnering with the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.  Located in the heart of the City’s historic downtown, the Center’s mission is to tell the story of the commercial fishing industry past, present, and future through exhibits, programs, and archives.  This partnership is a natural fit for two organizations dedicated to celebrating the commercial fishing industry.

The Festival will be presented in two locations: at Steamship Pier on New Bedford’s historic waterfront and at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center at 38 Bethel Street.  These two sites will be linked by a free shuttle bus, allowing visitors to enjoy all the Festival has to offer.

Steamship Pier will host fishermen’s contests, industry demos, vessel tours, on water activities, cooking demonstrations, a food court, and more!  Contest highlights include scallop shucking and nautical tattoos. Safety demos as well as demonstrations of skills such as rigging and wire splicing will be presented. Whaleboat races and a tug boat muster will take place with viewing from the head of the pier. Visitors can learn more about fisheries science and other aspects of the industry from non-profit and corporate exhibitors and purchase handmade items from maritime artists. Cooking demonstrations, featuring New Bedford seafood, will take place at the Foodways Area.  The Food Court will feature fresh, local seafood prepared by Seafood Hut, Oxford Creamery, and Destination Soups.

The Fishing Heritage Center will host performances of music and fisherpoetry on Main Stage; Mug Up sessions with author readings and signings; kids activities; and their current exhibit Nautical Tattoos and the Stories Behind Them: Portraits by Phil Mello. Visitors will also be able to visit the Center’s gift shop and see the main exhibit, ­­­­From Boat to Table, featuring a full-sized wheelhouse and a variety of hands-on activity stations. Alice’s Food Truck will be on hand serving fresh seafood dishes and more.

As always, the Festival will bring together a unique array of music, storytelling, and fisherpoetry. Many of the performers have close ties to the industry and reflect its’ ethnic diversity.   Performances of traditional sea chanteys by the New Bedford Harbor Sea Chantey Chorus and the edgier punk rock sea chantey sounds of Sharks Come Cruisin’ will have the audience singing and dancing along.  Portuguese fado singer Ana Vinagre and her ensemble will share the soulful songs of love, the ocean, and loss.  NOIR brings the music of Norway and Ireland to the Festival stages.  Singer/songwriter Jon Campbell will share his his humorous take about the lives of those living and working on the coast. Alaskan Fisherpoet Dave Densmore will share poetry he writes, often from the wheelhouse, to capture a way of life that is changing and give voice to those who work the sea.

Commercial fisherman and author Linda Greenlaw will return to the Festival for a Q & A session with Mindy Todd of WCAI – Cape & Islands NPR Station. She will talk about fishing, writing and her newest book, Shiver Hitch, which was released in June.  A book signing will follow.

Finest Kind: The New Bedford Fishing Industry is the new, original documentary produced by the Center, will be shown throughout the day. The film interweaves interviews, historic and contemporary footage, and photographs to provide a sense of the rich history and culture of the New Bedford/Fairhaven fishing industry.

Parking is free at all meters and at the Elm Street Garage.The free shuttle departs from the Center and Steamship Pier.   For more information, visit www.WorkingWaterfrontFestival.org.

The Festival is made possible by a grant from the National Endowment for the Arts as well as support from many local businesses, the City of New Bedford, and the Harbor Development Commission.

 

Mass delegation supports putting Carlos Rafael’s forfeiture toward electronic monitoring

August 22, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — John Bullard wants to arm fishing vessels with a smartphone — figuratively speaking.

“Nobody has rotary phones anymore, we just assume smartphones are the way we communicate and all the benefits of smartphones we’ve come to expect as normal,” Bullard said. ”(Electronic monitoring) is what we’re going to transition to, but it’s going to take time.”

NOAA’s Northeast Regional director said he believes current methods can lead to inaccurate science. Last week, NOAA conducted a fishing stock assessment meeting in New Bedford where similar concerns of bad science emerged. The root of the concern was data from false reports.

Electronic monitoring, specifically cameras on vessels, would provide accurate information.

“This is a major, in my opinion, improvement,” Bullard said. “I think it’s a major benefit to the industry.”

A letter signed by 12 members of the Massachusetts House of Representatives sparked discussion of electronic monitoring. The group, which included Patricia Haddad representing Bristol’s 5th District, sent the letter to Charlie Baker asking the governor to use any capital forfeiture associated with Carlos Rafael’s sentencing to pay for electronic monitoring.

Rafael pleaded guilty in March to false labeling fishing quotas. His sentencing hearing is Sept. 25 and 26 in Boston.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

New Bedford Standard-Times: Court, NOAA should put Rafael assets to greatest good use

August 21, 2017 — Carlos Rafael’s challenge of the forfeiture of 13 permitted groundfish vessels stirs the concerns of hundreds — maybe thousands — of fishermen and fishing support workers, municipal officials from Rhode Island to Maine, and state and federal officials left with all the more uncertainty of the impact of his punishment once it’s finally handed down.

His guilty plea in March, to three decades of cheating in the groundfish fishery, hasn’t stopped his boats from fishing out of New Bedford, where they bring in 75 percent of the groundfish landed each year, representing 10 percent of all the landings in the nation’s richest port.

New Bedford’s mayor has argued convincingly that removing all 13 vessels from the Port of New Bedford would have an immediate, significant impact on the livelihoods of scores of workers and their families, and the court’s granting of postponements while a full exit from fishing (including nearly two dozen scallopers) is negotiated by Mr. Rafael and the government suggests official harmony on that point.

Read the full editorial at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Carlos Rafael files motion of opposition to forfeiture

August 21, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Carlos Rafael filed a court motion Monday opposing the government’s motion for preliminary order of forfeiture.

The New Bedford fishing heavyweight made the request in light of “ongoing discussions” regarding the vessels and permits associated with the guilty plea he made four and half months ago.

Rafael pleaded guilty to falsifying labels and fish identification, cash smuggling and tax evasion on March 30. In the plea agreement, Rafael admitted the vessels listed in the indictment were subject to forfeiture. The agreement reserved Rafael the right to challenge the forfeitures.

Rafael took advantage of that right, citing the excessive fines clause of the Eighth Amendment and saying an order of forfeiture may not be required. The motion requested any hearing associated with forfeitures be held as needed during sentencing on Sept. 25 and 26.

“The parties have been discussing possible resolutions of the forfeiture issues that may obviate the need for briefing and hearings on those issues,” Rafael’s motion stated.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Stock assessment meeting erupts into lively talk between NOAA, fishermen

August 17, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Diagrams, life-like statues and pictures fill the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center to depict the history and future of the industry.

NOAA scientists and local fishermen filled the small building on Bethel Street on Wednesday night to discuss future stock assessments. The meeting, though, told another aspect in the story of the Port of New Bedford: the decades old tension that continues to exist between the groups.

“We all have to pull in the same direction,” Executive Director of New Bedford Seafood Consulting Jim Kendall said.

Instead a powerpoint presentation listing stock limits led to a discussion, which evolved into an argument and ended with two fishermen abruptly leaving. Russ Brown, director of the Population Dynamics Branch of NOAA, ended his presentation to meet with the fishermen outside. They spoke outside for 20 minutes before parting ways with a semblance of mutual respect.

“What we need to do is find common themes,” Brown said. “I’m a scientist. We want to find common themes within the science where we have questions and the industry has questions, and we can basically collaborate and pull in the same direction.”

Most of the discussion revolved around the methods in which NOAA is acquiring its data. Fishermen in attendance questioned the methods used by scientists to count groundfish. They also pointed out that years to correct a data point is too much time for an industry that continues to shrink.

“We understand that the management is affecting people and is having some serious consequences for our stakeholders who are depending on the resources,” Brown said. “We care about that, and we want to make sure the science is as accurate as it can be.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

 

Fishing vessel sinks in New Bedford Harbor

August 17, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The fishing vessel Challenge sank early Wednesday on city’s waterfront, officials said.

The fuel spill spread about 1.5 miles into Fairhaven, the United States Coast Guard reported in a press release.

Fire Chief Michael Gomes said the Fire Department found the 65-foot fishing vessel had sunk by its stern and was leaking diesel fuel and lube oil into the harbor when they arrived. The Fire Department was notified about 4:30 a.m.

The captain from the tugboat Realist called Coast Guard Sector Southeastern watchstanders around 3:50 a.m., reporting the Challenge sunk at the pier and was actively discharging fuel, a press release from the Coast Guard stated.

Coast Guard crews are overseeing the fuel spill cleanup.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Access to Surfclam (Spisula solidissima) Fishing Grounds Studied by SCeMFiS Scientists in Research Survey Cruise Southeast of Nantucket Island

August 15, 2017 — BOSTON — The following was released by SCeMFiS:

The scientists of the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) recently completed a survey of the surfclam fishery area southeast of Nantucket Island to provide information regarding surfclam stock status and habitat to ensure continued resource access by local surfclam vessels. Surveys were successfully conducted in 4 days aboard the F/V Mariette sailing from New Bedford, MA.

Chris Shriver of Galilean Seafoods in Bristol, Rhode Island commented – “We believe this survey will assist the federal managers of the surfclam industry to preserve traditional surfclam fishing areas and to assist in opening new areas for the vessels to harvest surfclams so we can supply the public with sustainable and healthy clam chowders and clam strips, while protecting the marine habitat.”

Data will be reported to the SCeMFiS Industry Advisory Board at the Fall 2017 meeting in Cape May, New Jersey, with a final report by Spring 2018 and will be considered by the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center (“NEFSC”) Survey Design Working Group at their September meeting. If necessary, reporting will be accelerated as required to provide input to the New England Fisheries Management Council (“NEFMC”) Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2) decision making process. Data collected from this cruise will contribute both to ongoing efforts to (1) preserve access to the local resource by the small boat surfclam fishermen, and (2) ensure a well informed and scientifically based decision by the NEFMC concerning delineation of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) area closures.

SCeMFiS scientific projects are unique in that they respond directly to the scientific needs of the fisheries managers in collaboration with the commercial fishing industry while upholding strict quality scientific standards and procedures. SCeMFiS partnerships include academia, government agencies, non-profits, trade organizations, and industry members. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) are lead academic institutions and SCeMfiS is part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program. Other participating partners include Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Bumble Bee Seafoods Incorporated, Garden State Seafood Association, Intershell International Corporation, LaMonica Fine Foods, Lund’s Fisheries Incorporated, National Fisheries Institute Clam Committee, National Fisheries Institute Scientific Monitoring Committee, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Omega Protein, Seafreeze Limited, Sea Watch International, Surfside Seafood Products, and The Town Dock.

Read the release at SCeMFiS

Despite guilty plea, Carlos Rafael continues to fish

August 14, 2017 — Gloucester fisherman and vessel owner Vito Giacalone is the chairman of governmental affairs, and sits on the board of directors of the Northeast Seafood Coalition, the umbrella organization that oversees a dozen sectors, including Rafael’s. Up until 2016, Rafael was also a coalition board member.

Giacalone believed that Rafael was simply too big to be allowed to fail, that his sector worked with NOAA to enact changes — including bringing in new board members and a new enforcement committee — that allowed them to stay in business.

Rafael’s vessels control considerable groundfish quota, up to 75 percent of what New Bedford holds, according to New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell, and Rafael has said he has 280 employees.

“You don’t have to be too imaginative to see that that is an enormous collateral impact as soon as that operation is stopped in its tracks,” Giacalone said, estimating that as many as 80 fishermen would be immediately out of work.

“I wish Carlos Rafael had thought about that before he did what did,” said Hank Soule, manager of the Sustainable Harvest Sector in South Berwick, Maine.  “The bottom line is New Bedford is the richest port in the U.S. The loss of his groundfish boats won’t devastate the port.”

NOAA is reportedly working with Rafael’s legal team on an agreement that would have him selling off his vessels and permits and leaving fishing forever, including scallop and lobster vessels not involved in the fish smuggling scheme.

At least 13 vessels are scheduled to be forfeited to the government as part of the plea deal and Giacalone thinks NOAA may be trying to maintain the value of the assets by keeping them fishing.

“I think it would be clumsy of the sector to cause collateral damage that could be excessive to innocent third parties,” Giacalone said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

Using Fishermen’s Ecological Knowledge to map Atlantic cod spawning grounds on Georges Bank

August 11, 2017 — The following abstract is from a research paper on Atlantic cod spawning grounds on Georges Bank. It was written by Gregory R. DeCelles, David Martins, Douglas R. Zemeckis, and Steven X. Cadrin, all from the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology in New Bedford, Massachusetts. It was published in the July-August 2017 issue of ICES Journal of Marine Science:

The spawning dynamics of Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) on Georges Bank and Nantucket Shoals are not well understood. To address this uncertainty, we combined Fishermen’s Ecological Knowledge (FEK) with traditional scientific data to develop a more holistic understanding of cod spawning on Georges Bank. Data from historical reports, trawl surveys, fisheries observers, and ichthyoplankton surveys were used to describe the spatial and temporal distribution of cod spawning activity. We also collected FEK regarding cod spawning dynamics through semi-structured interviews (n = 40). The fishermen had detailed knowledge of the spatial and temporal distribution of cod spawning, and identified persistent fine-scale (i.e. <50 km2) spawning grounds that were often associated with specific habitat features, including spawning grounds that were previously unreported in the scientific literature. The spawning seasons and locations identified by fishermen generally agreed with information from traditional scientific data, but it was evident that seasonal scientific surveys lack the spatial and temporal resolution needed to fully characterize the distribution of cod spawning activity. Our results will help inform management measures designed to promote the rebuilding of Georges Bank cod, and also provide a basis for further investigations of cod spawning dynamics and stock structure.

Read the full paper at ICES Journal of Marine Science