Saving Seafood

NEW BEDFORD STANDARD-TIMES: The long view on offshore wind

December 12, 2016 — A consortium of entities with fishing interests – including the City of New Bedford – aims to block Thursday’s auction for wind rights in the ocean off of Long Island, claiming the fishing industry hasn’t had a full seat at the table.

One can readily see the value in the Edison’s saying above by comparing how the steadily advancing offshore wind industry has been greeted by fishing interests in New York and Massachusetts. While the federal government has been less than perfect in its consideration of Northeast fishing resources – see the recent ocean monument designations as an example where fishing interests’ reasonable options were ignored to the detriment of future harvests – the auctions that produced three leases for wind farms off the Massachusetts coast demonstrated effective outreach from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to fishermen. As a result, Massachusetts sits prepared, ready to answer when opportunity knocks, and New York is on tenterhooks.

This example illustrates the strategic commitment made in the Bay State and that has been broadly demonstrated regarding offshore wind. From academics and job training, to infrastructure and research, the coordination being described by varied activities should be cause for patient, measured optimism here.

Business and political leaders here have recognized that there are numerous assets waiting to be plugged in to the massive system required to support a mature and significant offshore wind industry. They have so far been patient enough to develop synergies organically.

Workforce development has begun with wind-specific programs in Bristol Community College and UMass Dartmouth, and at UMass Amherst, where wind energy research and development were born in 1971. The industry will benefit from the theoretical in Amherst to the most practical at UMass Dartmouth, where graduate programs in environmental policy and law help the legal framework to evolve, and where the rapidly expanding School of Marine Science and Technology provides unique, invaluable expertise on the geology and biology where turbines will be installed, in its backyard, so to speak.

Similarly, improvements to railways into New Bedford and assessments of waterfront land use will pay off as state assets like New Bedford’s South Terminal and the Charlestown blade testing facility become more and more useful.

Read the full editorial at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Court Accepts New Bedford Mayor’s Declaration in Support of Lawsuit Against BOEM

December 9, 2016 — WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – This morning, the court accepted a declaration by New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell in support of a lawsuit filed yesterday by a group of 12 commercial fishing organizations, businesses and municipalties including the Fisheries Survival Fund and the City of New Bedford. The lawsuit alleges the federal government’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), failed to adequately consider the voices of commercial fishermen in the consideration of a proposed offshore wind farm off the coast of New York.

“During my administration, the City also has become a national leader in the development of the offshore wind industry,” said Mayor Mitchell. “Among other initiatives, my administration established the New Bedford Wind Energy Center, the only local economic development agency of its kind in the US, and has facilitated investment in port infrastructure and workforce training programs to support the industry.”

When BOEM previously designated wind lease areas off the coasts of Rhode Island and Massachusetts, New Bedford worked hand-in-hand with BOEM to ensure fishing voices were considered. Consequently, the wind lease areas were drawn in such a way that they had minimal impact on the commercial fishing industry. In the case of the proposed New York wind farm, however, BOEM, according to the Mayor, has failed to take the same steps to ensure commercial fishing voices are heard.

“The City of New Bedford is joining this lawsuit because in its assessment of the New York Bight for offshore wind development, BOEM has not properly considered the legitimate concerns of the fishing industry,” said Mayor Mitchell. “I believe the opening of the New York Bight for offshore wind leasing, as currently proposed, will cause direct harm to existing fishing interests in New Bedford and elsewhere.”

Read Mayor Mitchell’s full declaration here

Fishing interests, New Bedford sue feds over New York wind turbines

December 9, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD – The New Bedford-dominated northeastern scallop industry, aided by fishing interests in four states, is suing the federal government to try to block a 127 square-mile wind turbine development in what they say are crucial fishing grounds south of Long Island.

The complaint, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeks an injunction to stop a Dec. 15 auction in which the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is selling a lease on the location. The scallop industry group Fisheries Survival Fund is leading a dozen plaintiffs, including the City of New Bedford, the Town of Narragansett, R.I., the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, and other entities in Rhode Island and New Jersey.

“The people that make their living on the water were the last ones considered, not the first,” said David Frulla, attorney for the plaintiffs.

Important for scalloping, the area is also one of five main locations to fish for squid in the northeast, he said.

The plaintiffs allege that the bureau has not done enough to seek alternate locations to the one sought by an unsolicited proposal from three New York energy companies: New York Power Authority, Long Island Power Authority, and Consolidated Edison. The companies want to put 194 turbines on about 81,000 acres, according to the complaint.

The complaint says that rather than seek alternatives now, the bureau has deferred analyzing the appropriateness of the site until years from now, after the developers have already invested a substantial amount money.

“In effect, (the bureau) has permitted private companies to lay claim to valuable ocean areas without an adequate public process,” the complaint says.

Bureau spokeswoman Tracey Moriarty said when the agency received the proposal, it embarked on a competitive lease process that included public comment, and it deleted 1,780 acres known as Cholera Bank after the National Marine Fisheries Service identified it as a sensitive area.

Read the full story from the New Bedford Standard-Times

Fishing groups seek Atlantic wind farm delay

December 8, 2016 — MINEOLA, N.Y. — Commercial fishing companies, trade groups and three fishing-based municipalities are seeking to delay the lease sale of an Atlantic Ocean site between New York and New Jersey that federal officials envision as the home of a massive offshore wind energy project.

The Associated Press obtained a copy of a 45-page motion ahead of its filing Thursday in federal court in Washington, D.C. It seeks a temporary restraining order halting the Dec. 15 lease sale. Those seeking a delay include groups representing scallop and squid fishermen, the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association and the city of New Bedford, Massachusetts.

The motion seeks to delay the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s plans for developers to build a 127-square-mile, 194-turbine offshore wind farm. The United States still has no offshore wind projects online, though BOEM has awarded 11 commercial offshore wind leases for sites in the Atlantic. Some major projects have been delayed by political opposition.

A BOEM spokeswoman said the agency doesn’t comment on pending litigation.

The country’s first offshore wind farm, a tiny project off Rhode Island with just a few turbines, is expected to debut this month.

The court motion argues that BOEM failed to consider alternative sites and contends that besides negative impacts on scallop and squid fishing, others who harvest fish species including summer flounder, mackerel, black sea bass and monkfish also would be negatively affected. When it announced final plans for the lease sale earlier this fall, BOEM said it had removed about 1,780 acres from the initial proposal because of environmental concerns.

The plaintiffs referred to that as a “diminutive change” in their motion. The fishing groups said they aren’t opposed to wind farms. But they argue that site alternatives weren’t considered and that conducting site analysis after a lease sale is completed will be too late.

“BOEM must carry out the proper analysis prior to officially leasing out areas to companies for construction, due to the importance of this fishery area,” said James Gutowski, president of the Fisheries Survival Fund, who is a scallop fisherman from Barnegat Light, New Jersey; the group is the lead plaintiff in the lawsuit.

“It must adequately and accurately characterize the potential impacts to the industry from construction on this site,” Gutowski said.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Scallop & Fishing Industry, Municipalities, Sue Feds to Ensure Seafood Interests Are Considered in NY Bight Wind Energy Project

December 8, 2016 — The following was released by the National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

WASHINGTON — December 8, 2016 – The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), which represents the majority of the limited access Atlantic scallop fleet, is the lead plaintiff in a lawsuit seeking a preliminary injunction to delay an anticipated lease sale for the development of a 26-mile long wind farm project approximately 11 miles off the coast of Long Island, scheduled for December 15, 2016. The story was broken today by the Associated Press.

The filing alleges that the leasing process for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) did not adequately consider the impact the proposed New York Wind Energy Area would have on the region’s fishermen. The site chosen for the 127 square mile wind farm is in the waters of the New York Bight on vital, documented scallop and squid fishing grounds, which serves as essential fish habitat and grounds for other commercially important species, including black sea bass and summer flounder. It is also an important foraging area for threatened loggerhead sea turtles and critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.

The lawsuit argues that fishermen’s concerns regarding the location of the lease area received “virtually no attention or analysis” from government officials ahead of the planned December 15 lease sale, despite fishing stakeholders repeatedly making their concerns known. It further states that BOEM failed to identify the proposed wind farm’s environmental, economic, social, and cultural impacts, and failed to “consider alternative sites in an open, collaborative, public forum.”

Several other members of the National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC)—including commercial fishing organizations, businesses, and communities that depend on the sustainable use of Atlantic Ocean resources—have joined the lawsuit. The suit was filed against Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell, BOEM, and BOEM Director Abigail Hopper.

Organizations joining the lawsuit include: the Garden State Seafood Association and the Fishermen’s Dock Co-Operative in New Jersey; the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association in New York; and the Narragansett Chamber of Commerce and Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance in Rhode Island.

The City of New Bedford, Massachusetts, the nation’s top-grossing fishing port; the Borough of Barnegat Light, New Jersey; and the Town of Narragansett, Rhode Island have joined as plaintiffs. Also joining are three fishing businesses: SeaFreeze Shoreside, Sea Fresh USA, and The Town Dock.

The New York Bight consists of the waters from Cape May Inlet in New Jersey to Montauk Point on the eastern tip of Long Island, and offshore to the outer edge of the Continental Shelf, where the coasts of New York and New Jersey form an upside-down L around shallow waters of the Atlantic Ocean.

The plaintiffs are represented by the law firm of Kelly, Drye & Warren.  The case will be heard by Judge Tanya Chutkan in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, Case No. 1:16-cv-02409.

Press inquiries should be directed to Bob Vanasse at Stove Boat Communications, 202-333-2628.

Read the full legal filing and declarations from the plaintiffs at atlanticscallops.org

A mystery at sea unfolds in New Bedford

December 5th, 2016 — A mystery is unfolding at the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.

 It all started last month when the fishing vessel Jean Marie out of Newport, North Carolina raised its nets and found pieces of wood, a five-part block with wooden shives, a single block with a hook on it, a knee brace and other pieces of wreckage. The fishing vessel was fishing in 55 fathoms of water (between 250 and 300 feet), just east of the Great South Channel shipping lanes.

It is not uncommon for fishermen to find strange objects in their nets, but what is unusual is that the crew of the Jean Marie recorded the location of their find about 50 miles east-southeast of Nantucket, said Victor T. Mastone, director and chief archaeologist with the state Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources.

The nautical position is North 41 08.52 x West 69 07.39.

On Friday, a few weeks after the discovery, a state official, a university professor, a fishing captain and Heritage Center officials met for a little over an hour to view the materials and to try and figure out exactly what they have on their hands.

Read the full story at The Portsmouth Herald

What’s A Woggin? A Bird, a Word, and a Linguistic Mystery

December 2nd, 2016 — On December 20, 1792, the whaling ship Asia was making its way through the Desolation Islands, in the Indian Ocean, when the crew decided to stop for lunch. According to the log keeper, the meal was a great success: “At 1 PM Sent our Boat on Shore After Some refreshments,” he wrote. “She returned with A Plenty of Woggins we Cooked Some for Supper.”

 Right about now, you may be feeling peckish. But you may also be wondering: What in the world is a woggin?

New species are discovered all the time. Unknown old species—extinct ones, found as fossils and then plugged into our historical understanding of the world—turn up a lot, too. But every once in a while, all we have to go on is a word. New or old, known or unknown, no one knew what a woggin was until Judith Lund, whaling historian, decided to find out.

Like all professionals, 18th-century whalers had their share of strange jargon. A “blanket” was a massive sheet of blubber. “Gurry” was the sludge of oil and guts that covered the deck after a kill, and a “gooney” was an albatross. Modern-day whaling historians depend on their knowledge of these terms to decode ship’s logs—vital for understanding the sailors’ day-to-day experiences, as well as gleaning overall trends. Being elbow-deep in whaleman slang is just part of the job.

 

Read the full story at Slate 

‘Codfather’ asks court to split his, deputy’s cases

November 28th, 2016 — New Bedford fishing kingpin Carlos Rafael and the Bristol County sheriff’s deputy indicted as Rafael’s co-defendant each are seeking to be tried separately in U.S. District Court in Boston.

Rafael, known widely as “The Codfather” because of his vast New Bedford fishing assets and waterfront holdings, and Antonio M. Freitas, the Bristol County deputy sheriff, are scheduled to stand trial together on Jan. 9.

Attorneys for both men filed separate motions with the court earlier this week to sever the cases. The motions also seeks to have the court try each defendant separately, each claiming the other’s statements to law enforcement officials would injure their own cases if tried together.

 Both men have pleaded not guilty to the charges.

“A joint trial presents a serious risk of compromising Mr. Rafael’s Sixth Amendment confrontation rights in light of incriminating evidence made to law enforcement by Mr. Freitas,” William Kettlewell, Rafael’s defense attorney, wrote in his motion to U. S. District Court Judge William Young. “Moreover, severance in this case would not be administratively burdensome as the defendants are jointly named in only one of 28 counts alleged in the indictment.”

Read the full story at The Salem News 

Manager hired for New Bedford’s Marine Commerce Terminal

November 22, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — One of the project construction managers of the New Bedford Marine Commerce Terminal has been hired as its manager, the Massachusetts Clean Energy Center announced Monday.

Gregory Dolan “brings more than 18 years of professional experience in waterways development and port infrastructure design, permitting and construction to his new role as the terminal manager,” said the announcement.

One of those projects happens to be the new terminal, the first of its kind in North America, design to withstand the heaviest loads in operations such as wind turbine assembly and construction.

The Mass Clean Energy Center decided it is better that it employ the terminal manager rather than contract it out, according to the announcement.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Fishing Heritage Center Speaker Series Continues

November 22, 2016 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

New Bedford, MA – The Fishing Heritage Center’s “A Day in the Life” speaker series continues on Wednesday, November 30th at 7:00 p.m. with lobsterman Dave Casoni. Programs are presented free of charge for members and volunteers, there is a $5 fee for the general public. The Center is wheelchair accessible and located at 38 Bethel Street in New Bedford’s historic downtown.  Free off street parking is available

Dave Casoni has been a commercial lobsterman, working out of Sandwich, Massachusetts, for over forty years. He serves as the Secretary-Treasurer of the Massachusetts Lobsterman’s Association and serves on a wide variety of “fishing” related boards.  Dave will talk about the fishery, the gear, and daily life at sea, providing a rare firsthand look at the work and life of a lobsterman.

For more information please contact the Fishing Heritage Center at: info@fishingheritagecenter.org or call (508) 993-8894.