New Bedford Archives - Page 96 of 96

Activity increasing all along New Bedford, Mass. Harbor

September 6, 2015 — The Port of New Bedford is not only home to the vastly profitable scallop industry, making it the No. 1 value fishing port in the nation, it is also the No. 2 commercial port in Massachusetts, after Boston.

Commercial and recreational activity in the port has grown by leaps and bounds in recent years, with an occasional setback. Plans for a waterfront casino fell through this year when the developer could not find financing. The state-funded development of a $100 million-plus maritime shipping terminal in the South End wound up without its major client when the Cape Wind offshore wind energy project was abandoned.

Even at that, there is activity everywhere. This summer has seen a large increase in the number of recreational boaters who have decided to dock in New Bedford. Some of that is a reflection of the good publicity that the port received when the Boston 2024 Olympic Committee, now disbanded, chose New Bedford to be the home of the sailing competition in those games.

Shipping is also increasing. Cargo ships carrying clementines from Morocco or Spain have sharply increased their number of arrivals at State Pier in the last couple of years. Plans are in place to refrigerate the State Pier storage facility so clementines can be shipped through the port during warm weather, which they cannot do at present.

Read the full story from the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Exhibit to Showcase Fishing Industry Artwork

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — September 2, 2015 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

Inside Out: The New Bedford Fishing Industry Through Industry Eyes, a multi-media exhibit featuring the work of six artists who are all employed in or retired from the local fishing industry will be on display at the main branch of the New Bedford Public Library (613 Pleasant Street) through October 31st. The public is invited to meet the artists at an exhibit opening on September 10th (AHA night) from 6:30-8 pm. The exhibit, which features photographs of Alan Cass, Serina Gundersen, and Phil Mello, illustrations of Bobby Bowers, knot work of Manny Vinagre, boat models of Manuel Silva, is a project of the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center.

While many past exhibits have explored aspects of the working port and the fishing industry through the eyes of artists and photojournalists, this exhibit features the work of those on the inside. From this vantage point, these artists have access to what is often a closed world. Their often intimate work provides viewers a unique opportunity to see the fishing industry from the “inside out”.

Each of the artists focuses on a unique aspect of the fishing industry. Serena Gundersen’s photographs industry objects and provides an intimate portrait of a single family business. Phil Mello documents shoreside workers over a forty year period. Alan Cass captures the everyday and extraordinary aspects of life at sea. Bobby Bowers creates detailed drawings of the boats and their gear. Manny Vinagre uses his knot tying skills to create pieces that are both decorative and functional. Manny Silva, who recently passed away, created, in miniature, the workboats on which he spent so much of his life.

$113m New Bedford, Mass. marine terminal sits largely idle

August 30, 2015 — The new waterfront terminal in New Bedford was supposed to be teeming with activity by now, a staging ground for a massive wind farm in Nantucket Sound.

But with a cancellation of a lease by Cape Wind, the 28-acre site has instead remained largely idle this summer. Efforts by the quasi-public Massachusetts Clean Energy Center to hire a company to position the property for cargo shipping are also taking longer than anticipated.

The $113 million terminal was built primarily with state bond money under Deval Patrick’s administration as a staging ground to ship and repair heavy offshore wind turbines. The idea, in part, was to enable New Bedford’s struggling economy to capitalize on an emerging industry by creating more clean energy jobs. But without Cape Wind as an anchor, there is no offshore wind work in sight.

To supporters, the terminal is still viewed as a potentially viable, vibrant piece of the city’s waterfront. To critics, the terminal is seen as an unnecessary expense of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds.

For Matthew Beaton, Charlie Baker’s energy and environmental affairs secretary, the real question is how the state can recoup its hefty investment in a mostly dormant terminal.

Read the full story from The Boston Globe

DON CUDDY: Spreading misinformation about our fisheries

July 15, 2015 — Anyone knowledgeable about the commercial fisheries of the United States will find nothing original in the op-ed piece recently submitted to the New York Times by the environmental organization Oceana.

Even its title ‘A Knockout Blow for American Fish Stocks’ is misleading. American fish stocks are healthy. NOAA’S annual report to Congress, submitted at the end of 2014 showed that only twenty-six of the three hundred and eight fish stocks assessed were subject to overfishing.

‘Overfishing’ occurs when too many fish are removed from a population to produce maximum sustainable yield. As a scientific term it is quite misleading, carrying, as it does, the clear implication that low stock assessments result solely from fishing pressure; whereas ‘overfishing’ can result from a number of other factors, such as changes in water temperature or salinity, degraded habitat and increased predation.

NOAA also maintains an ‘overfished’ list; comprising any stock whose biomass is such that its capacity to produce its maximum sustainable yield is in jeopardy. Only thirty-seven of two hundred and twenty eight stocks found themselves on that list. Hardly a knockout. No new stocks were added to the list in 2014. In fact, three were removed from the previous year, according to the NOAA report.

The Oceana piece also asserts that recent estimates determined that New England cod stocks were at three to seven percent of target levels. As fishermen in the Gulf of Maine can attest, most of that bottom is now taken over by lobster gear and neither the fishermen nor the NOAA survey vessel can tow through that. So nobody can determine with any certainty how much cod might be out there; not to mention the fact that if a fisherman sees cod in the water he goes someplace else. Why? Because the introduction of fishing sectors and catch shares in New England have made cod a commodity, like pork bellies. The result is best illustrated by New Hampshire fisherman Dave Goethel’s plight. He has a photo showing 2000 pounds of cod that his 40-foot boat caught, after a one-hour tow on a research trip last December. If sold, the cash value at the dock would have brought him $3,000. But to lease those 2,000 pounds of cod would have cost him $4500. That’s what you call a knockout. In a multispecies fishery you need some cod quota, even if you are targeting haddock or other groundfish species and so the lease price keeps going up. That is one reason why the percentage of fishing quota actually caught in the New England groundfishery in 2013-2014 was only 33 percent of the allowable catch limit. Because of regulatory constraints fishermen are now avoiding fish that allegedly are not there.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: FISH FRY FUNDRAISER IN NEW BEDFORD ON FRIDAY BENEFITS FISHING HERITAGE CENTER

July 14, 2015 — As was the norm in Roman Catholic households, my family observed the “fish for Friday” rule when I was a youngster.

Sometimes this meant tuna salad rolls (or hot creamed tuna, yuck!) and cream of tomato soup. More often, it meant a stint at the deep fryer for my Mom, who cranked out fish and chips for our family of seven (eight if my grandmother was joining us).

Nowadays, a public fish fry tends to be a Lenten event — but it certainly can’t be considered a sacrifice to eat a seafood meal, considering the cost of a pound of haddock.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is hosting a fish fry fundraiser this Friday at Cotali Mar Restaurant. The event, from 6 to 11 p.m., will feature fish and chips with coleslaw, with fillets donated by Bergie’s Seafood and prepared by the restaurant’s chefs. In addition, “Blount Fine Foods is donating chowder,” said Laura Orleans, executive director of the center.

Live music will be provided by Richie Canastra (who owns the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction with his brother Ray) and Paul Savoie. The event will include a cash bar, and silent and live auctions, with Canastra doing the honors as auctioneer, Orleans said. Weather permitting, the event will be held on the patio at the back of the restaurant at 1178 Acushnet Ave., she added.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: July Fish Fry to Benefit New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — July 1, 2015 — The following was released by the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center:

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center will hold a Fish Fry Fundraiser on Friday, July 17^thfrom 6-11 pm at Cotali Mar Restaurant (1178 Acushnet Avenue). Guests will enjoy platters of fresh local fish donated by Bergie’s Seafood and prepared by the chefs at Cotali Mar. Live music will be provided by Paul Savoie and Richie Canastra. The event will include a cash bar, and silent and live auctions. Tickets are $35 ($15 for kids 12 and under) and may be purchased at The Arthur Moniz Gallery, Euro Ship Store, Whaling City Seafood Display Auction, Jardin & Dawson Settlement House, and Reidar’s Manufacturing. Tickets may also be purchased on-line through the Center’s Facebook page. All proceeds will benefit the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center, a 501c3 non-profit organization. For more information contact the Center at 508-993-8894 or nbfishingheritagecenter@gmail.com.

“We consider this event to be a “friend-raiser” as much as a fundraiser,” says Phil Mello, chairman of the board. In addition to enjoying the bounty of the sea, guests will have a chance to learn about the Center’s plans and share their ideas.

The New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center is dedicated to the preservation and presentation of the history and culture of New Bedford’s fishing industry through archives, exhibits, and programs. The Center recently completed a 12-week residency at Alma del Mar Charter School in which students visited five shoreside businesses and interviewed people who work in the industry. The Center also produces a monthly film/speaker series and runs a summer camp program in collaboration with the National Park Service.

A community driven organization, the Center’s board of directors is made up of individuals who work in, or closely with, the fishing industry. Phillip Mello (Chair) is the Manager of Bergie’s Seafood. Anne Jardin-Maynard (Treasurer) is owner of Jardin & Dawson Settlement House. Kirsten Bendiksen (Secretary) is co-owner of Reidar’s Manufacturing (a gear shop). Stephanie Rafael DeMelo is co-owner of Bela Flor Seafood Brokerage and Manager of Northeast Fishery Sector IX. Cassie Canastra is co-owner of Bela Flor Seafood Brokerage. Kevin Stokesbury is the Chair of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography at SMAST at the University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth. Madeleine Hall-Arber is the maritime anthropologist at MIT Sea Grant who has worked with the fishing industry for over 30 years. Laura Orleans, Executive Director of the Fishing Heritage Center, is a folklorist and founding director of the Working Waterfront Festival.

DON CUDDY: If it’s the same, it will never be different

June 23, 2015 — DON CUDDY — We are having a serious problem in New England with the performance of the models used in fishery management. To remedy a situation that, along with some other factors, has led to the current crisis in the groundfish industry, we need new data … and maybe we need new models.

All the researchers will tell you that the existing models have trouble performing well when fish stocks, such as Gulf of Maine cod, Georges Bank cod and Georges Bank yellowtail are low. With healthy stocks, a certain amount of scientific uncertainty can be factored in as a buffer. But with low abundance, the margin for error is very thin, and fishermen and their families pay the price. When catch limits are cut, a small variation can mean the difference between an independent fisherman remaining on the water or being forced out of business.

I had a call last Monday from a producer of the “Today” show in New York. They were looking to profile a day in the life of a New England fisherman. I contacted veteran fisherman Frank Mirarchi, whose opinion pieces will be familiar to readers of The Standard-Times. In fact, his latest one, advocating electronic monitoring of the catch, ran that same day. But Frank told me he just sold his boat and is an ex-fisherman. This is what is happening to the single-boat owner around New England.

Getting better data is a theme familiar to anyone with connections to the fishing industry in New England. It is central to the mission at the Center for Sustainable Fisheries and was the focus of the forum CSF sponsored at the New Bedford Whaling Museum in May.

Read the full opinion piece from The New Bedford Standard-Times