Saving Seafood

‘Codfather’ pleads not guilty to fish conspiracy

May 13, 2016 — New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael pleaded not guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Worcester to conspiracy, lying to NOAA Fisheries about the exact species of fish he landed through a four-year span, and illegally smuggling cash out of the country.

Rafael, know widely as “The Codfather,” remains free on the $1 million bond set after his February arrest for conspiracy and submitting falsified records. The arrests of Rafael and his bookkeeper Debra Messier capped an undercover sting operation by federal authorities, some of whom posed as Russian mobsters looking to buy his business.

The 64-year-old Rafael, who appeared before Magistrate Judge David H. Hennessy, controls one of the largest commercial fishing fleets in the United States and has been a powerful force in Northeast commercial fishing circles through his ownership of 32 fishing vessels and a block of 44 federal fishing permits with a value estimated in the tens of millions of dollars.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

Key Scallop Fishing Area in Maine to Be Closed for 9 Months

May 13, 2016 — Federal regulators are shutting down scallop fishing in the northern Gulf of Maine, which is one of the most important harvesting areas for the shellfish.

Officials with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday that fishermen have reached their quota for the area and it will be closed starting Friday. The closure of the area to federally permitted scallop boats will last until next Feb. 28.

The closure is the first of its kind since the current quota system was implemented in 2008, New England Fishery Management Council analyst Deirdre Boelke said. She said it’s unlikely to have a dramatic impact on the availability or price of scallops nationally.

Read the full story at ABC News

Survey delay might hurt fish population research

May 12, 2016 — The following is an excerpt from a story published today by the Boston Globe.

NEWPORT, R.I. – Even before mechanics found deeply pitted bearings near crankshafts in its generators, problems that could have led to catastrophic engine failure, the Henry B. Bigelow was running more than a month behind.

Now, the government research vessel is embarking on its annual spring voyage later than ever before, a delay that could have serious consequences for scientists’ ability to assess the health of some of the 52 fish stocks they survey, from the waters off North Carolina to the eastern reaches of the Gulf of Maine.

Fish migrate and change their feeding patterns as waters warm, which might make it difficult for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists to compare this spring’s survey of fish populations with previous counts.

The prospect of skewed data could complicate efforts for policy makers to set proper quotas, potentially leading either to overfishing or unnecessarily strict catch limits.

“I worry that this will create statistical noise and more uncertainty,” said Gary Shepherd, a fishery biologist at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, where he and other scientists recommend quotas based on what the Bigelow catches, along with other data.

As the waters warm, some of the fish, such as herring, migrate out of the survey area and into the region’s rivers. Other species, such as squid, which are short-lived, might not survive in representative numbers through June, when the Bigelow is now scheduled to finish its survey.

“If the survey had started at its normal time, it would have found squid on the continental shelf,” said Robert Vanasse, executive director of Saving Seafood, a Washington-based group that represents the fishing industry. “But now it won’t because the survey doesn’t sample Nantucket Sound.”

Read the full story at the Boston Globe

Prosecutors in Rafael case: Carlos Seafood’s transaction reports didn’t match up

May 11, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — The FV Hera II, a boat that prosecutors said fishing fleet owner Carlos Rafael owned through a shell corporation, reported catching 4,595 pounds of haddock on Jan. 25, then selling it to Rafael’s Carlos Seafood business, a registered dealer, according to the indictment of Rafael that was unsealed Monday.

Carlos Seafood also recorded acquiring 840 pounds of American plaice, or “dabs,” from the Hera II that day, prosecutors said.

But here’s the rub: Records of Carlos Seafood’s third-party sales Jan. 25, according to the indictment, cite about 200 pounds of haddock and 5,200 pounds of dabs.

In other words, prosecutors allege, a lot of the fish caught by the Hera II on Jan. 25 and reported as “haddock” actually were dabs, which are subject to stricter regulatory quotas. Those quotas are administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and limit how much of certain species commercial fishermen can catch.

Catching more of a protected species than allowed can bring significant value on the black market.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

NOAA Fisheries Hosts Thorny Skate Extinction Risk Workshop

May 10, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries is hosting a Thorny Skate Extinction Risk Workshop to discuss the threats to thorny skates and their risk of extinction.

We are currently evaluating whether thorny skates should be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Where: Maritime Gloucester, 23 Harbor Loop Road, Gloucester, MA.

When: May 19 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Goals and objectives:

An extinction risk analysis (ERA) can be used to help evaluate the known or perceived risk to the continued persistence of a species. At the ERA Workshop, participants will review and discuss the information on the threats to thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) noted in the petition and in the literature, available data sets and models regarding status; and types of ERAs that have been used for other species. A summary of the workshop will be prepared for use by the ERA working group and NOAA Fisheries.

Following the workshop, an ERA working group comprised of invited participants with expertise in thorny skates or other elasmobranchs will review data and analysis on thorny skates and select a method to use to develop an extinction risk assessment for the species. Following the discussion and results of the extinction risk assessment, the ERA working group will document their individual expert opinions and findings related to extinction risk for the species in a report. Both the workshop summary and the ERA working group’s report will be independently peer reviewed and will be used to help inform the listing determination for the species.

Invited Expert Participant Selection Criteria:

Invited working group participants were identified based on their working knowledge and recent experience with one or more of the following: 1) expertise in extinction risk analysis and/or population modeling; and/or 2) expertise in fisheries population dynamics, stock assessments and life history of elasmobranchs; and/or 3) advanced working knowledge of and recent experience developing and running population models with the available thorny skate data. 

Working Group Invited Expert Participants:

  • Tobey Curtis- Greater Atlantic Regional Office
  • Sonja Fordham- Shark Advocates International
  • Jon Hare- Northeast Fisheries Science Center
  • Fiona Hogan- New England Fisheries Management Council
  • John Mandelman- New England Aquarium
  • Katherine Sosebee- Northeast Fisheries Science Center


Webinar:  https://noaaevents.webex.com/noaaevents/onstage/g.php?MTID=e69a831a994ec9befe124bbef780a95d7
Conference Line: 877-710-3752

Participant Code: 7867681

Virginia Institute of Marine Science earns $6M in set-aside funding for scallop research

May 10, 2016 — Researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science have earned nearly $6 million in set-aside funding to advance the understanding and management of sea scallops off the U.S. East Coast. These tasty bivalves support one of the nation’s highest-valued commercial fisheries.

Announced by NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and the New England Fishery Management Council, the awards to VIMS account for six of the 15 research projects funded. Senior Research Scientist David Rudders is lead investigator on five of the six VIMS projects and a co-lead on the other one.

Support for the projects comes from the 2016 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) program, which derives its funds by setting aside a portion of the annual sea scallop allocation to use as financial support for a competitive grant program. Unique to federal fisheries in the northeast region, RSA programs use no federal funds. Instead, successful applicants partner with the fishing industry to both conduct the research and harvest the set-aside award to generate funds for the research.

This year, program administrators received more than 30 proposals, including half a dozen two-year projects. The proposals were evaluated and ranked based on a two-stage review process that considered both technical merit and responsiveness to New England Fishery Management Council research priorities.

Read the full story from the College of William & Mary

CAPE COD TIMES: Promoting sustainability

May 10, 2016 — At the sustainable fisheries conference held at Rhode Island College last month, audience members were asked questions about the ocean, fisheries, and management that were tabulated and presented on the spot. Unscientific, yes, but very interesting.

A question of whether the groundfish fishery is sustainable was asked of the audience before and after the conference, and the results suggest that some opinions changed — for the positive — by the two hours of discussion.

When asked who would best regulate the fishery, the answer showed the thoughts of those in the audience based on biases and attitudes, but there is only one answer to that question. The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, passed by Congress and administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, is the fishery’s manager, and that won’t change.

One very important part of that manager’s charge is ensuring both conservation and economic goals are considered in its management.

One policy tool for those goals is at-sea monitoring, which aims to provide accurate data on what is caught and what is thrown back. Accurate assessments support effective management and more successful fishing. It has been a point of contention for several years, as the cost of monitoring is to be borne by the industry, not the regulator. Cost aside, monitoring can help fishermen.

Read the full editorial at the Cape Cod Times

Puget Sound salmon fishing effectively closed after stalemate between state and tribal fisheries

May 9, 2016 — For the first time in 30 years, state and tribal fishery managers failed to develop a joint plan for the 2016-17 Puget Sound salmon fishing season, effectively closing all of Puget Sound and some lakes and rivers.

“The door remains open (for more discussions with the tribes),” said Ron Warren, the state Fish and Wildlife salmon policy manager. “The tribes and (state) in different ways offered packages that met the conservation objectives, but we couldn’t reach agreement on them.”

This left many — an estimated 200,000 anglers held Puget Sound salmon licenses during the 2014-15 fishing season — questioning what led to this unprecedented situation.

During a meeting April 27 in Fife — around 60 representatives from state, tribal, NOAA Fisheries and officials from the offices of the governor and attorney general — plans were laid out for additional cuts needed to reach an agreement.

State fishery managers offered an alternative proposal for sport fisheries, with a 50 percent harvest cut on an expected poor Puyallup River return of 353 wild chinook and 3,708 hatchery fish.

Read the full story at the Seattle Times

Carlos Rafael, New Bedford’s ‘Codfather’, indicted on 27 counts

May 9, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — Local fishing magnate Carlos Rafael has been indicted by federal prosecutors for lying about fish catches and smuggling cash to Portugal through Logan airport in Boston, in a multi-year scheme involving hundreds of thousands of dollars, according to records filed last week and unsealed Monday.

The indictment lists 27 counts against Rafael, for charges including conspiracy, false entries and bulk cash smuggling. Rafael is alleged to have falsely reported the species of more than 815,000 pounds of fish to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) between 2012 and January of this year, according to the Office of U.S. Attorney Carmen Ortiz.

“On a yearly basis, Rafael’s routine falsification of dealer reports he submitted to NOAA created substantial discrepancies between the fishing activity he reported and the fish caught by his fishing vessels and acquired by Carlos Seafood,” the indictment states.

Bristol County Sheriff’s Office deputy Antonio M. Freitas, a Taunton resident, also is named in the indictment. Freitas is charged with two counts, one for bulk cash smuggling and one for international structuring.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

SALEM NEWS: A small victory for at-sea monitoring

May 9, 2016 — New England fishermen got some good news last week when the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced plans to scale back the amount of on-board monitoring required of the commercial fleet. However, there is still work to be done.

Late last week, NOAA said it will cut monitoring to 14 percent of all vessel trips for the season that began May 1. That’s down from about 24 percent of trips in 2015.

“Fishermen appreciate the changes and the evolution of the at-sea monitoring program,” Jackie Odell, executive director of the Gloucester-based Northeast Seafood Coalition, told reporter Sean Horgan. “We think what they’ve done is prudent and responsible.”

Read the full opinion piece at The Salem News