Saving Seafood

CFRF Recognized as 2018 Best Non-Profit in Collaboration by the Rhode Island Foundation

December 20, 2018 — The following was released by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation:

The Rhode Island Foundation, with sponsorship from Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island, has honored five nonprofit organizations, including the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation, with its 2018 Best Practice Awards. These Awards recognize outstanding practices by Rhode Island nonprofit organizations in the areas of Advocacy and Communications, Board and Staff Leadership, Collaboration, Innovation and Volunteer Engagement.

“Our recipients rose from a highly competitive process and an extraordinary group of nominees. There is something in each of their noteworthy accomplishments that can help nonprofits become even more productive,” said Jill Pfitzenmayer, who oversees the Rhode Island Foundation’s capacity-building programs for nonprofits.

“The best practice awards highlight the enormously important role played by Rhode Island’s nonprofit organizations in improving our lives and communities, and we’re grateful to join the Rhode Island Foundation in celebrating the outstanding work of winners and hope to inspire and encourage these outstanding practices among all within the sector,” said Carolyn Belisle, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Rhode Island’s Managing Director of Community Relations.

The Collaboration Award was presented to the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF) for its work building a community of collaboration among fishermen, scientists, resource managers, and food professionals that promotes sound science, sustainable seafood, and vibrant fishing communities. Founded by and led by members of Rhode Island’s fishing community, CFRF develops practical solutions to scientific and supply chain challenges, such as providing fishermen with specialized apps to collect data while at sea and developing digital maps of seafood access points in Rhode Island. Since 2004, the CFRF has engaged over 150 fishermen and over 300 scientists and seafood professionals in its work.

“All of the partners that CFRF works with speak their own language, use their own jargon, and harbor assumptions about others involved in fisheries and seafood. The CFRF provides a venue for these groups to come together to find common ground and advance the sustainability of fisheries resources and coastal communities,” said Dr. Anna Mercer, CFRF’s executive director.

To read the full press release and watch a short video from the Rhode Island Foundation, click HERE.

New England States Fear Increased Mercury Contamination As EPA Considers Weakening Rules

December 18, 2018 — Scientists are speaking out about what they say have been “remarkable improvements” in curbing mercury emissions under Obama-era regulations that are now under threat by the Trump administration.

Mercury is a toxic chemical most commonly associated with coal-burning power plants. Because they are downwind from coal-burning states, Maine and the rest of New England have traditionally had higher-than-average rates of mercury contamination, and scientists say a proposal to weaken emission rules could impede progress.

The coal industry considers the 2011 Mercury and Air Toxics Standards, known as MATS, the most expensive air pollution regulation ever implemented and responsible for the closure of dozens of coal plants around the country. Acting Environmental Protection Agency administrator Andrew Wheeler is a former coal lobbyist, and now the EPA is proposing to weaken MATS by heavily weighing costs to the industry.

The EPA maintains that the Obama administration was indifferent toward that side of the equation. But scientists say the agency is downplaying the health and environmental benefits of the rule across the country.

“The reductions in emissions of mercury in the U.S. since 2006 have decreased about 85 percent,” says Dr. Charlie Driscoll, a professor at Syracuse University who spoke to reporters in a teleconference on Monday.

Most of the emissions Driscoll’s referring to came from coal-fired power plants, and he says much of the reason for their reduction can be attributed to the MATS rules.

“We’ve seen decreases in mercury in air, in atmospheric deposition, in water, in soil and we’ve seen declines in both freshwater fisheries in the U.S. in mercury as well as marine fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean,” he says.

Mercury is a neurotoxin that is especially harmful to children and developing fetuses, which is why the Maine Bureau of Health has a freshwater fish consumption advisory for pregnant women, nursing mothers and kids under 8.

Read the full story at Maine Public

Oyster aquaculture limits disease in wild oyster populations

December 17, 2018 — A fisheries researcher at the University of Rhode Island has found that oyster aquaculture operations can limit the spread of disease among wild populations of oysters. The findings are contrary to long-held beliefs that diseases are often spread from farmed populations to wild populations.

“The very act of aquaculture has positive effects on wild populations of oysters,” said Tal Ben-Horin, a postdoctoral fellow at the URI Department of Fisheries, Animal and Veterinary Sciences in the College of the Environment and Life Sciences. “The established way of thinking is that disease spreads from aquaculture, but in fact aquaculture may limit disease in nearby wild populations.”

Working with colleagues at the University of Maryland Baltimore County, Rutgers University, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Ben-Horin integrated data from previous studies into mathematical models to examine the interactions between farmed oysters, wild oysters and the common oyster disease Dermo.

Read the full story from the University of Rhode Island at Phys.org

Senators Ask for Fishermen’s Input for Offshore Wind Farms

December 17, 2018 — Senators from Massachusetts and Rhode Island are asking that fishermen’s interests be considered earlier in the siting process for offshore wind farms.

U.S. Sens. Edward Markey and Elizabeth Warren, of Massachusetts, and Sheldon Whitehouse and Jack Reed, of Rhode Island, have asked the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to adopt policies for the offshore wind leasing and permitting process that bring fishermen and other marine stakeholders into the conversation early, to minimize spatial conflicts and reduce the risk of economic harm to the fishing industry.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S News and World Report

Charlie Baker: Fishing, offshore wind coexistence is ‘something we have to deal with’

December 14, 2018 — Gov. Charlie Baker expressed confidence on Thursday that offshore wind developers and fishermen in the Northeast will find a way to co-exist.

“This is something we have to deal with on a regional basis and I believe we will,” Baker told reporters.

His comments come as Rhode Island fishermen are raising objections to the state’s Vineyard Wind project and the federal government is auctioning off more ocean real estate.

The Rhode Island Fishermen’s Advisory Board recently voted against the Vineyard Wind project in a move that could scuttle the state’s foray into offshore wind.

Baker said he’s proud that Massachusetts proved states could create an offshore program “at a rate affordable to ratepayers,” but added, “Nobody cares more about the fishing community than this administration.”

Read the full story at the Salem News

 

Vineyard Wind navigates travel lane dispute

Fishermen want wider corridors than those wind farm has backed.

December 14, 2018 — A dust-up has emerged over vessel travel lanes in the vast offshore wind area south of the Islands, with wind farm development companies at odds and fishermen giving mixed reviews.

“We support establishing transit corridors through the wind energy areas,” said Lauren Burm, a spokeswoman for Bay State Wind, which has signed a lease in the area but does not yet have a contract to sell its wind power. Although progress has been made on the corridor layout, a consensus is still needed with fishermen and with new companies that may lease remaining areas, Burm said.

Vineyard Wind, under the pressure of a tight schedule to begin construction next year of an 84-turbine wind farm, announced Monday that it supports the proposed 2-nautical-mile-wide vessel travel corridors. But the company’s 800-megawatt wind farm is northeast of any of the proposed corridors, so it may not be an issue until the company needs to expand. “We’re amenable to discussing a wider corridor,” company spokesman Scott Farmelant said.

The proposed corridors are not as wide as commercial fishermen might like.

“It’s a good starting point,” said lobsterman Lanny Dellinger, chairman of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council Fisheries Advisory Board. But the commercial fishing industry has been pretty adamant about wanting 4 miles in width, Dellinger said. Fishermen need plenty of room to allow their large and slow-moving vessels to navigate safely in poor weather and recover safely in emergencies such as engine trouble, he said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

 

New England Council Discusses Whiting, Enforcement, Dogfish, Herring, Ecosystem Management, and More at December Meeting

December 14, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council covered numerous issues during its December 4-6 meeting in Newport, RI. In addition to taking final action on Scallop Framework 30, Groundfish Framework 58, and the Clam Dredge Framework, the Council discussed a slate of other topics. Here are a few highlights.

WHITING: The Council took final action on Whiting Amendment 22, which was developed to consider limited access options for the small-mesh multispecies fishery. After reviewing all public comment and available analyses and considering a recommendation from its Whiting Committee, the Council selected the alternative called “status quo/no action.” As such, the whiting/small-mesh multispecies fishery will remain an open access fishery and no changes will be made to existing regulatory measures. More information, including summaries of public hearing comments, is available at December 3 Committee Meeting and December 4, 2018 Council Meeting Materials.

ENFORCEMENT: The Council adopted several consensus statements drafted by its Enforcement Committee. One of these pertained to use of the OMEGA Mesh Gauge® to measure fishing nets. The Coast Guard extensively tested the OMEGA gauge and concluded that it has notable benefits over the weight-and-spade tools currently being used to measure webbing. Coast Guard representatives provided a demonstration for Council members comparing the OMEGA gauge versus the weight-and-spade. The Council recommended that NOAA, under existing authority, adopt the OMEGA gauge to measure mesh size once the Enforcement Section of NOAA General Counsel determines that all legal requirements have been met.

Read the full release at the New England Fishery Management Council

 

Creating Transit Lanes for Fishing Vessels in Northeast Wind Energy Areas Still a Work in Progress

December 11, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Offshore Wind Transit Working Group is inching closer to developing transit lanes for fishing vessels in Northeast Wind Energy Areas.

Members of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), as well as other fishing industry representatives, offshore wind developer lease-holders, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the U.S. Coat Guard, convened in Newport, Rhode Island, earlier this month for the Working Group meeting, which aimed to develop fishery transit lanes through the Wind Energy Areas (WEA) in federal waters off of Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Currently there are concerns about commercial fishermen safely traveling across WEAs to access fishing grounds. According to RODA, safety risks “greatly increase” due to the long distances that fishing boats may be required to take in order to get around or through the WEAs. To solve the issue, the working group is developing transit lanes.

The goal is for the group to come up with a transit lane option that preserves the most important routes to the historic fisheries. Some route options have been identified, but so far nothing has been finalized.

This story was originally published by SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

New England Shellfish Harvest OK’d, With More Monitoring

December 7, 2018 — A regulatory board is allowing shellfish harvesting in a key management area off of New England, though more monitoring of the fishery will now apply.

The New England Fishery Management Council has approved new measures to allow the harvest of surfclams within the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area. The council says mussel fishermen will also be able to operate in the new areas.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S News and World Report

Wind Farm Near Martha’s Vineyard In Jeopardy

December 6, 2018 — Rhode Island fishing interests, given the authority to weigh in on offshore wind projects that could damage their livelihoods, are flexing their muscles. As a result, a 94-turbine wind farm planned for waters south of Martha’s Vineyard is in serious jeopardy.

Like Deepwater Wind’s South Fork Wind farm planned off of Montauk, the Vineyard Wind project is owned by European energy companies with global wind-farm interests. Rhode Island, as part of the permitting process, asked for and was given “Federal Consistency” because even though the project originates in Massachusetts, it affects fisheries in neighboring states. New didn’t ask for the right to weigh in, even though local fishermen extensively fish that area.

On Tuesday, November 27, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council agreed to postpone its decision to grant a “consistency certification” for Vineyard Wind until the end of January. If Rhode Island denies certification, Vineyard Wind could appeal to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

It is not clear how the latest news affects the Deepwater Wind project off of Montauk Point but it is sure to come up during the state’s review of the project. In fact, fishing industry proponents are urging New York State officials to be proactive in the review of any proposed offshore wind farm in the immediate region.

Read the full story at The Independent