Saving Seafood

Coast Guard suspends search for missing fishermen

January 4, 2019 — After more than 40 hours of intensive search over an area covering 2,152 nautical miles, the Coast Guard suspended its search for two Rhode Island fishermen who went missing after their vessel capsized about two-and-a-half miles southeast of Block Island.

The search began immediately after the captain of the fishing vessel Mistress, home-ported out of Pt. Judith, notified the Coast Guard at 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 1, that the vessel was taking on water. After the Coast Guard sent out an urgent request for assistance, a nearby fishing vessel, the Captain Bligh, was able to rescue one of the Mistress crew members, while the other two remained missing by the time the search was called off on Tuesday at 5:13 p.m.

Various news outlets have identified the two missing crew members as boat owner Oscar Diaz and his nephew John Ansay. The Captain Bligh rescued Tim Diaz, who has been identified in news reports as Oscar Diaz’s son.

The trouble began at around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 1: “The captain of the fishing vessel Mistress notified watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England at around 1:30 a.m. that the boat was taking on water. The watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast to vessels in the area to request assistance for the crew of the Mistress. The fishing boat Captain Bligh responded and rescued one crew member from a life boat. The remaining two crew members have not been located. Low visibility and poor weather conditions hampered initial searches, but multiple crews launched as visibility improved,” the press release stated.

Read the full story at The Block Island Times

BILL STRAUS: Fishing industry could be endangered by planned wind turbines

January 4, 2019 — Whatever the future for large scale off-shore wind farms in New England, New Bedford and its first in the nation fishing industry will feel the effects. Renewable energy from sources which include off-shore wind, are an undeniable part of our future. It’s a fair question though whether commercial fishing as it now exists in southern New England, will survive the installation of the largest and most extensive array of ocean based wind turbines in the world. The offshore wind lease areas in federal waters overlay some important fishing grounds and navigation transit areas for the commercial fishing fleet which sails from our coast.

The project furthest along in the leasing process is being pursued by Vineyard Wind, which hopes to have all its approvals by the summer of 2019 and begin construction later in the year. Critical decisions are about to made at the state and federal levels regarding the design, spacing and layout of the initial turbines which are planned for the waters near Martha’s Vineyard. This process involves the filing of reports which are public and provide opportunities for comment and reactions. The Draft Environmental Impact Report before the lead federal agency involved, BOEM, is open for public comment through Jan. 21, 2019 and there are parallel state agency filings as well. The public has a responsibility to participate in shaping the decisions that are going to be made and monitor the filings as they are announced.

It’s a lot to expect that the fishing industry alone can handle the needed public oversight. Off the Massachusetts and Rhode Island coast alone there are seven different lease areas under review totaling about 1 million acres; their ultimate design configuration will be the first test of how seriously marine resource, safety and navigation issues involving the wind towers will be handled by the government agencies involved. The first maps and plans to be approved are especially important because how those turbines are set up and reviewed by the government will likely set a precedent for how the process is run for the additional lease areas sought by other developers. In other words, there’s a lot at stake not only for the developers, but importantly, the public interest in preserving ocean habitat and the existing ocean-going economy of New England.

Read the opinion piece at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Two fishermen are missing after boat capsizes off Block Island, R.I.

January 2, 2019 — The Coast Guard and a good Samaritan were searching Tuesday for two missing fishermen after their boat capsized early New Year’s Day off Block Island, Rhode Island, officials said.

The captain of the Mistress issued a mayday call at 1:30 a.m. Tuesday to say the fishing boat was taking on water near Block Island Wind Farm, which is nearly 4 miles from shore, the Coast Guard said in a statement.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Commercial summer flounder fishery closed for the year

December 27, 2018 — If a day without flounder is like a day without sunshine, Rhode Island is looking at a dark end to the year.

Federal fishing managers say they are closing the commercial summer flounder fishery in the Ocean State at 12:01 a.m. on Saturday. That means federally permitted fishing vessels can’t bring summer flounder to land for the remainder of the fishing year, which ends on Dec. 31.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the closure is required by regulations because Rhode Island fishermen have brought nearly a million pounds of the fish to docks, which is 98 percent of their quota.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at WCAV

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