Saving Seafood

Massachusetts: UMass placing sustainable fisheries professor at Hodgkins Cove

December 21, 2017 — The University of Massachusetts at Amherst embarked on recasting the role of its Gloucester Marine Station at Hodgkins Cove by hiring Gloucester resident Katie Kahl to serve as the liaison between research elements at the school and the Cape Ann community.

The university’s School of Earth and Sustainability is set to formally announce the appointment of Kahl on Thursday to the newly created position of extension assistant professor in sustainable fisheries and coastal resilience.

“I’m really excited and can’t wait to start,” Kahl said Wednesday. “This is really a great opportunity for the university to re-imagine its role at the Gloucester Marine Station.” Kahl’s mission, which begins Jan. 2, is a new one for the university’s research facility.

The university announced last January that it was establishing a permanent, full-time extension faculty position at the Gloucester Marine Station as the focal point for determining the future role of the facility.

Most recently, it housed the university’s Large Pelagics Research Center, which was nicknamed the “Tuna Lab.” Under the guidance of Molly Lutcavage, the center did internationally groundbreaking research on giant bluefin tuna and other highly migratory pelagic species.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

UMass to study how fishing and wind industries can ‘coexist’

November 20, 2017 — DARTMOUTH, Mass. — The University of Massachusetts at Dartmouth is hoping to launch a new research project on how the offshore wind and commercial fishing industries can coexist.

The university said last week that creation of the “Blue Economy Initiative” is made possible by a $1 million commitment from Deepwater Wind, a Rhode Island-based company hoping to become a major player in the state’s nascent offshore wind industry.

Read the full story by the Associated Press at The Boston Globe

Tuna lab leaving Gloucester, Mass.

Lutcavage, colleagues to work out of UMass Boston

October 6, 2017 — For the first time in almost seven years, the highly-regarded Large Pelagics Research Center affiliated with the University of Massachusetts no longer has a Gloucester address.

The center, which has performed groundbreaking and internationally acclaimed research on the spawning habits and habitats of Atlantic bluefin tuna, closed up shop Thursday at its most recent home — the Americold-owned building at 159 E. Main St. in East Gloucester.

Americold has been actively shopping the site for months and recently informed the center it would have to vacate its office space by the end of October. Molly Lutcavage, the founder and executive director of the center, and Tim Lam, an assistant research professor, didn’t bother waiting until the end of the month.

“It’s sad to think that we won’t have a Gloucester presence anymore,” Lutcavage said. “For now, I guess we’ll be working out of our houses and garages.”

The center has been forced to navigate some rough seas in the past few years, changing its affiliation within the University of Massachusetts system and being forced out of its original facility at Hodgkins Cove, where it had been housed since 2011.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

New England Council Unanimously Reelects Dr. John Quinn as Chair and Terry Stockwell as Vice Chair for Another Term

October 3, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council in late September expressed full confidence in its leadership team when it unanimously affirmed the reelection of Dr. John Quinn of Massachusetts and Terry Stockwell of Maine to serve as Council chair and vice chair, respectively, for another term.

This marks Dr. Quinn’s second consecutive year as chairman. Prior to that, he served three years as Council vice chair under Stockwell. The two switched leadership positions during 2016 but continued to work together as a team to direct the Council’s management and policy initiatives.

“I am honored to be reelected by my colleagues as chairman,” said Dr. Quinn. “We have a lot of very complex and important issues facing us in the year ahead, and I am looking forward to collaborating with my fellow Council members and various stakeholders to attempt to solve some of the problems confronting the industry.”

Dr. Quinn is Director of Public Interest Law Programs at the University of Massachusetts (UMass) School of Law. He also is a former member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives and represented many fishing interests while practicing law in private practice for over two decades in New Bedford before joining UMass.

Stockwell is beginning his first term on the Council as a secretarial appointee. He previously served as the state of Maine’s designated fisheries official to the Council but retired from state service in June following a 21-year career at the Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR). DMR Commissioner Patrick Keliher now sits at the Council table in that capacity. Stockwell was appointed in August to fill the seat previously held by Mary Beth Tooley of Maine, who had served three consecutive terms on the Council, the maximum allowed under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.

In another show of confidence in leadership, the Council reelected the same slate of members to serve on its Executive Committee for the 2017-2018 Council year:

  • Doug Grout, chief of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s Marine Division, was elected to serve his fifth consecutive term on the Executive Committee;
  • Peter Kendall of New Hampshire also was elected to serve a fifth consecutive term; and
  • Terry Alexander of Maine was elected to serve his second consecutive term.

Dr. Quinn and Stockwell also serve on the Executive Committee in their roles as Council chair and vice chair.

Read the release at the New England Fishery Management Council

Gulf of Maine Sea Scallop Surveys Planned

June 9, 2017 — Sea scallops in the Gulf of Maine will be the focus of surveys this summer, initiated by NOAA Fisheries and the New England Fishery Management Council.

The council needs updated scallop biomass estimates from the area to support upcoming management decisions.

At their request, NOAA Fisheries will add portions of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to two existing surveys already planned on Georges Bank.

The additional work will be done through the Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program under two current grants.

The Coonamessett Farm Foundation will survey portions of Stellwagen Bank and Jeffreys Ledge with the Habcam optical imaging system, complemented by the deployment of a scallop survey dredge to collect biological samples.

The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth, School for Marine Science and Technology will conduct a high-resolution drop-camera survey of a portion of Stellwagen Bank.

These additional surveys will generate scallop biomass estimates that will be provided to the council to support the development of Gulf of Maine management measures later this year.

Research set-aside programs are unique to federal fisheries in the Greater Atlantic Region.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Fisheries council seeks voice in marine monument review

May 31, 2017 — New England fishery regulators might seek to reclaim some of the authority they lost when President Barack Obama virtually walled off thousands of square miles of ocean south of Cape Cod to commercial fisheries.

The designation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument last year was cheered by environmentalists, who said it would provide a “safe haven” for the birds, mammals and fish that live there. It is now part of a review President Donald Trump ordered Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to conduct of certain national monuments and marine monuments.

On Tuesday, the New England Fisheries Management Council’s Habitat Committee recommended that the regulatory council provide feedback to the Trump administration about the designation of the 4,913 square-mile area by the continental shelf.

“I would strongly suggest we take the opportunity to comment,” said Eric Reid, a council member and the general manager of Seafreeze Shoreside, a seafood processing facility in Galilee, Rhode Island.

While the committee members did not delve into what the letter should say during Tuesday’s meeting, the council chairman, former Rep. John Quinn, the director of public interest at the UMass School of Law in Dartmouth, made clear he believes the council should have jurisdiction.

“The councils are the ones that are involved in opening and closing areas to fishing so we really want a seat at the table” of the review, Quinn told the News Service. He said, “That’s why these entities exist.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Coastal commerce impacts tackled in new report

April 5, 2017 — Settled four centuries ago by seafaring pilgrims, Massachusetts continues to draw sustenance from the water as more than 90,000 people are employed in its maritime economy, according to a new report.

The Bay State’s maritime economy accounts for $6.4 billion, or 1.3 percent, of its gross state product, and it has outpaced other industries, according to a report commissioned by the Seaport Economic Council.

Fishing, marine transportation and tourism are some of the fields that make up the sector, according to the report produced by the UMass Public Policy Center’s Massachusetts Maritime Economy Study. The study highlighted offshore wind and aquaculture as “two opportunities” for the marine economy. In 2013, Massachusetts had an estimated 145 aquaculture operations generating $18 million in revenue, and while no offshore wind has yet been installed off the coast of Massachusetts, it has “the largest offshore wind potential of any U.S. state,” according to the report.

The report will inform the council in its work to promote job growth on the coast and prepare for sea-level rise. The council anticipates awarding about $8 million in grants over the next year and a half, according to the Baker administration.

“This council is focused on the economics of our coastline and the waters that exist here and leveraging those natural assets and those infrastructure assets for more jobs and more economic development,” said Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito, who chairs the council and said it has given out about $20 million in grants. “My hope is that we continue to protect and preserve our resources and at the same time build a talent pool that can really fuel these emerging industries and promote what we have here in our Commonwealth.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Maritime economy outpacing other sectors

April 5, 2017 — The Massachusetts maritime economy grew faster than the state’s economy as a whole from 2005 to 2015 despite declines in commercial fishing and seafood processing.

Those findings, contained in an analysis of the state’s maritime economy by the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth’s Public Policy Center, paint a portrait of a maritime economy in transition while providing a potential template for future maritime growth in Gloucester.

The analysis said the state maritime economy includes 5,555 establishments that pay $3.4 billion in total wages to 90,482 workers. It produced $6.4 billion in gross state product and represents 2.6 percent of the state’s direct employment.

“Massachusetts has the largest maritime economy in terms of employment and GSP among New England coastal states,” according to the analysis funded by the state Seaport Council and released Tuesday.

According to the findings, the maritime economy saw robust growth in employment (up 18.2 percent) and gross state product (up 48 percent) from 2005 to 2015 — each significantly higher than totals for other segments of the state’s overall economy.

But the news isn’t nearly as positive within the living resources sector of the maritime economy, which includes fish hatcheries, fishing, seafood markets and seafood processing.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

MASSACHUSETTS: Chatham Dogfish Goes To College

February 16, 2017 — Dogs are going to college and it’s not a case of affirmative action run amok. The Cape Cod Commercial Fisherman’s Alliance is spearheading a new program to get dogfish into university dining halls.

A new “from boat to campus” version of a fish-to-table program is putting the fish on the tables of some of America’s leading universities including Yale, UMass, and Ohio State.

UMass has already ordered thousands of pounds for this academic year, and Yale plans to feature spiny dogs for their next Thanksgiving feast.

Christopher Howland is director of purchasing for UMass. He says, “Supporting local and regional farmers and fishing communities is extremely important to our team at UMass Dining. We’re very excited to be able to feature local and sustainable dogfish on the menu. Our talented chefs have been able to develop creative recipes that our students love.”

Read the full story at The Cape Cod Chronicle

UMass Features New England Caught Dogfish on Cafeteria Menus as “Under Loved” Fish Specie

January 30, 2017 — SEAFOOD NEWS — It may not have the tastiest name, but a University of Massachusetts chef says dogfish is becoming a popular fish on campus.

All the dining commons serve the fish — 400 to 500 pounds of it — as part of a fish fry every Friday night.

Bob Bankert, chef de cuisine for UMass Dining, said UMass began seeking alternatives to cod several years ago, and began serving dogfish in the fall.

“Cod is way over fished,” Bankert said.

Before arriving at dogfish, the dining halls also began serving other so-called “trash fish” such as pollock and redfish. 

But Bankert rejects the “trash fish” moniker — born from the practice of fisherman tossing such species out instead of bringing them to market — and instead calls fish like dogfish “under loved.”

Bankert said people don’t have problems with the idea of eating catfish — but some balk at the name “dogfish.”

Dogfish — a shark species also known as “cape shark” — is native to New England waters. But, about 90 percent of the harvest has been sent to England for that country’s fish and chips, Bankert said.

 He’s hoping that through word of mouth and focus on the fish, more people will try it and be able to find it at markets.

A few years ago, he said, shoppers couldn’t find fish like pollock or redfish in markets — and now they can.

UMass students are always open to trying new things — and, anyway, he said, “We know how to make it tasty.”

So, dogfish will stay on the menu.

Besides the fish fries, the dining halls serve dogfish in wraps once a week and in bouillabaisse or other fish stews.

Bankert described dogfish as not as flaky as cod or haddock, but not as thick as swordfish. He compared it to halibut in texture, with a stronger taste than cod.

Besides serving more plentiful native fish, dogfish is less expensive — and he said, “We’re supporting local fisheries.”

A recent PBS Newshour story on the fish has raised its profile, Bankert said, Boston Magazine published a story last summer.

He’s hoping more positive attention will do the same.

This story originally appeared on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.