Saving Seafood

Coast Guard Report Finds Misreporting in Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fisheries

December 2, 2019 (Saving Seafood) — WASHINGTON — Tomorrow, at the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) December Meeting in Newport, Rhode Island, the United States Coast Guard will present a summary of an analysis it conducted from late 2014 through 2016 into potential misreporting in the Northeast Multispecies (NMS) fishery. The analysis identified over 350 trips from 2011-2015 where there is evidence of misreporting.

The Coast Guard analysis claims that several misreporting schemes were utilized from 2011 to 2015, and potentially up to 2.5 million pounds of regulated species were misreported by vessels from multiple sectors in the NMS fishery. The analysis also argues that the current regulation regime is vulnerable to stock area misreporting and limits the ability of enforcement to detect and document misreporting of stock areas.

Since February 2017, fishery managers have been developing Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) FMP, which would implement measures to improve reliability and accountability of catch reporting and ensure an accurate representation of catch (landings and discards). Amendment 23, which is currently in draft form, has been developed concurrently with the Coast Guard study, and is not a response to it. It has been developed by the NEFMC in consultation with the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, and the National Marine Fisheries Service. The draft amendment is available here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/190905_Draft_Groundfish_A23_alternatives.pdf.

The Coast Guard report was authored by the First District Enforcement Staff and is available here: https://s3.amazonaws.com/nefmc.org/USCG-Groundfish-Misreporting-Investigation-and-Analysis.pdf.

The species of fish off the New England coast commonly referred to as “groundfish” are managed under the NMS Fishery Management Plan (FMP) and regulated under Title 50, Chapter VI, Part 648 of the Code of Federal Regulations (50 CFR 648). The latest updates on the development of NEFMC Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies FMP are available here: https://www.nefmc.org/library/amendment-23.

Coast Guard: Catch misreported on 350 fishing trips

December 2, 2019 — The Northeast multispecies groundfishery may have been victimized by several misreporting schemes through a five-year period and “potentially up to 2.5 million pounds of regulated species were misreported by vessels from multiple sectors” in the fishery, according to a Coast Guard investigation of misreporting.

The report chronicling the Coast Guard investigation from 2011 to 2015 will be presented to the New England Fishery Management Council on Tuesday during the first of its three days of meetings in Newport, Rhode Island.

The Coast Guard presentation is one of two scheduled agenda items dealing with catch misreporting that will be before the council on Tuesday.

The same day, NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Law Enforcement is scheduled to make a presentation to the council specifically on misreporting uncovered during the criminal case brought against now-incarcerated New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael.

In its 21-page report, the Coast Guard said the analysis by its Boston-based First District enforcement staff identified more than 350 vessel trips during the period of 2011 to 2015 in the Northeast multispecies groundfishery “where there appears to be evidence of misreporting.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

‘Past point of no return’: Lone fisherman who survived shipwreck off Martha’s Vineyard recalls harrowing ordeal

November 29, 2019 — A fisherman who survived a shipwreck off Martha’s Vineyard spoke Tuesday from his hospital bed about the harrowing ordeal, one day after the United States Coast Guard suspended its search for three of his fellow crewmates.

Ernesto Garcia, 50, was aboard the Leonardo — a 56-foot scallop boat — that capsized and sank on Sunday afternoon as nine-foot swells and gusty winds battered the area. He was later rescued by a helicopter crew.

“We caught a rogue sea,” Garcia told 7’s Jonathan Hall. “A wave came across in the opposite direction in which the waves were running.”

Garcia says the boat was equipped with a device that automatically sends an emergency distress signal when it strikes the water but that three survival suits onboard sunk with the boat.

“We had no time. Half the port side of the boat was down in the water,” Garcia recalled. “We were past the point of no return.”

Crewmate Mark Cormier, 35, was with Garcia when the wave hit.

“The boat took a nice roll and flipped,” Garcia said. “He [Cormier] broke away from me and I ended up in some kind of air pocket.”

Read the full story at WHDH

Lone survivor recalls scallop boat sinking

November 29, 2019 — Three Fishermen were killed at sea this week in a tragedy that will be long remembered by their families and others in New Bedford.

A fourth man survived, and told his harrowing tale to WHDH reporter Jonathan Hall, who interviewed him in his hospital room where he was recovering from hypothermia.

“We took one over the stern,” said 50-year-old Ernesto Garcia, recounting how a “rogue sea” – a big wave moving in a different direction from the others – capsized the 56-foot F/V Leonardo during rough weather on Sunday.

Garcia described how he and his crewmate, 35-year-old Mark Cormier Jr., were plunged into the chilly water. Garcia swam up towards the light, and reached the surface where he found a floatation ring. He and Cormier held onto the ring and swam towards a life raft, but after about 20 minutes Cormier was “face down in the water” and he slipped off the ring, Garcia said.

A signal from the overturned scallop boat had alerted the Coast Guard, and Garcia was pulled out of the water by a helicopter with the help of a rescue swimmer.

The loss is compounded for the family of the boat’s skipper, 51-year-old Jerry Bretal and his 29-year-old stepson Xavier Vega. Those two were near the bridge of the vessel went it went over, according to Garcia, who believes they may still be inside the Leonardo, on the seafloor 250 feet below the surface.

Read the full story at CommonWealth Magazine

BARRY RICHARD: New Bedford Boat Sinking A Holiday Heartbreaker

November 26, 2019 — As I write this, the U.S. Cost Guard continues to search for three men who were lost at sea when the New Bedford-based F/V Leonardo went missing during the storm on Sunday. The Coast Guard says the vessel capsized in nine-foot seas with 29-knot winds gusting to 39 knots. The F/V Leonardo met its fate some 24 nautical miles southwest of Martha’s Vineyard or roughly 40 miles from home.

One man was rescued from a liferaft. The three missing men were not believed to be wearing survival suits of lifejackets.

The West Island Weather Station reports: “The 56.6-foot New Bedford scalloper F/V Leonardo is registered to Mary Lou Fishing Corp at 17 Bertrand Way, Acushnet. The 50-ton scalloper was built in 1967, according to Boat Database. The corporation is registered to Luis Martins.”

November is a rough month for the New Bedford fishing fleet. According to the website Lost Fishermen From The Port of New Bedford, the F/V Leonardo is the seventh vessel lost to the sea during November since 1919. November weather can be cruel and is often merciless.

Read the full story at WBSM

Coast Guard ends search for three missing fishermen from capsized boat off Martha’s Vineyard

November 26, 2019 — Scalloper Samuel Pereira was headed back to State Pier on Saturday morning when his boat passed the Leonardo heading out to sea. Over the radio, he said, the two skippers chatted briefly about the forecast, which was predicting fierce conditions.

“The weather was no good for me, because I have a small boat,” Pereira recalled Monday. “He knew it was going to be [sloppy]. But he said he was going to fish slow.”

It was the last Pereira would hear from the boat, a scalloper, or its captain. On Monday, the Coast Guard suspended its search off Martha’s Vineyard for three fishermen missing from the 56-foot Leonardo, which apparently capsized 24 nautical miles from the Vineyard and sank Sunday, with four aboard.

“We will no longer be searching unless a new development happens . . . meaning something is reported that would necessitate reasonable efforts to continue,” said Petty Officer Zachary Hupp, a Coast Guard spokesman.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Hawaii longliner burns, crew rescued

September 20, 2019 — A Hawaiian tuna longliner vessel caught fire on the afternoon of 17 September off Oahu, but its crew of six and a NOAA observer escaped uninjured in a life raft, Coast Guard officials said.

The 46-foot, 36-ton Miss Emma, a locally well-known vessel built in 1977 and based at Honolulu, caught fire about 8 miles south of Sand Island. The crew transmitted a mayday call at 4:29 p.m., according to an account issued by the Coast Guard in Honolulu.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

SAFMC Recognizes USCG Cutter CORMORANT Crew for Fisheries Enforcement Efforts

September 20, 2019 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Each year the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council presents its Law Enforcement Officer of the Year award to recognize enforcement personnel that exceed their duty requirements to enforce fisheries regulations in federal waters off the coasts of the Carolinas, Georgia and the east coast of Florida. “The Council recognizes the important role that law enforcement personnel play in effective fisheries management,” said Council Chair Jessica McCawley. “Both at the state and federal level, enforcement officers not only enforce fisheries regulations but often act as ambassadors, providing information and educating fishermen and others on a daily basis. This annual award allows us to acknowledge those who go the extra mile – those who demonstrate teamwork, effective communication with the public, excellence and innovation, leadership, and conduct that reflects honesty and fairness.”

For the first time, this year’s award was presented not to an individual but to the twelve active duty crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter CORMORANT, an 87-foot Coastal Patrol Boat homeported in Charleston, South Carolina. The crew, consisting of four Boarding Officers, two Boarding Team Members, and two Living Marine Resource boarding officers, exemplify the criteria outlined for the award. The crew conducts a wide array of enforcement missions including search and rescue, counter narcotics, migrant interdiction, and Presidential security zones, as well as living marine resources enforcement and commercial fishing vessel inspections from Little River, South Carolina to Cumberland Island, Georgia. The award was made during the Council’s quarterly meeting this week in Charleston.

Read the full release here

U.S. Coast Guard Targets Illegal Fishing in International Waters

September 9, 2019 — The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mellon, including two Canadian fishery officers, returned to Seattle on Sunday after an 80-day patrol detecting and deterring illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity in the Pacific Ocean. The patrol was performed under the auspices of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the North Pacific Fisheries Commission.

Economists estimate that IUU fishing costs the international economy billions of dollars per year. By diminishing stocks, it undermines the livelihoods of legitimate fishermen around the world, with negative effects on food security in developing nations. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, combatting global IUU fishing through international partnerships is a priority for Canada and the United States.

“IUU fishing is one of the greatest threats to the ocean’s fish stocks,” said Capt. Jonathan Musman, Mellon’s commanding officer. “It was an honor to be on the front lines of enforcement efforts of the distant waters fishing fleets.”

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

Coast Guard Rescuers test skills on 5-turbine wind farm at Block Island

September 3, 2019 — Offshore rescuers are sharpening their skills at and near the Block Island Wind Farm, in what are early preparations for the Atlantic Coast’s nascent offshore wind industry.

But a Rhode Island commercial fishing group has said practicing on five turbines, all in a row, can’t be considered a real test for what is expected to be hundreds of wind turbines in grid patterns offshore south of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the coming decade.

“It’s not really a farm,” said Richard Fuka of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance.

The U.S. Coast Guard has completed a case study on the Jan. 1 sinking of the F/V Mistress 3 or 4 miles from the Block Island wind farm to determine if the presence of the five turbines had any impact on the agency’s search and rescue operation. The results of the study are expected to be shared with the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, the key federal permitting agency for the offshore wind industry. The study has not been released publicly yet.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times