Category Archives: New England

New Bedford – True North Seafood to shut down city plant

One of the city’s largest seafood processors is shutting down its waterfront facility, laying off as many as 94 local workers as the company consolidates its production in Virginia. True North Seafood, a subsidiary of Canadian seafood giant Cooke, announced the sudden decision to its staff at a floor meeting Thursday morning. The company is a leading distributor of imported fish, processing more than 16 million pounds of salmon each year, according to its website. Cooke has both harvesting and processing operations spanning 15 countries and over 13,000 workers. Its revenues are north of $4 billion, according to a recent interview with CEO Glenn Cooke. more, >>click to read<< 20:16

Opinion: In memoriam of Blue Harvest — private equity giveth, and it taketh away

 You have to be careful when you swim with sharks — sometimes private equity sponsors. Sadly, for New Bedford, Blue Harvest did business with the Dutch private equity firm Bregal Partners. There’s a lot to unpack here, but one thing that sticks out is why a Dutch financial firm would have an interest in a New Bedford fishing company? Big fans of cod? Nope. Money. The answer is always money. The point here is not to blame the process — it’s to learn to avoid the greedy players involved and reflect on why we all did not see it coming. Or at the very least for being surprised it happened. more, >>click to read<< 16:59

Retired Lobsterman Joseph A. Pesce Jr. of Revere, Mass, has passed away

Joseph was born in Revere on September 15, 1938. He was the son of the late Joseph A. and Anna (D’Ambrosio) Pesce. He had been a lifelong resident of Revere and attended Revere Public Schools. Following high school, Joe worked at the Boston Ship Yard as a pipe fitter until he decided to pursue his passion to be a lobsterman. Joe began working as a commercial lobsterman, which was a career that would span over 65 years. His devoted son, David, joined in his passion for lobstering and worked alongside him for the last 30 years. They were the best partners. He was a dedicated and hard-working man who devoted his life to providing for his family. more, >>click to read<< 12:27

Lineless Lobster Launches The Gear Guardian as a Low Cost Rapidly Deployable Interim Solution to the Entanglement Crisis

Lineless Lobster proudly announces the launch of its new project aimed to help address the Right Whale entanglement issue with a product called “The Gear Guardian.” The Gear Guardian is a low cost mechanical device with no electronics that attaches to any lobster trap in minutes. It is designed to reduce the occurrence and severity of Right Whale entanglements, provide a way to rescue otherwise lost “ghost gear” and prove a consumer demand for ethically sourced lobster. “It hit me two years ago-I love whales but hate the way the entanglement issue with Right Whales is playing out. It’s painful seeing Lobstermen hit with unfair regulations and at the same time watching good science be ignored or debated,” says Chris Buchanan, Founder of Lineless Lobster. links, more, >>click to read<< 09:33

Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut receive proposals for offshore wind projects

Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut received proposals Wednesday for offshore wind projects as the three East Coast states hope to boost their reliance on the renewable energy source. The three states joined in a historic agreement that allows for potential coordinated selection of offshore wind projects. Massachusetts received bids from Avangrid Renewables, South Coast Wind Energy and Vineyard Offshore in response to the region’s largest solicitation to date for offshore wind, seeking up to 3,600 megawatts. more, >>click to read<< 08:07

‘I’m not going to hang around:’ Some Maine lobstermen decide to quit over new regulations

Some lobstermen have decided the paperwork, and more harsh future regulations, aren’t worth it. Bill Coppersmith’s lobster boat is named the “Billy and Andy.” He stopped lobstering the day new reporting requirements started. “Forty-three years of doing it, I took the last of my gear out of the water on New Year’s Day. And I said, ‘That’s probably it,'” Coppersmith said. “It’s come to be too restrictive to go. It creates more work. And I can’t create any more revenue because of the restrictions they’re putting on here.” Lobstermen are also now required to keep a tracking device on board so the Atlantic States Commission can track their movements in the Gulf of Maine. Coppersmith says that’s an invasion of privacy. Video, more, >>click to read<< 06:26

Fishing industry reels over Biden’s destructive wind farm plan: It’s ‘coming at us from every direction’

Time is running out for fishermen and women in the Northeast who fear their industry is being put at risk by the Biden administration’s renewable energy agenda. “Ground fishermen, lobstermen, whatever you are, you’re under the microscope right now, and it just seems to be something coming at us from every direction,” New England Fishermen’s Stewardship Association (NEFSA) COO Dustin Delano said on “The Big Money Show” Monday. “And with this offshore wind agenda out there to attempt to fight climate change,” he continued, “it’s almost like environmentalists and different folks are willing to destroy the environment to protect the environment.” Video, photos, more, >>click to read<< 08:52

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 95′ Steel Dragger

To review specifications, information, and 30 photos’,>click here<, To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 11:53

Change to legal size of lobster imports proposed

Draft Addendum XXX, an amendment to American lobster regulations, will consider whether new minimum lobster size increases that take effect Jan. 1, 2025, should apply to lobsters imported into the United States. The proposed change was initiated to meet a federal Magnuson-Stevens Act requirement prohibiting imports of whole live lobster smaller than the U.S. legal minimum possession size. A public hearing will be held online on Tuesday, April 9, from 6-8 p.m. links, webinar, info, more, >>click to read<< 10:19

Maine Fishermen Caught More Fish in 2023, Thanks to a Hunger Relief Program and COVID Funds

Maine fishermen bucked yearslong, industrywide trends last year and caught more fish, a development regulators and industry members said shows the impact of COVID-19 relief funds. The catch of haddock more than doubled to more than 500,000 pounds (226,796 kilograms), and the catches of Atlantic cod, witch flounder and Atlantic halibut were all up significantly. Federal money also supported the Fishermen Feeding Mainers program, which buys fish to support food banks and schools.  Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association, an industry nonprofit group, launched the Fishermen Feeding Mainers program in part to help the groundfish industry survive the COVID-19 pandemic. more, >>click to read<< 15:23

Massachusetts fishermen say feds are hypocritical in Gulf of Maine wind energy designation

A move to designate two million acres in the Gulf of Maine as a hub for wind energy is snagging a sharp hook from Massachusetts fishermen who say the development overlooks risks to the North Atlantic right whale. A handful of Bay State fishermen advocacy groups are teaming with counterparts from across New England in criticizing the Biden administration’s plans to industrialize the area off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Fishermen, however, say the industrialization of the two-million-acre area is “flatly inconsistent with a policy of endangered species protection.” “Fishermen are disheartened that the WEA designation favors foreign energy developers over marine mammal protection,” the Gulf of Maine Fishing Associations said in a statement last week. “This preferential treatment is in stark contrast to the federal government’s aggressive campaign to burden commercial fishing needlessly with crushing restrictions to protect whales.” more, >>click to read<< 08:43

Linda Bean, Maine business owner and L.L. Bean’s granddaughter, dies at 82

Linda Bean, the granddaughter of L.L. Bean and heir to the company who started several businesses of her own, has died. Bean died Saturday. She was 82. Her passing was confirmed Sunday by her assistant and the general manager of her Freeport restaurant, Linda Bean’s Maine Kitchen. “Linda was known for her tremendous work ethic, entrepreneurial spirit, as well as her pride and dedication to her home state of Maine and L.L. Bean, the company her grandfather founded,” read a written statement on behalf of the L.L. Bean company provided by a close assistant to Bean. more, >>click to read<< 15:00

Over 200,000 people without power across New England as winter storm winds down. That’s where we were. No Power!

Hundreds of thousands were without power after a storm a winter storm brought snow and heavy rain through New England Saturday. Around 50,000 customers are without power on Sunday afternoon across New Hampshire as daylong snow and freezing rain swept the region on Saturday, according to Eversource. “Crews are out working hard to restore outages as they happen,” Robert Buxton, Director of the New Hampshire Department of Safety’s Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Management, said in a written statement. As of 1 p.m. on Sunday, over 170,000 are also experiencing power outages in Maine where a drop in evening temperatures has caused icy conditions, according to Central Maine Power. >>click to read<< 13:54

Mystic Aquarium (the Whale People) expands offshore wind exhibit with youth in mind

In light of New London’s growing offshore wind industry, the Mystic Aquarium expanded its Renewable Ocean Energy Exhibit to educate the region on protective ocean wildlife methods this week. The expansion is in collaboration with Ørsted and Eversource, two developers of Connecticut’s first large-scale offshore wind farm. The offshore wind projects are expected to power up to 70,000 homes on Long Island when completed. The two companies gave the aquarium two grants totaling $1.25 million to study the effects of wind turbines on marine mammals and sea turtles. more, >>click to read<< 12:21

Burglary charged aboard NOAA mapping ship in New Castle

A Nashville man has been charged with stealing money and various items from a New Castle-based ship operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Anthony Christopher McCauliff, 35, faces two felony counts of burglary and a felony charge of theft by unauthorized taking for allegedly taking items from the crew aboard the Ferdinand Hassler. The theft by unauthorized taking charge, a Class A felony, accuses McCauliff of taking money “and/or” a Dell tablet, U.S. currency, a keyboard, a card reader, a power supply, a key card, a government pay card and a wallet from the Ferdinand Hassler’s crew. The “aggregate value” of the property combined was in excess of $1,500, the indictment states. more, >>click to read<< 10:59

Wind turbines and a shadow over Island fishers

Their boat is named Redemption. And as seventeen-year-old Tegan Gale walked onto the lobster boat docked at Tashmoo landing on a warm March Day, he was thinking about what the boat meant to him and about his future. Tegan says he loves being out on the water, and he wants to keep the family tradition alive, but he’s up against what he sees as big business and a lot of uncertainty. And now, there’s another layer of uncertainty: the new offshore wind industry. Tegan isn’t alone. Several Island fishermen say the new industry has the potential to disrupt their work for years to come. They have questions about the impacts of underwater cables extending from the turbines and dragging nets over the high-voltage wires. They also have fears about the impact to sea life during construction of the offshore wind farms. more, >>click to read<< 13:26

Scallop wallop – Japanese imports are taking a bite out of New Bedford’s lucrative seafood industry at a time when the region’s shellfish are in shorter supply.

Rahm Emanuel, the U.S. ambassador to Japan, landed a deal to supply U.S. military bases in Japan with scallops and other Japanese seafood products. Japan is an ally, he said, and it is important to support one of their major industries in a challenging moment. “In America we have a saying about being a good neighbor,” Emanuel said, according to the military news service Stars and Stripes. “This is being a good neighbor.” The recent spike in Japanese scallop imports is a complex political tangle. But in the U.S. seafood trade, distributors aren’t buying Japanese scallops to be neighborly, as Emanuel put it.  “It’s business,” said Drew Minkiewicz, a D.C. attorney who represents commercial fishing and shipping interests. “Japan’s government is making a targeted effort to push as many scallops as they can into the U.S. That competes directly with our scallops here.” more, >>click to read<< 12:36

‘A lot of people are upset.’ Vineyard Wind compensation offer for fishermen stirs worries

Commercial fishers who are sharing part of their customary fishing waters with Vineyard Wind may be eligible for compensation through the developers Fisheries Compensatory Mitigation Program. Eric Hesse, chairman of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance board, said most of the fishing in the lease area is by dragging. The sandy bottom there is a habitat for fluke, or summer flounder, one of the most important commercial and recreational flatfishes, according to the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. It’s also habitat for longfin squid, skates and monkfish, as well as a fishing area for scallops, sea clams and ocean quahog. But pelagic fish, like tuna — which he fishes for — also migrate through the area. “Who knows how that fishery may be affected,” he said. “It’s a sticky thing and a lot of people are upset.” more, >>click to read<< 07:06

Owner of sunken historic fishing boat leaking fuel off Maine’s coast has been charged

The owner of a sunken 80-foot-long fishing boat that’s sitting at the bottom of New Meadows River in Harpswell and leaking oil is now facing charges. The boat, the sardine carrier Jacob Pike, sank in Harpswell during January’s twin storms and record-high tides. The harbormaster hasn’t received a plan yet for raising and disposing of the sunken boat. The town is summonsing the boat’s owner, Cyrus Cleary, for the crime of abandonment of a watercraft, according to the harbormaster. more, >>click to read<< 06:12

Federal Government Picks New England Offshore Wind Power Site, Drawing Cheers and Questions Alike

The federal government on Friday designated a large area off the New England coast for offshore wind production development, setting the stage for a possible lease sale within the Gulf of Maine.  The U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said in a statement that the New England zone, which renewable energy advocates have identified as crucial for the growth of wind power, “avoids important areas for lobster fishing, North Atlantic right whale habitat, and other important fishing areas and habitats.” The move came a day after the country’s first commercial-scale offshore wind farm opened off Montauk Point, New York. Environmental groups cheered the announcement, but some members of the commercial fishing industry, which has opposed wind development in areas where they trap lobsters, said they still have concerns about locating offshore wind in the area. more, >>click to read<< 12:23

Stock Assessments Benefit from Rockhopper Trawl Efficiency Study

A collaborative study conducted aboard a Rhode Island-based commercial trawler from 2015 to 2017 is bearing fruit. It was led by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and commercial fishermen interested in how catches of the same species varied depending on the type of trawl net used. Since 2019, stock assessment scientists have used the results from this Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel study in multiple stock assessments to ensure sustainable fisheries for several flounder species as well as monkfish and red hake. Specifically, the results help produce more accurate estimates of abundance which can increase the confidence in catch advice for some species. “Cooperative research is essential to obtain accurate assessments and catch advice in our nation’s fisheries,” said Chris Roebuck, former Northeast Trawl Advisory Panel member, commercial fisherman and participant in the experiment. “This research is an excellent example of collaboration between scientists and fishermen. It provided solid efficiency numbers for each targeted species,” he said. “The information produced was clearly the best available science and has the potential to ultimately influence catch advice for every species evaluated.” Photos, lots of links, more, >>click to read<< 12:29

What You Need to Know About Cod

As a large, naturally abundant fish, cod has been eaten by various human populations for centuries. While both of America’s Atlantic cod fisheries are overfished, American stocks of Pacific cod (Gadus macrocephalus) are not. What’s more, various other cod fisheries are located around the globe, some over-exploited, others not. The fish’s prevalence, along with its suitability for eating, means that despite dwindling numbers, cod remains a stalwart of many cuisines. However, there are many things about cod that aren’t widely known. It might surprise some people to learn that cod hunt for prey. They eat a variety of animals, ranging from worms to lobsters and even small fish. Such a diet means cod are capable of growing up to an impressive length of six feet and a weight of over 100 pounds. more, >>click to read<< 11:52

 

Anglers seek trawler buffer zone as Atlantic herring stock declines

Recreational fishermen in New England say commercial trawlers are threatening the survival of smaller businesses relying on a healthy stock of Atlantic herring. Rich Hittinger, first vice president of the Rhode Island Saltwater Anglers Association, said years of overfishing depleted the population and continue to have negative effects on the ocean ecosystem. “The predator fish, like the striped bass, they’re scrounging for anything that they can eat,” Hittinger observed. “And we often see fish that are long and thin because they’re really not getting sufficient nutrition.” Hittinger noted anglers want the New England Fishery Management Council to reestablish a 12-mile offshore buffer zone to force large commercial trawlers out to sea and reduce conflicts with businesses closer to shore. The council is accepting public comments through April. more, >>click to read<< 06:27

Commentary: Nuclear Energy Is the Only Way to Achieve Maine’s Climate Goals

In response to a rise in climate anxiety, particularly among young voters, politicians have made numerous “climate pledges” to transition entire networks to carbon-free energy sources. These goals are noble. Whether they are realistic remains to be seen, but Maine’s legislature has a chance to make these intentions a reality — without breaking the bank for consumers. Since Maine Gov. Janet Mills pledged to make the state carbon-neutral by 2045, consumers have seen a massive uptick in energy costs, with Mainers paying 23% more than the national average electric bill. State Rep. Reagan Paul has introduced LD 1549 in the legislature to examine whether small modular nuclear reactors (SMRs) have a role to play in the state’s energy mix. more, >>click to read<< 07:10

Maine Lobstermen’s Association Releases Statement on Final Wind Energy Area

“The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) appreciates that BOEM’s Final Wind Energy Area (WEA) removes Lobster Management Area 1. “MLA worked tirelessly with Maine’s fishing industry, our congressional delegation, and Governor Mills to ensure prime lobster fishing grounds are spared from industrial development. We are proud that so many lobstermen have constructively engaged in this process and grateful that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management has listened to their concerns. “But there is still much work to do. Secondary Area C, an area where many endangered North Atlantic right whales are sighted, is included in the Final Wind Energy Area. MLA remains steadfast in its position that no area of the Gulf of Maine should be industrialized with offshore wind. There are still too many unanswered questions about the impacts of offshore wind on the marine environment, commercial fishermen and our fishing heritage.” https://www.mainelobstermen.org/ 12:57

Mass. Lobstmen Win Case Fighting Feds’ Fishing Closure

A Massachusetts federal judge ruled Thursday that the National Marine Fisheries Service illegally closed a 200-square-mile swath of ocean to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whales, backing a legal challenge by a lobster fishing industry group. In a ruling from the bench, U.S. District Judge William G. Young said the agency’s permanent seasonal closure of the so-called wedge area to lobster fishing in February 2023 to avoid whale entanglements with fishing gear was contrary to a federal budget law passed the previous December that hit pause on new regulations for the lobster industry until the end of 2028. “This court is convinced that the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2023 is clear on its face, and it clearly applies to bar the final wedge closure rule,” Judge Young said. more, >>click to read<< 12:35

Feds announce areas where offshore wind can go in Gulf of Maine

Federal regulators have made a final designation of roughly 2 million acres in the Gulf of Maine where offshore wind turbines can be deployed to help provide power to New England. The boundary set by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management does not include any part of the federal lobster management area 1. That fishing area extends from state waters about three miles offshore to about 40 miles. The closest the designated federal wind energy area comes to Maine’s coast is just outside the fishing zone. The Maine Lobstermen’s Association said Friday that it appreciates that the fishing zone is excluded from the wind area approved by BOEM. But it said that it remains “steadfast” in its position that industrial wind power development does not belong anywhere in the Gulf of Maine. more, >>click to read<< 12:39

Made in Maine: a smoked pollock dip that benefits Maine’s fishing community

A partnership between the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association and Dunstan Smokehouse is putting a sustainable and under-utilized Maine-caught fish on more dinner tables. Smoked pollock is the star ingredient of a new dip available on retail shelves from Scarborough to Brunswick. “Pollock is a delicious fish, and certainly under-utilized,” Jim Hartley, the owner/operator of Dunstan Smokehouse where the dip is made. “Haddock is a little prettier.” “We came up with a really neat recipe that we thought was delicious based on a Scottish Finnan haddie recipe.” Vlideo, more, >click to read<< 10:40

Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 48′ Steel Day Scalloper, 400 HP Volvo Diesel

To review specifications, information, and 14 photos’,>click here<, To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 08:37

Surry lobster dock destroyed by Sunday storm

Two months after many wooden piers along Maine’s coast were severely damaged or destroyed by a pair of storms, another storm has brought some additional destruction. Perry’s Lobster Shack in Surry, which functions as a lobster buying pier for local fishermen and as a seasonal takeout restaurant, was destroyed Sunday when it was submerged by storm surge in Union River Bay. “There’s nothing left but pilings,” Seth Michael Cote, the pier’s owner, said Tuesday. But Cote said the conditions in Union River Bay appeared to be worse Sunday than in those other storms, with the surge completely covering the top of the fixed pier, and wind gusts in the Blue Hill area surpassing 60 mph. photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:47