Search Results for: Bruce Tarr

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr wants more MEP whale patrols to reduce entanglement, prevent shutdowns

A state senator wants to step up marine patrols for endangered North Atlantic right whales to reduce collisions with boats, entanglements with fishing gear and prevent shutdowns of the state’s lobster fishery. An amendment to the $47 billion state budget, offered by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, would earmark another $250,000 for the Massachusetts Environmental Police to conduct more whale patrols in state waters. >click to read< 14:16

Bruce Tarr: Ground Fishing rules don’t match industry realities

The federal government on Wednesday released data showing that cod stocks in the area remain overfished and are not on target to be rebuilt by 2024. “Abundance is very low, not the way it used to be, so that’s obviously of great concern to us,” said Division of Marine Fisheries Director David Pierce,,, Calling the report “concerning,” Sen. Bruce Tarr, “I’m still reading through the details  but I think it points to the fact that we should be doing things differently than we are today.” Tarr said there’s “too much regulatory discard” of cod “and there’s mortality that’s being caused by a set of rules that don’t recognize the practical reality of groundfishing.” >click to read< 19:32

House claws at lobster processing restrictions – State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr keeps clawing

State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr sometimes must feel as if the lobster gods are conspiring against him. The Gloucester legislator, on three occasions, has filed a bill in the state Senate to liberalize the Bay State’s lobster processing laws to allow in-state processing and the sale of frozen lobster parts.,, >click to read< –  House lawmakers agreed to a policy rider Tuesday as part of their deliberation on a $42.7 billion state budget that would allow authorized persons to process and sell frozen lobster parts in Massachusetts, building on a 2013 law that allowed the sale and processing of shell-on lobster tails that meet certain size requirements. Rep. William Straus, a Mattapoisett Democrat who offered the amendment >click to read<08:44

Sen Bruce Tarr champions expanded in-state lobster processing, proposal backed by Senate

The state Senate has approved a measure authored by Gloucester Sen. Bruce Tarr, and championed by a bi-partisan coalition of state senators, that will reform state lobster laws would permit licensed wholesale dealers to process unfrozen lobster parts, import unfrozen shell-on lobster parts, and allow for the sale of processed lobster parts.,, “We have the second-largest lobster catch in the nation yet, without this bill, our raw and frozen lobster parts are processed in Canada or Maine only to then be brought back to local consumers,” said Tarr. >click to read<11:27

Bruce Tarr pushing bill to expand lobster processing industry in Bay State

State Senate Majority Leader Bruce Tarr didn’t waste any time in the new legislative calendar to again push the state to liberalize its lobster processing laws to allow in-state processing and sale of raw and frozen lobster parts. And this time, the Republican from Gloucester is armed with a report from the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries that supports the legislative reform and spells out some of the economic benefits of allowing in-state processing rather than sending the live lobsters out of state — often all the way to Canada —for processing. >click to read<22:27

Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester files bi partisan Seafood Marketing Program bill

100_1589The bill, which calls for the establishment of a Massachusetts Seafood Marketing Program within the Division of Marine Fisheries (DMF), has drawn the support of 23 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives and the Senate. It calls for the establishment of a coordinated program within DMF to market seafood landed in the commonwealth and to take actions to increase consumer demand and preference for the local seafood products and support for the commonwealth’s fishing and seafood industry. Read more@wickedlocal  17:20

Fishery Advocate Bruce Tarr considers bid for John Kerry’s Senate seat.

This guy is all in when it comes to supporting the fishing industry. US fishermen on a national level could expect to find an unwavering supporter of their issues100_1589

We have lost some of the bipartisan aligned politicians that we have been able to count on, and State Senator Tarr would be worthy addition to the coalition.

He has an excited bipartisan constituency pushing him to do it. Read more here.

Tarr Senate bill targets seafood marketing

gdt iconBOSTON – State Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, renewing his call to confront “serious threats to the survival of the groundfish industry in Massachusetts,” has filed legislation aimed at putting the state’s clout behind marketing seafood products. Tarr, the Gloucester Republican, said his bill is aimed at aiding an industry that remains caught in a federally recognized “economic disaster” since September 2012 and now continues to deal with NOAA-imposed groundfishing landing limits of up to 78 percent in the current fishing year, which runs through April 30. Read more@gdt  20:37

‘It’s all about the people’ Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante said about her run

She’s a Gloucester native. Her parents came from immigrant families. She’s the only child of her father, Joseph, who worked as a fisherman until an injury forced him out of the job, and her mother, Frances, who worked in the schools’ libraries. She has her supporters. Helene Nicholson, “I think she brings the things to Gloucester like the waterfront and she works well with other candidates even though Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr is a Republican, you know, she works well across the aisles, which I like, and she’s a fair player. She’s honest.” Her father’s injury turned out to be a blessing in disguise. In 1994, a few months after his accident, the fishing vessel F/V Italian Gold sank. “That’s the boat my father would have been on. All four men were lost at sea,” Ferrante said. Her father asked her to promise him she would help those crew members’ families. >click to read< 12:14

Massachusetts: New relief fund would buoy lobster industry

A proposed state fund would provide financial relief to commercial lobstermen whose livelihoods are being impacted by state and federal regulations aimed at protecting critically endangered north Atlantic right whales. Tucked into a $52.7 billion state budget awaiting action by Gov. Charlie Baker is a proposal to create a new grant program with $500,000 in initial funding. The plan calls for providing grants of up to $5,000 to licensed lobstermen to help offset the cost of purchasing new gear and equipment needed to comply with the new whale protection rules. The grant money must be distributed in a “geographically equitable manner” under the proposal. Senate minority leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, who pushed for the funding, said it will help buoy lobstermen who are struggling to afford the expense of upgrading their gear and equipment. >click to read< 17:50

Massachusetts weighs relief fund to the lobster industry

Lawmakers want to create a new fund to help commercial lobstermen whose livelihoods are being impacted by state and federal regulations aimed at protecting critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. An amendment added to the Senate version of the $49.7 billion state budget, approved Thursday, May 26, would set up a lobstering closure mitigation fund through the state’s unemployment system with at least $12 million in initial funding. The amendment was co-sponsored by Sens. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, and Patrick O’Connor, R-Weymouth, who say the move will provide “much needed relief” for the lobster industry. “It is absolutely critical that we provide relief to the people in this industry which is so important to the commonwealth,” Tarr said. “As the second largest provider of lobster in the nation these workers are needed for another day, another year, and another generation.” >click to read< 08:03

Massachusetts: Lawmakers want to pay lobstermen during right whale conservation closure

State senators next week will debate a plan by South Shore lawmakers to pay lobstermen during a months-long annual fishing closure advocates say cuts income of some fishermen by as much as half each year. State senators Patrick O’Connor and Bruce Tarr have filed a budget amendment that would allocate $12 million to pay lobstermen $1 per week per trap they are licensed for during time they are not allowed to fish. The state annually shuts down more than 9,000 square miles of water for at least three months in efforts to protect migrating right whales. > click to read < 08:28

Gloucester: Open Door, fishing vessel win food security grants

The Open Door and a Gloucester fishing company will share in $5.9 million in state grants to help ensure a secure food supply chain for Massachusetts residents,,, The Open Door, which operates food pantries in Gloucester and Ipswich and other food delivery services, received $201,073,,, Also, the Russo Fishing Co., which operates the F/V Miss Trish, received $95,000 to develop an automated fish-gutting and conveyor system on the deck of the vessel to reduce the amount of time its catch remains on deck. The award to the Russo Fishing Co. is one of eight to seafood harvesters, producers and processors, as well as aquaculture operations throughout the state. The inclusion of fishing industry elements among the grant awards was a key point of emphasis, according to state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester. >click to read< 16:10

A reminder from Sam Parisi to those interested in creating and implementing a U.S. Fish Bill

Greetings to all commercial fishermen, fish processors, equipment suppliers, politicians, and citizens, that are interested and supportive of creation of the U.S. Fish Bill. It is important that we create an atmosphere of unity and inclusion for all to reach out to their political representation, and inform them of need for a major Bill supporting all segments of the U.S. Fishing industry, and ask that they get involved. I am asking Senator Bruce Tarr, and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante to attend. The meeting will be held at the Gloucester City Hall November 21 at 7 pm. For developing info, and input of idea’s, please call me!  Thank you, and best regards! Sam Parisi, Gloucester Mass. at 978 491 7722 06:45

A Fish Bill Update from Sam Parisi

Dear Fisherynation Readers, I wanted to share some information about a project that I have an interest in seeing advance, a U.S. Fish Bill. I am pleased to let you know that today, a staffer from Senator Markey’s office responded to my request to help draft a Fish Bill. I had a good conversation with the staffer that also requested a meeting with Massachusetts fishermen and local politans to discuss and endorse a U.S Fish Bill. I have asked Al Catone to call this meeting to peoples attention, and we hope to get fishermen, processors, industry supporting businesses, and interested citizens to attend. We are asking Senator Bruce Tarr, and Rep. Ann-Margaret Ferrante to attend. The meeting will be held at the Gloucester City Hall November 21 at 7 pm. For developing info, and input of idea’s, please call me!  Thank you, and best regards! Sam Parisi, Gloucester Mass. at 978 491 7722

Letter: Time to change bycatch policy

This letter concerns Oct. 12 article about fishing bycatch (”Fishing rules don’t match industry realities”). Thank God for state Sen. Bruce Tarr’s comments that fishermen shouldn’t be dumping cod overboard to die in order for them to get to the fish they can keep. “The rules don’t reflect the practical reality of the groundfishing,” Tarr said.,,, I thought that Edward Barrett of the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership had two good points in the Oct. 12 article. by Sue Waller, >click to read< 07:29

Bruce Tarr: Ground Fishing rules don’t match industry realities>click to read<

Lobster processing claws its way into Mass. law

The long-sought measure to expand and modernize lobster processing regulations in Massachusetts is now law, as of Gov. Charlie Baker’s signature on Wednesday.,,, Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, who has championed the measure through more than four frustrating legislative cycles, estimated that up to 80 percent of lobsters landed in Massachusetts — the nation’s second-largest harvester of American lobsters, behind Maine — are transported to out-of-state processors only to see them return here as value-added products for retail and restaurant consumers. >click to read<  09:11

Massachusetts: Lobster bill survives budget deal

The legislation to allow the in-state sale, transport and processing of unfrozen, shell-on lobster parts — a persistent, years-long campaign by state Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr — has survived the Massachusetts Legislature’s conference committee and is contained in the $43.1 billion budget awaiting Baker’s approval or veto.,,,Tarr stated that up to 80% of lobsters landed in Massachusetts are transported out of state for processing at facilities in Maine and Canada — only to see them return here as value-added products for retail and restaurant consumers. >click to read< 08:51

Sam Parisi, The Headline – Lawmakers to Trump: Keep Marine Monument protections – My response

First, and foremost, I would like to thank, and publicly recognize the local politicians that didn’t sign onto this letter, and as they always do, support the remnants of the storied Gloucester fishing fleet, Bruce Tarr, and Anne Margaret Farrante, and Brad Hill. I applaud your courage. With that said, Just how much of our fishing grounds, and economic opportunity can we continue to lose? Do these lawmakers know anything about these grounds, other than the partisan talking points, and perceived conservation benefits presented by the supporters of the take over of, and creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument? >click to read<16:40

Sam Parisi, The Headline – Lawmakers to Trump: Keep Marine Monument protections – My response.

10/15/2018

The Headline – Lawmakers to Trump: Keep Marine Monument protections – My response.

Lawmakers to Trump: Keep Marine Monument protections >click to read<

First, and foremost, I would like to thank, and publicly recognize the local politicians that didn’t sign onto this letter, and as they always do, support the remnants of the storied Gloucester fishing fleet, Bruce Tarr, and Anne Margaret Farrante, and Brad Hill. I applaud your courage.

With that said, Just how much of our fishing grounds, and economic opportunity can we continue to lose?

Do these lawmakers know anything about these grounds, other than the partisan talking points, and perceived conservation benefits presented by the supporters of the take over of, and creation of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument?

I fished there in the 1960’s before the 200 mile limit along with other fishermen from Maine, Rhode Island, and other East Coast ports. Offshore lobstering was in its infancy, with industry pioneers like Marblehead lobsterman Bob Brown of Perfect Storm fame.

Millions of pounds of lobster, whiting, mackerel, and squid, and other species were caught there.

In all that time there were never any concerns of damage to the area; or to corals that suddenly were used as talking points to exclude commercial fishermen from the area, causing lost opportunity for the industry.

I doubt if any of these lawmaker’s ever fished out there, nor did any research.

I disagree with them saying it will not help remedy the nation’s seafood deficit.

Closing the area to the fishing operations that have relied on access to that area certainly has caused a deficit to their bottom lines in business.

Perhaps these lawmakers should contact the Massachusetts Lobsterman’s Association and ask just how many millions of pounds of lobster was harvested from the now known area called the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument.

Perhaps these lawmakers should contact Bonnie Brady of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, and ask how much squid and other fish were harvested from the area.

Our fisherman are struggling to stay in business, and shutting them out of traditional fishing grounds helps no one.

I urge those lawmaker’s to some research and give some consideration to our fisherman.

Lets ask them to support fishing in this monument now.

Thank You,

Sam Parisi

Gloucester,Mass.

Lawmakers to Trump: Keep Marine Monument protections

More than a quarter of state lawmakers wrote to President Donald Trump on Wednesday, urging him not to roll back protections for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. None of Cape Ann’s representatives — Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, and Reps. Ann-Margaret Ferrante and Brad Hill — were among the signers. Nine of the 38 current state senators and 46 of the 153 representatives signed the letter, which said the monument “does not occur in a major fishing ground” and opening it to commercial fishing would “not help remedy the nation’s seafood deficit.” >click to read<09:23

“Recipe For Disaster” – Filmmaker documents ravages of green crabs

More than a year ago, Gloucester filmmaker Nubar Alexanian laid out his airtight case against the rapacious European green crabs for Bruce Tarr and the incredulous state lawmaker had a suitable response: “There’s a horror movie happening in my district and I didn’t even know about it,” Tarr told Alexanian. As Alexanian’s new documentary short film, “Recipe For Disaster,” makes clear, the call is coming from inside the Great Marsh, which stretches from Gloucester to the New Hampshire border. “In the film, we say there are millions and millions of the green crabs here already,” Alexanian said. “Now I would say it’s billions and billions.” Watch the video trailer. >click to read<17:44

Massachusetts: Time to lift restrictions on state’s lobster processing industry

State lawmakers have a rare chance to give a sector of the state’s beleaguered fishing industry a boost and create a few jobs along the way. Tucked into the Senate version of the budget now being negotiated on Beacon Hill is an amendment that would allow state seafood wholesalers to expand their processing of raw and frozen lobsters, putting Bay State companies on par with their counterparts in other New England states and Canada’s Maritime provinces. Massachusetts firms operate under a confusing mishmash of lobster-processing regulations. A proposal by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, would allow for the processing of all manner of lobster tails and other parts in Massachusetts. click here to read the story. 09:16

Monitor costs shift to fishermen Tuesday, fall out from Carlos Seafood, and EDF opportunists.

manatthewheelCape Ann lawmakers Bruce Tarr and Ann-Margaret Ferrante walked a thin line last week when they sat down and penned a letter to state Attorney General Maura Healey on the issue of at-sea monitoring. While the fishermen’s lawsuit has drawn the most attention, there is another that could prove equally as troubling to NOAA and the fishing industry: maritime environmental group Oceana’s lawsuit challenging NOAA Fisheries’ bycatch rule. The issue of monitoring burst back into the public arena on Friday, when federal agents — including those from NOAA Law Enforcement and the Internal Revenue Service — raided the operations of Carlos Seafood,,, The arrests prompted a quick response from environmental groups seeking expanded monitor coverage for the groundfish fishery. Read the rest here 07:22

Mass. Senate approves lobster processing bill

The state Senate on Thursday approved legislation allowing the processing and sale of frozen, in-shell lobster parts in the state. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester, updates a 1997 law that prohibits wholesalers in Massachusetts from selling frozen, shell-on lobster tails in the state. The law was intended to curb mutilations of undersized lobsters. Supporters including the Massachusetts Lobster Association say lifting the restrictions will give the lobster industry a boost by opening markets and helping develop a viable local processing market. Read the article here 10:07

Sale of shell-on lobster claws bound for Mass Senate floor

Massachusetts lobstermen could get a leg-up if a Senate bill set for consideration next Thursday becomes law. Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, a Gloucester Republican who sponsored the bill (S 469), said it would allow for shell-on lobster claws to be processed and sold in Massachusetts. Tarr said the bill would expand on a recent law allowing for the processing and sale of shell-on lobster tail in Massachusetts. The prohibition on the sale of shell-on lobster parts stemmed from concern that lobsters that don’t meet state specifications could be split apart into tails and claws onboard a vessel to “avoid detection,” Read the article here  18:10

Baker questions federal findings on fishing limits while meeting with Gloucester fishermen today

Charlie BakerLocal state senator, the minority leader Bruce Tarr, greets governor-elect Charlie Baker as he arrives to meet with fishermen to hear their concerns about the recent ban on cod fishing, at the Gloucester House restaurant in Gloucester, on Nov. 15. Baker questioned research findings used by federal regulators,,  Read the rest here 17:07

Mass Governor Elect Baker wants broader input on cod regulations

Questioning the federal estimates used to essentially ban commercial cod fishing in the Gulf of Maine, Governor-elect Charlie Baker said it is time for other scientists to have a say. Baker and Senate minority leader Bruce Tarr, who represents Gloucester, said Massachusetts must do its own analysis of what is happening with the cod population in,,, Read the rest here 12:23

Massachusetts Coastal legislators secure seafood bill

Contained within the bill is a seafood marketing program first offered by Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R-Gloucester) in a bill filed on December 17, 2013 and co-sponsored by Representative James Cantwell (D-Marshfield), Senator Mark Montigny (D-New Bedford), Representative George Peterson (R-Grafton), Representative Ann-Margaret Ferrante (D-Gloucester) and many other coastal legislators. <Read more here> 20:22

BREAKING: $33 Million to New England in Disaster Funding.

Bruce Tarr confirms officials expect NOAA to announce about $33 million in fish disaster aid for New England. More to follow.  11:36