Tag Archives: Elizabeth Warren

Can New England’s cod fishing industry survive? (How can the scientists and regulators ignore the ever increasing seal predation?!)

Gloucester, Massachusetts, grew up around cod. The waterfront teemed with boats and fishermen, heaps of fish thrashing in wire baskets. Boats were inherited from fathers and shipyards boasted of operating since 1684. As late as the 1980s, the cod were so abundant and large (30-50lb each) that the fishermen still brought in big hauls. Cod remains the state fish of Massachusetts., “We’ve been regulated out of existence,” former Gloucester fisherman Sam Sanfilippo said in 2017. “This used to be the biggest fishing community in the world. Ice companies, wharves, fish dealers, truckers, supermarkets … All through high school, I was always a fisherman. And here I am today: recycler, bike seller, furniture-maker. “I’m 50 years old and I don’t know what the hell I am.” >click to read< 07:30

Canada to ban ‘nuisance seals’ killing to keep access to U.S. market – Canada will abolish permits that allow the killing of “nuisance seals” by commercial fishermen and aquaculture in an effort to maintain access to the lucrative U.S. seafood market, Fishery management failure enacted for fish farmers >click to read<

Warren proposes ‘Blue New Deal’ to protect oceans. Where Warren’s Blue New Deal Falls Short

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) on Tuesday proposed a “Blue New Deal” plan in what she calls an effort to protect oceans and rebuild the economy associated with oceans. The proposal was influenced by a question from an oyster farmer at the CNN presidential town hall on the climate crisis in September,,,“I said I would, and I meant it,,, >click to read< 11:03

An Environmental Lawyer Explains Where Elizabeth Warren’s Blue New Deal Falls Short – Warren’s plan does recommend folding the US into the United Nations Law of the Sea treaty,,,, Furthermore, the Blue New Deal aims to rebuild America’s fisheries, an effort that “would support an additional 500,000 jobs and generate an additional $31 billion in sales impacts,” >click to read< 11:09

S.O.S. Howie Carr, New Bedford Needs You – “we need to get a message to Trump.”

Richard Canastra a member of the Massachusetts Governor’s Seaport Advisory Council, the New Bedford Economic Development Council, and the New Bedford Council on Commercial Fishing tells me U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren and Ed Markey, both Democrats, have done zilch on a range of important issues critical to the industry, from funding of mandatory government monitoring to outdated data used to determine the strength of fishing stocks. Canstra says “we need to get a message to Trump.” Since Warren and Markey are completely ambivalent to the needs of the fishing community and refuse to speak with the president,,, >click to read<  17:41

Fishermen question settlement that could net convicted ‘Codfather’ millions

This week, Rafael was hit with more than $3 million in fines and a lifetime ban as part of a settlement agreement in a civil case brought against him by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. But under the terms of that deal, Rafael could walk out of prison two years from now a multimillionaire. Although the settlement required he sell off his vessels, fishing permits and the valuable fishing quota that comes with them, Rafael may keep the proceeds — and he is marketing his fleet to the highest bidder. > click to read< 22:53

Warren again calls for Rafael’s permits to stay in New Bedford

Elizabeth Warren repeated a call she voiced last year by sending another letter to NOAA regarding Carlos Rafael’s federal fishing permits. The Massachusetts senator addressed her two-page letter to Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, acting NOAA Administrator Benjamin Friedman and assistant Administrator for Fisheries Chris Oliver and asked that NOAA keep the 42 permits the agency is targeting in its civil action in New Bedford. Warren sent a letter to NOAA last October, too, echoing the same sentiment. >click to read<21:15

While setting New England fishery rules, John Bullard was an exception

He’s been called a Neanderthal and the most reviled man in the region’s fishing community. At a public meeting broadcast on national TV, a fisherman once accused him to his face of lying for a living. As the regional fisheries administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, John Bullard has drawn ire from all sides — fishermen, environmentalists, and politicians alike. His decisions have been routinely controversial, and he has rarely minced words in defending them. click here to read the story 20:53

What’s fair in breaking up the empire of ‘the Codfather’?

Randy Cushman, a fourth generation fisherman in Maine, knows what the crimes of Carlos Rafael cost him.,,, Rafael, whose downfall came after he boasted of his scheme to undercover IRS agents posing as Russian mobsters, is now serving a 46-month sentence in federal prison.,,,  Senator Elizabeth Warren fired off a letter in August warning of “needless, immense damage” if permits leave New Bedford. Governor Charlie Baker asked that the permits at least stay in Massachusetts. click here to read the story 07:16

Kerry: Obama looking to senators to make Atlantic monument happen

cashes ledge closedSpeaking at the Our Oceans Conference in Valparaiso, Chile, Kerry followed a reference to the newly created sanctuaries off the coast of Maryland and along the Great Lakes coast of Wisconsin, by saying “We also have plans in the works which we are pursuing for still another significant one in the Atlantic, where we don’t have the kind of presence that we want and should.” Kerry added that the Obama administration is working with senators “engaged in that particular area in order to make that happen.” That seemed to toss the ball squarely back into the court of, among other New England senators, Elizabeth Warren and Edward J. Markey, both of whom have been silent on the issue. Read the rest here 08:04

The Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization road show hit Boston on Monday – hears pleas for fishing reforms

gdt icon“If folks in Washington are really looking for a path to help rebuild and sustain the fishery, they got the answers to that today,” said Massachusetts Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr, R-Gloucester. “The one message that came through loud and clear for everyone is the science is inadequate, and the decisions based on that science, by extension, are questionable.” more@GDT  07:20

Northeast Seafood Coalition policy director to testify at MSA Reauthorization Listening Session

966382_576848379002335_599159690_oNortheast Seafood Coalition (NSC) Policy Director Vito Giacalone will testify on Monday, November 4, 2013 at the Massachusetts State House for a Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA) Reauthorization Listening Session hosted by United States Senators Elizabeth Warren and Mark Begich, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard. [email protected] 12:04

Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Edward Markey take different tacks on fishing aid

gdt iconWarren sees the road to Saltonstall-Kennedy reform going through the ongoing reauthorization process for the over-arching Magnuson-Stevens Act that governs and regulates the nation’s fisheries and fishing industry. Markey’s preference is to pursue Saltonstall-Kennedy reform through the appropriations process for the Department of Commerce, rather than through filing a bill. more@GDT 00:26

Guest View: Tide begins turning fishermen’s way By Elizabeth Warren

sct logoFor the past two years, I have made many visits to Massachusetts fishing communities in New Bedford, Gloucester and the South Shore to hear about the challenges facing the industry. continued@southcoasttoday

4 comments

Election alters fishing’s landscape GDT.- Barney’s Gone. Scott’s Gone. Huge Ramification’s, and they ain’t good.

“Elizabeth Warren will be the champion of the fishing industry,” Ferrante predicted in an interview Wednesday. “She has experience up against Wall Street, big oil, and lost the chance to open the consumer financial protection bureau because of her feuding with Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner when Obama refused to submit her name for Senate confirmation.http://www.gloucestertimes.com/local/x1499661062/Election-alters-fishings-landscape

millionaires and billionaires…beep…..millionaires and billionaires…beep…..