Tag Archives: Jim Kendall
Jim Kendall – Finding Common Ground
With regard to the letter from Sam Novello posted on Fisherynation.com, Finding Common Ground off to a Bad Start, he very eloquently laid out some of the faults, errors, and out and out incompetence of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center with respect to their continued mismanagement of the Northeast fisheries stock assessments. I know from past work and associations with the NEFSC that this has been going on for so long that they likely now believe their own Mantra about their science being the best (and only way) in which to compile the NE groundfish stock assessment. Unfortunately groundfish is not their only problematic stock assessment. >click to read< 16:32
New Bedford Ex-Fisherman: Marine Monument “ridiculous” and an “abuse of power.”
As conservation groups celebrate the White House’s restoration last week of a marine conservation area off the Cape Cod coast, one New Bedford fishing industry insider called the move “ridiculous” and an “abuse of power.” New Bedford Seafood Consulting Executive Director and former scallop fisherman Jim Kendall spoke out after President Joe Biden announced on Thursday the restoration of the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument. >click to read< 07:38
Fishing industry unimpressed with Biden Harris’s NOAA/NMFS climate crisis notions. (Offshore Wind Farms, either!)
President Biden ordered NOAA to collect information from a wide range of groups on increasing the resilience of fisheries as part of his plan to address climate change and to protect 30% of U.S. ocean areas by the year 2030. The NOAA directive is included in the sweeping executive order Biden signed his first week in office that made “the climate crisis” a centerpiece of his presidency. “Fisheries, protected resources, habitats and ecosystem are being affected by climate change,” acting NOAA Fisheries chief Paul Doremus said at the beginning of yesterday’s conference call. >click to read< 07:55
Markey touts $15 million he steered to New Bedford’s North Terminal
Senator Ed Markey brought his senatorial campaign to New Bedford Friday afternoon, touting his efforts to secure waterfront infrastructure and fisheries disaster assistance funding for the city. Markey made the stop in the Whaling City as part of the launch of his statewide bus tour, the “Leads and Delivers Tour,” designed to spotlight the accomplishments the senator says he has made for the state on Capitol Hill. The focus of the stop at City Pier 3 was highlighting the $15.4 million in Department of Transportation funding to improve the New Bedford port’s infrastructure and the $28 million in fisheries disaster assistance from the CARES Act that Markey says he advocated for. >click to read< 17:47
Coronavirus: Seafood prices have dropped, but New Bedford fishermen still fish amid pandemic
“We’re still going out, everything’s running right along for us,” groundfisherman Antonio Cravo and co-owner of F/V United States said on Monday. Cravo, who is based in New Bedford, said the prices have dropped and he’s getting less money for the fish he catches, but it’s still worth going out on trips. “We offloaded last night and just got paid today, the prices dropped, but it’s still worth it to keep going,” Cravo said,“We still get a paycheck, not as much, but we still get a paycheck to keep up with our bills.” The price of scallops is also holding steady, according to scalloper Eric Hansen. “I wouldn’t say [the prices] are great, but they’re steady,” Hansen said. >click to read< 07:25
‘Too early to tell’ impact of Coronavirus on New Bedford fishing industry
Since the fishing industry was deemed part of the food supply chain, it is allowed to keep operating as an essential service under Gov. Charlie Baker’s stay-at-home advisory. “Immediate impacts have been minimal,” scalloper Eric Hansen said Thursday, “The market is a little bit depressed but nothing crazy. My bigger concern is the future, what’s going to happen in the next couple of months.” What worries Hansen about the future is the April 1 start of the next scalloping season, which will bring back scallopers that hadn’t been fishing because they used up their 2019 allocations. >click to read< 09:16
BASE withdraws its bid to buy Carlos Rafael’s boats
An attempt to gain control of a large portion of Carlos Rafael’s fleet by the local seafood auction has been withdrawn after a fight over the vessels made its way to court.,, The fight is an important one as New Bedford is trying to keep the fishing and scallop boats, as well as their federal permits, in the city. Though both entities have pledged to do that, Blue Harvest would consolidate ownership and BASE has said it would resell the boats to individual owners. >click to read< 16:12
Harriet Didriksen remembered as an irreplaceable fishing industry ‘icon’
New Bedford — A procession of visitors entered a hospital room at St. Anne’s in Fall River last weekend to bid farewell to Harriet Didriksen. Her son, Dana, saw his mother. With each new person who entered the room, he began to see, in many ways, the matriarch of the waterfront. Didriksen died Sunday at age 76. Dana returned to his home in Manhattan on Thursday morning. With each day he spent in the SouthCoast, though, the bond between his mother and the fishing industry grew more and more visible. >click to read<21:00
Jack Spillane: A Shakespearean tragedy on the New Bedford waterfront
How corrupt is the New Bedford waterfront? John Bullard seems to think it’s more than a little corrupt. Jon Mitchell seems to think it’s corrupt mostly with one top guy. And Jim Kendall seems to think it’s hard for the working guys — fishing boat captains to be specific — to be anything but corrupt when the big evil guy that controlled so many boats (Carlos Rafael) also controlled the ability of so many captains to make a living. “It’s a case of what choice did they have?” asked Kendall in a heart-wrenching Standard-Times story Saturday morning. As a working-class stiff who has worked for “the man” all my life, I can very much identify. Mayor Jon Mitchell pointed out in the Saturday story that prosecutors and regulatory authorities endanger the people’s confidence when they overreach. They risk bringing down the whole system when they crack down on too many working men and women who get swept up by a guy like Carlos Rafael. >click to read<
Drag Net – New Bedford shocked by NOAA’s latest move in Carlos Rafael case
Jim Kendall sees fingerprints on NOAA’s most recent allegations that go beyond Carlos Rafael and loop 22 of his captains into the agency’s non-criminal civil action. “I’ll tell you right now, you can print it or not, but I think John Bullard still has his thumb on the scale,” the former fishing captain and executive director of New Bedford Seafood Consulting said. Kendall backed up his claims by saying, “because I know John. He’s a vindictive SOB.” Bullard is the former mayor of New Bedford, but in this case more importantly acted as the regional administrator for NOAA when Rafael was criminally indicted, pled guilty and was sentenced. Bullard also imposed a groundfishing ban on Rafael-owned vessels. “A comment like that is insulting to all the people who do very important and hard work in the enforcement arena,” Bullard said. >click to read<20:12
Fishermen fear fallout from proposed wind farm project
Comments surrounding Vineyard Wind’s offshore wind projects filled the Waypoint Convention Room on Monday night and they came from a diverse group ranging from climate change deniers to environmentalists. But the main discussion revolved around jobs. Fishermen strongly criticized the process with one saying he feared Europeans would commandeer all the jobs associated with offshore winds. >click to read<08:43
Series of Public Hearings on Offshore Wind Starts in New Bedford – >click to read<10:02
Their View! Building trust with fishermen is key for wind energy companies
There’s a lot of buzz in New Bedford these days about the offshore wind industry- and for good reason. Blowing in with the massive turbines will be the promise of good-paying jobs; new activity along with the waterfront; and even the prospect that SouthCoast could become a training center for those interested in offshore wind careers.,, Amid the hubbub, however, we can’t lose track of the industry that has made New Bedford the most lucrative seafood port in the nation for 17 years in a row, The city’s hard-working fishermen-beset by changing regulations, dwindling catches, competition from foreign fleets and the ever-present hardship of storm-tossed seas-must be given serious consideration in any changes,,,>click to read<10:40 
Pushing Propaganda: Underwater video shows marine life growing at wind farm
Offshore wind proponents are touting new undersea footage that suggests a vibrant marine habitat is growing around the nation’s first offshore wind farm — a five-turbine operation off Rhode Island’s waters.,, The brief underwater footage is juxtaposed with longer testimonials from local recreational fishermen and charter boat owners who say the wind farm has been a boon for them since Deepwater Wind opened it more than a year ago. But commercial fishermen are notably absent from the video and it doesn’t acknowledge the experiences of Rhode Island fishermen who have had their trawling gear damaged by buried power cables,,, >click to read< >click to watch video<14:00
Civil penalities from NOAA could be next for Carlos Rafael
Judge William Young’s judgment filed Wednesday appeared to be the finish line to Carlos Rafael’s case. Young, though, by ordering the forfeiture of four vessels and every permit associated with the Bull Dog, the Olivia and Rafaela, the Lady Patricia and the Southern Crusader II began a new ripple effect throughout the commercial fishing industry revealing some questions but very little answers. It’s likely NOAA will take center stage now that the Department of Justice has closed its case. NOAA can bring civil penalties to Rafael. click here to read the story 09:47
Many fishermen believe Stokesbury saved the scallop industry
Well, I guess that I had better start writing some of this stuff down, as it seems that my memory is getting fuzzier by the day. Not an uncommon affliction for an old fisherman, who has been put ashore, but who still has enough recall to remember some things that are just too important to allow to fade into obscurity! I had been a scalloper out of New Bedford for 32 years, both as a deckhand, and as a captain of several high-line scalloper vessels. Over all those years there were several trips that stay relatively fresh in my mind’s eye, but one of the most important and fulfilling ones actually occurred after I came ashore. By Jim Kendall click here to read the story 21:55
New Bedford meeting brings wind, fishing industries together
Jim Kendall painted the city’s streets with snow when he articulated how fishermen may feel about offshore wind during a meeting Wednesday that brought both sides together. As a child on SouthCoast, Kendall spent his snows days sledding on the streets. “You just can’t do stuff like that anymore,” he said. He’s seen the same influx in traffic on the ocean in his evolution from fisherman to fishermen representative for Vineyard Wind. Time has added stock limits, marine monuments and the latest is offshore wind. More traffic equates to more difficulty fishing. click here to read the story 11:08
Hang him! Hang him high!
OK, OK, I get it! Carlos Rafael, aka, “The Codfather,” has done some pretty reprehensible things while amassing what seemingly is the largest percentage of ownership of the US multispecies groundfish fleet. I am not going to try to defend his actions, or his reasoning, but I would like to point out that there is plenty of guilt to go around and some people should not be so quick to point their finger at him alone. What is it that they say about casting the first stone? Apparently, among his sins is his aforementioned ownership of the largest fleet of multi-species groundfish vessels, as well as some scallop vessels. While this may be true, let us ponder what enabled, abetted, and allowed him to gain such an advantage over everyone else. At this point, he wasn’t breaking the law, he was only taking advantage of it, and of those who most fervently wanted it! click here to read the op-ed 09:27
Stock assessment meeting erupts into lively talk between NOAA scientists and fishermen
Diagrams, life-like statues and pictures fill the New Bedford Fishing Heritage Center to depict the history and future of the industry. NOAA scientists and local fishermen filled the small building on Bethel Street on Wednesday night to discuss future stock assessments. The meeting, though, told another aspect in the story of the Port of New Bedford: the decades old tension that continues to exist between the groups. “We all have to pull in the same direction,” Executive Director of New Bedford Seafood Consulting Jim Kendall said. Instead a powerpoint presentation listing stock limits led to a discussion, which evolved into an argument and ended with two fishermen abruptly leaving. Russ Brown, director of the Population Dynamics Branch of NOAA, ended his presentation to meet with the fishermen outside. They spoke outside for 20 minutes before parting ways with a semblance of mutual respect. click here to read the story 20:44
Not exactly a breeze: Offshore wind still faces challenges
Amid all of the challenges that could face offshore wind power along the East Coast — legal disputes from commercial fishing advocates, construction plans altered by whale migrations, President Donald Trump’s emphasis on revitalizing fossil fuels and more — some promising news for renewable industry supporters arrived in mid-March. That’s when a telling indication of how offshore wind power might fare under President Trump was delivered, after an uncertain, wait-and-see winter. Following months of silence about offshore wind, a statement by Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke gave an early glimpse of the administration’s tone. click here to read the story 09:22
Loss of ‘Codfather’ permits could hurt New Bedford
By late morning just before Easter weekend, three fishing vessels lined up at the docks to unload their catch, and they all belonged to one man — the local mogul known as the “Codfather,” Carlos Rafael. “It’s a good haul,” a passing auction worker at the Whaling City Seafood Display Auction said under her breath, as crew members, some still in their orange waterproof bibs, unloaded the ice-packed fish. But now, Rafael’s recent conviction on federal charges that he cheated fishing regulations to boost his profits is putting his many vessels and permits up for grabs — potentially distributing them to ports along the New England coast. That would deliver an economic blow to New Bedford and the people who depend on the business created by Rafael’s fleet. If his permits are seized as expected, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the regulatory agency known as NOAA, could reissue the permits to fishermen elsewhere in the region. “There are a lot more innocent people who could get punished by this,” said Jim Kendall, a former fisherman who runs New Bedford Seafood Consulting. click here to read the story 09:00
Carlos Rafael’s guilty plea in federal court draws mixed reactions
There was a mixture of emotions and reactions among members of the local fishing industry over the guilty plea Carlos that “The Codfather” Rafael entered in Federal Court Thursday. Some expressed a certain amount of sympathy for Rafael in the highly regulated business. Some didn’t. This doesn’t come as a surprise,” said Mayor Jon Mitchell. Ever since Carlos’ arrest became public it was clear the government had him dead to rights.” “The more important question is what will happen to the permits. That determination has been left up to NOAA. Jim Kendall, president of New Bedford Seafood Consulting, had the same concern about the permits. He noted that other boat owners have been stripped of their permits. “But I am not sure that it means anything for us,” he said. Read the story here 18:18
OffshoreMW enlists New Bedford’s Jim Kendall as fishing industry rep
An offshore wind developer hired a longtime local fisherman as its fisheries representative Friday, and another developer’s survey boat could arrive at the Marine Commerce Terminal on Saturday, as the offshore wind industry continues to ramp up on SouthCoast after Monday’s signing of landmark energy legislation in Boston. Erich Stephens, executive vice president of New Jersey-based wind power developer OffshoreMW, said longtime local fisherman and industry advocate Jim Kendall will be OffshoreMW’s fisheries representative. Kendall, now executive director of New Bedford Seafood Consulting, is a former scalloper with more than 50 years of experience in the industry. “His job is to make sure we’re hearing from the fishing industry,” Stephens said. Stephens said OffshoreMW previously hired Kendall several years ago, to provide guidance as the company looked at potential lease areas for turbine development in federal waters south of Martha’s Vineyard. OffshoreMW now is one of three companies with leases in that region of ocean waters. Kendall said the new, contract agreement was finalized Friday. “My main concern is trying to minimize any impacts on the fishing industry, and anything that’s going to either disrupt their work or endanger them,” Kendall said. Read the rest here 08:49
Mass. fishermen land $14.5 million in disaster relief
The funds announced by NOAA Wednesday are short of ideal, according to Jim Kendall of New Bedford Seafood Consulting. “It’s only $14.5 million?” Kendall said. “Jesus.” “The question is how it’s going to be utilized and who’s going to be the ones receiving it and how it’s going to be distributed”¦. There’s an awful lot of unknowns.” Kendall said with the discussion of relief allocation, the “average crewman or the regular deckhand” are left behind. In addition, he pointed to the businesses that support groundfishing that also suffer from the disaster. Read more here 06:49
NOAA Reports: New England groundfisheries still struggling
“The report puts every region together with the whole country and calls it a big success, but in New England the groundfishery really isn’t doing well,” said Brian Rothschild, former dean of the School of Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth. “We still have some real problems in New England straightening out our management picture.” Read more here 08:49
British fisheries consultant urges ‘coexistence’ with offshore wind – They said we could co exist with the Red Coats, too!
He said the best advice for the New Bedford fleet was to cooperate with the wind farm developers as early as possible in order to have a say in the process. His comments on the offshore wind industry were met with skepticism by some in the audience, like Jim Kendall, who said local offshore wind developers like Cape Wind had not been cooperating with the fishing industry. Good on you Jim Kendall! Read more here 12:53
Sea scallops close to ‘sustainable’ MSC label ? Big ENGO deal. NOT!
NEW BEDFORD — An international environmental group is a step away from declaring the Atlantic scallop fishery as “sustainable,” properly managed and in no immediate danger of overfishing..Seafood consultant Jim Kendall, a former scalloper, said he had mixed feelings about the ruling and the association with the council. He noted that the council is an environmental group that collects fees to obtain its seal. Kendall said it is questionable to pay often adversarial environmental groups for their approval, when “government regulations in the U.S. are the official seal of sustainability”. more@southcoasttoday 08:35
“Decentralization” – Senate Appropriations Committee would dissolve NOAA’s Northeastern Regional Office, Provide $150 million in disaster relief, allocated to three regions
A key Senate committee approved a bill that would dissolve NOAA’s Northeastern Regional Office in a proposal some fisheries advocates say could make things easier for the region’s fishermen. “This new approach is seemingly advantageous,” said Jim Kendall, head of New Bedford Seafood Consulting and a longtime critic of NOAA and regulations affecting area fishermen. “Decentralization — it sounds good, and it sounds like it could be very beneficial if it works.” continued@southcoasttoday
