Tag Archives: John Reardon
Massachusetts GOP hopeful Geoff Diehl forms fishing advisory council
Geoff Diehl, who’s running in the Republican primary for U.S. Senate, announced Thursday morning the formation of his “Fishing Advisory Council.” Diehl made the announcement on the city’s working waterfront at Bergie’s Seafood. “Understanding the importance of fishing to our economy, I have been meeting with leaders of the industry for well over a year. It is clear that fishermen need and deserve a full-time senator who will work to revive and protect the industry,” Diehl said in a statement. “That’s why today I am pleased to announce my Fishing Advisory Council. They will be advising me on fishing and related matters that effect our local ports.” >click to read<13:57
Held Hostage: New Bedford Fishermen, Businesses losing out while waiting on NOAA
“If something doesn’t happen with groundfishing soon, it’s gone,” general manager of Hercules SLR John Reardon said. NOAA implemented the ban Nov.20 and has continued because of an overage calculated at 72,000 pounds of grey soul, according to multiple people who spoke Monday evening. The overage represents the amount of fish calculated by NOAA that Carlos Rafael misreported. He is serving a 46-month prison sentence, but the NOAA punishment aspect has held many along the waterfront hostage. >click to read<10:27
NOAA Sector ban suffocating shoreside industry in New Bedford
The hits keep coming from NOAA’s groundfishing ban with financial losses spreading to business that support New Bedford’s fishing fleet. “No one ever really paid attention to our shoreside business,” manager of Reidar’s Trawl Gear and Marine Supply Tor Bendiksen said. We’re the last of the group. We all remember when there was companies like ours up and down this entire coast. The only reason that we’ve all survived in New Bedford is because we had not only groundfish but we have the scallop industry to support us., The collateral damage of the ban extends beyond fishermen. >click to read< 10:47
Sector IX Responds to NOAA Groundfish Ban
Sector IX sent a 15 page response to John Bullard and NOAA on Saturday after the governing agency banned the sector from groundfishing two weeks ago. The documents sent to NOAA’s Northeast Regional Administrator by Sector IX President Virginia Martins included a six page letter that outlined the grievances with the decision as well as biographies of the new board members and the agenda of an Oct. 26 meeting between the sector and the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office. click here to read the story 22:33
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
