Tag Archives: massachusetts
MassDEP Fines F/V Capt Carl, LLC for Discharge of Oiled Bilge Water to New Bedford Harbor
The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) has assessed a $10,465 penalty to Trawler Capt. Carl, LLC of New Bern, North Carolina, for discharging oiled bilge water to the surface water of New Bedford Harbor near 4 Washington Street in Fairhaven. MassDEP’s surface water discharge regulations prohibit unpermitted discharges which are not incidental to the normal operation of a vessel. On May 5, 2022, MassDEP responded to the report of an oil spill in New Bedford Harbor off Fairhaven. Because a responsible party was not forthcoming, the U.S. Coast Guard conducted a publicly funded cleanup. Later investigation of Trawler Capt. Carl’s commercial fishing vessel in the immediate vicinity of the spill revealed a pronounced “bathtub ring” of oil within the vessel bilge, indicating that the oiled bilge water had recently been pumped out. >click to read< 13:49
Saying ‘goodnight’ to St. Peter
The 2023 St. Peter’s Fiesta concluded late Sunday night with a raucous procession around the waterfront Fort neighborhood where the working-class Sicilian and Italian fishing community first started Fiesta in 1927. About 1,000 people took a loop around the Fort before the statue of St. Peter was returned to St. Peter’s Club and its place of honor in a window looking out onto Rogers Street. Older residents, many young adults and a dad carrying his young daughter on his shoulders marched along and cried “Viva!” Video, photos, >click to watch< 10:58
Gloucester: Blessing of Fleet asks for good weather, a good catch and a safe return
The annual Blessing of the Fleet held Sunday afternoon saw several dozen vessels blessed by the Rev. James Achadinha of the Catholic Community of Gloucester and Rockport. On Sunday morning, hundreds gathered for the annual open air Mass, held before the outdoor altar at St. Peter’s Square. Following the Mass was the procession of several bands, floats and eight men who carried the statue of St. Peter on their shoulders. By the afternoon, crowds gathered along Stacy Boulevard to witness the blessing of several dozen vessels, part of the local Italian-American fishing fleet, one of the St. Peter’s Fiesta’s integral events. 8 photos, >click to read< 09:18
Fiesta: ‘What we are all about’
After a couple of days of carnival rides and musical entertainment, and a day of competition among seine boat crews and Greasy Pole walkers, America’s oldest seaport in its 400th year gathered in St. Peter’s Square on Friday night to officially kickoff the 96th St. Peter’s Fiesta. The celebration by the city’s Italian-American fishing community in the Fort neighborhood dates to 1927 and is hosted by the St. Peter’s Fiesta Committee. It’s held each year on the weekend closest to the Feast Day of St. Peter. The committee’s president, Joe Novello, took to the massive outdoor altar that Novello, an electrician by trade, wired. In opening the weekend’s festivities, he spoke about the thousands who have gathered in the neighborhood over the years to celebrate Fiesta and shout “Viva San Pietro!” Photos, >click to read< 97:47
Peter Cook Tells Stories to Remember
Fishing hundreds of miles off the coast of Provincetown in1979, the F/V Little Infant was caught in a raging tempest. Peter Cook, a crewman on the 90-foot scalloper, could see only one other boat out there, the F/V Leland J. “That boat got in trouble,” says Cook, “and started taking on water.” The Little Infant’s crew watched the other boat sink, “and then,” Cook continues, “we picked six guys out of the life raft. Once the six men were on board our boat, I walked into the wheelhouse and Captain Adams said, ‘Well, Pedro, that went well. How are those men?’ He always called me Pedro. And I said, ‘They are shaken up but lucky to be alive, thanks to you.’ He pointed out the window and said, ‘Take a look out there. I’ll bet you never saw anything like that before.’ And the other boat had turned bottoms up and was upside down, drifting away. And I said, ‘No, I never did, George.’ And he said, ‘Well, that’s a story you can tell your grandchildren someday.’ So, I wrote the story.” >click to read< 11:34
Cheers! Local fishing nonprofit receives $50,000 donation
Tito’s Handmade Vodka partnered with the Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust (MVFPT) to fund a new gin boom, a type of hydraulic crane that helps unload heavy catches from fishing vessels. According to Tito’s, the boom will help approximately 25 to 30 commercial fishing businesses, mainly on the Island. But they say it has the potential to help upwards of 100. The boom unveiled in Menemsha during a ceremony last week. MVFPT executive director Shelley Edmundson said that gin booms are critical to the fishing industry. >click to read< 07:52
Court decision a major win for Maine’s lobster industry
In its decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit agreed with the plaintiffs, Maine Lobstermen’s Association, and plaintiff-intervenors the Maine Department of Marine Resources, the Maine Lobstering Union, and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, ruling that NMFS distorted the science driving the regulation, relying improperly on assumptions and worst-case scenarios when determining the risk posed by industry to right whales. The court noted that the lack of data led NMFS to conclude the lobster and Jonah crab federal fisheries kill 46 whale deaths per decade, a “staggering departure from the two documented deaths known to have originated in all U.S. fisheries over a period of nine years.” >click to read< 09:58
NC joins pact to cover offshore wind farm related fisheries losses
North Carolina has joined nearly a dozen other East Coast states to create a financial compensation program that would cover economic losses within the fisheries industry caused by Atlantic offshore wind development. The Fisheries Mitigation Project aims to establish a regional administrator to oversee the process of reviewing claims and making payouts collected through a fund paid for by wind developers to commercial and for-hire recreational fisheries industries to mitigate financial loss associated with offshore wind farms. The goal first and foremost of the states is to ensure wind energy areas and the cable systems that will run from wind farms to land are developed in way that would result in minimal impacts to the fisheries industry. >click to read< 10:22
Dave Marciano Illness: What Happened To His Health?
Dave Marciano is one of the most well-known stars of Wicked Tuna. There are some whispers going around that he is sick at this time. These rumors are unconfirmed and appear to be hoaxes. Despite these rumors, Marciano seems healthy and is regularly engaging with admirers on social media. Commercial fisherman Dave Marciano, who stars in “Wicked Tuna,” is selling fresh tuna. Angelica’s Seafoods, Marciano’s new company, sells tuna and other seafood directly to consumers. Marciano’s kid was born during the filming “Wicked Tuna.” Marciano’s Hard Merchandise and other local boats will supply Angelica’s seafood with tuna. The company will sell lobster, scallops, crab, and sushi-grade tuna. Online seafood orders will be delivered to customers. >click to read< 09:37
Offshore wind encounters turbulence over NJ
The offshore wind industry’s troubles continue to pile up, not only in New Jersey but in neighboring states along the Eastern Seaboard. On Wednesday, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities President Joseph Fiordaliso, perhaps one of the sector’s biggest advocates, let loose with an uncharacteristic rant at a developer in the emerging industry. Fiordaliso expressed frustration over repeated delays in moving forward with the project. “Your delays are intolerable,’’ he said. As was his custom, he had an offshore wind logo pinned on his suit. “We cannot afford any more delays,’’ Fiordaliso said, adding there are no delays in the pace of climate change. “Some of the things that are being delayed are indefensible.’’ >click to read< 14:30
DA drops charges against Beverly lobsterman
A Beverly lobsterman is off the hook on charges that he caught more than 100 illegal lobsters. The Essex District Attorney’s Office has dropped a nearly two-year criminal case against Timothy Birarelli, of Beverly, according to his attorneys. Birarelli was accused by the Massachusetts Environmental Police on Dec. 9, 2020, of catching 103 lobsters that were either too short, too long, or otherwise violated state lobstering regulations. A spokesman for the Essex District Attorney’s Office said the case was dismissed due to insufficient evidence. >click to read< 08:57
Massive Offshore Wind Project Gets Underway with Permission to ‘Take’ Endangered Whales
A large offshore wind farm development project is underway off the Massachusetts coast nearly two years after the project’s developer received 20 “take” permits in June 2021 for the endangered right whale from environmental bureaucrats and regulators. Vineyard Wind began offshore construction of the 62- wind turbine project Thursday, according to WBUR. During this summer’s construction of the offshore wind farm some 15 miles off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, the company is permitted to incidentally kill up to 20 endangered right whales, according to the Federal Register entry for the project. >click to read< 12:41
The Emerging American Offshore Wind Industry is Impacting the Community of New Bedford
The Port of New Bedford is home to the wealthiest commercial fishing industry in the country. As the dominant port on the east coast, New Bedford has one of the best industrial working waterfronts with services that completely support marine industrial businesses. Fisherman are concerned that these wind developments will harmfully impact the fishing economy. With commercial fishing at the core of New Bedford’s economy, there are concerns regarding management and maintenance of both industries cohabitating. “I was adamantly opposed to having them offshore, to be honest with you. I don’t feel it’s a good environment for them,” said Captain Jim Kendall, a retired scalloper. “I think it’s going to be real problematic for them, plus it’s parking these towers right where these boats fish.” >click to read< 08:06
Dear Ed Markey. I called your office this morning regarding our fishermen
First let me tell you who I am. I was a commercial fisherman and in seafood supply for over sixty years. I helped Pat Fiero run for state representative, and also was former Governor Mike Dukakis chairman for Cape Ann. I have severed on many fisheries boards and presently serve on the GF Commission. You helped me get the SKG money out of NOAA’s hands by voting in favor of Senator Sullivan bill to go back to advisory panel as was in 1954. I have supported you in the past and will continue. We need help now. I am going to list our problems and would like you to come to Fisheries Meeting here in Gloucester. We meet every third Thursday of the month at City Hall. >click to read< 21:11
Effort to save Gloucester’s oldest gillnetter sinks
During Gloucester’s celebration of its 400+ anniversary this year, America’s oldest seaport will say farewell to its oldest fishing vessel, the Phyllis A., a 59-foot gillnetter built in 1925. The 98-year-old vessel will not see its centennial. Efforts to raise enough money for its restoration and preservation were sunk in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and a slow trickle of money to support the educational nonprofit doing the work, the Phyllis A. Marine Association. “She fished out of Gloucester for 75 years, never anywhere else, and she was owned by the same family — the Arnold family,” said Gloria Parsons, a long-time member of the association. 12 photos, >click to read< 08:52
Offshore Wind Litigation: Court Declines to Halt Vineyard Wind Construction
A federal court has denied a request by members of the fishing industry to pause offshore construction of the Vineyard Wind Project (Project), the first modern utility-scale offshore wind project in the United States to receive all permits and approvals necessary to begin construction. On May 25, 2023, Judge Indira Talwani of the US District Court for the District of Massachusetts denied a motion for stay, or in the alternative, for preliminary injunction,,, In Seafreeze Shoreside, Inc. et al. v. US Department of the Interior et al., the plaintiffs alleged that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and various other federal permitting agencies violated the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), and a variety of other statutes and regulations by issuing the Project’s lease and its final approvals. >click to read< 16:57
Fishermen Face Unloading Delays After Fish Pier Packing House Tenant Departs
The packing house at the municipal fish pier has space for two companies to operate, receiving and packing the local catch for transport to market. But when Marder Trawling, one of the two fish buyers, departed last year, fishermen were lined up to unload with Red’s Best Seafood in the north bay. The south bay remains empty as commercial fishing ramps up for the season in the next few weeks. Last year, boats were “stacked up down the harbor to get offloaded,” Harbormaster Stuart Smith said. He has proposed allowing fishermen to use the south bay to unload their own fish to their own trucks or buyers of their choice, much as is currently done on the outdoor dock at the fish pier’s south jog. Smith told the select board that he’s making the proposal only after the town was unable to find a new fish packer to lease the south bay. >click to read< 8:47
Blue Harvest Fisheries’ Newest Vessel, F/V Nobska, Successfully Completes First Series of Fishing Trips
The newest, most modern vessel in the New England groundfish fishery, the F/V Nobska, has returned to port after its successful inaugural deployment. The vessel was acquired earlier this year by Blue Harvest Fisheries, as part of the company’s investment in the future of its groundfish operations. The Nobska embarked on four back-to-back trips between April 7 and May 10, and landed 335,000 pounds of fish in its home port of New Bedford, Massachusetts, with additional landings in Gloucester, Massachusetts. The catch included several groundfish species, including monkfish, flounder, haddock, Acadian redfish, hake, and pollock. A series of three to four back-to-back trips, followed by a short break for maintenance and crew rest, is a typical operational plan for this vessel. Video, photos, >click to read< 07:45
North Carolina Joins Effort to Establish Regional Fisheries Mitigation for Offshore Wind Development
Governor Roy Cooper announced that North Carolina has joined other Atlantic Coast states involved with the Special Initiative on Offshore Wind on a coordinated project to support fisheries mitigation in the development of offshore wind along the East Coast. “It is important that we work to meet our state’s offshore wind energy goals while still protecting our marine fishery industry,” said Governor Cooper. “We are committed to collaborating with other states in this effort to make sure we achieve both goals.” Currently, the Initiative is focused on establishing a framework to compensate commercial and for-hire fishermen in the event of economic impact related to offshore wind development. The goal is to develop a regional approach for administration of any financial compensation paid by developers. Economic impacts from coastal fishing in North Carolina top $4.5 billion annually. >click to read< 08:26
First Lawsuit Over Whales and Wind Dismissed
A federal district judge in Massachusetts has rejected an effort to stop an offshore wind project near Nantucket Island on the basis of danger to whales, apparently the first court test of similar claims being raised against wind turbine proposals along the U.S. eastern seaboard, including here in Virginia. On May 17, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani granted a motion for summary judgement to the federal agency that approved the Vineyard Wind One project. With a planned 84 turbines, the project is about half the size of Dominion Energy Virginia’s planned project off Virginia Beach. Both are just the first phases of larger planned buildouts. The same judge is hearing the other cases, with the two from fishing interests now combined. >click to read< 09:47
Ship carrying parts for offshore wind turbines arrives in New Bedford
New Bedford was once the city that lit the world, exporting vast quantities of whale oil for lamps in the early 1800s. Workers packed the docks, unloading casks of oil that had been extracted at sea from whale carcasses and brought in by a fleet of hundreds of whaling ships. Nearly two centuries later New Bedford aspires to light the world again, in a different relationship with the sea, as the offshore wind industry arrives here. On Wednesday, the vessel UHL Felicity bringing wind turbine tower sections from Portugal reached the Port of New Bedford. Once assembled out on the water this summer by developer Vineyard Wind, the turbines will stand more than 850 feet high. “There’s this sort of poetic coming-about for New Bedford as a center of energy,” Mayor Jon Mitchell said. Video, >click to read< 09:42
Dave Marciano: Unveiling The Impressive Net Worth Of The “Wicked Tuna” Star In 2023
American commercial fisherman and reality television celebrity Dave Marciano works in the industry. He was made in the United States on January 7, 1960, in Ipswich, Massachusetts. As one of the cast members of the reality television programme “Wicked Tuna,” which is broadcast on the National Geographic Channel, Dave Marciano rose to fame. Marciano has won the hearts of viewers with his unmatched expertise and unyielding perseverance as he competes against the weather and his fellow fisherman in a high-stakes game of skill and strategy. >click to read< 11:07
Mega Cut: Haddock, a staple Atlantic fish, is in decline off New England, regulators say
A recent scientific assessment found that the Gulf of Maine haddock stock declined unexpectedly, and that meant the catch quotas for the fish were unsustainably high, federal fishing managers said. “We seem to find plenty, but they can’t,” said Terry Alexander, a Maine-based fisher who targets haddock and other species. “It’s a disaster is what it is. A total, complete disaster.” The fishery management council mandated the 84% reduction in catch quotas for the current fishing year, which started May 1. The change applies to fishers who harvest haddock from the Gulf of Maine, a body of water off Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Fishers also harvest from Georges Bank, a fishing ground to the east where quotas were also reduced for this year, including adjoining areas overseen by Canadian officials who issued their own major cuts. >click to read< 08:02
New Bedford fisherman sentenced for evading $431,000 in federal taxes
A New Bedford man was sentenced in federal court in Boston for evading more than $431,000 in federal income taxes over the course of seven years. Victor M. Cruz, 43, was sentenced on May 9 by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Rya W. Zobel to time served (10 months in prison) followed by one year of supervised release. Cruz was also ordered to pay $431,835 in restitution to the IRS. On Feb. 12, 2023, Cruz pleaded guilty to three counts of tax evasion. >click to read< 09:11
Wind farms creating ‘death zone’ at sea says ex-Greenpeace boss
Drilling foundations for offshore wind turbines and sound pulses used to prepare for the 900-foot towers may be creating a “death zone” for whales, a former Greenpeace chief claims. Patrick Moore, a co-founder of Greenpeace and its ex-president in Canada, believes the acoustic systems used by vessels surveying the ocean floor harm the marine mammals’ sense of hearing, risking their crucial ability to navigate, and leading to more dead whales washing up onshore. At least 36 “large” whales have washed up along the East Coast since Dec. 1, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. photos, >click to read< 07:51
New Bedford’s fishing community is working with Vineyard Wind. Here’s how.
For Captain Tony Alvernaz, accepting a job doing safety work for Vineyard Wind has provided added income for his family and the families of the people who work for him. They are monitoring the work zone for Vineyard Wind as the company proceeds with turbine installation and at the same time are helping get the word out to other fishermen, according to Crista Bank, the fisheries manager at Vineyard Wind. Bank said the involvement of fishing vessels in the project is really important and that the same opportunities are offered to a single vessel owner, a scallop owner with a couple of boats or vessels that are up to international standards. “We’re trying to make sure we’re contracting with all different sized vessels and vessel owners,” she said. >click to read< 08:10
Hope vs. rope: Can technology save the whales, and Maine’s lobster industry, too?
Along the coasts of Massachusetts and Rhode Island, scientists, engineers, and fishermen are working feverishly to develop a new, high-tech way to harvest lobster – and the result could be the key to the survival of both the U.S. lobster fishery and the imperiled North Atlantic right whale. But farther north in Maine, the epicenter of the fishery, it’s unusually quiet. Only one Maine business is working on the technology, and only a handful of Maine lobstermen will test it. Many won’t even discuss it. The ropeless part is being worked out, but another critical component – an interoperable, open platform to track gear – is far from ready. The new equipment also is, at least for now, prohibitively expensive. One lobsterman said it would cost him nearly $500,000 upfront. >click to read< 16:20
U.S. identifies Gulf of Maine area for offshore wind development
President Joe Biden’s administration on Tuesday said it had finalized an area of nearly 10 million acres in the Gulf of Maine for potential offshore wind development, a major step toward expanding the industry into northern New England. The announcement was the latest milestone in the government’s plan to put wind turbines along every U.S. coastline to help displace fossil fuel for power generation and fight climate change. In a statement, the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said it would kick off a 45-day period for public comment on the area, which sits off the coasts of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. >click to read< 08:25
Blown Away: Offshore wind regulators ignore danger to fishing industry
“This industry, this group of people in the room today, really are the key to unlocking that clean energy future,” Beaudreau, the deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior, proclaimed at a conference hosted by the American Clean Power Association, a lobbying group largely funded by offshore wind developers. Just one year earlier, Beaudreau had been a corporate lawyer, earning part of his $2.4 million income from offshore wind developers. Then he was appointed to regulate the industry he was previously paid to represent. During Beaudreau’s tenure, developers including several of his former clients have gained preliminary or final approvals for an unprecedented expansion of offshore wind, despite repeated warnings from federal scientists about potential harms to marine life and the fishing industry. Photos, >click to read< 07:48
Intense reaction to wind/fishing investigation – >click to read the comments< 4/25/2023
Commercial Fisherman Justin P. Doberck, 41, of Mattapoisett, passed away unexpectedly on Friday, April 7, 2023.
Those who knew Justin were amazed watching him move through this life, and feel blessed to have been in it at the same time. He was beautiful and one of the most interesting people anyone could know. He was loved fiercely by his family who were relentlessly proud of him. Justin was a commercial offshore fishing captain for many years, starting over two decades ago working on the Serene out of Mattapoisett, captured on the cover of Insider Magazine, F/V Buzzards Bay, F/V Sally Katherine and F/V Silver Key out of the Port of New Bedford, F/V Direction out of Fairhaven, and then operator of fishing vessels with his mate and brother, Billy, for more than 10 years for M.E. Fisheries, then F/V McKinley, and most currently for Atlantic Red Crab. He also enjoyed logging and working at his sawmill in his spare time. >click to read more< 17:19
