Tag Archives: massachusetts
Clammers to honor one of their own: CPR class to be conducted in memory of ‘The Legend’
He was known in town simply as “The Legend.” Edward G. Lane, who fit the mold of a classic commercial fisherman and clammer, died doing what he loved. Lane, 60, died on Saturday, March 18, while clamming the flats off Conomo Point. But his death has spurred the commercial fishing community of Essex, Gloucester and Ipswich to gather to honor Lane by hosting a CPR class. The class is aimed at teaching participants to be prepared for a medical event, such as the one that took the life of their beloved friend. “In the wake of Ed’s passing, we’re offering the CPR course,” said Essex Harbormaster Daniel Fialho. “Clammers are a pretty close-knit group. I think the event opened some eyes to the need for some training.” >click to read< 07:43
Groundfish operations change focus for New Bedford seafood company
While a local supplier of seafood continues its efforts to focus exclusively on groundfish and upgrade and modernize its fleet, it has announced the temporary closure of the processing facility it operates in New Bedford, resulting in layoffs to 64 employees. Blue Harvest Fisheries will be upgrading and modernizing its fleet as part of a shift in strategy to realize the potential of its groundfish operations and continue focusing exclusively on groundfish. While originally focused on acquiring assets in the scallop fishery, Blue Harvest Fisheries President Chip Wilson said management became aware of a unique situation in the ground fishing industry, an industry that has been depressed in New England since the late 1980s. >click to read< 12:35
Lawsuit claims US federal government violated regulations in approving Massachusetts offshore wind project
A Texas non-profit research institute that aims to promote free enterprise in Texas and the nation is acting on behalf of fishing companies in Massachusetts, a state 2,000 miles away, in a lawsuit that seeks to stop development of the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project. The Texas Public Policy Foundation (TPPF) has named the US Department of the Interior, the US Department of Commerce, the US Department of Defense and other agencies and individuals as defendants in the suit. The lawsuit, filed in December 2021, claims the defendants violated the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Clean Water Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the National Environmental Policy Act, and their respective rules and regulations. >click to read< 10:54
1st ocean fish farm proposed for East Coast off New England
A New Hampshire group wants to be the first to bring offshore fish farming to the waters off New England by raising salmon and trout in open-ocean pens miles from land, but critics fear the plan could harm the environment. The vast majority of U.S. aquaculture, the practice of raising and harvesting fish in controlled settings, takes place in coastal waters or on land, in tanks and ponds. But New Hampshire-based Blue Water Fisheries wants to place 40 submersible fish pens in water about 7.5 miles (12 kilometers) off Newburyport, Massachusetts, on two sites that total nearly a square mile, according to federal documents. >click to read< 09:03
Fisherman Launches Petition Against Release of Pilgrim Water
Bourne resident Ryan Collins, whose father and grandfather were fishermen, continues the family tradition. He has now become an advocate as well. Collins has collected more than 214,000 signatures on a petition asking the owners of the former Pilgrim nuclear plant not to release radioactive wastewater into Cape Cod Bay. He said he has been listening to concerns from his fellow fishermen as well as family, friends, and neighbors about Holtec Decommissioning International’s proposed solution to disposing of the water from various systems at the shuttered plant. “Everyone I am speaking to is against it,” he said. Eight weeks ago, he started his online petition at Change.org. >click to read< 11:29
Eastern Fisheries severs ties with staffing firms in wake of NLRB case
Eastern Fisheries Inc., a global supplier of seafood based in New Bedford, Massachusetts announced Monday that it is going to employ workers directly instead of through staffing firms. Eastern Fisheries said it has long used staffing firms, but the decision to employ workers directly comes after a decision in an NLRB case. The company said one worker from a staffing firm had filed an unfair labor practice charge with the National Labor Relations Board claiming the company had improperly asked the staffing firm to stop sending the employee to its workplace. >click to read< 10:36
Undocumented workers boxed out as Eastern Fisheries restructures – Last week, Eastern Fisheries cut ties with its main staffing agencies. The company told 110 of its workers on Friday that they could reapply for the same jobs they previously held as direct employees of Eastern Fisheries. >click to read<
Up to 70 North Atlantic right whales were spotted in Cape Cod Bay
About one-fifth of the world’s entire population of North Atlantic right whales were all spotted hanging out in Cape Cod, Mass., heading into the weekend. Between 60 to 70 right whales, including a mother and calf, were seen feeding outside the east end of the Cape Cod Canal in the Cape Cod Bay on Friday, according to the Massachusetts Environmental Police. The wildlife officials sent out two patrol vessels to protect the whales from boat traffic. By Saturday, the whales had seemingly moved on. >click to read< 11:00
Eastern Fisheries cuts temp agency, laying off New Bedford workers amid labor probe
Eastern Fisheries is cutting ties with its main staffing agency, potentially laying off as many as 200 fish processors amid an ongoing federal investigation into unfair labor practices at the company. Those involved described the action of Eastern Fisheries as retaliation aimed at a small group of workers attempting to organize the largely immigrant workforce and fight for better labor conditions. Eastern Fisheries is one of the top employers on the waterfront and the largest scallop company on the east coast. Video, >click to read< 11:51
Offshore Wind Farm Company Vinyard Wind Begins Construction
Vineyard Wind hosted a tour on Monday at the Marine Commerce Terminal in New Bedford to show members of the media and the local business leaders of One SouthCoast Chamber the early construction of the Vineyard Wind 1 Project, the first offshore commercial-scale offshore wind project in the United States. The Vineyard Wind 1 project aims to construct an 800-megawatt, 62-turbine wind farm south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket. The project is expected to be completed and delivering power by the end of the year. >click to read< 11:50
Nantucket Scallop Harvest Nearly Doubles Over Last Season
Late Thursday morning, scalloper Keith Day was unloading his catch at the Nantucket Boat Basin, one of the few fishermen still dropping dredges at the end of the season. His assessment? “It’s been the best year I’ve had in 10 years,” Day said. “Even with the price where it is now, if you still fish and you still grind out on it, it equals out or you can make more than you made last year. There was just not enough last year. It’s been a pretty good season. I’m still getting my limit on the second to last day. Overall, it’s been a good season for me.” >click to read< 09:36
Gloucester eyes higher commercial slip fees but a bad ad postpones the vote
A plan by the nation’s oldest seaport to double what it charges for commercial slip fees has hit a bump. The City Council will have another go to consider the proposed slip fee hike and other changes to Gloucester’s Waterways Administration ordinance ,, The raft of proposals includes increasing the monthly fee from $4 per foot to an $8 a foot for commercial slips at the city-owned St. Peter’s and Harbor Cove (I-4, C-2) marinas. The lack of publicity about the possible changes cropped up when Concord Street resident and I-4, C-2 tenant Arthur “Sookie” Sawyer said he had just found out about the changes that evening. “To increase the rent over 100% on no notice to the tenant is kind of a hard pill to swallow,” Sawyer said. >click to read< 18:43
4 lawsuits threaten Vineyard Wind
The lawsuits against America’s first major offshore wind project are coming to a head. Four cases are challenging the federal environmental permit issued to Vineyard Wind, a 62-turbine facility being planned for construction in the waters off Martha’s Vineyard. A federal judge in Massachusetts heard arguments brought by landowners in two cases in recent weeks. The other two suits, brought by fishing groups, have been consolidated and will appear before the same judge for oral arguments in Boston on Monday. The cases against Vineyard Wind allege that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management conducted an inadequate environmental review when it approved the project by failing to account for its impact on everything from fishermen to the critically endangered North American right whale. >click to read< 07:32
‘Wicked Tuna’: T.J. Ott Pays 5-Figure Fine for Illegal Act
Back on Dec. 7, 2022, the Massachusetts Environmental Police revealed that its officers began investigating the illegal sale of bluefin tuna, a federally regulated species in October 2021. During the investigation, they discovered that bluefin tuna was being sold at a Gloucester fish market, and a captain faced criminal charges. In November 2022, the captain reached a plea deal with the state and paid $13,000 in fines for the illegal sale of the fish. Although the post didn’t mention Ott, the Gloucester Daily Times later reported that he was the captain involved. >click to read< 07:57
EXCLUSIVE: Federal Regulator Acknowledges Danger to Wildlife Caused by Offshore Wind Farms
Captain Jerry Leeman, who heads the fishing vessel F/V Teresa Marie IV, sent a copy of the Norwegian haddock study to Nies in a January 9 letter. “Thank you for your January 9 letter … A federal fisheries council acknowledged that some power cables for offshore wind turbines could harm certain fish, according to a letter seen by the DCNF. Multiple recent studies have demonstrated that a variety of commercially popular fish can be negatively impacted by their exposure to magnetic fields emitted by high voltage direct current cables, which can confuse their ability to navigate and, in some cases, leave them exposed to predators. “We were previously aware of this study and agree that it has concerning implications for the possible effects of high voltage direct current cabling on larval behavior and resulting predation rates,” Thomas Nies, executive director of the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), said in a January 18 letter. >click to read< 20:01
Blue Harvest to close New Bedford processing plant, lay off 64 workers
“All Blue Harvest employees who perform food processing work at this facility will be separated. This action is expected to be permanent,” the company wrote in a letter to its staff, signed by company president Chip Wilson and dated Friday, March 24. Blue Harvest employees, both processors and fishermen were confused and frustrated by the sudden announcement. “Everyone’s making decisions, but they’re not talking to the guys catching the fish,” said one Blue Harvest fisherman, who asked not to be identified. “I still have my job. But who knows? We’re just told to go fishing.” >click to read< 11:25
On Demand Gear – Cape Cod Lobstermen Would Rather Wait Than Switch
21-year-old North Atlantic right whale known as Porcia was observed in Cape Cod Bay on March 18. The whale was seen swimming with her 2023 calf by her side. That means Cape Cod lobstermen are on land, waiting out the whales. Elsewhere in Massachusetts waters, however, the NOAA is running an experiment that gives lobster fishermen exempted fishing permits to work in areas that are otherwise restricted. What they are testing is something called on-demand fishing gear. “I think it’s a Star Wars idea that will not work,” said Dana Pazolt, a Truro-based lobsterman who sets his traps on the bay side in the fall and on the ocean side in the spring and summer. Pazolt’s 800 lobster traps have 50 miles of rope. >click to read< 11:10
Edgartown Extends Cape Pogue Scallop Season
Following a banner year for Island bay scallops, the town of Edgartown has opted to extend commercial bay scallop season in Cape Pogue an extra two weeks until April 14. “We’re seeing the best bay scallop season we’ve seen in all my and the fishermen’s 25 years’ experience,” shellfish constable Rob Morrison told the select board on Monday. The commercial season for bay scallop fishing typically begins November 1 and ends March 31. Earlier this year, bay scallop fishermen struggled to take advantage of the plentiful yield as scallop prices plunged to almost half their normal rate. >click to read< 10:57
California sustainability group told people to stop eating lobster, so Massachusetts lobstermen file suit
Standing on a dock in his hometown of Gloucester, Mass., lobsterman Arthur Sawyer looked out at the peaceful, calm waters off of Cape Ann. Sawyer, president of the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association, and three other Bay State lobster fishers filed a class action lawsuit earlier this month against Monterey Bay Aquarium and the international Marine Stewardship Council, groups that consider lobstering a major risk to North Atlantic right whales and, hence, people shouldn’t buy lobsters anymore. “They have gone overboard targeting Massachusetts when we’ve been doing everything,” Sawyer told the Herald. “We have 100 percent closure right now. There is no place safer for right whales right now on the east coast than in Massachusetts waters.” >click to read< 11:12
Before tuna fishing was ‘wicked’
Before tuna fishing became “wicked,” local fishermen had been capturing and hauling giant bluefin tuna off the coast for years. The dangerous task has gone on to gain notoriety with the popular show “Wicked Tuna,” but the history of catching giant bluefins has deep roots in Newburyport going back generations. Newburyport residents Lee and Bob Yeomans are both experienced at fishing for tuna and hand-lining. “My husband, Bob, and I have a goal to preserve the history of this very dangerous, challenging way of capturing giant bluefin tuna,” Lee Yeomans said. She is leading a project to capture the stories of fishermen. Eighty-eight-year-old Newbury resident Carl Beal Jr. wrote of his experience fishing for giant bluefins with his father off Newburyport in summer 1948 in “Tuna Fishing Peril,” one of many stories about the history of local tuna fishing. >click to read< 11:02
In class action lawsuit, Massachusetts lobstermen fight efforts to ‘red list’ their catch
Four Massachusetts lobstermen have filed a class action suit against the Monterey Bay Aquarium and Marine Stewardship Council, groups that urged distributors and grocery stores to avoid purchasing lobster because of the fishery’s impact on North Atlantic right whales. “We’ve always been like the punching bag for, like, the whale people. So I’m glad we’re finally striking back,” said plaintiff Jarrett Drake, a lobsterman who fishes out of New Bedford, “because it gives us a chance to try to at least defend ourselves.” “When [Montery Bay Aquarium] chooses to tag a product as one to be avoided (“red-list”) on Seafood Watch, it acts with near certainty that the companies it collaborates with will immediately discontinue that product,” the plaintiffs say in their complaint. >click to read< 08:35
Risking it all in the Blizzard of ’78
In early February 1978, the Joseph & Lucia III had been fishing for about a week. Despite storm warnings, Capt. Gaetano “Tom” Brancaleone decided to continue fishing. His crew of seven included his brother and engineer, Antonio “The Chief” Brancaleone; first mate Frank D’Amico; cook Gil Roderick; fish hold man Gaspar Palazola; and deckhands Joe Charlie Brancaleone and Santo Aloi. At the tail end of the blizzard, after days of worry — “we could just look out the window to see the wind whipping up snow drifts 7 or 8 feet high,” recalled Tom — the family finally received a call on the radio. The Joseph & Lucia III had made it! But Tom now needed to get to the Boston Fish Pier to help lump (unload) the boat. >click to read< 10:58
Stability class aims to keep fishing vessels and crews upright
The Burlington-based nonprofit Fishing Partnership Support Services came to Coast Guard Station Gloucester on Harbor Loop to give 13 people who risk their lives at sea to make a living training on how to best keep their boat stable while fishing. Some local commercial fishermen traded a day on the water for a morning in the classroom Friday as they learned from instructors the importance of removing ice from the decks and rigging to prevent raising a boat’s center of gravity, making sure deck scuppers are clear to allow water to drain, preventing loads or equipment on deck from shifting rapidly, and battening down hatches to make sure water cannot get below deck. >click to read< 14:55
‘This is the war’: New Bedford at center of conflict between fishing, wind industries
New Bedford is the top commercial fishing port in the country, but it’s also emerging as an epicenter of conflict between the fishing industry and the growing wind industry. “This is the war, and we’re going to lose,” said Cassie Canastra, director of operations at Base Seafood, an electronic seafood auctioning company that her father and uncle founded in 1994. Canastra called it “defeating” to watch various wind farm projects expand into vital fishing grounds. New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell said he wants the city to be both the top fishing port and the No. 1 hub for wind energy nationwide, though he recognizes tensions between the two industries need to be addressed. Video, >click to read< 07:45
Whale hell looms in Massachusetts
The first of the monster offshore wind arrays is ready to roll, with construction to begin in May. The acoustic hammering on the whales and other sea critters will now escalate from sonar survey blasting to the incredible noise of pile driving. Each huge wind tower sets on an enormous monopile that has to be driven into the sea floor. The project bears the happy name Vineyard Wind but there is no vineyard. Here is how they put it: “Vineyard Wind is currently building the nation’s first utility-scale offshore wind energy project over 15 miles off the coast of Massachusetts.” There are 62 enormous wind towers, each among the world’s biggest at 13 MW. >click to read< 12:54
Biden Administration sued by Massachusetts lobstermen for closing waters to protect endangered whales
Massachusetts lobster fishermen have filed a lawsuit against the Biden administration over its closure of fishing grounds done with the intention of protecting an endangered species of whale. The lawsuit stems from the February 1 closure of 200 square miles of the Massachusetts Bay that will prevent lobster fishing until the end of April in a move that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says was necessary to protect the North Atlantic right whales from being tangled in fishing ropes. Video, >click to read< 08:02
Blue Harvest doubles down on groundfish, after selling off scallop fleet
Blue Harvest Fisheries announced this week that it has purchased a new trawler, expanding its groundfish operations as the company sells off the last of its scallop fleet. The 91-foot trawler, originally called the Francis Dawn, will be renamed the Nobska. It replaces a different Blue Harvest vessel, also named the Nobska, which burned at sea in 2021. The charred and gutted vessel has been tied to the company’s dock on Herman Melville Boulevard in New Bedford ever since — declared a total loss at an estimated $2.4 million. >click to read< 07:18
Despite a pause on new regulations, U.S. and Canadian lobstermen see big challenges ahead
After a two-year hiatus, members of the U.S. and Canadian lobster fisheries met in Portland over the weekend to discuss challenges facing their industry. Top of mind is how the industry will prepare before new federal regulations designed to protect endangered right whales begin in six years. Fisheries in Maine had late last year expressed relief about the years-long delay in the rules change included in a federal spending bill, as it bought the industry more time to research and test new fishing techniques and other measures aimed at protecting North Atlantic right whales. >click to read< 09:10
A lament of whales and windmills
So, today my wife and I went to a memorial service for Ms. Corrine Damon (a faithful servant of the Lord). A friend from church (Len Wolfe) asked if I would look into what is going on with the wind turbine generator site exploration and construction and its impacts on marine life and their habitats. Len was mainly concerned with the many Humpback whales washing up on the northeast coastal areas (especially around the New Jersey coastline). It affects the fisheries all the way up through Maine, and politics (and industry money) are the deciding factors in the equation. One website on Youtube named “Will Offshore Wind Harm Marine Life” by a group called “The Maine Reset” shows that some of the construction areas will have “Wind Farms” with as few as a dozen of these rigs set up (with these massive chains intertwined underneath each other). >click to read< 12:19
Banner Bay Scallop Year Not All Good News for Fishermen
It has been a bountiful season for the Vineyard’s bay scallop fishery, one of the last places left where fishermen are still able to pull in semi-consistent harvests. But scallopers have struggled to take advantage of the strong season because the spike in supply stressed a distribution network atrophied from years of uncertainty. “The market just closed down, three out of the four main buyers in Edgartown just totally shut down,” said Arno Ewing, who works on John Conlon’s Sengekontacket-based scalloping boat. “I don’t think I’ve seen prices this low in five years.” While earlier in the season scallopers could count on getting $27 per pound for their catch, fishermen on-Island are now only getting around $15. The situation was even more dire last month, when fishermen were hard-pressed to find any buyer at all, said Net Result fish market manager Mike Holtham, who sells scallops locally and to regional distributors. >click to read< 08:03
New Bedford’s Pope’s Island will play a key role in Vineyard Wind construction
A new partnership will meet the demand for fuel for New Bedford’s fishing industry as well as Vineyard Wind, as construction of the offshore wind farm gets under way. Vineyard Wind has signed a partnership with Shoreline Offshore, a joint venture between Quinn Fisheries and SEA.O.G Offshore, a leading integrated logistics provider, to build out a berthing and fueling area on Pope’s Island for crew transfer vessels. Shoreline Offshore was created in 2022 to connect the emerging offshore wind industry with local businesses in and around New Bedford through one central entity. Its mission is to ensure New Bedford’s local marine-based businesses are included in the continued growth of New Bedford’s marine economy. >click to read< 13:21
