Tag Archives: Richard Fuka
Rescuers hold safety practice at offshore wind farm.
Offshore rescuers are sharpening their skills at and near the Block Island Wind Farm,,, But a Rhode Island commercial fishing group has said practicing on five turbines, all in a row, can’t be considered a real test for what is expected to be hundreds of wind turbines in grid patterns offshore south of Massachusetts and Rhode Island in the coming decade. “It’s not really a farm,” said Richard Fuka of the Rhode Island Fishermens Alliance. The U.S. Coast Guard has completed a case study on the Jan. 1 sinking of the F/V Mistress 3 or 4 miles from the Block Island wind farm to determine if the presence of the five turbines had any impact on the agency’s search and rescue operation. >click to read< 18:09
The Rise of Calamari, Fueled by Rhode Island’s Dirty Politics
On May 10, 1974, Paul Kalikstein turned in his Master thesis at the Alfred P. Sloan School of Management at Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a graduate student in Management Science. The title was succinct: “The Marketability of Squid.” The abstract for the 108-page thesis read:,,, Kalikstein’s research was an attempt at solving the plummeting stocks of traditional seafood resources due to overfishing and overbuying in the 1960s and ’70s.,,, Forty years later and 55 miles south, Rhode Island State Representative Joseph McNamara had suddenly found himself in high demand. >click to read<11:45
It’s Raining Ratepayer Money! Wind Goes A’Wooing in $70 Billion Race for Offshore U.S. Market
Want to spruce up your downtown, or maybe get $10 million to support workforce training at the local college? How about investments to help rebuild aging ports and establish trust funds for your fisherman? A U.S. unit of Denmark’s Orsted A/S is now dangling all of those perks in its push to be an early developer of offshore wind in a potential $70 billion East Coast market. The target of the largesse: Community groups with political muscle, the ability to shape public sentiment and access to lawyers. “We’re over the moon,” said Michael Passero, the mayor of New London, Connecticut. The package drawing Passero’s raves: $93 million to upgrade the State Pier in New London,,, >click to read<13:12 Cape Cod Community College, Vinyard Wind partner to offer ‘Offshore Wind 101: Energy, Climate and Jobs – >click to read<14:35
Vineyard Wind and R.I. strike bargain. R.I. Fishery Advisory Board chairman doesn’t like settlement. Nobody does.
“I just think it was a [expletive] deal for the industry, but it’s the deal that we got,” Newport, R.I. lobsterman Lanny Dellinger, chairman of the Rhode Island Fisheries Advisory Board, told The Times.
“I just don’t think the negotiations were set up fairly,” he said.,, Richard Fuka, Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance president, said squid fishermen, who comprise the most lucrative part of the Rhode Island fishing industry, weren’t represented on the board and were therefore cut out of negotiations. When asked if Vineyard Wind was aware squid fishermen may have not had a seat at the table for negotiations, Vineyard Wind spokesman Scott Farmelant declined to talk about any part of the deal and referred The Times to the Vineyard Wind release. >click to read<16:20
State officials to vote Tuesday on Vineyard Wind project
The R.I. Coastal Resources Management Council is scheduled Tuesday to vote whether Vineyard Wind’s proposed 84-turbine offshore wind energy farm – the first large-scale project of its kind in the nation – is consistent with state policy. The council’s decision – called a federal consistency determination – is needed as part of the federal permitting process. Much of the vote is expected to rest on a newly agreed upon $16.7 million “financial mitigation package” between New Bedford-based Vineyard Wind and the Rhode Island Fisheries Advisory Board to provide compensation for anticipated impacts of the project on the state’s commercial fishing businesses. >click to read<12:54
Tuesday’s council meeting is open to the public. It is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. at the Corless Auditorium at the University of Rhode Island’s Bay Campus on South Ferry Road in Narragansett.
Head of Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance upset with Vineyard Wind plan
Vineyard Wind wants to build an 84 turbine offshore wind farm, fifteen miles from the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, and right in the heart of squid ground. “It will chase pretty much every species out of that area which is an extremely large area,” Richard Fuka said. On Saturday, the Fisheries Advisory Board voted unanimously to move forward with the project, accepting a nearly 17-million dollar compensation package from Vineyard Wind. That money would be aimed at mitigating any negative impacts the project would have on the fishing industry. But Fuka says the majority of the state’s fishermen do not support the deal and are not represented on the advisory board. “Nobody from those three fish houses is on that board,” Fuka said. Rhode Island’s Coastal Resources Management Council is now set to vote on the project on Tuesday. >click to read<16:17
Lost trawler Mistress found on sea floor
The Point Judith, R.I., trawler Mistress, which sank in foul weather on New Year’s Day morning and triggered a large Coast Guard search for two of its crew, has been located, according to Richard Fuka, Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance president. Fuka said he’s been in regular contact with Michael Ansay, uncle of John Ansay, who along with the Mistress’s owner, Oscar Diaz, went missing when the trawler sank; both are presumed not to have survived. Diaz’s son, Tim, was the only member of the Mistress crew to be rescued.,, >click to read<16:24
Deepwater Wind Offers Offshore Information, Fishermen Want Compensation
The Providence-based company recently announced a program to inform fishermen of where and when construction and other work occurs at the site of three wind facilities and their electric cables. The offshore wind developer hired liaisons to offer dockside information to fishermen at main fishing ports such as New Bedford, Mass., Point Judith, and Montauk, N.Y. Daily activity will be posted online about surveys, construction, and maintenance work. The updates will also be broadcast twice daily on boating radio channels, according to Deepwater Wind. Bonnie Brady, president of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, said the outreach by Deepwater Wind is window dressing. Deepwater Wind is “not doing anything at all. it’s a big, giant schmooze,” she said.,, Richard Fuka, president of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance, said he speaks with fishermen daily in Point Judith and he’s hearing the fishing stocks are down around the Block Island Wind Farm. >click to read<19:53
Why Rhode Island Needs Civil Asset Forfeiture Reform
“It is absolutely mind-boggling… that people that feed you, in one of the most historical oldest industries in this country, can’t go to sea and land that fish that feeds you without being treated like criminals,” said Richard Fuka, President of RI Fishermen’s Alliance. Civil forfeiture laws represent one of the most serious assaults on cars, cash, and other private property by government today. According to the Institute for Justice, which produces a state-by-state report card, the Ocean State received a D- for its asset forfeiture laws. Please watch the new asset forfeiture video from the Center now. >click to watch<20:19
Forum in Mystic focuses on the plight of local fishermen
Local third-generation fishermen are on the brink of losing their businesses because of over-regulation by the federal government, but the public can help by writing to their legislators and buying locally caught seafood. That was the message of a public forum and panel discussion organized by Sen. Heather Somers, R-Groton, held Wednesday at the Mystic Luxury Cinemas. The forum began with a presentation from Meghan Lapp, an expert on the commercial fishing industry and its regulations. “Fishermen are not anti-regulation, but when the regulatory burdens >click to read<08:35
RNC SUPPORTS THE NORTHEAST COMMERCIAL FISHING INDUSTRY
RI National Committeewoman Lee Ann Sennick sponsored a Resolution Supporting the Northeast Commercial Fishing Industry at the recent Summer Meeting of the Republican National Committee. Receiving widespread support, the resolution (full text of which can be seen (click here) was passed unanimously by the 168 person body. Sennick, who has professional ties to the industry, has formed a Republican Fisheries Coalition along with Richard Fuka, President of the RI Fisherman’s Alliance and Meghan Lapp, political liaison for Seafreeze Ltd. “Rich and Meghan reached out to the RI Republican Party because they have serious concerns for the future of the industry and the economic impact on our state. Those concerns have not been satisfactorily addressed by RI’s Democrat Congressional Delegation,” stated Sennick. click here to read the press release 07:10
Squid fishery shutdown won’t affect local calamari
The federal government is limiting squid fishing in certain areas, so what does this mean for Southern New England? As of this Friday, a short fin squid fishery, much of which sits offshore from Rhode Island, will shut down until Dec. 31. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says this is because 95 percent of the quota for that type of squid has been caught, so this is actually standard procedure. Richard Fuka of the Rhode Island Fishermen’s Alliance says it’s a sign that squid fishing has been hot this year, so it’s actually a good thing. “The Illex fishery, or the fishery in question that just closed, was a very large number and we actually had a very robust season to be able to meet the benchmark,” Fuka said. video, click here to read the story 09:06
