State and Local

October 23, 2014 — Following years of outcry by immigrant advocates over the lack of city buses in the fish packing district, SRTA is proposing a rerouting plan that would lay those cries to rest.

“This is a very low, low cost way of providing service to this area,” said Martin Burke, general manager of the Southeastern Regional Transit Authority, at a Wednesday hearing on proposed changes to two city routes. “I honestly believe that this is going to be a huge impact on ridership on this route, and make the entire thing worthwhile.”

Proposed changes to the New Bedford bus routes were presented at the hearing, attended by 11 people; they could take effect in December. Route 1, which runs from the North End to the South End, would be rerouted should the changes be approved. On the outbound side,  Route 1 would be rerouted to Spring Street, Acushnet Avenue and Grinnell Street, while the inbound route would stay the same. Route 5 would run along MacArthur Drive in both directions, adding a stop at Price Rite. Although the proposal comes as a result of immigrant and fish house issues, Burke said he expects ridership to increase with  inclusion of the discount supermarket.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

SANDWICH, Mass. — October 23, 2014 — Joe's Lobster Mart has less than two weeks to sell off the lobster, fish and other stock before closing the doors.

Suffolk Superior Court Judge Thomas Connors denied owner Joseph Vaudo's request for a preliminary injunction against the state Department of Public Health, which revoked Vaudo's licenses to sell fish and shellfish at the Cape Cod Canal warehouse.

Connors gave Vaudo 14 days to sell off the seafood market's inventory before he must close, according to the ruling. The ruling was issued Monday.

In his decision, Connors found that Vaudo and his attorney failed to demonstrate a likelihood they would be successful in appealing the state's ruling to revoke the licenses.

The state Department of Public Health issued a notice of intent to revoke Vaudo's licenses April 15, just a couple of weeks after he pleaded guilty in Barnstable District Court to charges of receiving stolen oysters and failing to keep proper shellfish records.

Vaudo, 63, also admitted sufficient facts to a charge of misleading a police officer. He was ordered to pay a $6,250 fine.

Read the full story from the Cape Cod Times

October 21, 2014 — The Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak crews opened a seasonal forward operating location in Cold Bay on Sunday. The Coast Guard aircrews transferred equipment to Cold Bay to reduce response time to Bristol Bay, the Bering Sea and the Aleutian Islands.

Petty Officer Kelly Parker says the Coast Guard picks forward operating locations based on how busy it is in the area.

“A lot of activity going on, whether it’s fishing, so our response time can be quicker if there’s any mariners in distress.”

Parker says Cold Bay is perfectly placed for easy access to fisheries and the all-weather airport made it ideal.

“The infrastructure that’s already in Cold Bay helps us to use our C130’s airplanes or our helicopters, it provides that infrastructure.”

Lt. Bernie Garrigan says hese FOL’s are important because they ensure the safety of mariners during peak fishing seasons.

Read the full story from KDLG

Read a release from the USCG about their recent rescue mission in Cold Bay, Alaska

October 23, 2014 — The following was released by the Maine Department of Marine Resources:

Theodore Gray, a 34-year-old lobsterman from Orland, will spend 2 days in Hancock County Jail and pay a $50,000 fine after pleading guilty on October 17 in Ellsworth District Court to possession of undersized and V-notched lobsters and with molesting lobster equipment.

Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher also suspended Gray’s license for three years, beginning June 23 of this year.

“This was one of the most extreme cases involving violation of our state’s marine resources laws anyone in the department or the Marine Patrol can remember,” said Commissioner Keliher. “Not only is he now facing major fines and jail time, through his actions he has lost the privilege of earning a living harvesting Maine lobsters for three years. This case sends a strong message that the state of Maine will use all the tools at its disposal to find and remove law breakers from the water and to support the work of law abiding fishermen who work to sustain our vital marine resources.”

The charges stemmed from an investigation conducted in May by the Maine Marine Patrol and the Maine Warden Service in which Gray was charged not only with possession of 123 v-notched lobsters and 269 lobsters smaller than the legal minimum of 3 8/32 inches in length, but with possession of 20 traps belonging to another fisherman.

“I’m tremendously proud of the collaborative work of the Marine Patrol and the Warden Service in this case,” said Marine Patrol Major Jon Cornish. “These were serious violations of our laws and this case represents a major success in the efforts of our two bureaus to protect Maine’s natural resources and the people who rely on them.”

Maine law requires that lobsters harvested that measure less than 3 8/32 inches be released immediately.

Maine law also requires that harvesters who catch female lobsters with eggs use a v-notch tool or a sharp knife to remove a quarter-inch-deep portion from the flipper immediately to the right of the center one. The practice of notching a known “breeder” extends the lobster’s protection beyond the hatching of its eggs.

Maine Marine Patrol Officers Owen Reed and Rustin Ames, working with the assistance of Game Warden Brian Tripp, conducted the investigation that led to the Gray’s arrest.

While molesting lobster gear is a civil violation, the other two violations are both Class D crimes.

 

October 23, 2014 — The collision of fishing interests came Saturday night into Sunday morning, out along Jeffreys Ledge, ground zero for the extraordinarily hard bluefin tuna bite that unfolded in the waters off Cape Ann throughout the middle of October.

As had been the case all week, bluefin tuna fishermen had flocked to the area to get their share of the bounty of blue fin being hauled on a daily basis from the Atlantic Ocean, an autumnal tuna harvest well beyond anything that has been seen in these waters for at least a decade.

But on Saturday, the tuna guys got some company. The mid-water herring trawlers, freed from the restrictions imposed by a state-mandated spawning closure in Area 1A, joined the hunt, looking for their own bite on the huge bait school of herring that had helped lure the tuna in the first place. 

“We were fishing around 3 o’clock in the afternoon when they started coming from all directions,” said Nat Moody, captain of the First Light. “There were 10 boats and they started moving through the tuna boats, looking for the biggest (herring) biomass.”

Peter J. Mullen, listed in state records as president of Gloucester-based Irish Venture Inc., the corporation that owns the herring boats Osprey and Western Venture, did not return phone calls Wednesday seeking comment.

By all accounts, including those of NOAA Fisheries, the state’s Division of Marine Fisheries and even Moody, the herring boats had every right to be fishing in the area as long as they didn’t violate the spawning closure by fishing before 12:01 a.m. Sunday and landing any of their catch before Monday at 12:01 a.m.

Read the full story from The Gloucester Daily Times

October 22, 2014 — Erik Lund is in the business of convenience for anglers looking to save time and effort back on land.

What do you do with all the fish guts?

You let Erik Lund take care of it.

Lund, 32, of the Erma section of Lower Township, owns On The Fly Mobile Fish Cleaning, a business he runs out of his truck in which he cuts, guts and fillets freshly caught seafood on demand at the location of his customers’ choosing.

He is in the business of convenience for anglers looking to save time and effort back on land.

“It’s a benefit in multiple ways. It cuts down on their time, their labor, their headache of doing it, plus it gives them more fish (off the bone),” Lund said, standing outside his truck with fish-bone decals at the South Jersey Marina in Lower Township. “It’s less wasteful, less of a headache, less of a problem.”
This type of business, Lund said, is surprisingly rare in New Jersey.

Operators of charter fishing boats, party boats and others throughout Cape May County call Lund to show up at their marinas or homes to clean their fish.
Lund, a plumber by trade, said anglers out at sea all day may not look forward to returning to dock only to spend another hour or two cleaning their catches.

Read the full story from the Press of Atlantic City

 

October 21, 2014 — The following was released by the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association:

The MLA Annual Weekend and Trade Show are scheduled for January 22nd – 25th, 2015 at the Sea Crest Beach Hotel in Falmouth, MA.  We wanted to give you enough time to plan for this year’s event because there is a lot to celebrate.    
 
If you have not attended the Annual Weekend and Trade show in many years, well then this is the year you won’t want to miss.  There will be lots of giveaways, raffles, Casino night, great entertainment and laughs with friends you may not have seen in years!
 
Enclosed in this packet you will find the room reservation forms, sponsorship forms, and all the vendor applications and information you need. Please pass along the vendor information to any company or distributor you would like to see at the show. Stay up to date for show information here and registration forms – http://lobstermen.com/annual-weekend
 
All rooms and booths are on a first come first serve basis.  So if you want a specific room or booth location DO NOT delay in getting you reservations in early.
 
Last years show was a great success thanks to the many MLA members, vendors and show attendees who are dedicated to the fishing industry.  The Annual Weekend Committee has been working hard at bringing in new vendors to keep you up to date with all the newest gadgets and equipment in the industry.

View the attendee registration form here

View the vendor registration form here

 

October 22, 2014 — About 85 percent of fresh mussels consumed in the United States are imported from Canada. And while mussel farms exist in the United States, there are none beyond the 3-mile limit of state waters.

That's about to change.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has issued the first offshore shellfish aquaculture permit on the East Coast for roughly 30 acres in Nantucket Sound, immediately adjacent to the area where Cape Wind plans to build its 130-turbine wind farm.

The permit was awarded to Chatham commercial fisherman Domenic Santoro.

Santoro did not respond to an email or telephone message seeing comment for this story. But last year he told the Times that he hoped the project would smooth out the difficulties of working in state waters.

Another permit has already been awarded for an aquaculture farm in federal waters off the West Coast, but that project hasn't yet been installed.

The idea is to start small so that fishermen and scientists can work out any potential problems, said Scott Lindell, a scientist at the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods Hole who has worked on the project. The initial deployment on Nantucket Sound in the spring will include three 480-foot-long lines with 10-foot-long mussel-filled socks every three feet, secured on either end by12-foot-long helical anchors, Lindell said, adding that the plan is to eventually have 25 of the lines.

NOAA made a series of recommendations, including the phased approach, and worked closely with the Army Corps and Santoro on the permitting, agency spokeswoman Maggie Mooney-Seus said.

"There really isn't a precedent for how you do this type of permitting," she said.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

October 21, 2014 — The Fishing Partnership Support Services is offering free basic courses in safety-at-sea and drill conductor training for commercial fishermen at Coast Guard Station Gloucester on Harbor Loop in the first week of November.

The basic safety training course is scheduled to be held Nov. 6 from 7:30 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., with the drill-conductor course scheduled to run from 8 a.m. until 4 p.m. on Nov. 7.

The courses, offered in conjunction with Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership, will be taught by Coast Guard-certified fishing vessel safety instructors. They will include man-overboard procedures, firefighting and flares, survival suits, helicopter-hoist operations, flooding and pump operations, basic CPR and first aid and life raft equipment.

More than 40 commercial fishermen and others attended the Gloucester courses in May at Coast Guard Station Gloucester at 17 Harbor Loop. Fishermen interested in attending the next round of courses should contact Nina Groppo at the Fishing Partnership Support Services at 978-282-4847 or at ngroppo@fishingpartnership.org.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

October 22, 2014 — Congressional candidate Forrest Dunbar says he will push to protect a key federal fishery law if he’s elected.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act governs harvests in federal waters. Some political observers say it could be altered, if the November election changes the balance of power in Congress.

Dunbar says Alaska fisheries need to be protected.

“We don’t want to see many large-scale changes. We think the act is largely working well now,” he said. “We’re worried about other large, powerful outside interests coming in and making significant changes. I do believe we can stop that, though. And I don’t think that it’s a particularly partisan issue.”

Read the full story from KCAW News