Phil Cusumano, a former commercial fisherman, has infused a lifetime of experience on the water into his artwork.
A sea captain still at work on the ocean as well in as his art studio, he will exhibit some of his local maritime art through August at a Salem gallery.
The public is invited to a free artist’s reception when the exhibit opens next Thursday from 5 to 7 p.m. at the Kensington-Stobart Gallery in Salem at the Hawthorne Hotel off the Salem Common.
The history is this: Al Gore and John Kerry narrowly lost their presidential bids, and New Bedford failed to realize its ambitious plans for a world-class oceanarium.
You can beat your breast about that. And you can moan about how this once grand city again lost its big chance for a rapid renaissance.
Or you can roll up your sleeves and concentrate on some of the great things that 2009 New Bedford really does have, and is developing. Like its suddenly hip downtown; its first-rate zoo; its abundance of antique shops that rival any in the Northeast. All of a sudden, another one of the really great things about New Bedford is the Ocean Explorium.
Travel anywhere on the Seacoast and you’ll see fishing boats along the shore. But where to eat their fresh fish? Good luck with that. About 11 million pounds of fish, including just over 3 million pounds of fin fish, landed on the New Hampshire coast last year, and nearly all of it left the state after being unloaded on the pier.
Like most of us, I didn’t have a clue that our fish are heading down the interstate. But for those who’ve been watching the industry consolidate over the last 30 years, it’s like standing by while trucks full of money disappear down the road. And seeing 400 years of tradition being sold to out-of-staters. And, for some reason, saying “no, thanks” to an affordable supply of fresh healthy food, only to buy it back a few days later and older, at a higher price.
The math doesn’t make sense to a small group of people who have been meeting at Portsmouth City Hall since October working to turn the tide. This week, they’ll launch “NH Seafood Fresh and Local,” a new brand intended to help consumers identify locally landed seafood, species that are both fresh and managed to sustainability.
Dozens of wind turbines could sprout within sight of the Massachusetts shoreline under a first-of-its-kind state blueprint with the promise of generating both electricity and controversy.
The draft plan, scheduled to be released today, would allow a series of small wind farms of up to 10 turbines each in coastal waters that stretch 3 miles from shore. Substantially larger farms – similar to what’s proposed in Nantucket Sound – could be built off Cape Cod near Cuttyhunk Island and adjacent to another tiny island several miles off Martha’s Vineyard.
But much like zoning laws on land that attempt to protect sensitive areas, the state plan aims to spare precious pieces of the sea that include fish nurseries and endangered whale feeding zones. Before developers could start aquaculture farms, lay electric cables, or plant wind turbines in those areas, they would have to prove there is no better alternative.
A draft of the state’s historic ocean management plan being released today would prohibit Boston developer Jay Cashman from building his proposed, large-scale, commercial wind farm in the upper portion of Buzzards Bay.
At the same time, the plan opens the door for small-scale, community wind projects with 10 or fewer turbines to be sited in most of the state’s coastal waters, including the upper bay. In addition, the plan identifies two potential locations for commercial-sized wind farms: the southern end of the Elizabeth Islands at the mouth of Buzzards Bay and an area southwest of Nomans Land near Martha’s Vineyard.
An extensive review of ocean uses in Buzzards Bay concluded that Cashman’s proposal by Patriot Renewables LLC — which originally called for a 300-megawatt project with a total of up to 120 turbines sited off Dartmouth, Fairhaven and Naushon Island — was not an appropriate fit for the narrow bay, said Ian Bowles, state secretary for energy and environmental affairs.
The 2009 Summer Community Lecture Series is sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant, the URI Cooperative Extension/Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan, and the participating libraries. For more information, visit seagrant.gso.uri.edu. These lectures are free, but seating is limited. Please contact Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6800 to reserve your seat.
July 16, 2009
Vessel Traffic, Safety, and Offshore Wind Farms: Navigating the Coast Guard’s Review Process
Edward G. LeBlanc is chief of the WaterwaysManagement Division for Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, an area that includes Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound, Buzzards Bay, Nantucket Sound, and all ocean waters adjacent to Rhode Island, Southeastern Massachusetts, and Cape Cod. His division ensures navigation safety through a variety of preventative measures including aids-to-navigation, vessel traffic management, boating safety education, and compliance with federal regulations. The Waterways Management Division also reviews any proposed facility or activity that may impact navigation on a federal waterway, such as offshore renewable energy installations (e.g., wind farms), dredging and bridge maintenance operations, and marine regattas.
North Kingstown Free Library
100 Boone St., Wickford
7–8 p.m.
August 6th Rhode Island Ocean Zoning: Where NOT to Put a Wind Farm in Rhode Island Waters
Work is underway to gather data to assist in siting offshore renewable energy facilities (wind farms) in R.I. coastal waters. Environmental conditions, existing uses, ecological impacts, and technological constraints are all factors to determine viable sites for offshore energy development. Malcolm Spaulding, URI professor of ocean engineering, will describe the marine spatial planning approach that is being used. This work is being done as part of the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan to zone Rhode Island’s waters.
South Kingstown Peace Dale Library
1057 Kingstown Rd., Peace Dale
7–8 p.m.
Alice and Larry Hatch always bring a cooler filled with ice when they shop for seafood each week.
They don’t go to a supermarket or even a seafood shop. This summer they’re getting their fish – whole, with eyes staring up – directly from the fishermen who caught it.
A similar agriculture model has been around for decades; farmers sell portions of their harvest directly to people who take it home and prepare it for dinner. Now fishermen are getting in on the act, selling their fresh fish to people who pay in advance for a share of the catch.
The commercial herring fishery on the California coast will be closed for the first time in history in response to historically low population numbers.
The state Fish and Game Commission took emergency action Thursday to close the fishery, which is now under way and would normally continue until November.
The closure is expected to take effect in about 10 days, said Fish and Game Deputy Director Sonke Mastrup.
Arne Fuglvog, a former commercial fisherman who serves as a fisheries aide in Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Washington D.C. office, is a finalist to head up NOAA’s Fisheries Service.
(See the story written by the ADN’s Elizabeth Bluemink when Fuglvog, who once served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, moved to Murkowski’s office from Alaska in 2006.)
The finalists are down to Fuglvog and Brian Rothschild of Massachusetts, reports the Gloucester Daily Times in "America’s Oldest Seaport." The Massachusetts newspaper has had exhaustive coverage of the appointment process, including this profile of the two candidates.
The 2009 Summer Community Lecture Series is sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant, the URI Cooperative Extension/Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan, and the participating libraries. For more information, visit seagrant.gso.uri.edu.
These lectures are free, but seating is limited. Please contact Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6800 to reserve your seat.
June 18th
Understanding Climate Change: What it Means for Rhode Islanders
Global climate change and sea level rise effects are already being seen in Rhode Island in rising temperatures, erosion, and increased flooding. URI GSO Associate Dean and Ocean Engineering Professor Kate Moran and URI Coastal Resources Center/Rhode Island Sea Grant Coastal Management Extension Specialist Pam Rubinoff have studied climate change and coastal issues around the world and will speak about what changes Rhode Islanders can expect in the coming years as well as an innovative project the state is working on to develop offshore renewable energy resources.
Newport Public Library Program Room 300 Spring St., Newport
7–8 p.m
July 16, 2009
Vessel Traffic, Safety, and Offshore Wind Farms: Navigating the Coast Guard’s Review Process
Edward G. LeBlanc is chief of the WaterwaysManagement Division for Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, an area that includes Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound, Buzzards Bay, Nantucket Sound, and all ocean waters adjacent to Rhode Island, Southeastern Massachusetts, and Cape Cod. His division ensures navigation safety through a variety of preventative measures including aids-to-navigation, vessel traffic management, boating safety education, and compliance with federal regulations. The Waterways Management Division also reviews any proposed facility or activity that may impact navigation on a federal waterway, such as offshore renewable energy installations (e.g., wind farms), dredging and bridge maintenance operations, and marine regattas.
North Kingstown Free Library 100 Boone St., Wickford
7–8 p.m.
August 6th
Rhode Island Ocean Zoning: Where NOT to Put a Wind Farm in Rhode Island Waters
Work is underway to gather data to assist in siting offshore renewable energy facilities (wind farms) in R.I. coastal waters. Environmental conditions, existing uses, ecological impacts, and technological constraints are all factors to determine viable sites for offshore energy development. Malcolm Spaulding, URI professor of ocean engineering, will describe the marine spatial planning approach that is being used. This work is being done as part of the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan to zone Rhode Island’s waters.
South Kingstown Peace Dale Library 1057 Kingstown Rd., Peace Dale
7–8 p.m.