Other News

April 4, 2013 — The Working Waterfront Festival in New Bedford, Massachusetts, celebrates its 10th anniversary. The dates for this year's festival have been set for September 28-29, 2013.

The award-winning, family-friendly event celebrates the history and culture of New England's commercial fishing industry featuring live music, children’s activities, cooking demonstrations, vessel and harbor tours, fisherman’s contests, author readings, film screenings, local seafood, festival bookstore, maritime artisans marketplace & more. The FREE festival presents all that goes into bringing seafood from the ocean to the table in a way that is hands-on, educational and fun.

The 2013 tenth anniversary festival provides an opportunity to consider how commercial fishing and coastal communities have changed over the past ten years and what lies ahead.  Festival programming will offer a retrospective look at the themes explored over the past decade: Sustainability; Safety at Sea; the Future of the Industry; Women in the Industry; Preservation of Ports; Fishermen & Farmers; the Cultural Mosaic of New England’s Working Ports; Tradition & Innovation; and Narrative Tradition.

View more information on the Working Waterfront Festival here

 

 

April 3, 2013 — This video introduces consumers to FishWatch.gov, which provides easy-to-understand, science-based facts to help users make smart, sustainable seafood choices.

Through this video, you’ll learn more about “sustainability” and what NOAA is doing to ensure that our seafood is caught and farmed responsibly with consideration for the health of a species, the environment, and the livelihoods of the people that depend on them.

And you can help too!

Have you ever thought about where that piece of salmon on your plate came from? It could have been caught in a wild fishery or harvested from an aquaculture operation. Maybe it’s from the United States, or maybe it was imported from another country, like Canada or Chile.

It’s important to know the source of your seafood because not all of them measure up the same. Some seafood is wild-caught or farm-raised under regulations that protect the health of the marine ecosystem, the animals that live within it, and the consumers that eat it—however, some seafood is not. By buying seafood from reputable sources, you can help to conserve our ocean resources and support the economies and communities that ensure our seafood supply is safe and sustainable.

The next time you buy or eat seafood, get informed and make sustainable choices by using FishWatch.gov.

Watch the full video from NOAA FishWatch

 

 

March 23, 2013 — There will be some new faces on National Geographic Channel’s “Wicked Tuna” with Gloucester’s Capt. Jimmy Santapaola Jr. and his crewman Ryan Osmond of Rockport. They will start appearing in the next episode or two.

They will be fishing aboard the 40-foot Shearwater.

The show is now in its second season and airs on Sunday at 9 p.m. on the National Geographic Channel, and since the success of the first season, the show has been a hit around the globe, putting Gloucester and its fishermen in the spotlight.

Santapaola, 36, is no newcomer to the world of fishing, having started fishing out of Gloucester when he was 10 with his father, Jimmy Santapaola, who still fishes here.

Osmond, who has been fishing out of Gloucester, delves into the world of tuna fishing for the first time.

When not fishing for tuna, Santapaola fishes out of his father’s boat, the Amanda Leigh.

“He dedicates his life to fishing,” said his daughter, 23-year-old Amber Emery. “He does all types. It’s a nonstop life for him. He’s known as the diehard worker that will go out in storms, just to make a living.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times.

March 21, 2013 — With the healthy restoration of swordfish along the eastern seaboard, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fisheries service said it is now considering an open-access permit that could return swordfishing to Island waters by opening access to all fishermen, and small-boat fishermen in particular.

The National Marine Fisheries Service will host a public hearing in Gloucester seeking comment on the proposed permit on Thursday, March 28. If adopted, rod and reel fishermen and harpoon fishermen would be able to pursue swordfish and sell what they catch.

While the details of the permit are yet to be determined and much of the work is yet to be done, the permit could be adopted as early as the end of this summer.

The hearing will be held at the NOAA Fisheries Service, at 55 Great Republic Drive, and will start at 5:30 p.m. Similar hearings have already been held in St. Petersburg, Fla. and Silver Spring, Md. Another hearing will be held April 10 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. NOAA is expected to accept comments on the proposal through April 23. “This is a mini-step in the right direction. We should have more access,” said Menemsha fishermen Gregory Mayhew, 67, one of the last Island local fishermen known to have harpooned swordfish. Mr. Mayhew let his permit lapse several years, and has since found himself unable to afford another permit under the present regulatory system, even reaching out to former Sen. Scott Brown for help.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

 

 

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — March 20, 2013 — A University of New Hampshire associate professor of history has been honored for his book on the history of the human impact on the ocean.

W. Jeffrey Bolster has written “The Mortal Sea: Fishing the Atlantic in the Age of Sail.”

While overfishing is often thought of as a contemporary problem, Bolster examines how fishermen were transforming the sea long before fishing became an industrial enterprise. The western Atlantic’s fishing banks, stretching from Cape Cod to Newfoundland, have attracted fishermen for more than 500 years.

 

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Times

 

 

March 15, 2013 — FishWatch, maintained by NOAA Fisheries, provides science-based facts to help consumers make smart, sustainable seafood choices.

NOAA recently added the first aquaculture species profiles to the FishWatch website. Atlantic Salmon, clam, and two oyster species are now featured. More aquaculture and wild-capture species are expected to be added in the months ahead.

Additionally, FishWatch wants public input on their domain name. For two years FishWatch has been working under the domain fishwatch.gov. This was an attempt to simplify the old domain name fishwatch.noaa.gov. With a recent federal effort to consolidate government web addresses, FishWatch wants to hear your opinion about whether you prefer the old or new domain. 

Please send an e-mail by close of business Monday, March 18th, with your preference and why to Laurel Bryant – Laurel.Bryant@noaa.gov.

 

View the FishWatch species profiles here

 

 

 

WASHINGTON — March 14, 2013 — The following was released NOAA Fisheries Communications

Yesterday, March 13, Sam Rauch, Acting Administrator for NOAA Fisheries, testified before the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee in the first of a series of hearings to review the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act (MSA) in preparation for its future reauthorization. To learn more about the MSA and view Congressional testimony and hearings, visit NOAA's MSA page where the agency will post future reauthorization activities and information.

 

 

 

 

 

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [seafoodnews.com] March 13, 2013 — The International Boston Seafood Show (IBSS) and co-located Seafood Processing America (SPA) have changed names to Seafood Expo North America and Seafood Processing North America, respectively Diversified Business Communications said in a press release.

The exposition’s location and format will remain the same.

The name change is part of a global re-branding and marketing initiative planned for Diversified's entire portfolio of seafood expositions including the European Seafood Exposition, Seafood Processing Europe, Asian Seafood Exposition and Seafood Barcelona.

Seafood Expo North America and Seafood Processing North America will continue to deliver the highest quality trade event for buyers and suppliers from around the world doing business in the North American market.

Next year’s Seafood Expo North America and Seafood Processing North America will be held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on March 16-18, 2014.

 

This article was originally published on Seafood.com news, a subscription site, and has been reprinted with permission.

 

 

March 4, 2013 — Comedy Central's the Colbert Report profiles Skylar Bayer, a student of Dr. Rick Whale at the University of Maine, as "The Enemy Within: A lonely lady scientist studies the reproductive success of Maine scallops by cutting off their balls."

Watch the video here

 

(SEAFOOD.COM NEWS) March 11, 2013 — New Bedford's Northern Wind has said that the company has hired George Kouri to be its new COO.

The company's owners, Michael Fernandes and Kenneth Melanson, said the appointment is in line with its plan to grow its business strategically.

“Bringing in a proven leader like George as COO was essential in rounding out our management team,” said Company CEO Ken Melanson.

Fernandes, who serves as the company president said “We have worked hard to put the company in a position to capitalize on its strengths within the market, it’s time to take the company to the next level.  “We are excited to have George join our senior management team and look forward to working together to build on Northern Wind’s leadership within the retail and foodservice sectors."

Kouri brings over twenty-five years of business planning and strategic management skills to his new position and see’s Northern Wind as perfectly situated to expand into retail with value added seafood specialty items.

“I want to build on the successes the company has achieved in their first twenty-five years. Their reputation for quality and customer service was a huge attraction for me," said Kouri

Northern also recently completed its third processing facility; the company is a first receiver, processor and distributor of fresh and frozen scallops.

 

Seafood.com is a subscription site, the article is reprinted with permission