May 11, 2023 — 19th-century whalers sailed the world’s seas hunting their giant prey for oil-producing blubber. But they were also fueling the New England economy — at its peak in 1880, the industry was bringing in $10 million a year, the equivalent of about $296 million today.
MASSACHUSETTS: Profitable Port of New Bedford draws IRS scrutiny of tax evading fishermen
May 10, 2023 — The national average for federal tax compliance is 83.6% over every type of industry.
In the commercial fishing industry, that compliance rate drops to 65%, said Joleen Simpson, special agent in charge of the IRS Criminal Investigation, Boston Field Office.
“That’s well under the average. So we’re really trying to make sure that we have the industry come under compliance,” Simpson said.
As the nation’s number one commercial fishing port, New Bedford is very much on the radar.
“The statistics we have cover the six New England states but really the fishing industry is significant in Rhode Island, Maine and Massachusetts, with, of course, New Bedford being the most valuable port not only in New England but in the United States,” said IRS Criminal Investigation Supervisory Special Agent Matthew Amsden.
New England groundfish fleet faces long rebuilding period
May 10, 2023 — When the new fishing year began May 1, Northeast ground fishermen faced new regulations and management.
In Massachusetts, some people are hopeful that a new cadre of aspiring fishermen in Cape Cod are paying close attention. That’s because a training program, offered by the non-profit Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, is focused on bringing younger people into local fisheries — including learning about what it takes to enter into what has been described as “a graying fishery.” In New England, the average age of groundfish and lobster captains is 55 according to the New England Young Fishermen’s Alliance (NEYFA).
The Fishermen Training program offered by Cape Cod Fishermen’s Alliance links new or beginner fishermen to local fishing fleets, and offers potential opportunities in a very hands-on way. There was a time when everyone participating in the training might have been focused almost exclusively on learning about fishing on well-established species like cod and haddock. But, the dynamics of being a successful groundfisherman have shifted.
“I love hearing stories from the old timers about cod and haddock,” says Stephanie Sykes, the program and outreach coordinator of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance, “whereas now, our gillnet fleets tend to target skates and dogfish.”
The training program has adapted to the realities of Cape Cod’s fisheries, including less of a focus on cod. “There are a few boats that still groundfish,” adds Sykes, “but their business is usually diversified.” In other words, groundfishing remains part of the training, but it is one small part of the larger equation for Cape Cod fishermen.
“One of the things I’ve seen over the past five years is a pivot to really strongly supporting and encouraging the diversification of a fishing business, to withstand a pandemic, market gluts, and other things,” says Sykes. “Diversification creates a more resilient fishing business.” Sykes knows firsthand about the importance of diversification now, as she is a commercial fisherman who used to gillnet for groundfish — but nowadays, focuses more on conch and black sea bass.
In places like Cape Cod, where the name reveals the one-time dominance of cod, shifting to and then educating consumers about other local (but less known) sustainable fish, such as hake, is one part of the solution. According to NOAA data, Atlantic cod was plentiful in the past, but by 2021, the catch dropped to about 1.3 million pounds harvested (valued at $2.9 million) — the lowest haul in recorded history. A 2019 stock assessment revealed that the Gulf of Maine cod was making “inadequate progress” toward rebuilding.
The regulatory New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC), alongside various policy, management and commercial fishing partners, have been working for some time to rebuild Gulf of Maine cod. However, council spokeswoman Janice Plante says “the stock is classified ‘overfished,’ meaning the biomass is below where it should be, with ‘overfishing occurring,’ meaning fishing mortality is too high, since 2011, as well as in some of the years before that.”
MAINE: Maine lobstermen facing another rule that may affect their catch
May 9, 2023 — An Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission board has enacted new rules that could change the size of lobsters Maine fishermen can legally harvest in the hope that the changes will ultimately preserve the fishery.
The American Lobster Board has passed a policy that will put new size limits in place if data shows a 35% decrease in the local lobster population compared with counts from previous years.
If the fishery reaches that trigger point, the regulations would increase the minimum size of lobsters that lobstermen can keep.
The board has passed the policy in order to “improve the resiliency” of the lobster population in Maine waters by increasing the number of younger, breeding lobster that go unharvested. The policy comes amid data showing that warming waters related to climate change, which were at first a boon to Maine’s lobstering industry, could soon be its downfall.
Regulators approve new lobster size limits in Maine to preserve young population
May 8, 2023 — An Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission board has approved new measures that could change the minimum and maximum catch sizes for lobster in certain parts of Maine.
The fisheries commission said it will gradually implement changes to measurement sizes by fractions of an inch in certain parts of the Gulf of Maine — but only if it observes a 35 percent decline in the young lobster population through trawl and trap survey data.
Recent assessments have shown a 23 percent decline in juvenile lobsters, said Pat Keliher, commissioner of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
Comment period begins on Gulf of Maine offshore wind development
May 8, 2023 — The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is moving forward with its exploration of offshore wind potential in the Gulf of Maine, announcing a public comment period that began April 26 and lasts 45 days.
Input is being sought on commercial wind energy development in areas off the coast of Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine.
Vineyard Wind engaging fishermen in offshore construction work
May 4, 2023 — Offshore wind power developers Vineyard Wind have spent about $5 million since 2019 to hire more than 30 southern New England fishing vessels to support various stages of the 800-megawatt turbine project, company officials said this week.
The boats and crews have served in fisheries research campaigns, as scout vessels to support geophysical survey vessels, and more recently as safety vessel support for offshore cable lay installation.
Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller and colleagues visited the State Pier in New Bedford Monday to see off Capt. Tony Alvernaz and the crew of the F/V Kathryn Marie as they embarked on an eight-day trip to support offshore construction project in federal waters off Martha’s Vineyard.
Restricted waters test of on-demand lobster gear in southern New England
May 3, 2023 — The largest deployment of on-demand, or “ropeless” fishing gear in southern New England recently concluded with up to 30 federally permitted lobster and Jonah crab vessels fishing waters closed to traditional trap and vertical-line setups. The collaboration between the National Marine Fisheries Service, its Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and southern New England pot and trap fishermen is an effort to test a potential long-term solution to prevent whale entanglements.
Participating fishermen were allowed 10 trawls each, using different designs of on-demand gear, activated by acoustic signals for retrieval, in federal waters of the South Island Restricted Area and the Massachusetts Restricted Area. Testing ran from Feb. 1 to April 30 under an Exempted Fishing Permit issued to the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center.
“It’s been nice because a couple of years ago fishermen would say ropeless would never work,” Henry Milliken, a supervisory research fishery biologist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center. “Now they say it will be the technology that keeps them on the water.”
No participating fishermen responded to requests for comment and NMFS refused to release the names of participating fishermen. There have been allegations of harassment and threats levied at fishermen on both the Atlantic and Pacific coasts who have participated in prior on-demand and ropeless tests.
MASSACHUSETTS: Vineyard Wind CEO Meets with Fishermen Ahead of Journey to Support Offshore Wind
May 3, 2023 — Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller visited the State Pier in New Bedford to wish Captain Tony Alvernaz and the crew of the FV Kathryn Marie before the crew set out on an 8-day trip aimed at supporting offshore construction for America’s first commercial-scale offshore wind energy project.
“Local fishermen bring tremendous value to our operations. Their unique local knowledge and network is a huge part of the successful construction of Vineyard Wind,” said Vineyard Wind CEO Klaus S. Moeller. “This emphasizes that the development of offshore wind would bring opportunities for our industries to work together, and we hope that the precedents we’ve set will become the norm for each and every project.”
Senator Collins Questions Commerce Secretary about Incomplete Surveys in the Gulf of Maine
Click HERE to watch Senator Collins’ exchange with Secretary Gina Raimondo. Click HERE to download.
May 2, 2023 — The following was released by the office of Senator Susan Collins:
At a hearing to review the fiscal year 2024 budget request for the United States Department of Commerce, U.S. Senator Susan Collins, Vice Chairman of the Appropriations Committee, questioned Secretary Gina Raimondo on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) broken survey vessel, which is leading to incomplete survey work for the Gulf of Maine. Specifically, Senator Collins emphasized the deep knowledge of Maine’s fishermen and encouraged NOAA to work with them to better survey the Gulf of Maine, which will help inform more accurate quotas.
At the hearing, Senator Collins:
Last week, I was notified that the start of the Northeast Spring Bottom Trawl Survey will be delayed for the third time, because NOAA’s survey vessel, the Henry B. Bigelow, is not functioning properly. And I have a feeling this affects others of my colleagues. So, we still don’t know when this vessel will be functional. But, according to NOAA’s staff, it can only be used for this survey through May 26. But it may not be fixed in time. So, that means, according to NOAA, that NOAA will have to decrease the survey coverage; and that only 70% of the planned coverage area, in southern New England, Georges Bank and the Bank of Maine, will be surveyed.
I recently met with a group of Maine fishermen who shared their great frustration about incomplete surveys. Because if you don’t have accurate surveys, you can’t determine the quota. If you don’t know how many fish are out there, you can’t decide, accurately, what the quota is. And the fishermen are on the water every day. They have the best information about the state of the stock, and they’re not involved in the surveys. So, I would ask you, if your vessel is going to be out of commission, and as I said, this is the third time this has happened, I would ask you to consider collaborating with the fishermen, who work in the Gulf of Maine and in these other areas, on better data collection methods. They’re willing to help. And they do know where the fish are; that’s where they go. I hope you will consider that, because, otherwise, we’re going to end up with quotas that don’t reflect the state of the stock.
Secretary Raimondo:
I will look into this. I’ve taken notes. You’re exactly right, about the surveys, how vital they are. We had a lot of problems, in COVID, staying on top of the surveys on time. We’re mostly caught up. I regret that we’re not caught up in Maine. So, let me look into it and get back to you.
If we’re allowed to collaborate in the way you suggest, with the fishermen, I think it’s a smart idea. But let me get into the details.
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