Massachusetts state officials announced $1.6 million in grants will go to 20 businesses and organizations “to support innovative approaches to enhance Massachusetts commercial marine fisheries and the seafood industry.”
“Massachusetts is a leader in protecting the health of our fishing industry, and this funding shows our commitment to keep the industry thriving by utilizing cutting-edge technology and the latest scientific research,” Gov. Maura Healey said in announcing the grants June 30. “Our administration is taking a holistic approach to combating climate change, which includes supporting our fisheries, advancing green energy, and enhancing the state’s blue economy.”
The funding is coming through the Environmental Economic Innovation and Resiliency in Marine Fisheries Grant Program, supplemented by the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The goal is encouraging projects “that work to mitigate economic barriers resulting from climate change and promote sustainable, local fisheries development in Massachusetts,” according to the state Division of Marine Fisheries.
“The fishing industry is on the front lines of climate change, and it’s critical we make meaningful, long-term investments now to ensure the sustainability and resiliency of our marine fisheries,” Rebecca Tepper, the state energy and environmental affairs secretary. “This funding is two-fold in that we are helping fishers and their families recover from the pandemic while supporting new approaches that will safeguard our valuable marine resources from climate harm.”
The Massachusetts Environmental Economic Innovation and Resiliency in Marine Fisheries Grant Program awards up to $100,000 per project. The grant awards are going to:
- Aquaculture Research Corp, Dennis: $98,896 to expand nursery operations to provide as much shellfish seed as possible to farmers and municipalities, especially in Massachusetts.
- Blue Stream Shellfish LLC, Ware: $100,000 to design and construct an alternatively powered work barge for use at oyster farms.
- Chatham Harvesters Cooperative, Chatham: $100,000 to increase the resiliency of local and regional fishing industry by expanding consumer access to healthy Massachusetts seafood through innovating new direct markets and creating value-added products from dogfish, skate, and monkfish.
- Cuttyhunk Shellfish Farms, Concord: $57,290 for capital infrastructure improvements in farm equipment, business operating infrastructure, and business operating technology. The investment will support jobs, employee training, and environmental stewardship for the next generation of oyster farmers and Cuttyhunk residents by utilizing and establishing best business, management, and farm practices.
- CVision AI, Inc., Medford: $100,000 to build an underwater stereo camera system and algorithms for counting, identifying, and measuring New England groundfish.
- F/V Marissa & Julie, Gloucester: $79,909 to fund the purchase and installation of an automatic saltwater ice making machine system on the deck of the FV Marissa & Julie, of Gloucester.
- Friends of South Shore Seafood Development, Scituate and Cohasset: $77,840 to purchase tracking software (QR Code, point of sale verification of catch origin, video streaming of vessel at sea); develop a website to include information on products, fishery management, and environmental impacts; develop a social media presence; and increase processing capacity to enable an average of 10 percent of catches to be handled locally.
- Homarus Strategies, LLC, Brunswick, ME: $60,000 to establish a nonprofit organization in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts called CyanoBank that will be structured to house a capital facility providing low-cost revolving loans for emissions reductions projects, low-and zero-carbon repower projects, and the installation of zero-emission technologies to businesses involved in the commercial fishing and seafood industries in Massachusetts.
- Honeysuckle Oyster Farm, LLC, Edgartown: $57,785 will enable Honeysuckle Oyster Farm to use the Oyster Transfer Barge to transfer shellfish and gear between different farm sites so that it may continue to farm and sell shellfish when adverse environmental conditions are present at its current farm site.
- Lobster Foundation of Massachusetts, Scituate: $100,000 to market American lobster, the most valuable marine species harvested in Massachusetts waters, and to educate consumers about the Massachusetts commercial lobster industry’s conservation efforts on behalf of the North Atlantic Right Whale.
- Lone Tree Creek Sea Farm, Yarmouth Port: $24,896 for the sail rigging, hull, and electric motor-- to replace fading fossil fuel outboards currently in use-- as well as fund subject matter experts for in-kind work on construction, sail training, and labor to assemble the project.
- Martinos Seafood, LLC, Oak Bluffs: $27,202 to help aquaculture farms across the region successfully transition their oyster containers to bay scallops while generating an eco-friendly, protein- rich, high- in-demand product for the marketplace.
- Michael T. Carroll, Charlestown: $92,150 to provide the Massachusetts retail, processing, and distribution industry with lobster sourcing strategies that minimize Right Whale entanglements.
- On The Water, LLC, East Falmouth: $100,000 for an extensive marketing project that will support the commercial fishing, seafood, and aquaculture industry in Massachusetts through the creation of content designed to be distributed across social platforms.
- Red's Best, Boston: $68,549 to maximize the environmental benefits of the clam shells that are the by-product of processing operations.
- St. Ours & Co., LLC, East Weymouth: $49,980 to work with a network of harvesters and seafood processors across Eastern Massachusetts to determine the best method of capture, containment, transport, and storage of live green crabs.
- The Martha’s Vineyard Fishermen’s Preservation Trust, Menemsha: $98,763 to build a Martha’s Vineyard Seafood Collaborative brand and local seafood labeling campaign to help consumers connect directly with the stories of their local fishermen. Also, to establish a pilot program to create value-added seafood products (such as black sea bass chowder) to be sold in local grocery stores and other outlets.
- Wellfleet Shellfish Company Inc., Eastham: $100,000 to help offset capital costs associated with the installation of a solar array for its ability to promote resilience against the impacts of climate change. Installation of the Enphase Energy Monitoring Unit will help track energy performance, production, and usage in real-time.
- School of Marine Science and Technology, UMass-Dartmouth, New Bedford: $99,290 to create a system that will give fishermen real-time information of the fish entering their net so that they can terminate a trawl immediately if they encounter fish they wish to avoid catching.
