8/11/2022

There was a great turnout at the Boston Seafood Festival this Sunday! Natalie, Emily and Taylor represented CFF at a booth giving out gators, stickers, pens and pencils. It was a great day despite the heat and we're looking forward to the next outreach event!

For more information about the festival, please check out this link: https://www.bostonseafoodfestival.org/

8/3/2022

Have you seen these cool license plates around the state? CFF is proud to be a grantee of the Massachusetts Environment Trust (MET) through Dr. Samir Patel's collaborative work understanding the health and distribution of sea turtles within MA waters. You can support the Trust and help preserve MA's water resources and environment. Click on the logo to order you own "Preserve the Trust" license plate and learn more about what your contribution can do to support the protection and restoration of natural resources.

6/24/2022

Research biologist Farrell Davis returned from a fast and furious 72-hour scallop tagging cruise this week.  Pictured above: CFF technician Tori Oriole assists Farrell with processing meat and gonad weights from a sample of scallops brought to the lab. While at-sea, thousands of scallops were tagged and released by CFF researchers in coordination with an intensive optical survey also being conducted by CFF from the Nantucket-Lightship Rotational Areas to Scallop Closed Area 2. We would like to thank Will Ligenza - F/V Small Stuff and Jose Correia - F/V Kathy Marie for their many hours of service and dedication to these projects.  

6/17/2022

This week CFF research biologists Tasha O'Hara, Luisa Garcia and     technicians Nathan Shivers and Tori Oriole have been onboarding in New Bedford for   Leg 1 of the our HabCam survey. Onsite coordination and services have been provided   by Jose Correia/Arnie Demello, F/V Kathy Marie and Quinn Fisheries. This optical survey of the seafloor is funded by the Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program managed by NOAA Fisheries. Funds to support research are generated through the sale of set-aside allocations of federally managed species like sea scallops and monkfish.      

6/10/2022

Special thanks to Rockland Trust Bank for their donation to the sea turtle research at CFF!  Sea turtle scientists at CFF and NEFSC recently completed a tagging trip in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. These efforts help scientists determine seasonal migration patterns and areas of high/low loggerhead population densities. Transmitters can also be used to monitor turtle dive behavior and certain oceanographic features. To view more images please visit: https://www.facebook.com/CFarmFoundation

Spring 2022

CFF has been awarded RSA grant funding to conduct the following projects through 2023:

Understanding the Impacts of the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery on Loggerhead Sea Turtles 

Principal Investigators: Samir Patel, Ph.D., Liese Siemann, Ph.D.

Optical Assessment of Atlantic Sea Scallop Abundance and Distribution in Select Areas of the Mid-Atlantic and Georges Bank

Principal Investigators: Tasha O'Hara, Luisa Garcia, Liese Siemann, Ph.D.

​

Evaluating the Key Factors that Influence the Efficacy of Transplanting to Supplement Recruitment 

Principal Investigators: Farrell Davis, Luisa Garcia, Ryan Munnelly, Nathan Shivers, Victoria Oriole

Using Sedimentary eDNA to Track the Presence of Scallop Spat and Predators Principal Investigators: Liese Siemann, Ph. D., Samir Patel, Ph.D.

Seasonal Survey for the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery on the Eastern Part of Georges Bank

Principal Investigators: Luisa M. Garcia, Liese Siemann, Ph.D., Farrell Davis, Natalie Jennings

​

RSA projects could not be completed without our industry partners. CFF would like to extend their appreciation to collaborators for 2022: Daniel Eilertsen (Nordic Inc.); Jose Correia and Arnie DeMello (F/V Kathy Marie); Joe Gilbert (Empire Fisheries); Brent Fulcher (Fulcher Seafoods) Ronnie Enoksen (Eastern Fisheries); Nordic Fisheries; Kavanagh Fisheries; Jim Gutowski (Viking Village Fisheries); Cynbal Fisheries; Quinn Fisheries; Brain and Susan Kvilhaug -