Tag: John Fleming

How Do You Feel About This “Time To Protect The Cod Habitat” Piece By North Shore Nature’s John Fleming?

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Shared By North Shore Nature-

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Time to protect cod habitat

AS I SEE IT

By Roger Fleming

Will we be the last generation to enjoy cod in New England?
Since Colonial times, the Sacred Cod hanging in the Massachusetts Statehouse has been a “historic and continuing symbol of the commonwealth.” This regional mascot reminds us that New England was built on a foundation of fish.
Without drastic intervention to save the cod (and the habitat they need to thrive) our grandchildren might know the cod only as the wooden sculpture — and a testament to our greed and shortsightedness.
This summer, NOAA Fisheries released some shocking new data.
It appears that cod in the Gulf of Maine have declined to just 3 percent of what is needed for a healthy population (down from an already dismal 15 percent in 2011).
Worse yet, scientists found fewer juveniles, which means reproduction rates are crashing. Atlantic cod is headed toward “commercial extinction” in New England waters, as happened in Canada in the 1990s.
The decline of cod is the result of bad decisions by federal fisheries managers (under pressure from powerful fishing interests) that encouraged overfishing for decades and failed to protect the habitat cod need to thrive.
In 2012, the New England Fisheries Management Council recommended a significant quota cut for cod in a last-ditch effort to save the species.
This was met with outrage by the old-school groundfish industry. NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency who makes the final management decisions, tried to soften the blow — taking actions which were recently found illegal by a federal court.
The new science shows that even the 2012 catch reductions were too small to protect the remaining cod stock. More needs to be done.
Despite the scientific evidence, expect the dominant players in the fishery to launch a new-old campaign of outrage against the measures needed to save, and rebuild cod stocks. Their campaign will include familiar messages.
First, they will claim NOAA’s Science Center got the science wrong and that there are far more cod in the ocean than estimated — despite the fact fishermen have been unable to catch even the declining cod quotas in recent years.
They will try to blame other causes for the population decline, like ravenous hoards of seals and dogfish, and climate change, while not acknowledging the severe overfishing that took place for decades.
The industry will also call for more “flexibility” in the regulations that are needed to prevent overfishing and protect the habitat cod need to recover.
Finally, expect a request for more government money to bail them out. This year, U.S. taxpayers gave the New England groundfish industry $33 million.

For the entire article click here

“SURVEY” AT ROCKPORT ART ASSOCIATION

Posted on by Joey Ciaramitaro

Show by Award Winning Photographers Law Hamilton and Dale Blank with Sculptor John Fleming Opens October 2

DaleBlank_ToolCompany“Survey,” featuring many new works by photographers Dale Blank and Law Hamilton and sculptor John Fleming, will be showing at the Rockport Art Association’s Martha Moore Room on October 2 through October 16, 2011.  An Opening Reception with the artists will be held on Sunday afternoon, October 2, from 2 – 4pm.

The collaboration of Ms. Blank, a Gloucester landscape photographer, Ms. Hamilton, a Rockport naturalist photographer, and Rockport artist/sculptor Fleming, “Survey” provides sweeping landscapes, graphic close-ups and double exposures designed to share their unique views of the world. Most of the photographs are representations of Cape Ann.  Mr. Fleming’s work is full of texture, yet reminiscent of charcoal drawing.
His sculptures inhabit the world created by the photographs.

“My sculpture primarily involves the human figure. To work on a sculpture, building and shaping the surface only to cut parts away and rebuild again, is to try to impart the same sense of growth, neglect, breaking down and recovery that we all experience,” says John.

Dale waits for the best light, in the golden hours before sunrise and sunset, or in the aftermath of a storm.  “I hope to increase appreciation of the natural and built environments by sharing the beauty of these places.” Reflections, symmetrical components and fleeting light are the mainstays of her work.

Law is known for her unique photographs of the region’s flora.  “Love of nature leads me to express through investigation, using patterns to lead the eye to a new perspective of what otherwise might be passed by,” she states.

All three are artist members of the Rockport Art Association. Gallery hours are Monday through Saturday, 10am – 5pm and Sunday, 12pm – 5pm. Galleries are open free to the public.

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