Saving Seafood

News for the Mid Atlantic Region

FSF Statement on Appeals Court Ruling in New York Wind Farm Case

May 20, 2021 — The following was released by the Fisheries Survival Fund:

The Fisheries Survival Fund is disappointed in the decision issued today by the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. However, we will continue to work with the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and all federal, state, and local government agencies, as well as wind energy farm developers, to ensure that these new uses of our coastal waters are created in such a way that they do not devastate existing uses, which in this case is one of the most important scallop grounds on the East Coast.

The court ruled that because BOEM doesn’t technically commit to anything at the lease stage, it is too early to challenge the siting of the wind farm under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The decision means that affected parties cannot challenge a lease location under NEPA until BOEM approves a Construction and Operations Plan (COP) for the wind farm. However, that is very late in the process, and changing the lease location at such a late date would be exceedingly difficult.

Since this litigation was filed, eight additional leasing areas have been proposed, all of which conflict with natural scallop habitat and historic scalloping grounds.

We will continue to work with BOEM to seek modified versions of several of the leasing areas due to their proximity to sensitive scallop areas. Under the current boundaries, historically important scallop areas will be directly next to wind turbines, and all of the negative environmental impacts they bring with them. By shifting the boundaries of some of these areas, and creating additional buffer zones between scallop areas and the turbines, BOEM can better ensure that scallop fishing will be unaffected, without diminishing the potential for wind power in the area.

Interstate fishery managers postpone action on allocations for multiple species

May 20, 2021 — Local recreational and commercial fishermen will have to wait until December to find out if interstate fisheries managers will make changes to allocations for several fish species.

During a joint webinar meeting May 8, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s summer flounder, scup and black sea bass board voted to postpone a final decision on potential changes to the allocations. The delay is intended to allow for further development of the recreational reform initiative before any decisions are made.

The council and board are now scheduled to take final action on the allocation amendment at a joint meeting in December. Summer flounder, scup and black sea bass are highly sought by commercial and recreational fishermen throughout the mid-Atlantic and southern New England regions, which includes the North Carolina coast.

The allocations for all three species are currently based on historical proportions of catch or landings. Recent changes in how recreational catch is estimated have resulted in a discrepancy between the current levels of estimated recreational harvest and the allocations to the same sector.

Read the full story at the Carteret County News-Times

New York advancing new rules for whelk harvesting; fishermen say slow down

May 20, 2021 — New York State is advancing a set of rules to limit the annual harvest off Long Island of sea snails known as whelk, but some fishermen say the restrictions aren’t needed.

Whelk, also known as conch, have become a vital species for Long Island fishermen who traditionally harvested lobsters, particularly in the Sound. But the lobster population has sharply dwindled in recent years, and fishing for them is banned for several months of the year.

Conch, which are harvested in traps that use the same hauling gear as lobster pots, are popular in ethnic food markets, including for scungilli and Asian specialty foods.

Read the full story at Newsday

Ørsted and Eversource announce partnership with local fishermen

May 20, 2021 — Joint-venture partners Ørsted and Eversource, the companies working with the state on a $235 million overhaul of State Pier in New London, have announced a collaboration with Waterford-based marine services provider Sea Services North America and its partner fishermen in Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York.

Ørsted says the agreement marks the first time an offshore wind developer and a commercial fishing consortium have signed a substantial commercial contract in the history of U.S. offshore wind.

The partnership, Ørsted and Eversource said in a statement, supports scouting and safety work — safe navigation in and around the companies’ planned Northeast offshore wind farms projects, including the 704-megawatt Revolution Wind project serving Rhode Island and Connecticut, the 132-megawatt South Fork Wind serving Long Island and the 924-megawatt Sunrise Wind project serving New York.

“We believe strongly that offshore wind can coexist with all ocean users, including the region’s commercial and recreational fishing fleets,” David Hardy, chief executive officer of Ørsted Offshore North America, said in a statement. “Our expanded collaboration with Sea Services will help us as we strive to achieve that coexistence, with the valuable support from fishermen who know the area’s waters best.”

Sea Services North America was co-founded by Waterford attorney Gordon Videll and Gary Yerman, the founder and owner of New London Seafood Distributors in New London.

Read the full story at The Day

Twelve Projects Selected for Saltonstall-Kennedy Program Funding in the Greater Atlantic Region

May 19, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

For over 40 years, NOAA Fisheries has awarded grant funds under the Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) program to organizations nationwide working to address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable.  Of the 43 projects selected nationally for 2021 funding, 12 projects were from the Greater Atlantic Region, requesting approximately $2.84 million in federal funding.

Awardees

  • University of Maryland Baltimore County
  • Virginia Institute of Marine Science
  • Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University
  • Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
  • Cornell Cooperative Extension of Suffolk County
  • Gulf of Maine Research Institute
  • Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
  • American Littoral Society
  • University of Maine

Read more in our web story or review the list of all proposals recommended for funding.

Read the full release here

Montauk Gosman fish dealer family members arraigned on conspiracy, obstruction charges

May 19, 2021 — Two fish dealers who are members of the Montauk-based Gosman family pleaded not guilty to conspiracy and obstruction charges in federal court in Central Islip Wednesday in a case alleging they dealt in illegally caught fluke and black sea bass.

Bryan and Asa Gosman entered not-guilty pleas before U.S. Magistrate Judge James Wicks to a two-count indictment alleging they conspired to defraud the government by submitting false fishing reports and obstructed justice by withholding documents or emails requested in a grand-jury subpoena. The men were released on $100,000 signature bonds with their travel restricted to the continental United States.

George Stamboulidis, an attorney for the Gosmans, declined to comment outside the courtroom. He had requested the men be released without the $100,00 bond, which Wicks denied.

Christoner Winkler, a Montauk fisherman who allegedly sold the Gosmans fish caught over the legal limits, was arraigned last week and pleaded not guilty to related conspiracy and obstruction charges, said his lawyer, Peter Smith of Northport, who declined to comment further.

The federal indictment unsealed last month charges Winkler, 61, Bryan Gosman, 48, and Asa Gosman, 45, with a conspiracy the government said took place between May 2014 and July 2016 involving more than $250,000 of over-quota fluke and black sea bass.

Read the full story at Newsday

MIKE SPINNEY: The gradual and sudden decline of striped bass

May 19, 2021 — Striped bass, also known as rockfish, are arguably the most economically important finfish on the Atlantic seaboard. According to a 2005 economic study by Southwick Associates, commercial and recreational fishing for stripers generated more than $6.8 billion in total economic activity, supporting more than 68,000 jobs. At the time, striped bass were abundant in the Chesapeake Bay and throughout their migratory range, from North Carolina to Maine.

Twenty years earlier, striped bass were practically nonexistent. Scooped up in commercial nets and plucked by rod and reel by a growing number of recreational anglers throughout the 1970s, stripers had been fished to the brink of oblivion when a moratorium was enacted in 1985. Remarkably, once left alone to reproduce in the Chesapeake and Delaware bays, as well as the Hudson River, the fish were spawning in record numbers. In 1995, five years after the moratorium was lifted, the species was declared “fully recovered” by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the interstate body tasked with managing them.

The rebound was touted as a success. Rockfish became a symbol of the ASMFC’s fisheries management prowess. But almost as soon as the commission resumed the task of allotting states their portion of the striped bass pie, things started to go downhill until, in 2019, the commission declared striped bass overfished.

Read the full opinion piece at the Chesapeake Bay Journal

NOAA Fisheries Reminder: Update your Fish Online Account by June 1

May 17, 2021 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

To increase your online security, NOAA Fisheries’ GARFO is changing the way that vessel owners and operators login to Fish Online. By June 1, vessel owners must create a Fish Online user account and vessel operators will also need to create an account to report electronically using a GARFO Fish Online app and to view their previously submitted eVTRs.

Soon-to-be Vacated Seat on Fisheries Council Should Be Held By A New Yorker, Lawmakers Say

May 14, 2021 — A seat on an interstate fisheries council that manages fish allocations among mid-Atlantic states will be vacated this summer, and top New York lawmakers are urging the federal government to keep a New Yorker in the post, Newsday has learned.

In a May 7 letter, Sen. Chuck Schumer told Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo it was “crucial” that she appoint a New Yorker to soon-to-be vacated seat on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The at-large seat is currently occupied by veteran sports fisherman and longtime council member Anthony DiLernia, whose term expires in August. Schumer, the Senate majority leader, said keeping a New Yorker in that seat is important because of “historically inequitable [council] rulings based on flawed science that have disproportionately harmed New York.”

Read the full story at Seafood News

NEW JERSEY: LBI Officials Find Support in Other Areas for Opposing Offshore Wind

May 14, 2021 — With the state Board of Public Utilities’ anticipated decision on granting approval for a second wind farm off the coast expected next month, Long Beach Island officials met in April with counterparts from Cape May County and state and federal legislators to discuss the negative impacts of offshore wind farms on shore communities.

“The Island, as a whole, is against it. The whole coast is against it,” said Surf City Mayor Francis Hodgson, who hosted the virtual meeting last month. “This is how I look at it: What is LBI going to gain? Nothing. What’s the liability? It might ruin our tourism industry. It might ruin the fishing industry. Why take the chance?”

In addition to Island officials, Congressman Jeff Van Drew, state Sen. Chris Connors and Republican gubernatorial candidate Jack Ciattarelli were present. Van Drew extended an invitation to the mayor of Ocean City, who sent a representative, and a businessman from Cape May County attended, Hodgson said.

“It (the opposition) has some power behind it,” Hodgson said. “We all agreed this is not the end of it. We’ve got to keep the pressure on.”

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind is poised to build the second wind farm in the state, in part off the coast of Long Beach Island. The closest western, or in-shore, boundary of the lease site is 10 miles from Barnegat Light and 9 miles from Holgate. The lease area has the potential to generate 3 gigawatts of offshore wind energy. Atlantic Shores plans to start onshore construction of substations in 2024 and offshore construction by 2025. The project is a 50-50 partnership between Shell New Energies US LLC and EDF Renewables North America. It was formed in December 2018 to co-develop nearly 183,353 acres of leased sea area on the Outer Continental Shelf, located within the New Jersey Wind Energy Area.

As a fishing fleet owner, Larson said, “I stand behind the Garden State Seafood Association and the [Fisheries] Survival Fund and those kinds of outfits, and RODA (Responsible Offshore Development Alliance). He was referring to a coalition of fishing industry associations that are concerned about impacts to the commercial seafood industry.

Read the full story at The Sand Piper