October 4, 2022 — As tensions remain high between lobstermen and federal regulators, NOAA has scheduled a hearing in Portland Wednesday to take public comment on measures designed to protect right whales from entanglement in fishing gear.
ALASKA: Both sides dig in as EPA’s final decision on Pebble Mine nears
October 4, 2022 — Environmental advocates, Alaska Natives and commercial fishermen say they are at once confident and anxious as they wait for the EPA to announce a final ban on mining wastes in Bristol Bay, Alaska — home to one of the world’s largest salmon fisheries — that would effectively kill a gold and copper mine estimated to be worth $350 billion.
The Pebble Mine has endured a decadeslong fight spanning three administrations, all of which have moved to block the mine to protect the fishery. The developers, Canada-based Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. and other investors doing business as the Pebble Limited Partnership, are still determined to keep the project alive.
It would be unusual for the EPA to reverse its preliminary decision to ban mining wastes from Bristol Bay under a provision of the Clean Water Act, but the Pebble Limited Partnership won’t be reluctant to take the EPA to court to secure the permits it needs, according to a spokesman.
Meanwhile, Delores Larson, who lives in the Native Village of Koliganek, Alaska, on the Nushagak River, says the possibility of the Pebble Mine getting a green light is terrifying. There are no grocery stores where she lives, she said, no lettuce, bananas or any other imported foods. But there are native berries, moose and other wildlife, including the salmon that begin their northern journey to spawn about 125 miles downstream in the Bristol Bay fishery.
Her people are “salmon people,” she said in an interview in Washington last month as she scrolled through pictures of bright pink catch drying in a shed back home in Koliganek and the dark, glossy fillets of her famous salmon jerky. “Salmon is gold to us.”
Larson had traveled over 3,000 miles to pressure the EPA to finalize its “proposed determination” announced in May to “prohibit and restrict the use of certain waters in the Bristol Bay watershed (South Fork Koktuli River, North Fork Koktuli River, and Upper Talarik Creek watersheds) as disposal sites for the discharge of dredged or fill material associated with mining the Pebble Deposit.” The agency says the project would threaten the bay’s salmon fishery, which this year produced more than 76 million sockeyes, an all-time record harvest.
“Honestly, we would cease to exist as a people,” she said with a sigh, considering what would happen if the Pebble Mine was built. “It’s our whole life. We depend entirely on our salmon.”
But developers aren’t keen on letting the EPA strike down a multibillion-dollar project that would tap into what geologists say is one of the world’s largest reserves of gold, copper and other minerals. They hold that their plan to contain the wastes is sound, despite what the EPA has said in various reports.
“The record EPA has tried to create for this action is baseless,” said Mike Heatwole, vice president of public affairs for the partnership. “No matter the outcome, we will continue to press our case for this important mineral project.”
A final decision had been expected this month after the EPA received a flood of public comments mostly supporting the plan for banning waste. But the agency announced on Sept. 6 that it would postpone the final determination until December so it could fully review all the comments — though it hasn’t escaped notice that it means there will be no announcement before the midterm elections.
And the inevitable legal battle ahead would prolong an already lengthy fight for the project.
MAINE: New fisheries leader weighs in on the future of the lobster industry
October 3, 2022 — Amid looming environmental and legal threats to the Maine lobster industry, a new leader is coming to a fisheries organization in the state’s most lucrative lobstering port.
The Bangor Daily News spoke to Alexa Dayton, the new executive director of the Maine Center for Coastal Fisheries in Stonington, about her vision for the future of coastal communities, especially in the wake of the group Seafood Watch telling consumers earlier in September not to eat lobster. The group red listed lobster after another blow to the industry, when a federal judge upheld fishing restrictions to prevent lobstering ropes from entangling critically endangered North Atlantic right whales.
The decision has been roundly criticized in Maine and raised concerns from fishermen about both their livelihoods and the future of their lobstering heritage. While scientists estimate that fewer than 350 right whales still survive, fewer than 100 of which are breeding females, Maine lobstermen argue there’s no evidence their lines are catching on whales and say they have complied with all regulations.
Dayton has more than 15 years of experience working in fisheries science and policy roles, and believes her background and relationships will help her serve in her new role, which she begins today. In the face of warming ocean temperatures, sea-level rise and water-quality challenges, her vision for the future is one of thriving and climate-resilient communities, she said.
MAINE: Wearing red and rallying for lobster fishermen
October 3, 2022 — Schoolchildren all over Maine wore red on Friday, September 23, to show support for lobster fishermen even as rallies were planned in Portland and in Stonington for October.
In Deer Isle, both high school and elementary school students wore red, according to Moriah Nutter, the high school’s administrative assistant. Many people wore red throughout the island towns. Spencer Insurance in Deer Isle posted signs in its window, “WEAR RED, 9/23.”
VIRGINIA: Offshore wind project “at a crossroads” Dominion argues
October 3, 2022 — Dominion Energy is arguing that it may “be forced” to pull the plug on its proposed offshore wind project if a performance guarantee remains imposed on it by the State Corporation Commission.
On Aug. 5, the SCC approved a rate adjustment clause, or rider, attached to consumers’ power bills so Dominion can recover costs associated with its proposed offshore wind project. The SCC order also included a performance guarantee to protect consumers from potential extra costs if the wind turbines don’t perform as well as expected.
The $9.8 billion wind farm— planned for 27 miles off Virginia Beach— is the largest energy project ever undertaken in the state and would be the largest wind project in the country.
But Dominion challenged the performance guarantee and the SCC agreed to reconsider it — kicking off a window in which both the utility company and other parties have responded.
“It is the regulator’s job to balance monopoly profit motives by adopting common and reasonable standards that will protect Virginians,” Laura Gonzalez, a policy manager with Clean Virginia said in a statement.
Clean Virginia is one of the environmental groups that responded.
But Dominion objected to the guarantee, asserting it could create uncertainty for its investors and hold the company responsible for things outside of its control — citing extreme weather as example.
FLORDIA: They rode out Ian on shrimping boats. Now they fear their livelihood is destroyed
October 3, 2022 — Shrimp Boat Lane is a crook in the middle of San Carlos Island. Inside pulses the heart of a storied fishery.
But with little warning and punishing winds, Hurricane Ian shredded it.
Huge swells tossed shrimp boats into the mangroves and washed away docks. Jesse Clapham walked through what was left Friday morning, sweat soaking the back of his black T-shirt.
“My dad was a fisherman. His was a fisherman,” said Clapham, fleet manager for Erickson and Jensen, a seafood and marine supplies company. “This is life-changing.”
Just three of the company’s 12 boats are still in the water, he said, and one has a hole in the side. Clapham is sure he can patch it.
What to do with the others, however, is overwhelming.
Joined by a handful of coworkers, Clapham, 47, gathered tools and set to work repairing the flooded engine of a front-end loader, so he could clear debris. A mash of rubble fringed the Double E, a 96-foot, steel-hulled shrimp boat left listing sharply to port on the ground.
Clapham’s head mechanic, Jerry Richards, 54, had stayed onboard during the hurricane with a captain and the captain’s wife and five kids. He watched the swelling sea overtop his Chevy Silverado, parked nearby on land. The waves lifted the Double E onto an old dock, before the surge rushed back out, he said. The force caused the ship to lean so far over that they decided to climb down a ladder and off the vessel Wednesday night.
“When they said it was going this way, it was too late to do anything,” Richards said, recalling forecasters’ predictions for Hurricane Ian. He had avoided evacuating to Tampa, where he worried his mother’s home would face intense storm surge in Town ‘N Country. The Erickson and Jensen crew hadn’t even had enough time to drive all the boats up to a safer spot in the Caloosahatchee River before Ian descended.
ALASKA: Sustainable Pacific Oyster Farming
October 3, 2022 — The following was released by the NOAA:
Alaska’s aquatic farming industry is relatively new—it only became legal in the state in 1988. Since then, the industry has flourished.
Want a meal that’s good for you and good for the planet? Pacific oysters farmed in the United States are a smart seafood choice because they are sustainably grown and harvested under state and federal regulations. Oysters provide environmental benefits by removing excess nutrients and improving water quality. They are low in saturated fat, and excellent sources of omega-3 fatty acids, iron, zinc, and vitamin B12.
Pacific oysters, also called the Japanese oyster, Miyagi oyster, or Pacific cupped oyster, are sustainably farmed in Alaska and the Pacific Northwest. They are the most cultivated species of oyster, originally introduced from Asia to 66 countries. They are the only non-indigenous species allowed to be imported to Alaska for cultivation. Pacific oysters take 18 to 30 months to develop to the market size of 70 to 100 grams (2.5 to 3.5 ounces; shell on) live weight. Pacific oyster growth depends on water temperature and salinity.
MAINE: Portland public meeting on NMFS whale plan set for Oct. 5
September 30, 2022 — An in-person public scoping meeting on proposed changes to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan is scheduled for Portland, Maine, on Oct. 5 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m., according to the National Marine Fisheries Service.
The event will “collect public input on modifications to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan to reduce the risk of death and serious injury caused by U.S. commercial fishing gear to endangered North Atlantic right whales in compliance with the mandates of the Marine Mammal Protection Act,” the agency said in an announcement Thursday morning.
New Jersey: Lund’s Fisheries accredited for in-house seafood safety inspection
September 30, 2022 — Lund’s Fisheries of Cape May, N.J. is now accredited to conduct its own food safety inspections on all seafood that the company harvests, processes, and ships, after building up its own laboratory facilities and meeting international standards.
“The company’s in-house lab equipment and testing protocols, built out over the last year, have met internationally recognized standards, and can now be used to test all Lund’s products before going directly to consumers,” Lund’s said in a Sept. 27 announcement.
Before being sold, seafood products are required to be tested for microbiological contaminants such as E. coli, listeria, and salmonella. Most seafood products go to third-party laboratories to conduct tests, as few seafood companies in the U.S. have the in-house capability to test their own products.
Read the full article at the National Fisherman
MAINE: DMR Commissioner Keliher to Maine lobstermen: ‘It is imperative that we participate in the process to provide Maine’s input’
September 30, 2022 — Please see the notice below from NOAA regarding an in-person scoping session in Maine. NOAA has scheduled this scoping session because Governor Mills worked with the Secretary of Commerce to ensure she understood how important it was for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to come to Maine and hear directly from Maine fishermen.
As a reminder, this scoping session is being held by the National Marine Fisheries Service in response to a federal judge in Washington, D.C., who ruled on the side of environmental non-governmental organizations who have sued the Service for not doing enough to protect right whales.
This decision has forced the NMFS to fast-track the 10 year plan whale plan and implement a 90% risk reduction years ahead of schedule. This scoping meeting is the first part of a process that should take two years to play out, assuming the same federal judge doesn’t continue to rule with the ENGO’s and force a faster timeline.
You might be asking yourself why we should bother to participate in this process if Maine, the MLA and MLU continue to be engaged in the federal court?
- « Previous Page
- 1
- …
- 225
- 226
- 227
- 228
- 229
- …
- 963
- Next Page »