Saving Seafood

Lund’s Fisheries Names Kimberly Moore Director of Retail Sales to Drive Expansion Strategy

April 30, 2026 — Lund’s Fisheries, a vertically integrated, family-owned seafood company based in Cape May, New Jersey, has appointed Kimberly Moore as Director of Retail Sales as the company accelerates its growth strategy across national and regional retail channels.

In her new role, Moore will oversee Lund’s retail sales organization, with responsibilities spanning account development, category expansion, and the launch of value-added seafood products. The company said she will also focus on strengthening relationships with retail partners as it works to expand its presence in the consumer packaged seafood segment.

Moore brings nearly two decades of experience in retail seafood and protein sales, with a background that includes product development, category growth initiatives, and program management across industry sustainability efforts. Her appointment reflects Lund’s continued emphasis on combining retail expansion with its vertically integrated supply chain model and sustainability commitments.

Read the full article at citybiz

MASSACHUSETTS: Climate change is driving scallops north. That’s good news for New Bedford

April 21, 2026 — For the past five years, New Jersey scallop fisherman Brady Lybarger has been spending more time in New Bedford. Scallop yields have been poor in the mid-Atlantic’s historic scalloping grounds, known as the Elephant Trunk. So Lybarger makes the 250-mile voyage from Cape May, New Jersey’s southernmost point, out to Georges Bank, east of Cape Cod.

Fuel is expensive, so Lybarger docks his vessel in New Bedford during the busy summer season. Between trips, he drives six hours each way to New Jersey to spend time with his family.

With 25 years in the fishing industry, Lybarger says the sacrifice is nothing new.

“No one wants to be away, right?” Lybarger said. “But you also got to go make money.”

Lybarger is part of a growing cohort of fishermen docking their vessels in New Bedford while calling another port home. Since 2016, the number of these “transient” vessels has increased over 300%, while scallop landings in mid-Atlantic and southern ports have declined.

The shift, some researchers say, is driven by climate change: ocean temperatures and acid levels are rising unevenly across the Eastern Seaboard. As scallops react to warming waters, fishermen are following suit — spending more time and landing more shellfish in New Bedford. It’s a boon for the Whaling City, but it’s a challenge for the southern ports left behind.

“We’re getting decimated,” said Sean Barto, the vice president of Sea Gear Marine Supply in Cape May. “It’s been straight downhill for the past five or six years.”

The shift may further consolidate an industry that’s already tough for independent fishermen, driving an even greater portion of fishing wealth into New Bedford’s privileged few.

The shifting tides aren’t enough to make Lybarger leave his home port behind entirely, though he’s willing to consider it someday.

“From what I’ve seen in the past 20 years, [New Bedford] has turned around,” Lybarger said. “I wouldn’t mind living in New Bedford, be honest with you. It’s not my top choice, but I wouldn’t mind it if I had to.”

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

NEW JERSEY: Jersey Shore fishermen face another threat at sea. Chemical weapons dumped decades ago.

April 20, 2026 — A fishing crew harvesting clams off the coast of Cape May in October 2023 pulled up an unexpected and dangerous find alongside their catch — a leaking chemical weapon.

The incident led to a fisherman being treated for second-degree burns and the destruction of 32 bushels of surf clams, according to a March 5 report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the New Jersey Department of Health.

It may seem inconceivable, but it’s not the first time a fisherman in New Jersey has encountered chemical munitions at sea.

“It has happened in the past for some of the clam boats, which mainly operate in Atlantic City and Point Pleasant,” said Scot Mackey of the Garden State Seafood Association, a statewide organization of roughly 1,200 commercial fishers.

Read the full article at NJ.com

 

NEW JERSEY: Commercial fishing boats stuck in Jersey Shore waterways clogged with ice

February 10, 2026 — This wave of brutally cold weather is cutting into catches for commercial fishing boats that are now idle along the Jersey Shore.

With boats iced in, Sea Tow Cape May is enduring the biting cold and gusty winds as they help ferry interport pilots to and from the big ships that are out at sea.

This step is vital to keep the supply chain moving along the northeast.

“A five mile wide wall of ice with two, three, four foot high, you know, icebergs sticking out of the water. And the dangerous part about that is you don’t know how much is underneath of them,” Claude Savino, of Sea Tow Cape May, explained. “It can’t stop. That’s goods coming in and out of our country and like, it cannot stop.”

Read the full article at NBC 10

Menhaden Fisheries: Federal Policy, Sustainability, and Coastal Economies

September 15, 2025 — America’s menhaden fishery is one of the great success stories of U.S. seafood production – a renewable, sustainably managed resource that supports thousands of jobs, fuels rural economies, and delivers essential products to global markets.

This longstanding industry, rooted for generations along the Atlantic and Gulf Coasts, often finds itself at the center of debate – praised as a model of science-based management by some, while questioned by others concerned about its ecological footprint and role in coastal economies.

What happens in these policy debates carries real weight for the communities, small businesses, and working families whose livelihoods are tied directly to menhaden.

From Reedville, Virginia, to Moss Point, Mississippi, and from Cape May, New Jersey, to Empire and Abbeville, Louisiana, the fishery forms the backbone of local economies. The industry supports not only fishing crews but also dock workers, plant employees, welders, mechanics, truck drivers, shipbuilders, and countless vendors.

Read the full article at NOLA.com

NEW JERSEY: Middle Thorofare Bridge in Cape May County, New Jersey, is set to be replaced with $400 million project

July 23, 2025 — Last summer, CBS Philadelphia highlighted problems with the Middle Thorofare Bridge, which links Cape May and Wildwood Crest in New Jersey.

The bridge, which has carried hundreds of thousands of cars between the Wildwoods and Cape May, is in rough shape.

In fact, its condition keeps some local officials awake at night.

But now, there is a plan to completely replace the crossing.

Joe Rotondi was casting off, trying his luck in a new spot, just beneath the bridge.

The North Jersey native has traveled the bridge countless times, but underneath, he said, the angle was an eye-opener.

“It’s a little shaky,” Rotondi said. “I’m assuming it’s been here forever and things were built to last.”

On the other side of the inlet, things are busy off Wayne Reichle’s docks.

“We are harvesting between 75 to 100 million pounds of seafood annually,” Reichle, the president of Lund’s Fisheries, said.

Read the full article at CBS News

Local seafood company praises Cape May County officials for keeping Middle Thorofare Bridge up

August 20, 2024 —  A local seafood company is praising the Cape May County Bridge Commission for leaving the Middle Thorofare Bridge up following a mechanical failure to allow fishing vessels to continue to use the Port of Wildwood/Cape May.

The port is the largest in the state and would have lost millions of dollars if vessels were forced to go elsewhere, according to a news release from Lund’s Fisheries. The port brings in species such as squid, scallops and several types of finfish.

“Losing access to the Port through this waterway would have been devastating for Cape May’s fishermen and the economy of the whole County,” the company’s president, Wayne Reichle, said in a statement. “We are grateful to the Bridge Commission and all Cape May County officials who made the decision to prioritize keeping the waterway accessible for vessels, ensuring that the port remains open and active while the bridge undergoes the needed repairs.”

Read the full article at The Press of Atlantic City

NEW JERSEY: Cape May keeps drawbridge open for fishing traffic

August 20, 2024 — A“total failure” of a drive shaft motor led Cape May N.J. officials to leave the Middle Thorofare drawbridge locked open, ensuring continued vessel access to the nation’s 6th-most valuable fishing port.

The bridge in Lower Township carries a two-lane road between Cape May and Wildwood Crest over the Intracoastal Waterway. At 10 a.m. Saturday Aug. 18 the motor used to open the bridge failed, according to a summary from the Cape May Bridge Commission.

 “The bridge electrical engineers performed many tests, concluding that the motor was inoperable and irreparable,” according to the agency. “The Bridge Commission is currently reviewing all options available both nationally and globally to source this highly specialized motor with the goal of replacement as soon as possible, with the best-case scenario is it taking many weeks.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NEW JERSEY: Temporary repair planned for damaged bridge between Wildwood Crest and Cape May

August 20, 2024 — The Cape May County Bridge Commission is working on a temporary solution to reopen the Middle Thorofare Bridge that connects Cape May to Wildwood Crest and Diamond Beach, possibly enabling traffic to return in the coming weeks. A motor failure on Saturday caused the drawbridge to be stuck in an upright position, resulting in an indefinite closure with significant disruptions.

The county’s interim plan will be to install an auxiliary motor to make the bridge operational in the short term while a specialized replacement for the primary motor is custom built.

The bridge commission’s executive director, Kevin Lare, said Tuesday the auxiliary motor could be installed within a week, at the soonest, but could take as long as a month.

Read the full article at PhillyVoice

NEW JERSEY: Bridge between Wildwood Crest and Cape May closed due to motor failure, could take weeks to repair

August 19, 2024 — The Middle Thorofare Bridge/Two Mile Bridge, which connects Wildwood Crest and Diamond Beach to Cape May, New Jersey, will be closed for the foreseeable future.

Wildwood Crest Mayor Don Cabrera posted on Facebook around 6:15 a.m. Sunday the bridge was closed to vehicles, bikes and pedestrians due to a “motor failure that could not be repaired.”

In a statement released Sunday afternoon, the Cape May Bridge Commission said the bridge experienced a “total failure of the drive shaft motor that was used to open the bridge on demand” at 10 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 17. Tests determined “the motor was inoperable and irreparable,” the commission said.

The mayor said Sunday that there’s no timeline for when the bridge will reopen and that it could be closed for “an extended period of time.” On social media, the Cape May County Sheriff’s Office said “major mechanical repairs” were needed to fix the issue.

The Cape May Bridge Commission echoed the severity of the issue, saying the goal of replacing the motor could take “many weeks.”

Because the motor is a customized part made specifically for the bridge, they can’t easily replace it. They have to build a whole new one, which will take months.

Read the full article at CBS News