Saving Seafood

Offshore wind farms could reduce Atlantic City’s surfclam fishery revenue up to 25%, Rutgers study suggests

July 1, 2022 — New research from Rutgers University shows Mid-Atlantic surfclam fisheries could see revenue losses from planned offshore wind farms, at least in the short- to medium-term after the development takes place.

The data is sure to fuel opposition from the fishing industry to the Biden administration’s rapid offshore wind development along the New York, New Jersey, and Delaware coasts. President Joe Biden has a goal of generating 30 gigawatts of wind energy by 2030 as part of his effort to tackle climate change.

Clammers and scallop fishermen fear a shrinking patch of fishable ocean will lead to the collapse of the industry.

Surfclam harvests stretching from Maine to Virginia generate about $30 million in annual revenue. The Rutgers study, “The Atlantic Surfclam Fishery and Offshore Wind Energy Development,” published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science, used a newly-developed model to determine average revenue reductions between 3 and 15% overall.

Read the full story at WHYY

Simulator Helps Researchers Envision Commercial Offshore Wind Farm In Maryland

June 29, 2022 — It won’t be long before offshore wind is powering homes in Maryland, but with so few examples of completed wind farms in the United States, it’s hard to fully imagine what a completed project will look like. 

That’s why Ørsted, a Danish power company, and the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies in Linthicum Heights teamed up to create the Mid-Atlantic’s first offshore wind farm simulator, bringing these massive projects to life. 

“This is a brand-new industry here in the United States, said Brady Walker, Ørsted’s Head of Government Relations for Maryland and Delaware, “There is not a commercial-scale wind farm in operation here right now. “ 

That will soon change, as companies like Ørsted continue to develop projects in our own backyard. Skipjack Wind, off the coast of Delaware and Maryland, will generate enough clean renewable energy to power about 300,000 homes and businesses on the Delmarva peninsula. 

“For Maryland’s first offshore wind farm – a really impactful commercial utility-scale offshore wind farm,” Walker said.

Read the full story at CBS Baltimore

 

Federal agency to hold public meetings on US Wind project off Ocean City coast as it begins to examine impacts

June 7, 2022 — The federal agency responsible for reviewing offshore wind projects will hold a series of virtual public meetings later this month as it begins the process of evaluating a planned wind farm off the coast of Ocean City and southern Delaware.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said Tuesday that it will formally launch its review of the environmental impacts associated with a wind farm of up to 121 turbines that US Wind LLC plans to build by 2026.

The agency will describe its review process to the public at online meetings at 5 p.m. June 21 and June 23 and at 1 p.m. June 27. The process involves collecting input from the public to determine what environmental impacts the project could have, what alternatives to US Wind’s plans might exist, and what measures could be taken to reduce any impacts.

Bureau Director Amanda Lefton said in a statement the agency would use “the best available science and traditional knowledge to inform our decisions and protect the ocean environment and marine life.”

Read the full story at the Baltimore Sun

Plans for Delaware, Maryland offshore wind projects questioned at forum

May 23, 2022 — Signs of support for offshore wind power abounded outside of Indian River High School Friday.

Inside, it was just the opposite.

Waves of skepticism and opposition followed presentations by representatives of US Wind and Ørsted, two companies that have obtained leases for proposed offshore wind projects in federal waters off the Delaware/Maryland coast.

Topics of concerns included detrimental impact on marine and migratory bird life, the local fishing industry and numerous natural resources, as well as marine safety and unobstructed viewshed.

The fishing industry – recreational and commercial – would take a huge hit, says Meghan Lapp, a fisheries liaison for Seafreeze Ltd. in Rhode Island. She addressed the panel and audience by Zoom.

“What you are looking for in wind farms from a commercial fishing perspective is essentially a complete loss of fishable areas for the next 30 years, which is going to be the career and the lifetime of the fishermen that are out there right now,” Ms. Lapp said.

Bonnie Brady, executive director of Long Island Commercial Fishing Association in Montauk, New York, said sonar from site surveying and electromagnetic frequency through cables will result in long-term migratory changes that will have a detrimental impact on marine life, including several endangered species of whales.

“It will change the ecosystem of the area,” Ms. Brady said.

Read the full story at Delaware State News

Survey conflicts test relations between wind, fishing industries

April 27, 2022 — The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and offshore wind energy developers are pledging to do better by commercial fishermen – with fisheries studies, scout boats to head off survey conflicts with fishing gear, and bringing on highly experienced and respected fishermen as industry liaisons.

Incidents of survey boats towing through fixed gear in Mid-Atlantic waters are putting those processes to the test. Conch and black sea bass trap fishermen who have had gear damaged off the Delmarva coast and New Jersey brought their complaints to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

At an April 5 briefing Amanda Lefton, director of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and wind developers Ørsted and Atlantic Shores updated the regional fishery management council on plans for two adjacent turbine projects off Atlantic City and Long Beach Island, N.J. – and BOEM’s recent $4.37 billion sale of New York Bight wind leases that could become even bigger arrays farther out on the continental shelf.

Then they heard from fishermen who have seen their conch and black sea bass gear dragged and damaged by survey vessels working on wind leases off New Jersey and the Delmarva peninsula.

New Jersey captain Joe Wagner Jr. told the council how he lost 157 bass traps in 2021 during a survey around the Ørsted Ocean Wind project area.

“The only reason I got somewhat of a payment (compensation) is because I caught their vessel at 3 o’clock in the morning pulling three of my high flyers behind their boat,” said Wagner.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Horseshoe Crab Board Accepts ARM Framework Revision and Peer Review for Management Use and Initiates Draft Addendum to Consider Changes to Delaware Bay Management

January 27, 2022 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s Horseshoe Crab Management Board reviewed and accepted for management use the 2021 Revision of the Adaptive Resource Management (ARM) Framework and the independent peer review of the Revision. The ARM Revision addresses previous peer review critiques, includes new sources of data, and adopts new modeling software to set harvest levels for Delaware Bay-origin horseshoe crabs that account for the forage needs of migratory shorebirds. The independent peer review panel endorsed the ARM Revision as the best and most current scientific information for the management of horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay Region.

“On behalf of the Board, I want to applaud the members of the ARM Subcommittee for their exceptional work on the 2021 ARM Revision,” stated Board Chair Joe Cimino from New Jersey. “This revision made a notable advancement in considering more sources of data and providing a thorough picture of the population dynamics in the Delaware Bay Region. The Board recognizes that there is considerable public concern about the potential impact of the ARM Revision on the status of the endangered red knot and is committed to fully vetting its possible use in setting harvest levels for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay-origin through our public comment process.”

Since 2013, horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay Region (New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia) have been managed under the ARM Framework to set harvest levels with consideration of the needs of migratory shorebirds. The ARM was developed jointly by the Commission, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Geological Survey in recognition of the importance of horseshoe crab eggs to migratory shorebirds stopping over in the Delaware Bay region. In particular, horseshoe crab eggs are a critical food source for the rufa red knot, which is listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. In the past decade, more data has been collected on red knots and horseshoe crabs and modeling software has advanced. Thus, the ARM Subcommittee was tasked with revising the ARM Framework to address critiques from the previous peer review panel, include newly available data, and transition to new modeling software since the old software is obsolete.

Several improvements to the ARM Framework were made during this revision. In the original ARM Framework, the population models for horseshoe crabs and red knots were largely based on life history information taken from the literature that was not always specific to Delaware Bay. The ARM Revision improves the models for both species by incorporating region-specific data collected over the past few decades. Additionally, the ARM Revision incorporates more sources of horseshoe crab removals than the previous version, including mortality due to the biomedical industry and commercial discards from other fisheries.

In the original ARM Framework, the Virginia Tech Trawl Survey was used annually to estimate the Delaware Bay horseshoe crab population. The revised ARM Framework still relies heavily on the Virginia Tech Trawl Survey, but also includes additional abundance indices from the region. The population model in the ARM Revision indicated that adult abundance in the Delaware Bay was stable from 2003‐2013 and then began increasing in the past few years for both sexes. This finding is consistent with stock rebuilding due to a period of significantly reduced commercial landings and tight management controls on the fishery beginning in the 2000s in this Region. In 2019, the ARM Revision estimates there were 21.9 million male and 9.4 million female horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay Region. Mark-resight and count data from New Jersey and Delaware were used to estimate the population of red knots passing through the Delaware Bay. The passage population estimates were fairly stable between 2011 and 2020 at approximately 45,000 birds and their annual survival estimates were consistently high.  A more detailed overview of the 2021 ARM Revision can be found here.

Using estimated numbers of horseshoe crabs and red knots, the ARM Framework recommends the level of horseshoe crab harvest for the next fishing season. The maximum number of male and female horseshoe crabs the ARM Revision can recommend remains the same at 210,000 females and 500,000 males. While additional data and model improvements are used in the ARM Revision, the conceptual model of horseshoe crab abundance influencing red knot survival and reproduction remains intact with the intent of ensuring the abundance of horseshoe crabs does not become a limiting factor in the population growth of red knots.

After accepting the ARM Revision and Peer Review for management use, the Board initiated a Draft Addendum to consider allowing its use in setting annual specifications for horseshoe crabs of Delaware Bay-origin. The Horseshoe Crab Plan Development Team, composed of representatives from the states and federal agencies, will draft management options for Board review prior to the Board considering approving the document for public comment. If approved, the draft addendum will be released for public comment with opportunities to submit comment through public hearings and written comments. Following the public comment period, the Board will meet to review submitted comment and consider final action on the addendum.

A more detailed overview of the 2021 ARM Revision can be found athttp://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/61f2f18aHSC_ARM_RevisionOverview_Jan2022.pdf. The final ARM Revision and Peer Review Report will be available on the Commission website, www.asmfc.org, on the Horseshoe Crab webpage under stock assessment reports in early February. For more information, please contact Caitlin Starks, Fishery Management Coordinator, at cstarks@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

 

Push for wind farm off Wilmington’s coast continues despite local concerns

December 20, 2021 — Bill Franks squinted his eyes on a sunny and unusually warm mid-December day and looked out into the Atlantic from the sandy shore of Caswell Beach.

“I support clean energy, so they would be good to have,” said the Michigan resident, visiting family in Brunswick County for the holidays, when asked if having wind turbines in the near-shore waters off the North Carolina coast would alter his view of vacationing here. “But I just don’t know. I guess it depends on what they’d look like from here.”

That’s the rub for many coastal officials in this pocket of Southeastern North Carolina. While most have said they openly support the push to a carbon-free energy future, they also don’t want to kill the golden goose of their economies — namely the oceanfront views that draw tourists and an increasing number of full-time residents to their beach towns.

A new supplemental environmental assessment is likely to do little to alleviate concerns of coastal officials and residents worried the development of the Wilmington East Wind Energy Area, roughly 17 miles south of Bald Head Island, could ruin views from their oceanfront communities.

Read the full story at StarNews Online

 

$14.7 Million NOAA Marine Debris Grant Includes Mid-Atlantic Projects

September 13, 2021 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is tackling the growing issue of marine debris, funding cleanup and research projects nationwide. A $7.3 million grant is matched to a total of $14.7 million—which will make 25 different projects possible, including some in the Bay region.

Of the funding, about $1.4 million will support five marine debris research projects, including one in Maryland and one in Delaware. The grantees will “investigate and identify the critical input pathways for marine debris introduction into the coastal zone,” NOAA says.

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine

 

eVTR Instructional Webinar Next Tuesday Afternoon

August 2, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The second in a series of instructional webinars to provide vessel operators and others with a walkthrough of GARFO’s two electronic vessel trip reporting applications- the Fish Online Web app, and the Fish Online iOS app- will be held Tuesday, August 3 from 4:00 to 6:00 PM.

This webinar is focused on operators in Port Agent Josh O’Connor’s area of Southern New Jersey, Delaware and Maryland.

Future instructional webinars will include demonstrations of the Atlantic Coastal Cooperative Statistics Program’s (ACCSP) eTrips/mobile v2 and eTrips online applications. Other eVTR applications may also be included in these webinars. Anyone is welcome to join any webinar.

How Do I Join?

More information can be found on our webpage for this series: How to Use Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting Apps. This page includes webinar login information.

Questions?

Contact your local Port Agent.

DELAWARE: A much bigger wind farm could be coming to the Delmarva coast

July 21, 2021 — The company developing a wind farm off the coast of southern Delaware and Maryland is hoping to start a second one. It could be several times the size of the first.

Ørsted’s 120-megawatt Skipjack wind farm under development off the Delmarva coast is not expected to come online for another 5 years. But the Danish renewable energy company has already submitted a bid to the Maryland Public Service Commission to build Skipjack Wind 2. At 760 megawatts, more than six times the size of Skipjack 1, the proposed Skipjack Wind 2 could power up to 250,000 homes on the peninsula.

The renewable energy credits from both projects would go to Maryland. But Ørsted’s Mid-Atlantic Market Manager Brady Walker said at a virtual open house Monday Delaware will still benefit—from things like a “supplier day” the company hosted in Bethany beach.

“That’s a great example of, whether it’s a small business or someone that wants to be employed or get otherwise involved in the industry, where you can come and meet our prime contractors and find out how you can bid for business and become part of the industry,” he said.

At this point, Skipjack 2 is just a proposal. Walker told members of the public that its size is not set in stone.

Read the full story at DPM