Saving Seafood

Governors, attorneys general join fight against seismic testing

December 28, 2018 — North Carolina’s Attorney General Josh Stein, along with attorneys general from Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Maine, Virginia and New York have moved to take their own action stop the proposed use of airguns to survey the Atlantic Ocean floor for oil and gas.

“North Carolina’s beautiful coastline supports tens of thousands of jobs and billions in economic activity,” said Stein in a statement. “That is why I am fighting this move to take our state one step closer to offshore drilling. I will continue to do everything in my power to protect our state’s coast.”

A lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS, and federal officials was filed last week in South Carolina by a coalition of local and national non-governmental organizations.

“In moving to intervene on the side of the organizations, the attorneys general are seeking to file their own complaint on behalf of their respective states,” according to the announcement.

The seismic testing surveys is one step closer to allowing offshore drilling, “An action that would result in severe and potentially irreparable harm to our coastline and its critically important tourism and fishing economy,” the release continued.

Five private companies applied in 2014 and 2015 to the U.S. Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, or BOEM, for permits to use air guns for seismic testing to search for oil and gas on the Atlantic Ocean floor.

Read the full story at The Outer Banks Voice

NOAA drafts habitat maps for wind lease zones

November 1, 2018 — After years of mapping, NOAA, WHOI, UMass Dartmouth, and Howard Marine Research Laboratory researchers have created bottom, or benthic, habitat maps for the eight Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the Northeast. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management funded the mapping project, which included areas in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina. A report from the habitat-mapping project titled “Habitat Mapping and Assessment of Northeast Wind Energy Areas” describes concerns with disturbing benthic environment in the process of assembling wind turbines. “Topics range from bottom water temperatures, bottom topography and features, types of sediments and ocean currents,” a NOAA release states, “to animals that live in and on top of the sediments and in the water column in that area either seasonally or year-round.”

Some of the details given in the release covered aspects of Massachusetts wind farm sites.

Read the full story at the Martha’s Vineyard Times

ASMFC Presents Roy W. Miller Prestigious Captain David H. Hart Award

October 25, 2018 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission presented Roy W. Miller, Delaware’s Governor Appointee to the Commission and former Director of Delaware’s Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Captain David H. Hart Award, its highest annual award, at the Commission’s 77th Annual Meeting in New York City. Mr. Miller has admirably served the State of Delaware and the Commission since 1978 when he first started with the Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife as a Program Manager.

Right from the start, Mr. Miller became a member of the Striped Bass Technical Committee, then known as the Striped Bass Science and Statistical Committee. The Committee had a lot on its plate given the precipitous decline of the striped bass population. As part of those discussions, Mr. Miller was instrumental in getting Delaware to join Maryland in a moratorium on the Delaware striped bass fishery. To this day, he considers the recovery of the striped bass population and the return of the Delaware Bay as a productive and important spawning area as two of his proudest Commission moments. Mr. Miller served on the committee through passage of the Atlantic Striped Bass Conservation Act in 1984.

Beginning in 2003, as Section Administrator for the Division of Fish and Wildlife, Mr. Miller became the state’s Administrative Commissioner Proxy. In that position, he served on and chaired numerous management boards, including Shad and River Herring, Weakfish, and, most memorably for Mr. Miller, the Horseshoe Crab Board. His chairmanship of the Horseshoe Crab Board was during the highly contentious development and implementation of the FMP, which sought to balance the needs of watermen, who wanted to continue to harvest crabs to use as bait, with the desires of environmentalists, who wanted to preserve the crabs so their eggs could feed migrating shorebirds. Mr. Miller skillfully guided the Board through some intense Board meetings, which included extensive and impassioned public comment on both sides of the issue. In addition to a management program that accommodated the needs of all the stakeholders and the resource, those meetings also resulted in revised comment protocols for public speaking at ASMFC meetings.

Immediately after his retirement in 2009, Mr. Miller was chosen by Governor Jack Markell (D-DE) to serve as his Appointee to the Commission. Notably, Mr. Miller didn’t miss a meeting between his retirement and the Governor’s appointment, continuing to serve to this day. As Governor Appointee, Mr. Miller continues to chair management boards and has been a regular visitor to Capitol Hill, keeping staffers apprised of important developments in Delaware and at the Commission. At one such meeting with former Congressman Carney’s staff, Mr. Miller expressed his concern about funding shortfalls that resulted in the discontinuance of the Mid-Atlantic Horseshoe Crab Trawl Survey. That meeting and others that followed ultimately led to the restoration of the survey’s funding in 2016. It is now supported by Senators and Representatives throughout the Mid-Atlantic, and the survey’s third consecutive year was completed just this month.

Throughout his 40 years of service, Mr. Miller has distinguished himself by his dedication to the Commission’s management process. He is always prepared for board meetings, asks insightful questions and is always a respectful debater. One of the most collegial Commissioners, Mr. Miller consistently reaches out to other Commissioners and seeks compromise instead of contention. These traits, combined with his long and meritorious record of accomplishments and dedication to sustainable fisheries management, make him a most worthy award recipient.

The Commission instituted the Hart Award in 1991 to recognize individuals who have made outstanding efforts to improve Atlantic coast marine fisheries. The Hart Award is named for one of the Commission’s longest serving members, who dedicated himself to the advancement and protection of marine fishery resources, Captain David H. Hart, from the State of New Jersey.

Harris Teeter shoppers may have bought mislabeled and ‘distressed’ crabmeat for years

October 19, 2018 — Harris Teeter is contacting members of its VIC loyalty-card program this week to offer refunds involving crab meat sold between 2010 and 2015.

The crab, supplied by a Virginia company called Casey’s Seafood, is part of a massive federal fraud case over the mislabeling of seafood.

The Washington Post reported Sept. 26 that Casey’s owner James Casey, 74, pleaded guilty in September to relabeling and reselling “distressed” crab meat from other countries as fresh crab meat from the Chesapeake Bay. Distressed crab meat is crab that was recalled, returned or out of date. Casey will be sentenced in January and is facing up to five years in prison, according to the Post.

The charges involved more than 360,000 pounds of crab sold between 2012 and 2015, although prosecutors believe the crab meat switch may have dated to as early as 2010, the Post reported.

The crab meat was valued at millions of dollars, and was sold to stores and restaurants in multiple Southeastern states, including North and South Carolina, Florida, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, the District of Columbia and Tennessee, according to the Associated Press.

Checks by The Observer of other supermarket chains, including Publix, Food Lion, Bi Lo, Earth Fare and Whole Foods, didn’t find other companies in North Carolina involved in the sales of the Casey’s crab meat.

Multiple news reports about the case say that federal agents were notified by a tip and did DNA tests on samples of the product in several states, including North Carolina.

Danna Robinson, communications manager for Harris Teeter, wouldn’t say how many customers were contacted or how much it is providing in refunds.

Read the full story at The Charlotte Observer

Climate change, scorching summers bring more Southern fish to Delaware waters

September 4, 2018 — Surrounded by some of the largest coastal estuaries on the East Coast, Delaware sees its fair share of varied marine life from sharks and whales to funky fish and crustaceans.

But rising temperatures on land and sea are starting to mix things up even more.

Some species previously known to frequent Florida, others that rarely traveled beyond the Chesapeake Bay and tropical fish that look like they came from a fancy aquarium instead of First State waters are catching the attention of fishermen and scientists along the coast.

“There is an issue with climate change, or whatever you want to call it,” said Rich King, an avid fisherman, Sussex County resident and the mind behind DelawareSurfFishing.com. “It’s affecting the fish stocks because they’re changing migration patterns.”

On King’s website, which chronicles the ins-and-outs of fishing along the Delaware coast, reports outline everything from tropical Portuguese men-o-war washing ashore to foot-long Florida pompano to fancy butterfly fish caught in crab traps.

Read the full story at the Delaware News Journal

Depleted stock sinks Maine’s bid to increase its fishing quota for lucrative baby eels

August 9, 2018 — Maine’s efforts to expand its lucrative baby eel fishery by increasing its annual quota by 20 percent were shot down Wednesday. But the state did secure an extra 200 pounds of yearly landings to help a Thomaston eel farmer build a new aquaculture center.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, the interstate body that oversees the American eel fishery, cited the “depleted” state of the stock when it rejected the proposal. Licensed Maine fishermen are currently allowed to harvest 9,688 pounds of baby eels, which are also called glass eels or elvers. Maine sought to increase that annual harvest to 11,749 pounds.

The final vote was 13-5, with each of the 15 member states, as well as the District of Columbia and two federal agencies, getting a say.

During discussion, commissioners cited the difficulty that scientists face when estimating the size of the American eel population, especially baby eels, but noted that scientists generally agreed that the stock is depleted. Eels do not reproduce until they are about 30 years old, at the end of their life cycle, so measuring the impact of harvesting babies won’t be known for decades.

“I’m impressed with the efforts that Maine has gone through to strengthen the reporting and monitoring of the fishery,” said Roy Miller, a Delaware commissioner. “Nonetheless, our only advice from the stock assessment scientists was that this stock remains depleted, and that we don’t know what the effect of harvest of Maine glass eels will have on the rest.”

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

DELAWARE: Fish and Wildlife Service to support watershed conservation efforts

August 8, 2018 –The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation announced on Aug. 7 the launch of the Delaware Watershed Conservation Fund, a competitive grant and technical assistance program of $4.3 million that will provide new support for the protection, restoration and conservation of fish and wildlife habitats in the Delaware River Watershed, which provides drinking water for more than 15 million people.

Congress provided funds to the FWS in fiscal 2018 to leverage public and private funding to support the environmental and economic health of the Delaware River Watershed for boots-on-the-ground conservation projects — as outlined in the Delaware River Basin Restoration Partnership and Program Framework.

Covering 13,539 square miles of land and water, the Delaware River Watershed is home to native brook trout, red knots, river herring, freshwater mussels, oysters and other wildlife. Headwaters and streams located in rural, forested and agricultural areas play a major role in the ecosystem, as do urban and suburban waterways such as those in Trenton, Philadelphia and Wilmington.

Work supported by the DWCF will take place in a variety of landscapes and habitats across the Delaware River Watershed, from the beaches and tidal salt marshes of the Delaware Bay to the farms, cities and towns of Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, to the cold-water rivers and streams of New York. The DWCF will expand and further facilitate restoration and conservation efforts in the basin to restore and conserve fish and wildlife habitat; improve and maintain water quality for fish, wildlife and people; manage water volume and improve flood damage mitigation for fish and wildlife habitat; and improve recreational opportunities consistent with ecological needs

Read the full story at the Smyrna-Clayton Sun-Times

Delaware Bay ferry sunk for artificial reef

June 20, 2018 –The 320’x68’ ferry Twin Capes, former flagship of the Delaware River and Bay Authority’s fleet linking New Jersey and Delaware, is now a destination for fishermen and divers after it went to the bottom of the ocean Friday.

The double-ender vehicle and passenger ferry was emplaced on the Del-Jersey-Land Inshore Reef site, in 120 feet of water 26 miles southeast of Cape May, N.J., where the former Coast Guard cutter Tamaroa was likewise put to rest in May 2017. Contractor Colleen Marine, Norfolk, Va., handled the Tamaroa project and did a repeat performance with the Twin Capes, towing the old ferry away in August 2017 to clean and prepare it for the reef deployment.

Built in 1974 at Todd Shipyards, Houston, the Twin Capes was the biggest vessel on the 17-mile run between Cape May, N.J., and Cape Henlopen, Del., with capacity for 895 passengers. But over the years its higher operational costs compared to the authority’s three other vessels became a handicap.

Read the full story at Work Boat

Environmental groups protest oil exploration

February 7, 2018 — Surrounded by protest signs against drilling for oil off Delaware’s coastline, environmentalists and other concerned citizens from across the state gathered in Dover to voice their concerns over a proposal by the federal government to open East Coast waters to offshore drilling.

In early January, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said the majority of federal waters could be open to offshore oil and gas exploration if a revised National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program is accepted. The five-year leasing program runs from 2019 to 2024.

Organized by Marine Education Research and Rehabilitation Institute Executive Director Suzanne Thurman, the Jan. 18 protest attracted nearly three dozen people who packed into a small conference room of the Holiday Inn.

Among them was Lewes Mayor Ted Becker. Pointing to Sussex County’s two strongest industries, agriculture and tourism, he said an accident would affect everyone. There’s a lot of concern about what this potentially could mean, Becker said.

The rally occurred as the federal government’s Bureau of Energy Management was hosting a public meeting in the hotel’s large conference room. It was one of 23 meetings scheduled throughout the country. A couple of days before the Dover meeting, BOEM staff met in Annapolis.

Beyond the obvious potential environmental impacts, speakers also addressed other issues, like employee safety and styles of oil platforms.

John Doerfler, representing Delaware Surfrider, said the proposed draft puts oil company employees at great risk because it rolls back safety measures. “They’re putting the lives of the men and women who work for those companies at risk, just so they can fatten their pockets,” Doerfler said.

Read the full story at the Cape Gazette

 

Attorneys general urge offshore drilling plan’s cancellation

February 2, 2018 — The top lawyers for a dozen coastal states want the U.S. Interior Department to cancel the Trump administration’s plan to expand offshore drilling, warning it threatens their maritime economies and natural resources.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey and her fellow attorneys general, all Democrats, wrote Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday about his agency’s proposed five-year oil and gas leasing plan that opens new ocean waters.

“Not only does this irresponsible and careless plan put our state’s jobs and environment at risk, but it shows utter disregard for the will and voices of thousands of local businesses and fishing families,” said Healey in a prepared statement. “My colleagues and I will continue to fight this plan.”

Healey first announced her opposition to the plan in an August 2017 letter to Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The Northeast Seafood Coalition and the Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association agreed with her that the Interior Department’s plan to expand offshore drilling threatens Massachusetts’ $7.3 billion commercial fishing industry — the third largest in the country — and more than 240,000 jobs in the state.

The plan also could devastate the state’s robust recreation and tourism industries, according to Healey, as well harm the state’s coastal environment and protected endangered species, including the Northern Right Whale, which feeds in the waters off of Cape Cod and Nantucket, according to the comment letter. There are only about 460 critically endangered Northern Right Whales remaining worldwide.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times