Saving Seafood

Jersey Shore Rally Urges Obama Admin to #KillTheDrill, #ProtectOurAtlantic

January 31, 2016 — ASBURY PARK, N.J. – The following was released by the office of Senator Bob Menendez:

U.S. Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker, and Congressman Frank Pallone (N.J.-06) today were joined by over 100 local leaders, environmental and tourism groups, Jersey Shore business owners and residents at a rally on the Asbury Park boardwalk to demand action to guard the Atlantic against offshore oil and gas exploration.

The Obama Administration is currently planning to allow oil production off the coast of Virginia, the Carolinas and Georgia, putting New Jersey’s economy and shore communities at significant risk of a catastrophic oil spill.  The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is expected to release its revised plan in the coming weeks.

“The Jersey Shore is one of our most precious natural resources, providing enjoyment for generations of New Jersey families and visitors alike.  An oil spill threatens everything we hold dear about the Shore—and we have to do everything in our power to prevent it from becoming a reality,” said Sen. Menendez.  “Let’s call Atlantic drilling what it is: another handout to the oil industry.  Oil companies don’t need another gift from the federal government.”

“We must stand united in protecting the people and economy of the Jersey Shore and the entire East Coast in the face of the potentially irreparable effects from drilling in the Atlantic,” said Sen. Booker. “Knowing full well the devastating economic and environmental dangers associated with catastrophic oil spills like Deepwater Horizon, we simply can’t stand idly by while our region is exposed to the same risk.”

“Allowing offshore drilling in the Atlantic would inevitably set the stage for another man-made environmental catastrophe—this time, off the Jersey Shore and up and down the East Coast,” said Rep. Pallone. “We know that the technology to drill safely does not exist and that the effects of a spill would be devastating and long-lasting.  I have said time and time again that we cannot jeopardize our state and regional economies, our environment, and our marine life to pursue a dangerous and outdated energy policy.  I urge the Administration to think twice before allowing Big Oil to endanger New Jersey’s environmental and economic well-being.”

Read the full story at Atlantic Highlands Herald

 

Congressman Frank Pallone Calls for Less Restrictive Policies for Summer Flounder and Sea Bass

January 25, 2016 – The following was released by the office of Congressman Frank Pallone:

LONG BRANCH, NJ – Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) sent a letter to Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator for the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, regarding the Commission’s Draft Addendum XXVII to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan.  In the letter, Pallone called for fair and less restrictive policies relating to two important fisheries in New Jersey: summer flounder and sea bass.

“My district has thousands of private anglers and attracts individual anglers from all over the nation. These anglers support local small businesses and drive the coastal economy of my home state,” Pallone wrote in the letter.  “It is critical for New Jersey to receive fair treatment in the development of restrictions placed on key recreational species.”

Regarding summer flounder, Pallone requested that the Commission enable New Jersey to become its own region and allow anglers to have a more equitable size limit within the Delaware Bay area.  With respect to sea bass, he expressed his support for a less restrictive quota than the proposed 23% reduction included in the draft addendum for recreational harvest.  He also once again called for more reliable data collection to ensure that recreational anglers in New Jersey and along the Atlantic Coast have fair quotas based on sound science.

Read the full text of the letter here.