Saving Seafood

Coastal Congress members move to ban offshore drilling

January 9, 2019 —  Seven members of the House of Representatives, including New Jersey’s Frank Pallone, D-6th, said Tuesday they will introduce legislation to block the Trump administration from expanding offshore drilling for gas and oil.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-2nd, said he has signed on as a co-sponsor to Pallone’s bill, which would permanently ban offshore oil and gas development in the Mid-Atlantic, South Atlantic, North Atlantic, Straits of Florida and Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

Van Drew expects the legislation to be introduced Wednesday.

“The bottom line is offshore drilling isn’t worth the risk,” said Van Drew, adding he still believes we need to rely on fossil fuels for a time.

Read the full story at The Press of Atlantic City

New Jersey: Murphy signs offshore drilling ban into law

April 20, 2018 — POINT PLEASANT, N.J. — Gov. Phil Murphy on Friday signed a ban on offshore drilling in state waters, just before the start of Earth Day and Earth Week festivities and on the anniversary of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill off Louisiana.

The law prohibits any drilling or activities or infrastructure that supports offshore drilling from happening in state waters, which run from the shoreline to 3 miles out.

That means the state would not allow any facilities that would support drilling in federal waters, according to co-sponsor state Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic.

States including New York, California, South Carolina and Rhode Island have introduced similar bills, Washington state is considering one and Maryland introduced a bill imposing liability on anyone who causes a spill.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

 

New Jersey: Bill to ban oil, gas drilling in state waters passes Senate

March 27, 2018 — Bipartisan legislation to ban offshore drilling in state waters and to prohibit infrastructure there from supporting drilling in federal waters off New Jersey, was approved 37-0 on Monday by the state Senate.

“This is a back-door way of blocking the offshore drilling that would be allowed by the federal action,” said co-sponsor Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic. “We control the first 3 miles at the state level, so we will use that authority to try to hinder or block drilling along the Jersey coast, which is vital for the fishing industry.”

President Donald Trump has proposed opening up drilling in federal waters along the Atlantic Coast. State waters run to three miles out, and federal waters from three to 200 miles out.

The Shore Tourism and Ocean Protection (STOP) from Offshore Oil and Gas Act (S-258/A-839) had already passed the Assembly and now goes to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk. Murphy, an opponent of offshore drilling in the Atlantic, is expected to sign it.

Co-sponsor Sen. Chris Brown, R-Atlantic, said protecting the environment is not a Republican or Democrat issue.

“All of our Atlantic County families, retirees and our local economy depend on us protecting our beaches and waterways,” Brown said. “It simply makes sense to preserve our $44 billion tourism economy and our commercial and recreational fisheries for our children and grandchildren.”

It would prohibit offshore drilling in state waters and ban the leasing of tidal or submerged lands in state waters for oil or natural gas production, exploration or development.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

 

NEW JERSEY: State Senate Van Drew-Singleton Bill to Stop Offshore Drilling Approved By Committee

March 5, 2018 — TRENTON, N.J. — Legislation sponsored by Sen. Jeff Van Drew (D-1st) and Sen. Troy Singleton (D-7th) to help stop offshore drilling in state waters was approved by the Senate Environment and Energy Committee.

The bill, referred to as “Shore Tourism and Ocean Protection (STOP) from Offshore Oil and Gas Act,” would prohibit offshore drilling for oil or natural gas in state waters and prohibit the leasing of tidal or submerged lands in state waters for oil or natural gas production, exploration or development.

“New Jersey’s coast is vital for the fishing industry and recreational fishing,” said Senator Van Drew. “It is home to a wide array of rare fish and other species and a spill in the proposed drilling areas could devastate the sensitive ecologies of the Jersey Shore. Opening up the Atlantic Ocean for offshore drilling would put at risk beaches, fisheries, and marine life all along the coast.”

New Jersey’s fishing industry supports approximately 50,000 jobs while the Jersey Shore tourism industry is worth $38 billion annually.

Read the full release at the Cape May County Herald

Oysters, Clams, and More: Future of Green Farming in a Garden State?

November 1, 2016 — Streamlining regulations and getting rid of excessive paperwork could spark an upsurge in “green aquaculture” in New Jersey

In an effort to promote the eco-friendly aquaculture industry, the Senate and Assembly have unanimously passed a bill to reduce the paperwork involved in setting up this type of business. The lawmakers, who hope the governor will sign their bill to encourage “green aquaculture,” believe that fish-farming in New Jersey waters holds the potential to create jobs for the long term.

“We’ve made it virtually impossible for them to succeed. Only the most persistent people have been able to move forward,” said Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May Court House), who sponsored the legislation (S-317) to drastically streamline regulations so applicants could essentially submit one packet to be distributed interdepartmentally instead of encountering the many conflicting demands they currently face.

Rutgers University estimates that the 160 aquaculture businesses already operating in the state contribute $36 million directly and indirectly to the economy. But considering that surrounding states have grown their aquaculture industries to 30 times the size of New Jersey’s, those aren’t nearly enough dollar signs for the Garden State’s legislators and would-be aquaculturalists; they think the legislation will help to cut out some of the 11 different state, local, and federal agencies with which those aspiring to be part of the industry currently must file paperwork.

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture defines aquaculture as “the raising of marine and freshwater organisms under controlled conditions” and includes “food fish and shellfish, cultured pearls, ornamental and aquarium fish, and plants for food, fuel, garden ponds and aquariums.”

Read the full story at the NJ Spotlight