Saving Seafood

States comply with new striped bass catch curbs as more limits are considered

May 7, 2024 — With errant states falling in line with new striped bass catch curbs, East Coast fishery managers agreed last week to consider imposing still more limits on recreational fishing later this year to help the struggling fish recover.

The striped bass management board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, which regulates inshore fishing for migratory species, accepted revised plans May 1 from Maryland, Pennsylvania and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission for making required cutbacks in recreational and commercial harvests.

The board had rejected the three jurisdictions’ plans in March, putting them in jeopardy of having the federal government shut down all fishing for striped bass if the deficiencies weren’t corrected.

At issue for Maryland and the bi-state Potomac fisheries agency were their plans to delay action until 2026 if their 2024 commercial harvests exceeded the reduced level ordered by the Atlantic States commission.

The commission in January had ordered reductions in recreational and commercial catch amid concerns over an unexpected jump in recreational catch along the coast and surveys finding poor reproduction in the Chesapeake Bay, where most of the coastwide stock is spawned.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

MARYLAND: Maryland seeks to reduce supply of tasty, invasive blue catfish

April 14, 2024 — Blue catfish grow to large sizes, are tasty to eat and can be easily caught in the majority of Maryland’s rivers — the problem is they’re considered invasive and are a threat to other native fish and aquatic life.

Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources is urging people fishing in the area to target blue catfish.

“Catch and keep as many as you want, any sizes,” said Branson Williams, the department’s invasive fishes program manager. “They’re really a tasty fish, and we’re encouraging people to eat them.”

Blue catfish are native to midwestern river basins, including the Mississippi, Missouri, Ohio and Rio Grande rivers, Williams said.

The freshwater fish were introduced in Virginia during the 1970s to create a new sport fishery, according to the MDNR’s website.

Read the full article at WTOP

MARYLAND: Rockfish Season In Limbo As Atlantic Commission Rejects MD, Potomac Management Plans

April 1, 2024 — All fishing for striped bass in Maryland, Pennsylvania and the Potomac River could face a shutdown, unless fisheries managers in Atlantic coast states can resolve issues over how to meet new catch limits.

After an at-times testy debate, the striped bass management board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission voted March 26 to reject plans by Maryland and the Potomac River Fisheries Commission over how they would meet required commercial catch reductions. It also rejected Pennsylvania’s plan because it sought to delay imposition of  mandated recreational catch limits.

The Atlantic states commission, which regulates inshore fishing for migratory species, voted in January to tighten both recreational and commercial catches of the fish commonly known in the Chesapeake Bay region as rockfish. They did so in response to a worrisome spike in the recreational catch along the coast in 2022, along with a five-year stretch of poor reproduction of the fish in the Bay, their primary spawning and nursery grounds.

Under rules scheduled to take effect May 1, recreational anglers will be limited to just one fish per day within narrow minimum and maximum size limits. Commercial fishers face a 7% reduction in their annual quota.

The cutbacks are particularly controversial in Maryland, where on March 8 groups representing commercial watermen and charter fishing businesses filed a federal lawsuit challenging their legality. The case is pending.

At its March 26 meeting, the striped bass board approved all but three (Maryland, Potomac River, Pennsylvania) of the affected East Coast jurisdictions’ plans for tightening catch rules.’

Read the full article at Chesapeake Bay Magazine

MARYLAND: Maryland debates “local” wind farm, way offshore

March 20, 2024 — Maryland wants to expand its use of renewable energy by encouraging local projects like wind turbines.

But one company’s plan to build windmills in waters off the coast is running into trouble this session in the General Assembly, where lawmakers worry about giving their economic support to a project that isn’t exactly local.

The proposed project would be built off the coast of Virginia Beach — close by, but technically outside Maryland waters.

Read the full article at The Star Democrat

MARYLAND: Ocean City ‘cannot be bought,’ mayor told US Wind in community benefit package rejection

February 28, 2024 — “As a member of this community, we believe it’s important to do what we can to help it thrive,” Sopko said. However, she added, “Ocean City’s position on community benefits has no impact on our project plans.”

US Wind holds the lease for an 80,000 acre area with a total capacity of around 2.2 GW around ten miles off the coast of Ocean City, where it plans to develop multiple projects as part of its Maryland Offshore Wind Project plan — including the 300 MW MarWin and 800 MW Momentum Wind projects, which have secured offshore renewable energy certificates from the state.

Meehan has for some time opposed the development of offshore wind off the coast of Ocean City. Throughout 2023, he warned about the potential impact of offshore wind development on tourism, and joined calls for a moratorium on development after a dead whale washed up on Assateague Island.

Read the full article at Utility Dive

 

VIRGINIA: Virginia lawmakers delay decision on Dominion Energy’s offshore wind monopoly

February 15, 2024 — Renewable energy advocates have vowed to double down next year on legislation designed to enable competition with Dominion Energy on offshore wind projects serving Virginia.

A legislative committee unanimously tabled a proposal to let private developers compete with the utility on offshore wind procurement. The Senate Commerce and Labor Committee’s late January decision to push Senate Bill 578 onto the 2025 agenda followed intense lobbying from Dominion Energy to protect its monopoly.

Evan Vaughan, executive director of the Maryland-based Mid-Atlantic Renewable Energy Coalition Action (MAREC), was among the disappointed.

“We … will continue to advocate for competition as the best way for Virginia consumers to achieve a strong and cost-effective offshore wind industry,” Vaughan said in an interview.

Read the full article at Energy News Network

MARYLAND: House leaders prepping legislation to boost Maryland offshore wind

February 7, 2024 — Stung by news that one of the two companies that was planning to install wind energy turbines off the coast of Ocean City is reassessing its projects, House leaders are drafting legislation designed to shore up the state’s offshore wind industry.

House Economic Matters Chair C.T. Wilson (D-Charles) and Vice Chair Brian M. Crosby (D-St. Mary’s) will introduce a bill later this week to buttress USWind, the one company fully committed to building wind installations in federal waters near Maryland, and encourage more players to enter the marketplace.

“If you want to be a good partner and move in the direction that Maryland wants to move in, we want to help,” Wilson said in an interview Tuesday.

The state has ambitious goals to generate 8.5 gigawatts of electricity, enough to power almost 3 million homes, from offshore wind sources by 2031. But late last month, Ørsted, one of two companies that had won leases to build wind farms off the coast, announced it was “repositioning” its plans, pulling out of its agreement with the state and seeking alternative financing.

Although Ørsted is the biggest developer of offshore wind in the world, and was an early entrant into the still developing U.S. market, some of its American projects have struggled of late, due in part to inflation and worldwide supply chain issues for the industry. Last fall, the company abandoned two proposed developments off the New Jersey coast altogether.

That was a warning signal to Wilson, whose committee moved complicated legislation last year to expand the offshore wind industry in Maryland.

“We saw the writing on the wall when Ørsted pulled out of the New Jersey projects,” he said.

Read the full article at Maryland Matters

Ørsted Cancels Maryland Power Agreement as it Reviews US Offshore Wind Plan

January 29, 2024 — Ørsted is continuing with its efforts to realign its U.S. offshore wind portfolio while also taking steps to emphasize that it remains committed to the market and sees future opportunities. The U.S. division of the Danish offshore developer however announced that it has walked away from existing power agreements in New York and now Maryland positioning the projects for future offtake opportunities.

Plans for Skipjack Wind, a two-phase project with the potential for 966 MW of energy, were setback as the company reported it will withdraw from existing power agreements with the Maryland Public Service Commission agreed to in 2020 and 2021. The company said it determined that the payment amounts outlined in the orders “are no longer commercially viable,” while again citing market conditions, including inflation, high interest rates, and supply chain constraints.

According to Ørsted, the decision to withdraw from the orders with Maryland will “reposition Skipjack Wind for future offtake opportunities.” It is unclear then they might be able to rebid these projects.

Unlike its decision in November 2023 to end two New Jersey offshore wind projects, Ørsted intends to continue advancing development and permitting for the two phases of Skipjack. The company is submitting an updated Construction and Operations Plan for the wind farms to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for review.

Read the full article at the Maritime Executive

Maryland offshore wind developer pulls out of state agreement, seeks new financial support

January 26, 2024 — Maryland’s nascent offshore wind energy industry suffered a major blow late Thursday when one of the two companies planning to install wind turbines off the coast of Ocean City announced that it was “repositioning” its plans, pulling out of its agreement with the state and seeking alternative financial arrangements to keep the project going.

Ørsted, the world’s largest developer of offshore wind, emphasized that it was still committed to building its project in federal waters, but said it was opting out of the agreement it had reached with the Maryland Public Service Commission for financial clean energy credits intended to help fund the development. The company said that while it would still seek permits for the proposed wind farm from the federal government, and would continue to develop construction and operations plans for Maryland, the current financial realties of the offshore wind industry made it impossible to continue under the present arrangement.

A statement Ørsted issued late Thursday said the projected revenue from the state’s clean energy credits, which cap what the company can charge ratepayers for its wind power, is “no longer commercially viable because of today’s challenging market conditions, including inflation, high interest rates and supply chain constraints.”

Through two separate but adjacent leases known as Skipjack 1 and Skipjack 2 that had won state approval, Ørsted is ticketed to provide 966 megawatts of wind energy beginning later this decade. A company executive said Ørsted was determined to work with state officials, potential investors and other stakeholders in an effort to find a better way to finance and save the project.

Read the full article at the Rhode Island Current