Saving Seafood

Chesapeake Bay Dead Zone Smaller Than Previous Years Due To Mild May Temperatures

June 29, 2022 — Researchers are predicting this summer’s dead zone in the Chesapeake Bay will be smaller than the long-term average taken between 1985 and 2021, according to environmental staff.

The change in size is due to the below-average amount of water entering the bay from the watershed’s tributaries this past spring, Chesapeake Bay Program staff said.

Program staff made the announcement alongside researchers from the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science, the University of Michigan, and U.S. Geological Survey.

Decreased nutrient and sediment pollution from jurisdictions within the watershed also contributed to the smaller dead zone, staff said.

The dead zones consist of areas of low oxygen, known as hypoxic regions. This is where there are dissolved oxygen concentrations of less than two milligrams per liter— primarily caused by excess nutrient pollution flowing into the bay, staff said.

Read the full story at CBS Baltimore

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

 

Fishermen concerned about wind turbines being built off Ocean City coast

June 22, 2022 — A federal agency will begin a series of public hearings Tuesday on the planned wind farm off the coast of Ocean City.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is looking at potential environmental impacts and what measures can be taken to reduce them.

Members of the commercial fishing industry have concerns with wind turbines being built on their fishing grounds.

Ted Smith has fished for conch off the coast of Ocean City for 20 years, setting out to sea before dawn. His shortest days are 12 hours long and there’s no time off. He fishes in storms, heat, rain and ice. Smith said fishing and family are the most important things in his life.

“To wake up in the morning and to know that I am to get in this boat and drive out that inlet and the sun is going to come up and I am going to be able to go to work, other than being a father, probably (is) one of the best feelings in my life,” Smith said.

Smith tosses 250 conch pots onto the ocean bottom each trip. Conchs are snail-like creatures that live on the bottom of the ocean. Considered a delicacy by the Chinese, they can fetch up to $4.50 a pound. Smith’s goal is to catch 1,000 pounds each trip. He considers his six-figure salary a modest living, supporting his wife and four children.

Read the full story at WBAL-TV

 

A shifting climate may be bringing a new commercial fishery to the Mid-Atlantic

June 10, 2022 — Whenever a new commercial fishery starts up anywhere in the USA – it is news! 

With green-tail or white shrimp (Litopenaeus setiferus) moving north into Virginia and Maryland waters, the Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC) and Maryland’s state legislators are cautiously laying the groundwork to establish commercial shrimp fisheries in areas of the bay and waters of the two states.

 Virginia has had an experimental ocean shrimp season since 2017 and in 2021 VMRC approved regulations to establish an official season from Oct. 1st to Jan. 31st off Virginia Beach; established the fishing grounds out of Virginia Beach from Cape Henry Lighthouse south to the North Carolina line and eastward to the Three Nautical Mile Limit; set catch and size limits, reporting requirements,  and approval of gear used to harvest shrimp.

There are currently 12 licensed watermen working in the Atlantic Ocean off of Virginia Beach. Information from the Eastern Shore of Virginia has been limited and as such remains under an experimental permit presently with four participants.  

Maryland’s 2021 legislature is in the process of creating a shrimp fishery through state Senate Bill 537 sponsored by state Sen. Mary Beth Crozza and House Bill 1149 sponsored by Delegate Jay Jacobs. The general assembly has approved legislation that allows the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to establish parameters for a shrimp fishery “pilot program” for certain commercial licenses. It is hopeful that a pilot program will be in place by July 1, 2022. The Maryland Waterman’s Association is endorsing the legislation, said MWA president Robert T. Brown. “They are already doing it down in Virginia and it looks like it is working down there,” says Brown. 

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

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

MARYLAND: Wind reps, Ocean City fisherman still far apart

December 23, 2021 — Offshore wind energy continues to press ahead, and while those companies that intend to erect scores of turbines off the Ocean City coast continue to work on strengthening their ties within the maritime community, chasms remain between their interests and those of commercial and recreational fishermen.

Last week, representatives from US Wind — Director of External Affairs Nancy Sopko, Director of Marine Affairs Ben Cooper and Fisheries Liaison Ron Larsen — briefed the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council on their progress in the area and their discussions with fishermen.

The trio discussed their current project, “MarWin,” and also a new one, Momentum Wind, which received the go-ahead from the state of Maryland earlier this week in the form of 808.5 offshore renewable energy credits, according to a US Wind press release. The project will add 55 turbines to the company’s Maryland lease area.

Larsen demonstrated to the council that one concern — that maneuvering through a wind farm would put an added burden on fishermen — wasn’t as bad as it seems. It’s an added transit of anywhere from roughly 0.2 to 0.5 nautical miles, he said.

Read the full story at Ocean City Today

Standoff at sea sours fishermen, US Wind relations

November 15, 2021 — After an on-the-water standoff between commercial fisherman Jimmy Hahn  and a US Wind survey boat, Rep. Andy Harris met with area fisherman to discuss encroachment into fishing areas.

The closed meeting Wednesday, also attended by state Sen. Mary Beth Carozza, R-38-Worcester, included more than 12 fishermen primarily from Ocean City who discussed survey ships damaging potentially lucrative fishing pots in allowed fishing areas.

“On Nov. 1 at approximately 3 p.m., we were on on our way to set more conch pots and I noticed a US Wind survey boat was tearing through my gear,” Hahn said. “I contacted them on a radio channel, as well as our fishing liaison from US Wind, and we had a conversations for 30 minutes and they would not stop going through my gear.”

What followed was Hahn placing his ship between his pots and the much larger boat. Eventually, the survey ship begged off.

Read the full story at the Salisbury Daily Times

 

Researchers map best conditions for forage fishes in the Chesapeake

October 28, 2021 — Big fish eat smaller fish, but only if there are smaller fish to eat. A new study led by researchers at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science maps the conditions most suitable for key species of forage fishes in the Chesapeake Bay, offering guidance for any future efforts to protect or restore the habitat required to yield sufficient prey for predatory fishes such as striped bass.

Lead author on the study, which appears in the October issue of Frontiers in Marine Science, is Dr. Mary Fabrizio, a professor and chair of Fisheries Science at VIMS. Co-authors are fellow VIMS researcher Dr. Troy Tuckey, along with Drs. Aaron Bever and Michael MacWilliams of Anchor QEA, LLC. Bever is a VIMS alum.

“Small fishes such as bay anchovy are important components of the diets of predatory fishes in Chesapeake Bay,” says Fabrizio, “but factors that affect local abundances of these  fish have been largely unexplored.”

To throw light on these factors, the research team set out to quantify and map suitable habitats for four common species of forage fishes in Bay waters, and to assess the relationship between habitat extent and fish abundance. In addition to bay anchovy, the forage species studied were juvenile spot, juvenile spotted hake, and juvenile weakfish.

The team based their study on data generated by counting the number of forage fishes caught in a trawl net during fishery surveys conducted by VIMS and the Maryland Department of Natural Resources between 2000 and 2016. These surveys sample at more than 100 sites throughout the Bay each month. They coupled these catch data with output from computer models simulating the environmental conditions at each sampling site. These conditions include water depth and temperature, salinity, stratification, dissolved-oxygen levels, and current speeds. The researchers also noted whether the bay floor beneath each net tow was sandy or muddy, and the distance to the nearest shoreline.

Read the full story at Phys.org

Fishery managers set deadline on rockfish rebuild

October 27, 2021 — At its 2021 Annual Meeting last week, the Atlantic Striped Bass Board of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) took a positive step toward rebuilding our beloved rockfish stock from its currently depleted condition.

The move came in response to news from the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR) that its 2021 Juvenile Striped Bass Index was 3.2, well below the annual average of 11.4 for the third consecutive year. In fact, it
has been below average for ten of the past 16 years. Virginia’s index of 6.30 was closer to, but still below, its long-term average of 7.77.

Concern about rockfish has been building for at least five years, and ASMFC’s Striped Bass Board initiated development of a new amendment (number 7, but the first since 2003) to the fishery management plan last winter. The Board’s May meeting sketched out six priorities for the Commission’s Plan Development Team to build into the amendment. The team submitted its draft for Board approval at last week’s meeting.

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine