Saving Seafood

News for the Mid Atlantic Region

VIRGINIA: VA Wetlands and Living Shorelines Worth $90 Million in Economic Value

September 9, 2025 — A push in Virginia to invest in shorelines and marshes may be paying off. Natural wetlands and man-made living shorelines around Virginia’s Middle Peninsula generate just under $90 million of economic value each year, according to a new study led by William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS.

The Middle Peninsula (Gloucester, Mathews, & Middlesex counties) has been a Habitat Focus Area of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Chesapeake Bay Office (NCBO) since 2022. That Office funded the study, which combines ecological data, spatial modeling, economic valuation, and surveys to assess the current and predicted benefits of marsh ecosystems. Researchers used numbers from the study to develop a new online tool for coastal communities to estimate the economic benefits of marsh and living shoreline projects. It’s known as SHORE-BET (Shoreline Benefit Estimation Tool).

“This study looks at wetlands from a number of perspectives and puts research-informed values on the benefits they provide,” said Donna Bilkovic, professor and assistant director of the Center for Coastal Resources Management at the Batten School & VIMS. “These data serve as the foundation for SHORE-BET, allowing local planners and individual landowners to better understand the potential environmental and economic benefits associated with living shoreline projects and marsh protection and restoration.”

Read the full article at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

VIRGINIA: Two Hampton Roads wind energy grants were canceled. But $20M was already spent.

September 8, 2025 — A Norfolk maritime facility tied to the region’s nascent offshore wind industry plans to shift part of its operational plans after President Donald Trump’s administration killed a $39 million grant.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced last week his agency was withdrawing from or terminating $679 million in funding for 12 projects related to offshore wind energy.

The canceled funding includes a $39 million grant for Fairwinds Landing, a more-than $500 million maritime facility in Norfolk’s Lamberts Point connected to shipbuilding, ship repair and offshore wind.

Fairwinds Landing leaders are now asking the Department of Transportation’s U.S. Maritime Administration, or MARAD, to reconsider the cuts , said Mike Hopkins, the project’s managing director.

Seagrass swap could reshape Chesapeake Bay food web

September 5, 2025 — The following story originally appeared on the website for W&M’s Batten School & VIMS. – Ed.

Beneath the surface of the Chesapeake Bay, a subtle but dramatic shift is taking place as eelgrass gives way to its warmer-water relative, widgeon grass. A new study from researchers at William & Mary’s Batten School & VIMS shows that this seagrass swap could have ecological impacts across the Bay’s food webs, fisheries and ecosystem functions.

Published in Marine Ecology Progress Series, the study reveals that while both seagrass species offer valuable habitat, they support marine life in very different ways. The researchers estimate that the continued shift from eelgrass to widgeon grass could lead to a 63% reduction in the total quantity of invertebrate biomass living in seagrass meadows in the bay by 2060.

“Several factors including water quality, rising temperatures and human development are threatening eelgrass in the Chesapeake Bay. In its place, particularly in the middle bay, widgeon grass has expanded due to its ability to tolerate warmer, more variable conditions,” said Associate Professor Chris Patrick, who is also director of the Submerged Aquatic Vegetation (SAV) Monitoring & Restoration Program at the Batten School of Coastal & Marine Sciences & VIMS. “However, the two grasses provide structurally distinct habitats that shape the animals living within.”

Read the full article at W&M’s News

NEW JERSEY: Longtime Jersey Shore mayor, commercial scalloping mogul dies at 71

September 5, 2025 — Kirk Larson, a fishing enthusiast who was mayor of Barnegat Light for nearly three decades, died suddenly over Labor Day weekend, according to an obituary and several public officials.

Larson, who died Saturday, was 71. A cause of death was not immediately known.

The mayor was likely best known for co-owning the commercial fishing docks at the Viking Village shops, a staple of Long Beach Island known for its seafood market. Using a fleet of boats, he ran a scallop-catching enterprise out of the docks, which supplied seafood for restaurants, wholesalers, fish markets and supermarkets across the area.

“Kirk Larson was a good friend and it is still hard to believe that he passed away,” Assemblyman Greg Myhre (R-Dist.9) said in a statement. “I got to know him well over the past seven years and my respect for him increased each time we spoke. He was a great conversationalist, always positive and was a tireless advocate for his town, the seafaring community, and the people of Ocean County.”

Read the full article at The Press of Atlantic City

VIRGINIA: Trump admin cancels $39M meant for Norfolk’s Fairwinds Landing because of wind energy association

September 4, 2025 — Norfolk’s Economic Development Authority will ask the Trump administration to reconsider its decision to cancel a grant meant to improve Fairwinds Landing.

The body made the decision during their monthly meeting Wednesday, five days after the U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced the $39 million in Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) funding would be withdrawn, due to the sites association with the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) project.

The funding, first awarded to the authority in 2023 under the Biden administration, was to “assist in transforming the marine terminal at Fairwinds Landing into offshore wind logistics facility,”

Read the full article at WAVY

Announcing the 2026 Marine Resource Education Program Greater Atlantic Workshop

September 3, 2025 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The Marine Resource Education Program (MREP) is accepting applications for the next Greater Atlantic Fisheries Science and Management Workshop, scheduled for January 12-16, 2026, in Falmouth, Massachusetts.

Created by fishermen, for fishermen, MREP offers a neutral look into regional fishery science and management. MREP’s Greater Atlantic workshop is tailored to the area. It brings commercial, charter, and recreational fishermen from North Carolina to Maine together with regional scientists and managers to learn the processes, share insights, and network. This workshop will equip you with tools to engage in the management process and participate in collaborative science.

Attending the workshop is free for anyone who fishes or works in associated fishing industries. MREP reimburses travel costs and pays for hotel lodging and meals for accepted participants.

Space is limited, and preference will be given to applications received by November 10, 2025. Accepted participants will be notified by phone and email by late November 2025.

The regional program principals are available to respond to inquiries about the 2026 workshop series:
  • Hank Soule | Groundfish Sector Manager | (603) 781-9718
  • Rick Bellavance | Charter Captain | (401) 741-5648
  • Robert Ruhle | MAFMC, NC Rep. | (252) 305-0960

General questions about the program should be directed to Sophie Swetz, MREP Greater Atlantic Program Manager, at sswetz@gmri.org or (207) 772-2321 ext. 8104.

Visit mrep.gmri.org for more information.

Murphy, other Democratic governors call on Trump to uphold wind permits

September 2, 2025 — Democratic governors are pushing back against President Donald Trump’s plans to halt offshore wind developments.

“We are looking for the Trump Administration to uphold all offshore wind permits already granted and allow these projects to be constructed,” said a statement issued Monday by New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont, Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy.

Trump has a deep, long-running dislike of wind farms he’s derided as ugly, bird-killing monstrosities. But his administration has moved more aggressively in recent weeks to restrict their construction, including by blocking projects from obtaining rural development business loans, halting construction of a nearly completed Ørsted A/S venture near Rhode Island and moving to invalidate the permit for another planned project off the Maryland coast.

Read the full article at Bloomberg News

MARYLAND: Baltimore Oyster Partnership sets goal of planting 5 million oysters by 2030

August 29, 2025 — The Baltimore Oyster Partnership has started off the 2025-26 oyster season by setting a goal of planning 5 million oysters in Baltimore Harbor by the year 2030.

“Every oyster we plant is a step toward a healthier, more vibrant harbor,” Waterfront Partnership of Baltimore President Dan Taylor said in a release. “We’re thrilled to celebrate what’s been accomplished and to look ahead at the millions of oysters – and volunteers – still to come.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NEW JERSEY: Federal Action on Wind Energy Fuels Save LBI Agenda

August 28, 2025 — The U.S. Department of Interior’s recent announcement it is launching a full evaluation of offshore wind regulations is being lauded by a local grassroots organization.

“This reform effort is a clear response to concerns we raised in our July 2025 petition calling for the cancellation of Atlantic Shores North and South areas of the coast off Long Beach Island, Brigantine and Atlantic City,” Bob Stern, president and co-founder of Save LBI, said.

Stern thanked Secretary of the Interior Doug Burgum for his initiative in revisiting the regulatory guidelines he said failed communities and the environment.

In an Aug. 11 missive to the interior department, Stern urged early stakeholder involvement through the advance notice of proposed rule making, saying it would provide the community, scientists, local government and others the ability to be part of the process while new guidelines are being developed.

Among the key areas to be reimagined are defining what areas are off limits for wind development based on criteria that includes distance from military radar, whale migration and shoreline; requiring project proposals to link location and design with a singular environmental impact statement treating all proposals in a region as alternatives; strengthening marine mammal protection and require decommissioning plans for turbine removal.

Read the full article at The Sand Paper

VIRGINIA: Stone crabs are calling Virginia waters home — for the first time ever

August 28, 2025 — The Chesapeake Bay might have a new resident, thanks to warming waters and successful habitat restoration.

Blue crabs are the typical catch in local waters. But crabbers on the bay have reported adult stone crabs in their pots on Willoughby Spit, marking the first time the species has been spotted growing in Hampton Roads.

The find could mark an exciting addition to the crab industry in the Chesapeake Bay, according to Rom Lipcius, a researcher and professor at William & Mary’s Batten School at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Read the full article at The Virginian-Pilot