Saving Seafood

Rep. Pallone Calls for Fair Treatment of New Jersey Fishing Community

October 30, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-NJ):

Today, Congressman Frank Pallone, Jr. (NJ-06) called on the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASFMC) to pursue a conservation policy that achieves agreed upon Striped Bass stock management goals while treating states like New Jersey in a fair and consistent manner. In a letter, Pallone urged fair treatment of all states as the ASFMC considers implementing new removal limits to protect Striped Bass fishing stock on Thursday.

“We all agree that conservation of New Jersey’s Striped Bass is paramount to our state’s marine environment, but we must also ensure that New Jersey’s fishing industry is treated fairly,” Congressman Pallone said. “I strongly encourage the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to implement the agreed upon conservation goals in a way that does not unfairly harm New Jersey and our thriving coastal communities.”

A copy of the letter is available here.

Rising sea level, flooding risk threaten Northeast ports

October 30, 2019 — Sea surface temperatures along the Northeast U.S. Atlantic coast have risen faster than 99 percent of the world’s oceans since 2004, and the accompanying change in sea level rise is putting the region at increasing risk from tidal flooding and storms, according to a new report from climate researchers.

Released on the seventh anniversary of Hurricane Sandy’s Oct. 29, 2012 landfall, the report “New Jersey’s Rising Coastal Risk” by the Rhodium Group’s energy and climate team, with contributions from scientists at Rutgers University, the University of California at Berkeley and the University of Chicago.

Sandy hit land as an post-tropical system after shedding some hurricane characteristics ­— its sustained windspeed at landfall did not even qualify as Category 1 on the Saffir-Simpson scale of hurricane intensity — but it delivered a storm surge not seen since the great hurricane of 1821.

That surge, later estimated at 14.4 feet at Sandy Hook, N.J., inundated neighborhoods all around the New York Harbor complex, including the commercial fishing port of Belford, N.J. The port’s fleet survived the storm, but its infrastructure was heavily damaged, losing electrical and refrigeration equipment, and the Belford Seafood Cooperative’s restaurant.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

A beloved New Jersey fish is in big trouble. What’s next for striper fishing?

October 28, 2019 — Paul Haertel has been reeling in striped bass — stripers, as they’re better known — along the Jersey Shore since he was a teen.

The 64-year-old angler from Barnegat lives for a good trophy fish; he’s even mounted two of his largest catches on his wall: one a 50-pounder he caught off Barnegat Inlet in 2003, the other he nabbed in 2011 during a thunderstorm, while chasing bunker fish off the Shore.

“I don’t want a replica of somebody else’s fish hanging on my wall — I want my fish” Haertel said.

Haertel’s sense of striper pride echoes throughout the state: when the bass migrate north in the spring and when they head south in the fall, pictures of monster fish are shared by proud anglers across social media. Stripers are a key component of in New Jersey’s multi-billion dollar fishing industry, too, as charter boats up and down the Shore make their living bringing striper-seekers out into open saltwater.

But trouble now looms amid the churning waves.

The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, an agency formed by 15 states that manages the fishing of multiple species swimming along the East Coast, announced in May that striped bass are being overfished.

Read the full story at NJ.com

Competing for space on the increasingly crowded ocean

October 23, 2019 — Oceans cover nearly three-quarters of the Earth, and it’s getting crowded out on the water.

Energy, shipping, fishing and conservation groups all need space to operate on the world’s oceans, and are bumping up against each other more frequently. All agree the competition is going to increase in coming years.

A conference Tuesday at New Jersey’s Monmouth University brought together industry and environmental groups, who agreed that communication and coordination are essential to sharing the ocean.

“Ocean activity is on the rise, and it’s exponential,” said Timothy Gallaudet, deputy administration of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a retired rear admiral with the Navy. “There has been 400% growth in ocean activity over the last 25 years.”

Bethann Rooney, a deputy director with the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, predicted that the combined port of New York and Newark, New Jersey, second in size only to Los Angeles, will see its cargo volume double or triple over the next 30 years.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Star Tribune

NEW JERSEY: Safety Trainings for Commercial Fishermen Coming to Cape May

October 3, 2019 — The following was released by the Garden State Seafood Association & the Fishing Partnership Support Services:

Two free safety trainings for commercial fishermen will be offered soon at a convenient Cape May location.

Safety and Survival Training will be on Thursday, Oct. 17, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., at Two Mile Landing, 1 Fish Dock Rd., Wildwood Crest. Drill Conductor Training will be held at the same location on the next day, Friday, Oct. 18, 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. A team of certified marine safety instructors will lead both programs. Lunch will be provided on both days.

The trainings are made possible by a federal grant to Fishing Partnership Support Services, a Massachusetts-based non-profit dedicated to the health, safety and economic security of commercial fishermen and their family members. The organization has been conducting safety trainings in the northeast for nearly a decade.

Safety and Survival Training will cover:

  • Man-overboard procedures
  • Onboard firefighting
  • Emergency communications
  • Flood and pump operation
  • Survival suits
  • Life raft deployment and boarding
  • Basic first aid

Drill Conductor Training prepares and certifies fishermen to conduct emergency drills at sea, as federal regulations require monthly drills on commercial fishing boats operating more than three nautical miles beyond the U.S. coast. Emergency situations addressed in this training include: man overboard, fire, damage control, and abandon ship. There will be an emergency procedures class in the morning and practice drills aboard a docked vessel in the afternoon.

As a pre-requisite for Drill Conductor Training, fishermen need to have taken the Safety and Survival Training within the previous 12 months.

“Every emergency at sea is a potential threat to life and limb,” said Ed Dennehy, director of safety training for Fishing Partnership Support Services. “Through hands-on training, we demonstrate and instill the best ways to deal with all kinds of emergencies. This knowledge can save a fisherman’s life or enable a fisherman to save the life of a fellow crew member.”

Walk-ins are welcome on the day of each program, but pre-registration is strongly recommended. Fishermen may register online by going to the Upcoming Programs and Services section of the FPSS website, www.fishingpartnership.org or by calling Morgan Eldredge at 508-237-9402.

Providing support to the trainings are the U.S. Coast Guard and the Massachusetts Fishermen’s Partnership, an organization representing all gear and geographic sectors of the Massachusetts fishing industry.

Atlantic Shores Launches Offshore Surveys, Appoints Fisheries Liaison Officer

September 27, 2019 — Preparing for future development, Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind LLC – a 50/50 joint venture between EDF and Shell New Energies US LLC – has launched ocean survey operations within its lease area off the coast of New Jersey.

Survey operations encompass 183,000 acres located 8-20 miles off the state’s coast between Barnegat Light and Sea Isle City. They are expected to conclude by the end of October, weather-permitting. The survey vessel Geosea will be used to characterize the seabed, collect samples and determine placement of data collection buoys, which will be deployed later this year to help measure wind, ocean and weather conditions.

The Atlantic Shores team also held a tour of the 300-foot Geosea vessel, showcasing capabilities aboard the ship. The event was attended by several agencies involved in offshore wind operations at the state and federal levels.

Read the full story at North American Wind Power

From the sea to the food insecure: Seafood ‘gleaning’ program begins in N.J.

September 27, 2019 — Several pantries, soup kitchens, and a women’s shelter in New Jersey are the beneficiaries of fresh seafood thanks to a pilot program that began in August.

At a press conference in Point Pleasant Beach last week, Fulfill (formerly The FoodBank of Monmouth and Ocean Counties), America’s Gleaned Seafood of Lavallette, and Trinity Seafood of Lakewood announced the New Jersey Seafood Gleaning Pilot Program.

The growing movement seeks to increase food security and reduce food waste by utilizing the approximately 20 percent of seafood that is discarded by United States fisheries annually for consumption.

“Gleaning is an important tool in the fight against hunger. Perfectly good fish are routinely getting thrown overboard or worse — thrown in a dumpster. What a waste, especially considering one in ten people don’t know where their next meal is coming from,” said Fulfill CEO and President Kim Guadagno, New Jersey’s former Lieutenant Governor, at the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach.

Read the full story at WHYY

Offshore wind developers building Northeast supply chain

September 27, 2019 — Offshore wind energy developers are moving to set up their first U.S. manufacturing and support bases, sensing momentum in the market with New York and New Jersey seeking a combined 12 gigawatts of new energy by 2030.

A daylong conference at the State University of New York Maritime College on Thursday brought together wind companies, state officials and the maritime industry to talk about the industry’s coming workforce needs and potential for job growth.

The world’s biggest wind company, Denmark-based Ørsted, has an agreement with a German steelmaker to set up a manufacturing hub in southern New Jersey to finish turbine foundations for its Ocean Wind project off Atlantic City, said Fred Zalcman, who heads market development for its U.S. division.

Another winner could be upstate New York, where Ørsted and Equinor are looking to the Hudson River ports of Coeymans and Albany as bases for manufacturing, floating massive turbine components downriver for eventual transport to assembly at sea on the companies’ federal energy leases.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Ørsted to deploy record size turbines in Atlantic City offshore wind farm

September 24, 2019 — The 1,100 megawatt Ocean Wind offshore wind farm to be built off the coast here will deploy a new generation 12 megawatt turbine that will be the largest and most powerful in the world, according to the developer of the project.

GE Renewable Energy will supply the newly developed turbines to the Atlantic City project, which will be the third largest wind farm in the world and open in 2024, Danish company Ørsted announced Thursday.

In March 2018, GE announced it was embarking on producing the world’s first 12 MW turbine, which some in the industry said could not be done.

While Ørsted recently announced it will mainly transmit Ocean Wind’s electricity into the grid at the closed Oyster Creek nuclear plant in Lacey Township, it also is still looking at sending some power through other New Jersey locations.

“There are a couple of other options we are looking at, including B.L. England,” Thomas Brostrøm, CEO of Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind, said of the closed electric generating plant in Beesleys Point, Upper Township.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

Ørsted wants offshore wind energy in harmony with fishing community, others, says Frederick Zalcman

September 23, 2019 — Building large-scale infrastructure in the public trust is a profound responsibility. It requires technical skill, capital and, critically, a roll-up-your-sleeves approach to engaging with stakeholders – listening, asking questions and adapting to differing perspectives. That’s why I was pleased to learn Rep. Jeff Van Drew was bringing together the South Jersey community, including representatives of the fishing community and other local businesses, to talk about the development of the new American offshore wind industry, and how it may affect New Jersey.

This is important because offshore wind is poised to be a huge new industry on the East Coast, with projects underway by many developers spanning from Massachusetts to North Carolina. As the world’s largest operator of offshore wind projects, and proud developer of New Jersey’s first offshore wind farm, we believe this new American industry will not only provide cost-effective clean energy and good-paying jobs, but also can do so in harmony with the environment and existing users of the ocean, including commercial and recreational fishermen.

Federal and state law mandate a long list of checks and balances that must be satisfied before we can begin construction. In addition to those requirements, our company holds that it is important to engage, communicate with and listen to key stakeholders, like members of the fishing community, because their input will help us to build a better project and to help establish a better, more sustainable local industry.

Read the full story at The Press of Atlantic City