Saving Seafood

Fishermen Voice Concerns During Offshore Wind Hearing

September 18, 2019 — U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-2nd) brought the Congressional Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources to the Wildwoods Convention Center Sept. 16 to hear the concerns of the fishing industry and other shore activists regarding a proposed wind farm off the South Jersey coast.

Chaired by U.S. Rep. Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), the pair listened as fishermen and others said they felt left out of the process that could affect the local industry, natural resources, and the economy.

Van Drew emphasized bringing local fishermen to the table when wind farms are in the planning stages.

“I am an advocate of wind energy. I have a windmill on my property. However, the first rule I apply is do no harm to the environment, the ratepayers and the fishing industry. This is the livelihood of a lot of people down here. The fishermen must be consulted,” Van Drew said.

Thirteen witnesses, divided into three panels, were each given five minutes to voice their concerns before being questioned by the subcommittee.

Read the full story at the Cape May County Herald

NEW JERSEY: About those striped bass options: ‘They all stink’

September 16, 2019 — One thing is pretty clear after Thursday’s public hearing in Stafford on the striped bass quota cuts and that is someone is not going to be happy when this is all said and done.

If the powers that be elect to make circle hooks mandatory in the bait fishery, then snag and drop fishing the bunker pods with treble hooks is history.

If a 35-inch minimum size limit is chosen, the trophy hunters will be happy but at the expense of many charter and party boat captains.

Carl Sheppard, the skipper of the Star Fish a 40-foot charter boat in Beach Haven, said his customers need to be able to catch at least one fish to take home in order for him to stay in business. He said a 28 to 35-inch fish makes the most sense to him.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

Van Drew to Bring Hearing to Wildwood to Have Fishermen’s Voices Heard

September 11, 2019 — At the request of U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (D-2nd), the House Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources will hold an oversight hearing titled, “Examining the Benefits and Potential Challenges for New Jersey’s Growing Offshore Wind Industry,” at Wildwoods Convention Center, 4501 Boardwalk, Wildwood, Sept. 16 at 10 a.m. 

According to a release, “Offshore wind is critical to meeting our clean energy goals to create good paying jobs and to reduce the threat of climate change. However, our fishermen who have long made their living off these waters need to be taken into account and brought to the table so that their livelihoods are not impaired. This exciting new industry can only succeed if it engages our fishermen in good faith and takes their views and concerns seriously,” Van Drew stated. 

Read the full story at the Cape May County Herald

Field Hearing: Examining the Benefits and Potential Challenges for New Jersey’s Growing Offshore Wind Industry

September 9, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Congressman Alan Lowenthal (D-CA):

On Monday, September 16, 2019 at 10:00 A.M., the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources of the US House Committee on Natural Resources will hold an oversight hearing titled, “Examining the Benefits and Potential Challenges for New Jersey’s Growing Offshore Wind Industry.”

This hearing will be held at the Wildwoods Convention Center, 4501 Boardwalk, Wildwood, New Jersey 08260.

For more information, click here

Striped bass hearings draw few fishermen in N.J.

September 6, 2019 — About 40 people combined showed up for the first two public hearings on Draft Addendum VI to a fishery management plan, a measure that’s calling for an 18 percent reduction in the coastwide striped bass harvest.

The first hearing on Tuesday in Roselle Park had only eight people. Tom Fote, one of three New Jersey commissioners to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, or ASMFC, said they counted 30 people at Wednesday’s hearing in Ocean City.

While these draft hearings are going on up and down the Atlantic seaboard from North Carolina to Maine, New Jersey fishermen only have one more crack at speaking their piece on the issue in person.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

NJ leads country in fishing production

September 3, 2019 — I bet you didn’t know that New Jersey’s commercial saltwater fishing industry generated $6.2 billion in 2018 according to the National Oceanic Atmosphere Administration, placing New Jersey fifth in the U.S. in commercial fishing production. That’s a lot of fish, and a lot more than fish.

“The Jersey Seafood industry is a tremendous benefit to the state’s economy with the responsible supply that is landed in our state each year,” NJ Secretary of Agriculture Doug Fisher said. “New Jersey is among the leaders in the country in several seafood categories because of our hard-working commercial fishermen and successful seasons year after year.”

In 2017, the total seafood catch in New Jersey was 198.6 million pounds placing New Jersey 10th in the country for catch. New Jersey ranks No. 1 in the nation in quahogs landed at 16.5 million pounds, second in sea scallops landed with 11 million pounds, second in Atlantic mackerel landed at 2.8 million pounds, second in surf clam harvest with more than 18.3 million pounds, and second in squid commercial landings at 24.9 million pounds.

Read the full story at My Central Jersey

NEW JERSEY: Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind Mobilizes for Ocean Survey Activities, Announces Kevin Wark as New Liaison to the Fishing Community

September 3, 2019 — The following was released by Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind:

Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind, LLC (Atlantic Shores) ocean survey operations are planned to begin the month of September within the Atlantic Shores lease area to inform future turbine development.

Survey operations will encompass 183,000 acres located 8-20 miles off the New Jersey coast between Barnegat Light and Sea Isle City and are expected to conclude in the first half of October. The survey vessel Geosea will be utilized 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.

Coinciding with the launch of survey operations, Atlantic Shores also announces Kevin Wark as its Fisheries Liaison Officer to help better communicate and collaborate with the recreational and commercial fishing industries as the project progresses.

“Kevin has hands-on knowledge of the maritime community in New Jersey, where he has been a resident his entire life and a fisherman for nearly 40 years,” said Doug Copeland Development Manager of Atlantic Shores. “The trust he has developed locally will be invaluable in fostering open communication and collaboration with these industries as we plan an Atlantic Shores offshore wind farm that works best for New Jersey.”

A third-generation resident of Long Beach Island, Wark began his career operating commercial boats at the age of 17 and has worked extensively in the ocean research field for institutions such as Delaware State University and Rutgers University, including nearly a decade of sturgeon sampling. Last winter he helped consult on the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (NJBPU) strategic plan for offshore wind.

Read the full release here

Long Island researchers get a rare gift: a shark tracker retrieved

August 30, 2019 — When a black electronic device shaped like a mini soda pop container washed up Tuesday on a Jersey Shore beach, the discovery was, to Long Island researchers more than 150 miles away, like finding a treasure map sealed in a bottle.

That’s because the shark-tracking device — plucked by a lifeguard from the sand at Island Beach State Park in Ocean County, New Jersey — contains reams of data to help researchers, including those at the South Fork Natural History Museum & Nature Center’s shark research program, learn more about the mysterious fish and how it roams Long Island’s waters.

For Greg Metzger, the research program’s field coordinator, discovering the device is as unlikely as it is beneficial to understanding sharks’ swimming patterns, including how deep and where they swim off Long Island and what temperatures they prefer.

Read the full story at Newsday

NEW JERSEY: Ørsted pitches its Ocean Wind project

August 28, 2019 — Offshore wind energy developer Ørsted is introducing the New Jersey public to its Ocean Wind project – at a planned 1,100 megawatts the largest U.S. waters project to date.

“New Jersey is at the epicenter of offshore wind,” said Kris Ohleth, Ørsted’s senior stakeholder relations manager, as she opened the company’s first meeting in Atlantic City Monday evening. “We can supply the nucleus of the supply chain.”

That’s music to the ears of southern New Jersey political and labor leaders, in a region that never fully recovered from the Atlantic City casino industry’s downturn and construction recession after the 2008 financial meltdown.

Ørsted opened an office in the city last year to prepare for building the Ocean Wind project on a federal lease 15 miles offshore, and it’s expected the company could soon pick a location for its onshore support station and docks on the city waterfront.

That would represent 70 permanent jobs, beyond the 3,000 construction jobs the company predicts for its building cycle through to 2024. The company is already working with the city school system and Richard Stockton University to recruit future workers and plan for training and workforce development.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

New Jersey Department of Agriculture visits local producer to highlight state’s seafood industry

August 27, 2019 — Officials with the New Jersey Department of Agriculture (NJDA), as well as state and local officials, paid a visit to Viking Village in Barnegat Light as a part of the department’s efforts to highlight the importance of seafood in the state.

The commercial fishing industry generated USD 6.2 billion (EUR 5.6 billion) for the state in 2018, according to stats from NOAA, placing the state at fifth in the U.S. for the value of its commercial fishing. Viking Village, a commercial seafood producer in Barnegat Light, New Jersey, works with the National Marine Fisheries Service and the various management councils to emphasize the state’s seafood.

Read the full story at Seafood Source