Saving Seafood

Environmental groups seek injunction on air gun blasting until lawsuit decided

February 20, 2019 — Eight environmental firms filed for an injunction against the federal government on Wednesday, 20 February, in an attempt to block five companies from conducting seismic air gun blasting in the Atlantic Ocean until a lawsuit on the matter can be settled.

The request comes as the federal government could issue permits for the blasting as soon as 1 March, after NOAA announced in December that five permits could be issued for blasting in the Atlantic Ocean. That would enable companies to begin work, as part of a survey for potential oil and gas drilling, by the end of March.

Last December, the groups filed the lawsuit in a South Carolina federal court seeking to stop the blasting in an area ranging from New Jersey to central Florida. A month later, 16 South Carolina coastal cities, a chamber of commerce and the state’s attorney general filed their own lawsuit to block the permits, claiming the blasting could “destroy coastal fishing industries” in the state.

The two cases have since been combined.

In Wednesday’s filing, lawyers for the environmental groups said they could not reach an agreement that would keep the blasting from starting while the lawsuit worked its way through the court system.

“The harm Plaintiffs seek to prevent will begin as soon as seismic blasting does,” the document stated.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Why North Carolinian boats are fishing off New Jersey’s coast, and how a CSF might help

February 20, 2019 — As the oceans warm in response to climate change, fishing boats in the Mid-Atlantic that focus on only one or two species of fish are traveling more than 250 miles farther north than they did 20 years ago, while others catching a wide diversity of species have not changed fishing location, reported Talia Young, a postdoctoral research associate in ecology and evolutionary biology at Princeton.

“In fishing communities, people’s well-being and the environment’s well-being are intricately tied together,” said Young, who is a David H. Smith Conservation Postdoctoral Fellow. “We know that climate change is affecting natural resources. We can see how it is affecting when things are blooming, where species are distributed, and — because fish are mobile — we’re seeing dramatic changes in the distribution of fish in the ocean. But in order to fully understand how climate change is affecting the world we live in, we have to understand how it’s affecting the environment, the animals that live in the environment, and also the people that interact with and depend on those animals.”

The Northwestern Atlantic Ocean, the patch of sea located off the coast of the northeastern United States, is one of the most rapidly warming parts of the ocean. Young was intrigued by the intersection of the ecological effects with the economic ramifications for the people who depend on commercial fishing.

Read the full story at Science Daily

NOAA Fisheries: Making the most of a tough situation

February 14, 2019 —  The longest partial government shutdown in U.S. history started during the holidays when schedules and workloads are typically lighter. But as those initial couple of weeks stretched on, staff became anxious and stress increased due to missed or looming deadlines and missed paychecks. Several staff channeled this emotion into something positive by helping others and continuing to be dedicated public servants. While some staff became new volunteers with local organizations, others dedicated more time to their ongoing community service efforts. However one staff member, Mark Murray-Brown, took this to another level by volunteering with several organizations that serve the Cape Ann community – providing inspiration to fellow staff to volunteer in their communities.

Feeling the need for structure and wanting to do something positive with his unexpected time off, Mark reached out to some friends at The Open Door who immediately put him to work  volunteering with doing a variety of tasks from moving boxes to unloading and organizing supplies to weighing groceries for individuals and families. The Open Door’s main programs are The Food Pantry, which provides emergency groceries to those in need, and Community Meals, which offers free, nutritious meals to those in need of food or companionship. The Open Door was one of the many organizations that offered assistance to federal employees during the furlough. According to Mark, it was especially rewarding to return the favor and volunteer. His efforts inspired other fellow colleagues to volunteer for The Open Door.

Mark also volunteered at The Grace Center preparing breakfast, cooking and serving lunch for approximately 40 – 50 guests, and then meeting and talking with participants. Several years ago, he was part of a team that helped launch the Grace Center among local Churches in Gloucester. It is now located at one facility in Gloucester and serves more than 1,100 individuals yearly who are experiencing homelessness and those at high risk in need of a crisis shelter. Wanting to help this organization during the furlough, Mark introduced himself to their full-time Executive Director and Volunteer Coordinator and was put to work the next day.

Finally, seeing the furlough as an opportunity, a teacher friend of Mark’s asked him to assist her as a visiting educator to her class of approximately two dozen students at a local nursery school. Mark provided a short overview of his job at NOAA and personal background, followed by a lively discussion with the students of their experiences with the ocean and beach. After a short presentation from the BBC Blue Planet 2 documentary, he concluded with a question and answer session. The teachers were so grateful for the visit that they made him a beautiful thank you booklet that includes a section from the students on what they learned.

“I am extremely grateful for these opportunities to volunteer and be able to continue to engage in public service while on furlough,” said Mark. “Specifically to the volunteer coordinators, staff, directors and participants at each organization for being so welcoming and facilitating the process to bring me on board and volunteer so quickly. If I was to find myself in a similar situation again in the future, I would look forward to volunteering again immediately.”

Our thanks go out to Mark and other GARFO staff that volunteered during the furlough for your dedication to public service and for being an inspiration to all of us at GARFO and NOAA Fisheries.

Read the full story from NOAA Fisheries

NEW JERSEY: A tasty look into a thriving industry

February 13, 2019 — Dozens of people visited the Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences for one of their Science Saturdays events. This one focused on commercial fishing at Viking Village and it’s thriving scallop industry.

“It is the most healthiest fishery that we have. There’s never been so many scallops off the East Coast ever because of the way they farmed it,” said Karter Larson, assistant manager of Viking Village. “Closed area, open bottom, closed area kind of thing – sort of like farming when you don’t use the land that year.”

There are about 10 scallop boats at Viking Village, Larson says. The scallopers are only allowed to fish a set number of days throughout the year starting in March.

“It’s rough. It’s a rough life, but they bring food to your table, and it’s better than importing from other countries,” Larson said.

NOAA Fisheries indicates New Jersey scallop landings generated more than $123 million in revenue in 2016.

According to Chef John Grifo, the secret to delicious seafood is to make sure not to overcook it.

“Especially with scallops, you want to get a nice, hot pan and get a good sear. When you sear the scallops, what it does is it brings out, caramelizes the sugar in them,” he said.

Visitors had a chance to watch Grifo prepare the Viking Village scallops.

“They’re going to have a lot of amazing flavors in their mouth, you know, because they’re going to have sweet, a little heat, they’re going to have the crunch of the candied bacon,” Grifo said.

Read the full story at NJTV

Congressmen Van Drew and Rutherford Introduce ACEPA

February 11, 2019 — The following was released by the office of Congressman Jefferson Van Drew:

In response to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) issuing five Incidental Harassment Authorizations (IHAs) which would advance permit applications for seismic air gun blasting off the Atlantic Coast, Congressmen Jeff Van Drew and John Rutherford have introduced the bipartisan Atlantic Coastal Economies Protection Act to prohibit or stop seismic air gun testing in the Atlantic Ocean. Seismic air gun testing is the first step towards offshore oil and gas exploration and a direct threat to the coastal fishing and tourism economies dependent on healthy ocean ecosystems.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew has a history of working to protect the coastal economy and environment. In 2018 during his time in the New Jersey state legislature, he introduced and passed Senate Bill No. 258 which prohibited offshore oil or natural gas exploration, development, and production in state waters. “Our local economy is dependent on fishing, tourism and wildlife watching – the bottom line is offshore oil and gas drilling isn’t worth the risk,” said Van Drew.

“The waters off the East Coast are home to vulnerable mammal populations, military operations, tourist destinations, and a vibrant maritime economy. Allowing seismic testing in the Atlantic is unnecessary and potentially hazardous to the coastal communities that rely on a healthy ecosystem. The U.S. should not jeopardize our coastal economy by expanding seismic testing and offshore drilling, particularly when our energy needs continue to be met,” said Congressman John Rutherford.

Van Drew and Rutherford were joined in the effort by Representatives Chris Smith (R-NJ), Joe Cunningham (D-SC), Brian Mast (R-FL), and Donna Shalala (D-FL). The bill was also endorsed by a variety of stakeholders ranging from local chambers of commerce and fisheries organizations to conservation and environmental groups.

Endorsements: Oceana, League of Conservation Voters, Surfrider Foundation, Natural Resources Defense Council, Sierra Club, Environment America, Earthjustice, Conservatives for Responsible Stewardship, Hands Across the Sand, American Littoral Society, Ocean Conservation Research, Recreational Fishing Alliance, American Sportfishing Association, International Game Fish Association, Center for Sportfishing Policy

Read the release here

Coast Guard makes arrest after boarding fishing vessel in Sandy Hook Bay

February 11, 2019 —  A man wanted on an outstanding warrant out of Union County was apprehended by the Coast Guard aboard a commercial fishing vessel on Friday.

The crew from the 87-foot Coast Guard cutter Shrike boarded the vessel at 1:30 p.m. in Sandy Hook Bay to arrest the suspect, who was a member of the commercial fishing vessel’s crew sought in New Jersey for the “use of dangerous drugs,” the Coast Guard said in a prepared statement.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

NEWSDAY: New York right to angle for fairer fluke catch

February 5, 2019 — The state’s pursuit of fair quotas for New York’s commercial fluke fishery has been its own white whale story.

The hunt has been futile, and it’s lasted for years. Thankfully, officials have not lost their passion for reeling in a sensible solution. We applaud Attorney General Letitia James and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo for filing a lawsuit against the federal government demanding more equitable quotas. The evidence is entirely on New York’s side.

The quotas, set by federal regulators in 1993, were based on flawed and incomplete data that underreported the amount of fluke caught by New York’s commercial fishery in the 1980s. The quotas left New York fishers utterly unable to compete with their peers from other states. New York was allotted 7.6 percent of the entire Atlantic Coast fluke catch. Outrageously, Rhode Island was granted 15.7 percent, New Jersey 16.7 percent, Virginia 21.3 percent, and North Carolina 27.4 percent.

Read the full opinion piece at Newsday

Betting $1 Million on Offshore New Jersey Wind Paid Off Big Time

February 1, 2019 — Over the past year, U.S. Wind got calls “every day” to sell a lease the energy company bought for $1 million in 2015 in its push to build a wind farm off the New Jersey coast.

“Each time we’d say no,” said Salvo Vitale, the company’s chief counsel, but the offers kept rising. Finally, just before the year ended, they hit a level the company couldn’t resist after New Jersey’s new governor, Phil Murphy, helped push through a mandate that 50 percent of the Garden State’s power would come from renewable sources by 2030.

The result: A $215 million sale of the lease to Electricite de France SA and Royal Dutch Shell PLC last month. It’s a deal that may have marked the start of a new era for energy development in the U.S. Northeast as states rev up green-power mandates to fight global warming, and European energy giants seek to leverage their offshore expertise back home in a rich new market.

When New Jersey changed its standards, “the value skyrocketed” for U.S. Wind’s lease, Vitale said by telephone. “The signals on policy made it feel like the stock market. Each time news came out on policy, we’d get a call from a bank.”

New Jersey’s not alone in this effort. Concerns about global warming have gained among Northeast states as U.S. officials, under President Donald Trump, have been dismissive. Meanwhile, the cost of building offshore turbines is shrinking as the equipment gets bigger and more powerful, and the supply chain has worked out early kinks.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

Scientists, harvesters, farmers talk shop at Northeast Aquaculture Conference

February 1, 2019 — To open the Northeast Aquaculture Conference and Exposition on January 9, a panel of ten experts from Prince Edward Island to New Jersey fired off a round of challenges into the ballroom of the Boston Park Plaza Hotel: labor shortages, complex regulations, public opposition, and climate change, among them.

But, for all the concerns, the aquaculture industry represented by some 550 attendees seemed buoyantly optimistic, despite the absence of federal employees furloughed by the partial shutdown of the federal government, many of whom were speakers.

“It’s an aquaculture pep rally,” said Matt Gregg of the Barnegat Oyster Collective in Barnegat Light, N.J., describing the three-day conference, which included field trips, research presentations, and a tradeshow.

Farm-raised seafood is the fastest growing food sector worldwide, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Globally, aquaculture supplies more than 50 percent of all seafood people eat.

First-time NACE attendee Kevin Thomson of Duxbury Oyster Company in Duxbury, Mass., emphasized the conference was information-intensive. “They’ve brought a lot of different kinds of people into one room,” he said.

That meant not only shellfish, seaweed, and finfish growers, but also researchers in marine biology, ecosystems ecology, climatology, food science and geothermal engineering, who hosted over 100 sessions on their findings.

“The studies have progressed,” noted Travis Ortega of Watch Hill Oysters in Rhode Island, who has attended three conferences.  “There’s a lot more knowledge now and not as many studies ‘in progress.’  We can apply what we learned when we go back to the farm,” he said.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Marine Mammal Stranding Center still running amid government shutdown

January 25, 2019 — While many federal agencies that regulate wildlife have had to stop working during the government shutdown, the Marine Mammal Stranding Center continues to rescue and treat animals in waterways across the state.

The nonprofit rescue and rehabilitation center has a permit and authorization from the state and federal governments, but operates with its own paid staff and volunteers to respond to strandings of whales, dolphins, seals and sea turtles.

All funding comes through donations, memberships and its own fundraising efforts.

“I feel for the people that are being furloughed and can’t collect a paycheck, but it doesn’t affect what we’re doing,” founder Bob Schoelkopf said.

The center is currently looking after three seals it rescued during the shutdown from Beach Haven, Long Branch and Harvey Cedars.

Typically, the Stranding Center would also have to submit its final health report to the National Marine Fisheries Service when releasing an animal. Even though the service won’t be around to process the material, the center said it will continue to follow procedure.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City