Saving Seafood

Interior secretary: ‘Opposition’ to offshore drill plan

April 9, 2018 — PLAINSBORO, N.J. — Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Friday acknowledged there is “a lot of opposition” to President Donald Trump’s plan to open most of the nation’s coastline to oil and gas drilling.

Speaking at a forum on offshore wind energy in Plainsboro, New Jersey, Zinke touted Trump’s “all of the above” energy menu that calls for oil and gas, as well as renewable energy projects.

But he noted strong opposition to the drilling plan, adding there is little to no infrastructure in many of those areas to support drilling.

“There is a lot of opposition, particularly off the East Coast and the West Coast, on oil and gas,” Zinke said.

He said on the East Coast, only the Republican governors of Maine and Georgia have expressed support for the drilling plan, which has roiled environmentalists but cheered energy interests. Maine Gov. Paul LePage has endorsed the plan, but Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal has hesitated to take a public position on it.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Washington Post

Black Sea Bass — The New “War Between the States”

April 9, 2018 — On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, signifying the end of the U.S. Civil War.

One hundred and fifty-three years to the day, north and south are set to do battle yet again, this time over sea bass.

From April 30 through May 3, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASFMC) will hold its 2018 spring meeting in Arlington, VA, a city that was once the dividing line between Confederates to the South and the Union Army to the north during the bloodiest war in U.S. history.

Sometime during the first week in May, the ASFMC policy board will address an appeal by Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut and New York, over the disparity in coastwide black sea bass regulations with New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia and North Carolina. Late last week, a panel convened by ASMFC officially validated the northern appeal to allow their fight against the southern states to move forward during the first few days of May in Arlington.

Earlier this year, ASFMC’s Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Management Board approved Addendum XXX to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan establishing a regional allocation of the coastwide Recreational Harvest Limit (RHL) of black sea bass. The final 6-4 vote across geographic lines separating north and south established three management regions for black sea bass; Massachusetts through New York (61.35% of the RHL), New Jersey as its own state-specific region (30.24% of the RHL), and Delaware through North Carolina (8.41% of the RHL). States within each region are collectively responsible for managing harvest to their regional allocation through cooperative measures.

When ASMFC members were considering their decision during their winter meeting in February, states from Delaware through North Carolina didn’t want New Jersey included in their southern region. On the other hand, northern states were already facing an 11% reduction in black sea bass landings for 2018, where New Jersey alone was expected to get hit with a significantly higher 20% reduction. Though New Jersey historically has the most participation in the black sea bass fishery and qualified for the highest RHL percentage coastwide, delegates from New York through Massachusetts viewed the 20% reduction as a potential liability, so they didn’t want New Jersey part of their northern region either.

Read the full story at The Fisherman

 

New Jersey council sets summer flounder, black sea bass regulations

April 9, 2018 — The New Jersey Marine Fisheries Council met Thursday and set summer flounder and black sea bass regulations in front of an overflow crowd at the Bay Avenue Community Center in Stafford Township.

Although black sea bass regulations were set, they may change after the upcoming Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council meeting April 30 to May 3, said Bob Rush, a council member and owner of the Starfish fleet out of Sea Isle City.

That’s where states unhappy with their reduced quota — such as New York, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Rhode Island — will make their case that New Jersey should share some of its increased quota with them.

Unlike last year, when flounder regulations were controversial, this year it was sea bass regulations that generated more discussion, Rush said.

Rush said limits on flounder size are the same as last year’s, over which the council fought and won against ASMFC.

But other rules are more liberal this year.

“We are actually getting extra fish and days at sea,” said Rush. “Last year the season ended the beginning of September. This year we are getting an extra week or two out of it.”

But black sea bass rules remain uncertain, said NJMFC acting Chairman Dick Herb, captain of charter boats out of Avalon.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

 

Northeast squid fishery seeks MSC certification

April 6, 2018 — Last summer, two major Atlantic squid wholesalers — Lund’s Fisheries in Cape May, N.J., and the Town Dock in Point Judith, R.I. — jointly entered a process that could result in the East Coast inshore Atlantic loligo (longfin) squid fishery obtaining Marine Stewardship Council Certification as early as May 2018.

About 60 fisheries have been MSC certified in the United States. East Coast loligo would be the first squid fishery to receive MSC certification.

The loligo assessment, facilitated by independent certifier SCS Global Services, has been a year-long, multistep process, and the peer review stage is nearing fruition this spring.

“It can take anywhere from eight to 18 months, depending on the scope of assessment,” said Maggie Dewane, MSC’s U.S. communications manager. “Because of the pre-assessment process, which highlights any weaknesses within the fishery, which can then be addressed prior to entering assessment, most fisheries are able to achieve certification.”

Both companies hope an eventual MSC certification will help push Atlantic inshore loligo squid into new markets and meet the needs of customers that otherwise were previously out of reach.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

 

The Turning Tides of New England Fisheries

April 5, 2018 — Andrew Applegate’s family has been in the fishing business since his ancestors moved from Cranbury, New Jersey, to the Sandy Hook area around 100 years ago. Along with some commercial fishing, Applegate’s father ran a couple of large party fishing boats out of Atlantic City, and through the decades the family caught whatever was available. But now, Applegate is part of a New England fishing community forced to depend on fast-changing marine species they’ve never seen in the region before, and give up on others that are dying out.

The Gulf of Maine has witnessed its cod stocks collapse but its lobster population explode. To the south, in contrast to their current success north of Cape Cod, lobsters have suffered shell-wasting disease and poor productivity down into the Mid-Atlantic. And black sea bass is being found in northern New England when 20 years ago that would’ve been unheard of, says Michael Pentony, regional head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Greater Atlantic fisheries division. In the face of such changes, those involved in fisheries management are trying to prepare for a murky future. Reliable and more timely data paired with flexible regulations could, they hope, allow those in the business to adapt as fisheries change in the coming years.

These changes are forcing some to disregard historical knowledge gathered in logbooks by generations of fishermen who recorded where to catch certain fish at certain times of the year, says Ben Martens, the executive director of the Maine Coast Fishermen’s Association.

“Now you just have to throw those out. They don’t work anymore. And every year is completely different from the year before,” Martens says. “Sometimes we have water that’s too warm; this year we had cooler water. We’re seeing a lot more turbulence in what’s happening in our planning and in our business stability.”

Read the full story at Ozy

Pressure mounting to reject quota cuts for black sea bass

April 2, 2018 — With the fishing season approaching, state fisheries officials are under greater pressure than ever to reject mandates from federal and coastal fisheries regulators to limit New York’s quota for abundant black sea bass.

New York’s top fisheries regulator said Thursday, the state was reviewing a range of tools to push back against the quota, including even noncompliance with the federal rules if a recently filed appeal or a lawsuit fails to change reductions in the fishery.

“I’m prepared to go to the bear cage on this if it means having to take more drastic action,” state Environmental Conservation commissioner Basil Seggos said in an interview. Noncompliance is “an option that’s on the table for us. We have to approach that carefully and understand the full implications of that and exhaust all the other options” before considering it, he said. In any case, he said, “I don’t want to see our fishermen take a cut this year or next year.”

New York recreational anglers and boat captains face a 12 percent reduction for black sea bass this year, which would translate into a shorter season and fewer keeper fish each day. Black sea bass are a particularly vital species for recreational boats, in part because the fish are so plentiful. The black sea-bass fishery has been restored to more than 2 1⁄2 times the levels that regulators consider sufficiently rebuilt.

At a sometimes-raucous meeting last Tuesday, held by the DEC at Stony Brook University’s School of Marine & Atmospheric Sciences, hundreds of fishermen and women packed a hall to demand the state bring quotas into line with New Jersey and other states that are allotted larger shares.

Read the full story at Newsday

 

New Jersey: Bill to ban oil, gas drilling in state waters passes Senate

March 27, 2018 — Bipartisan legislation to ban offshore drilling in state waters and to prohibit infrastructure there from supporting drilling in federal waters off New Jersey, was approved 37-0 on Monday by the state Senate.

“This is a back-door way of blocking the offshore drilling that would be allowed by the federal action,” said co-sponsor Sen. Jeff Van Drew, D-Cape May, Cumberland, Atlantic. “We control the first 3 miles at the state level, so we will use that authority to try to hinder or block drilling along the Jersey coast, which is vital for the fishing industry.”

President Donald Trump has proposed opening up drilling in federal waters along the Atlantic Coast. State waters run to three miles out, and federal waters from three to 200 miles out.

The Shore Tourism and Ocean Protection (STOP) from Offshore Oil and Gas Act (S-258/A-839) had already passed the Assembly and now goes to Gov. Phil Murphy’s desk. Murphy, an opponent of offshore drilling in the Atlantic, is expected to sign it.

Co-sponsor Sen. Chris Brown, R-Atlantic, said protecting the environment is not a Republican or Democrat issue.

“All of our Atlantic County families, retirees and our local economy depend on us protecting our beaches and waterways,” Brown said. “It simply makes sense to preserve our $44 billion tourism economy and our commercial and recreational fisheries for our children and grandchildren.”

It would prohibit offshore drilling in state waters and ban the leasing of tidal or submerged lands in state waters for oil or natural gas production, exploration or development.

Read the full story at the Press of Atlantic City

 

Under President Trump, changing political tide opens water for anglers

March 21, 2018 — WASHINGTON — Donald Trump is known for hitting the golf course but his administration is now putting the power of the presidency behind another favorite American pastime: fishing.

During his little more than a year in office, the president has promoted the iconic, multi-billion-dollar recreational fishing industry that felt marginalized under the previous administration. Barack Obama routinely sided with environmental advocates concerned about long-term damage from overfishing but Trump, the father of two avid anglers, has tacked in a new direction.

“President Donald Trump was the best thing that ever happened to fishermen,” said Jim Donofrio, executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance which fought the Obama administration to overturn limits on what private anglers could catch in federal waters. “Some of them don’t realize it but they will.”

Almost from the beginning, Trump made it clear the ocean was a frontier to be exploited not only for its energy potential but also for recreational and food sources.

“The fisheries resources of the United States are among the most valuable in the world,” the president declared last year in a White House proclamation designating June 2017 as National Ocean Month. “Growing global demand for seafood presents tremendous opportunities for expansion of our seafood exports, which can reduce our more than $13 billion seafood trade deficit.”

In contrast, a similar proclamation by Obama in 2016 warned about “jeopardizing marine populations and degrading oceanic habitats.”

The Trump administration also increased recreational fishing access to three fish stocks protected under tight catch limits.

  • Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross personally approved a plan in June extending the recreational fishing season for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico from three to 42 days last summer even though his own agency warned it would lead to significant overfishing.
  • In July, Ross once again intervened. This time, he sided with New Jersey to loosen restrictions on the harvest of summer flounder, known as fluke, over the objections of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. Commission Chair Douglas Grout said he was “very much concerned about the short and long‐term implications of the Secretary’s decision on interstate fisheries management.”
  • In the fall, the South Atlantic  Fishery Management Council working closely with the Trump administration allowed recreational snapper fishing from Jupiter Inlet Florida to the North Carolina- Virginia for the first time since 2014. Kellie Ralston, Florida Fishery Policy Director of the American Sportfishing Association, called it “a victory” for anglers while Environmentalists called it a “risky move” given that red snapper in the South Atlantic is still recovering.

Read the full story at USA Today

 

Lund’s Fisheries Now Offers Fair Trade Certified Scallops

March 9, 2018 — The following was released by Lund’s Fisheries:

Lund’s Fisheries is pleased to announce that starting next week at Seafood Expo North America in Boston, the firm will offer Fair Trade CertifiedTM scallops to its customers. The independent certification group Fair Trade USA has granted Lund’s provisional approval to sell scallops using its Fair Trade label.

The Atlantic sea scallop fishery is the first in the United States to be Fair Trade Certified, and Lund’s is the fourth seller to offer Fair Trade Certified scallops. Lund’s was audited by independent third party certifier SCS Global Services earlier this year. Lund’s is currently working to complete the process and earn final certification.

“Ethically and sustainably harvested seafood is increasingly demanded by consumers. It is the right thing for the environment, and the right thing for people. Our scallops are at the forefront of that effort, ” said Wayne Reichle, President of Lund’s Fisheries. “We are proud to sell a product that’s as good for our fishermen as it is for the consumer.”

The Fair Trade designation ensures that products sold under its label meet the highest standards for environmental sustainability, social responsibility, and fair labor practices. Seafood that is Fair Trade Certified lets consumers know that the product they are purchasing comes from a responsible supplier of sustainable products.

“We are excited to welcome Lund’s Fisheries to the Fair Trade family of certified suppliers as they expand their commitment to sustainability by bringing the benefits of Fair Trade certification to the fishermen and processing workers who are an integral part of their success,” said Julie Kuchepatov, Seafood Director at Fair Trade USA.

The Fair Trade Certified label for Lund’s is the latest signal to consumers that U.S.-caught scallops are ethically and sustainably harvested. The Atlantic sea scallop fishery has been previously certified as sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. The Fair Trade designation is part of Lund’s Fisheries commitment to meeting the seafood industry’s most stringent standards for environmental and social responsibility.

About Lund’s Fisheries

Since 1954, the Lund’s Fisheries’ brand and products have inspired trust and confidence worldwide. With locations on both the east and west coasts of the United States, we are able to offer our customers a wide range of high-quality fresh and frozen seafood products produced by our company-owned fishing vessels and the many independent vessels we deal with. Lund’s is a leader in cooperative fisheries research and management to ensure we have a long-term sustainable supply of products for our customers. We believe that fisheries must be managed based on sound science and work hard to be sure our resources are available for generations to come. Never satisfied or complacent about setting a standard, our team works continuously to improve and raise the quality of our products for the benefit of our customers.

About Fair Trade USA

Fair Trade USA is a nonprofit organization that promotes sustainable livelihoods for farmers, fishermen, and workers, protects fragile ecosystems, and builds strong, transparent supply chains through independent, third-party certification. Its trusted Fair Trade Certified™ label signifies that rigorous standards have been met in the production, trade and promotion of Fair Trade products from over 80 countries across the globe. Recognized as a leading social venture by the Clinton Global Initiative, the Skoll Foundation and Ashoka, Fair Trade USA also provides critical capacity-building programs at origin, and educates consumers about the power of their purchase. Visit www.FairTradeCertified.org for more information.

About SCS Global Services

SCS is a global leader in third-party quality, environmental and sustainability verification, certification, auditing, testing, and standards development, and a leader in fishery certification worldwide. Through auditing, certification, testing, life cycle assessment, training and strategic consulting services, SCS empowers organizations to affirm and communicate their sustainability success stories. SCS is a chartered benefit corporation, reflecting its commitment to socially and environmentally responsible business practices.

 

Wind energy eyes restart in N.J. with Gov. Phil Murphy in office

March 8, 2018 — ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. — After building New Jersey’s only wind-energy complex here in 2005, Paul J. Gallagher teamed up with a group of commercial fishermen on an even more ambitious project: building the nation’s first offshore wind farm within sight of the city’s famous Boardwalk.

Fishermen’s Energy LLC spent millions of dollars to obtain permits to build a demonstration project in state waters three miles off Atlantic City. But Gov. Chris Christie, concerned about the high costs of offshore wind, declined to create the rules needed to get the industry off the ground. Fishermen’s closed its office last year and let go its staff after a $47 million federal grant expired.

“Last year was hard,” said Gallagher, 67, Fishermen’s chief operating officer. “We just slowed to a crawl and cut a lot of expenses.”

The political winds have shifted in New Jersey, and Gov. Murphy’s inauguration in January has dramatically revived prospects for the state’s offshore wind industry, which advocates hope could supply up to a third of the state’s power by 2030.

The new governor signed an executive order directing the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities to restart the process to create the rules governing the offshore wind market, which was authorized under the state’s landmark 2010 Offshore Wind Economic Development Act but stalled under Christie.

Gallagher has returned to the public circuit, selling Fishermen’s as the only fully permitted shovel-ready offshore project in New Jersey, though it lost the title as America’s first offshore commercial project to a Rhode Island wind farm in 2016.

“We’re maybe the only offshore project in the United States that can be built in the next 24 months,” Gallagher said.

Read the full story at the Philadelphia Inquirer