Saving Seafood

Lobster, from the Jersey coast to your dinner plate

August 26, 2016 — SEA ISLE CITY, N.J. – It had been a long four days at sea aboard the Two Dukes, harvesting thousands of pounds of American lobster and a sideline catch of Jonah crab about 80 miles from the New Jersey coast in an area called the Hudson Canyon.

Out where the water is deeper than a skyscraper is tall, the work days are 14 hours long and start at 5 a.m. There’s really no break aboard the 70-foot steel-hulled lobster boat until a crew member “cooks a nice dinner” – usually not lobster or crab – and then it’s finally time to find a bunk and grab some sleep until the next shift.

The weather is an ever-present, relentless partner in the enterprise and, on any given voyage, can range from sunbaked heat to cold, howling winds and monstrous, stormy swells. No one wastes time talking about good weather.

“I really forgot how grueling it can be,” said Eric Burcaw Sr., 50, who recently came out of semiretirement to take the helm on the Two Dukes, which he operates with his brother Robert Jr.

Their dad, Robert Sr., 82, started the family’s maritime business in the 1960s and still helps out dockside during the summer when the boat comes in. The family owns two other boats they use for fishing other species and for shorter, one-day lobster runs.

On their most recent four-day lobster trip, Eric Sr. found himself in the Two Dukes’ captain’s chair. His son, Eric Jr., who took over running the boat a couple of years ago, had broken his ankle jet skiing the previous week. The injury would preclude Eric Jr. from doing the heavy work required onboard.

Read the full story at Philly.com

Several hundred thousand dead fish wash up in New Jersey creek

August 24, 2016 — KEANSBURG, N.J. — Several hundred thousand dead fish have washed up in a central New Jersey marina’s creek in the past week, wildlife officials said.

The fish in Waackaack Creek, which peaked Saturday, are peanut bunker — the name describing Atlantic Menhaden after hatching, according to the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. Bluefish or skates probably chased them into the creek, officials believe.

“Although the water is tidal, the creek and other surrounding waters where the fish have washed up can get stagnant during certain tides and we believe at this point that the die-off is due to dissolved oxygen levels in the water,” Bob Considine with the state EPA said.

Read the full story at UPI

Moore Foundation Grants $1.2 Million to Monmouth U. to Support Progress on Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal

August 17, 2016 — The following was released by Monmouth University:

WEST LONG BRANCH, N.J. — The Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute (UCI) has received a $1.2 million Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation grant to continue the development of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal (portal.midatlanticocean.org), a free, state-of-the-art mapping and information site focused on ocean areas from New York through Virginia. The funding will support the work of a project team consisting of researchers from Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy and the Center for Remote Sensing and Spatial Analysis (CRSSA), The Nature Conservancy and the UCI.

The grant will enable the UCI and its project partners to add valuable new content to the publicly accessible site in 2016 and 2017, including interactive maps depicting fishing areas, oceanography, tribal ocean uses and a trove of data that will illustrate marine life distributions and trends throughout the East Coast in greater detail than ever before. The Portal was initiated under the guidance of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Oceans (MARCO) with previous funding provided by the Moore Foundation in 2015 and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in 2012 and 2013.

“We are deeply grateful for the vital contributions the Moore Foundation has made not just to the Portal project, but in improving the state of ocean planning in the Mid-Atlantic and other regions,” said UCI Director Tony MacDonald. “This technology will help policymakers and regulatory agencies make science-based decisions that promote healthy marine ecosystems and sustainable ocean use, as well as provide the public and stakeholders with readily accessible spatial data and the best information available about ocean environments and economies.”

Just as Google Maps and MapQuest contain data layers that depict the locations of businesses, transit stops and public places, the Portal offers a selection of over 200 layers depicting human activities and natural processes taking place at sea. The Portal has grown in importance as an ocean planning tool, particularly for its ability to illustrate where there are possible conflicts – for example, between a potential offshore wind site and shipping traffic – and compatible uses at sea.

The Portal has served as a key information source for a historic first-ever Draft Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan produced by a Regional Planning Body composed of representatives from six states, tribal entities, federal agencies and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. In addition, it supports the work of MARCO, a partnership of the governors of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.

Under the current project funding from the UCI and the Moore Foundation, Rutgers has a leading role in the operational management of the Portal and in developing a plan to support the implementation of the Draft Ocean Action Plan and continued work by MARCO.

“The portal project has been a great demonstration of collaboration between Monmouth and Rutgers universities,” said Jeanne Herb, associate director of the Environmental Analysis and Communications (EAC) Group at Rutgers University’s Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy. “Our work together is a model for how institutions that house unique skills and expertise can complement each other, and we look forward to building on this partnership for projects, programming and academic opportunities in the future.”

According to Richard G. Lathrop Jr., director of CRSSA, a major goal has been to make the Portal a central information hub accessible to all of the Mid-Atlantic’s stakeholders.

“This has entailed working with stakeholders to better understand their decision-making needs and policy concerns, as well as designing the user interface to be simple and user friendly, but still allow ready access to the incredibly rich data set,” Lathrop said.“Working with MARCO on developing the Portal has challenged the team here at Rutgers to expand our expertise in land use planning, policy and geographic information systems into the coastal and marine realm

The Draft Ocean Action Plan calls for the Portal to play an increased role in informing ocean management decisions such as siting offshore wind turbines, permitting aquaculture operations, and determining which fishing communities should be consulted when an area is being considered for sand extraction. An emphasis of the Portal team’s upcoming work will be to support the work and goals of the Draft Ocean Action Plan, which is open for public comment through Sept. 6 at boem.gov/ocean-action-plan.

The Portal team frequently offers tutorial webinars and is available to schedule training sessions for interested groups and individuals. To learn more, contact Karl Vilacoba at kvilacob@monmouth.edu.

Fishing crew rescued from sinking boat off NJ coast

August 16, 2016 — POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J. — Early Monday, before the sun was up, the Lady Gertrude was about 35 to 40 miles southeast of Sandy Hook in a fishing ground called the Chicken Canyon when she started to take on water.

The canyon is a deep depression on the ocean floor and a ground known for scallops — what the Lady Gertrude, a 78-foot commercial fishing vessel from Point Pleasant Beach, was after when she left Manasquan Inlet on Sunday night.

By 2 a.m. though, something had gone wrong as the boat’s hull started filling with water.

Capt. Jim Lovgren was far away on the boat Shadowfax, towing his nets for fluke two miles off the beach when he heard the Gertrude’s first emergency call over the VHF radio. His heart dropped into his stomach. His 34-year old son Keith Lovgren was on the boat.

“I’m worried, but I do know my son’s been through this before and he knows what to do,” said Lovgren, whose boat Viking sunk in 2012 with both him and his two sons on board.

They all made it home safe that day. Keith, who was back at his Brick home by Monday afternoon, made it home safe this time, too.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

Delaware might scuttle ferry for artificial fishing reef

LOWER TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A Cape May-Lewes Ferry boat that has been for sale for four years likely will be scuttled as a new artificial reef after failing to draw interest on the commercial market.

The MV Twin Capes has been moored at the Delaware River & Bay Authority’s docks in Lower Township since it was gradually taken out of service about two years ago.

The ferryboat is bigger, heavier and more nicely appointed than the other three in the fleet. It has a full restaurant, a food court and two plush bars that were added as part of a $27 million renovation in 1996.

But the bigger boat costs more to operate, DRBA spokesman James Salmon said. It requires a bigger crew (17 people instead of 12) and uses more fuel than the other three ferries with every 17-mile crossing over the Delaware Bay.

The DRBA has a tentative agreement to sell the ferry for $250,000 to Delaware’s Department of Natural Resources for use as an artificial ocean reef.

Delaware is partnering with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which has decades of experience sinking barges, boats and construction material to create offshore habitat for fish.

Read the full story at Press of Atlantic City

MARCO Encourages Public Review of the Draft Regional Ocean Action Plan

August 11, 2016 — The following was released by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean:

WASHINGTON, DC ― The Draft Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan (Draft Plan) was recently released for public review by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body (MidA RPB), a group made up of representatives from six states, federal and tribal entities and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

The plan, which is open for public comment through September 6, 2016, aims to ensure healthy, productive, and resilient marine ecosystems and sustainable ocean uses from New York through Virginia.  Developed by the MidA RPB, it is the culmination of collaborative discussions since 2013 and outlines a suite of actions for improving collaboration on decision making for ocean waters of the Mid-Atlantic.

The Draft Plan is available online and the public may formally submit comments via the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) website at http://www.boem.gov/Ocean-Action-Plan. In addition, the public is encouraged to share their reactions to the Draft Plan on social media using the hashtags #MidAOceanPlan and #OceanPlanning.

Working collaboratively to advance regional ocean planning as the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO), the states of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia play an instrumental role in supporting the region’s process for gathering and reviewing data on ocean resources and uses, as well as engaging ocean users, tribes and the general public in an ocean planning process.

“The planning process has given the states a seat at the table regarding the use of offshore ocean resources,” said Maryland Department of Natural Resources Director of Ocean and Coastal Management and MidA RPB State Co-Lead Gwynne Schultz. “The Draft Plan provides an exciting opportunity to raise public awareness and to influence proposed projects and actions in federal waters, streamlining how government agencies work with each other and stakeholders.”

The five MARCO member states began identifying common interests in 2009, after a Governors’ Agreement formed the MARCO partnership to enhance the vitality of the region’s ocean ecosystem and economy.  The states jointly recognize ocean planning as a potential tool for moving common regional priorities forward and, as MARCO, have played an instrumental role in the regional planning process. MARCO’s contributions to the Draft Plan have included:

  • Convening entities and stakeholders throughout the region to help inform the ocean planning process.
  • Facilitating the compilation and synthesis of data and information on marine resources, habitats and human uses.
  • Developing the MARCO Ocean Data Portal (http//:portal.midatlanticocean.org), an interactive ocean mapping and information website focused on the Mid-Atlantic coast.
  • Hosting a series of five regional Open House Public Listening Sessions in July 2016 to share information about and to receive informal public input on the Draft Plan.

“The MARCO Ocean Data Portal provides a public resource that puts maps and data from a variety of federal agencies and other vetted sources in one easy to use website location,” said Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program Manager Laura McKay, who also serves as Chair of the MARCO Management Board and as a member of the MidA RPB. “Never before have we been able to explore from a regional perspective, the transboundary spatial relationships between species, habitats and human activities,” McKay stated.

This process also helped establish a new two-way dialogue between those who use the ocean and the agencies and entities that make decisions about long-term sustainable management.

“The Mid-Atlantic states will benefit in the long-term from the improved relationships with ocean stakeholders who have been given a new opportunity to provide data and feedback to the regional ocean planning process, bringing a louder voice to key issues of concern from coastal communities and ensuring that decision-makers have an improved understanding of the opportunities and limitations of currently available data sets,” said Greg Capobianco, New York Department of State and MidA RPB member.

Following the public comment period, the Plan will be submitted to the National Ocean Council for concurrence.  Upon finalization, the region expects to benefit from the Ocean Action Plan through improved coordination, data availability and outreach opportunities.

NEW JERSEY: Rebirth of the artificial reef program

August 10, 2016 — A little before 8 a.m. a small group of fishermen resumed a ritual that was nearly lost due to a territorial war.

They formed their boats into a semi-circle two miles off the coast of Point Pleasant Beach to watch a 65-foot former New York Harbor crew boat be purposely sunk on a reef.

It was a perfect morning to do it.

The ocean Tuesday was as smooth as glass and visibility was such that the pastel colors of boardwalk amusements on shore and the tops of inland water towers could be discerned from the distance.

“Once she fills up with water she’s going to go down pretty quickly. The only question is, will she go bow up or transom up?” said Ken Warchal, a trustee of the Manasquan River Marlin and Tuna Club, the sport fishing club that purchased the boat.

The club was sinking the boat in the name of the late Jack Murray, a former club president and champion of marine conservation who served on various fishery management bodies. The goal is to have a site in his honor teeming with fish for anglers to catch.

“We’ll probably have a contest to see who can catch the first fish on it,” said Warchal, who expects black sea bass, tautog and summer flounder will inhabit the locale within a year.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

ASMFC Tautog Board Accepts Regional Assessments for Long Island Sound and New Jersey/New York Bight Management Use

August 3, 2016 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

ALEXANDRIA, Va. — The Commission’s Tautog Management Board approved regional stock assessments for Long Island Sound (LIS) and New Jersey-New York Bight (NJ-NYB) for management use. Stock status for both regions was found to be overfished and experiencing overfishing. The assessments were initiated in response to the findings of the 2015 benchmark stock assessment which explored a number of regional breakdowns for management purposes, including the option of: (1) Massachusetts and Rhode Island; (2) Connecticut, New York and New Jersey; and (3) Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. The Board had concerns about the biological implications of grouping LIS with New Jersey ocean waters. The Board requested a new assessment that would explore the population dynamics of the Connecticut, New York and New Jersey region in more detail. The regional assessments propose two additional stock unit boundaries for consideration at a finer regional scale: LIS, which consists of Connecticut and New York waters north of Long Island, and NJ-NYB, which consists of New Jersey and New York waters south of Long Island.

Given approval of the regional assessments by the peer review panel and Management Board, the Tautog Technical Committee will move forward with updating the benchmark stock assessment, including data through 2015 for all four regions for Board review and approval in October. Upon its completion, work on developing a new amendment to the Tautog Fishery Management Plan can begin. The draft amendment will propose a four region management approach: Massachusetts and Rhode Island; Long Island Sound; New Jersey/New York Bight; and Delaware, Maryland and Virginia. It is anticipated a draft for public comment will be presented to the Board for its review and approval in February 2017, with final amendment approval later in the year.

The stock assessments and peer review report, which are combined into one document, will be available on the Commission website on the Tautog page by the end of August.

Commission could increase menhaden catch

August 2, 2016 — New Jersey commercial bait fishermen want to see the coastwide catch of menhaden increased nearly 80,000 metric tons.

“We’re focused on the science. If the science supports an increase, we want to take it,” said Jeff Kaelin from Lunds Fisheries, a commercial fishing operation in Cape May.

The amount of menhaden fishermen will be able to take from the water next year will be decided Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia, when the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meets.

The Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee has given the ASMFC options that would allow the catch to increase by as much as 10,000 to 80,000 metric tons.

Only one option is to keep the status quo at 187,880 metric tons. There is no option to reduce the catch.

Kaelin said Jersey purse seiners have been shut out of the fishery since July 4, after fishermen reached their allocation for this year. He said if they had more quota, they could be selling bait to New England lobstermen who are clamoring for bait.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

Shutting Down ‘Shark Finning’: US Fishermen Promise a Fight

July 26, 2016 — American fishermen are digging in for a fight over a proposal to shut down the vestiges of the U.S. harvest of shark fins, prized for soup and traditional medicine in Asia, and send a message to the rest of the world.

The traditional “finning” of sharks — in which they are pulled out of the water, have their fins sliced off and are discarded into the sea, often still alive but unable to swim — is already illegal in the U.S., but fishermen are still allowed to hunt sharks and have their fins removed during processing on land.

A bill backed by Sen. Cory Booker, a New Jersey Democrat, and others promises to ban the sale and possession of shark fins to ensure U.S. fishermen and seafood dealers no longer participate in the global fin trade. Supporters say the bill would close loopholes left open by measures passed in 2000 and 2010 to protect sharks.

“America can become a global leader by shutting down the domestic market for shark fins,” Booker said.

Jeff Oden, a former North Carolina shark fisherman who left the business about 10 years ago to focus on other species amid mounting regulatory pressure, said the legislation is well intentioned but won’t stop international finning, and could actually increase pressure on sharks.

“Other countries that are less likely to be as sustainable as us will fill our void,” Oden said.

Shaun Gehan, a lawyer who represents shark fishermen, said the inability to sell fins would devastate the shark fishing business, which he described as conservatively managed already. Eleven states already have laws against the sale of shark fins, though shark fin soup can still be found on the menu in Chinese restaurants in many states.

Read the full story from the Associated Press in the Portland Press Herald