Saving Seafood

Extended: Slow Speed Zone in New York Bight to Protect Right Whales

December 21, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect Until January 5

NOAA Fisheries is extending a Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone) in the New York Bight.

On December 21, 2020, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s acoustic array noted the presence of right whales southeast of New York, NY.

Mariners, please go around this area or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

The New York Bight Slow Zone is in effect until January 5 for waters bounded by:

40 41 N
40 01 N
073 03 W
073 55 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

Dramatic Increase in Whales in NJ/NYC Raises Safety Concerns

August 9th, 2019 — The number of humpback whale sightings in New York City and northern New Jersey has increased dramatically in recent years, by more than 500 percent, as a result of warmer and cleaner waters, raising the risk of dangerous interactions between the huge marine mammals and humans, according to a Rutgers University-New Brunswick researcher.

The increase in sightings near one of the world’s busiest ports is a safety concern for both whales and humans, especially with a new wave of migration headed close to shores this fall, said Danielle Brown, a doctoral student in ecology and evolution in Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biology Sciences and the lead humpback whale researcher and naturalist for Gotham Whale, a New York-based nonprofit that studies and advocates for whales.

Since Gotham Whale started documenting humpback whale sightings in the New York Bight apex – the Atlantic Ocean area from New York harbor east to Fire Island and south to the Manasquan Inlet– the number has increased to 272 last year up from five in 2011. Many of the sightings have occurred less than two miles from the shore.

Read the full story at Rutgers Today

New York set to work with fishermen on offshore wind research

August 9th, 2019 — New York state energy officials announced Thursday more than $2 million has been allocated for new studies on how offshore wind energy development will affect fisheries and wildlife.

The projects include joint efforts with the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance, a coalition of East Coast fishing and seafood industry groups that have been advocating for the state and federal governments to move more cautiously on proposals for massive turbine arrays in Northeast and Mid-Atlantic waters.

The next studies continue offshore environmental surveys begun in 2017 by the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, including digital aerial surveys of birds, marine mammals, sharks and fish shoals that concluded in spring 2019 after collecting more than 3.5 million images across the New York Bight.

NYSERDA originally set out with 20 studies of environmental, social, economic and regulatory issues with building offshore wind power in one of the nation’s busiest seaways. The new studies will build on that with more environmental, maritime and social issues to analyze.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Whale sightings and ship strike danger surge off New York

May 31, 2019 — Humpback whales are seen much more often around the approaches to New York Harbor, and with them comes the potential for more deadly encounters with vessels, according to a new study.

“Whales feed in close proximity to the entrance of the Port of New York and New Jersey, creating potentially dangerous situations for both vessels and whales. Documenting humpback whale presence and identifying the risks are crucial for both short- and long-term management,” wrote researchers at George Mason University in Virginia and Gotham Whale, a nonprofit group in New York City.

Published in the journal Marine Policy, authors Danielle M. Brown, Paul L. Sieswerda and E.C.M. Parsons report humpback whale sightings – along with strandings of dead whales – have substantially increased around the apex of the New York Bight since 2011. The team makes a case for stepping up whale monitoring in the Bight, for both conservation and the safety of mariners and whales.

A humpback whale and vessels near New York. Tugs and tows travel at lower speeds but can still be at risk of collision with whales feeding close to shore, according to a new study.

Read the full story at WorkBoat

Equinor to support New York Bight whales monitoring

April 10, 2019 — Offshore wind power developer Equinor Wind US is entering a joint project with conservationists and scientists to deploy two new acoustic buoys to expand detection and monitoring of whales in the New York Bight.

To be operated with the Wildlife Conservation Society’s New York Aquarium and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts, the buoys will provide near real-time monitoring of species including sei, fin and humpback whales, and the extremely endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The buoys will become a broader network with a previously deployed acoustic buoy, funded by the G. Unger Vetlesen Foundation and the Flora Family Foundation, now on station about 22 miles off New York.

Read the full story at WorkBoat

Offshore wind developers court recreational fishing community

March 8, 2019 — Offshore wind energy developers are courting recreational fishermen in the New York Bight, who could gain dozens of new fishing spots around turbine towers, but worry about impacts of the massive projects on traditional fishing grounds.

“Obviously the hot button for us is access,” said charter captain Paul Eidman of Anglers for Offshore Wind Power, a project of the National Wildlife Federation, which hosted the meeting in Toms River, N.J., on Wednesday along with the American Littoral Society for offshore wind companies and recreational fishermen.

“There’s a lot being proposed to go out in the ocean and on the bottom,” said Tim Dillingham of the littoral society, adding that the developing industry must avoid critical fish habitat and seafloor bumps and ridges that are important to anglers and the region’s big charter and party boat fleet.

There are conflicted feelings in the recreational community. Many anglers want to see the new hard structure that turbine construction would put into the water, swiftly attracting hydroid and shellfish growth that become the base for new fishing hotspots, much like artificial reefs.

Read the full story at Workboat

NEW YORK: RODA, NYSERDA, and NYSDEC are seeking information on commercial fishing transit routes in the New York Bight

February 15, 2019 — The following was released by the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance:

The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), and New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYSDEC) are gathering feedback related to fishing transit throughout the NY Bight. This information gathering, which includes a review of existing data and a fishermen survey, will culminate in a transit workshop scheduled for March 27, 2018 at Danfords Hotel, Marina, and Spa in Port Jefferson, New York.

The goal of the workshop is to present information collected on New York Bight transit routes to participants, to gather feedback, and ultimately develop a Workshop Report that provides a clearer understanding of where transit lanes would provide the greatest value for the fishing industry prior to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s delineation of new offshore wind lease areas in the New York Bight.

RODA urges all commercial fishermen who transit through the New York Bight to complete the survey here prior to March 1st so that your input will be fully considered. Please return completed surveys to lane@rodafisheries.org or by mail to RODA, P.O. Box 66704, Washington D.C. 20035.

RODA will ensure that any replies will be anonymized before submission to the state and federal government at the request of any respondent.

Please register here if you would like to attend the March 27th workshop.

BOEM elaborates on map for New York Bight areas for offshore wind

November 26, 2018 — Walter Cruickshank, the acting director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, provided some details to an otherwise ambiguous map the agency released last week for potential offshore wind sites along the New York Bight Call area.

The map featured four sections of land off the coasts of Long Island and New Jersey and included shaded areas deemed as “primary recommendations” and “secondary recommendations.”

The labels left commissioners at the Port Authority confused.

“There’s secondary and primary leases,” Port Director Ed Washburn said at last week’s meeting. “We’re not exactly sure what secondary or primary means other than one they prefer over the other. We don’t know exactly why.”

In an interview with The Standard-Times earlier this week, Cruickshank elaborated on the map.

“It’s not a decision yet,” he said “But it’s things we want to get some feedback on before we make a decision on what areas we’ll conduct the environmental analysis on.”

The idea of primary and secondary areas, Cruickshank said, was to elicit discussion from stakeholders. However, they also represented areas where BOEM felt the least conflict existed among fishermen, wind developers, the Department of Defense, environmentalists and others claiming any kind of value in the areas.

The conflicts that arose in the areas not shaded at all, Cruickshank said, were too large to overcome.

“Any area you pick is still going to have some conflicts,” Cruickshank said. “This was the primary sort of our view where there might be some ability to manage conflict and move forward.”

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

BOEM Releases Draft Wind Energy Areas in New York Bight

November 15, 2018 — The following was released by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM):

Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force Meeting on the New York Bight

November 28, 2018
Hotel Pennsylvania
401 Seventh Avenue at 33rd Street
New York, NY 10001

Draft Wind Energy Areas

After reviewing the comments received in response to the Call for Information and Nominations, comments received during stakeholder meetings and general feedback, BOEM has delineated draft Wind Energy Areas in the New York Bight.

What is a Wind Energy Area?

As a reminder, a Wind Energy Area is a portion of the Outer Continental Shelf identified by BOEM for an Environmental Assessment under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Traditionally, BOEM has identified a Wind Energy Area and then offered that entire area for sale as a Lease Area. However, the fact that an area is designated as a Wind Energy Area does not mean that it will necessarily be offered for sale. The proposed area for sale, or Lease Area, will be determined at the Proposed Sale Notice stage.

What do the different colors mean?

The Draft Wind Energy Areas are depicted in two colors, dark green and light green.  The dark green areas are BOEM’s primary recommendations, areas that relative to others with in the Call Areas present the least amount of conflict with a potential offshore wind facility.  Areas in light green are secondary recommendations, which are slightly more conflicted than the dark green areas, and are where BOEM welcomes additional stakeholder perspectives.

Task Force Agenda

Please see a draft task force agenda below.  Note that it is subject to change prior to the meeting date.

New York Bight Task Force Roster (as of November 14, 2018)

If you would like to provide updated contact information to BOEM, please reach out to luke.feinberg@boem.gov.

Read the announcement here

BOEM looking at traffic lanes, buffers for offshore wind power

September 24, 2018 — Concerns raised by the maritime and commercial fishing industries now have federal officials considering wider buffer areas, and spacing as far as two nautical miles between proposed offshore wind power turbines.

At meetings in New York, Massachusetts and New Jersey, representatives of the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said the burden of proof is on offshore wind energy development companies to show their plans for turbine arrays will be compatible with other ocean industries.

“Right now we’re asking developers to prove that fishermen can still fish” if offshore turbines are built, said Amy Stillings, an economist with BOEM.

The agency is also looking at setting aside a corridor for shipping and barge traffic cutting across the New York Bight, which extends from Cape May Inlet, N.J., to Montauk Point, N.Y., on the eastern tip of Long Island, to maintain a safe buffer between future turbine arrays and vessel traffic.

That idea for a cross-Bight corridor nine nautical miles wide – a five-mile traffic lane, with two-mile buffers on either side – recognizes trends in maritime transportation that allow towing vessels to take the route farther offshore than the traditional paths closer to shore.

Read the full story at Work Boat