Saving Seafood

NEW YORK: East Hampton Town Okays Offshore Wind Farm Agreement

January 22, 2021 — Over the objections of one member and after a contentious discussion, the East Hampton Town Board voted on Thursday to execute an easement and host-community agreement with the developers of the proposed South Fork Wind farm.

Thursday’s vote followed several years of discussion, debate, and public comment on the proposal that would see an installation of up to 15 turbines in a federal lease area approximately 35 miles off Montauk Point. The offshore installation remains the subject of furious opposition, most visibly manifest in an effort to create an incorporated village of Wainscott, where the wind farm’s export cable would make landfall at the ocean beach at the end of Beach Lane.

Four of the board’s five members voted in favor of a resolution authorizing Supervisor Peter Van Scoyoc to execute the easement agreement with South Fork Wind, L.L.C., for the construction, installation, maintenance, repair, replacement, removal, and decommissioning of the wind farm’s export cable and related facilities for the wind farm, within town road rights-of-way, to connect the wind farm to a Long Island Power Authority substation off Cove Hollow Road in East Hampton. The resolution is subject to permissive referendum, meaning if enough signatures were collected opponents could force a public vote on the project.

The board also voted 4 to 0 to execute the host-community agreement that would see the developers, Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource Energy, making direct payments to the town totaling almost $29 million over the installation’s 25-year lifetime.

Councilman Jeff Bragman abstained from voting on both resolutions, repeating his assertions that the town would maintain leverage and therefore its ability to influence the project by waiting until state and federal reviews are complete, and that many pertinent questions as to environmental review and the installation’s potential impact on the commercial fishing industry remain unanswered.

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star

NY award will more than double the number of wind turbines planned for South Shore

January 20, 2021 — New York State’s decision last week to award two “massive” offshore wind power contracts to Norwegian energy giant Equinor will more than double the size of a planned wind farm off the coast of Long Island. It also promises “substantial” upgrades to a section of the electric grid at Oceanside.

The plan, announced by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo last week as part of an expansive post-COVID-19 green economy, would bring the number the number of turbines expected to be spinning off the South Shore by 2027 to around 170, encompassing some 80,000 acres from Jones Beach to Islip, the company said. New York has a stated goal of some 9,000 megawatts of wind power by 2035, to displace carbon-belching conventional plants.

The state awarded the projects to Norwegian energy giant Equinor, which in 2019 was awarded a separate contract for 816 megawatts in a project called Empire Wind 1, some 15 miles off Jones Beach. That project will be constructed by 2024 directly adjacent to the newly awarded Empire Wind 2 and will be “built as one project, in sequence,” said Siri Espedal Kindem, president of Equinor’s U.S. Wind division. Empire Wind 2 is expected to be comprised of some 90 turbines.

She said the company is interested in bidding for new lease areas off the coast of Long Island, a process currently stalled under the Trump Administration.

Read the full story at Newsday

New York to study why dead bunker fish have been washing up on beaches

December 29, 2020 — Numerous reports of dead and dying bunker fish washing up on Long Island beaches in recent weeks have prompted state officials to collect samples for study.

Distressed fish — possibly sickened by low water oxygen levels or rapid changes in temperature — have been spotted from the lower Hudson River near Peekskill to Staten Island and beaches on Long Island’s North Shore and the East End, officials said.

The state Department of Environmental Conservation has sent fish samples and water quality data to Stony Brook University’s Marine Animal Disease Laboratory and Cornell University for examination, officials said.

Bunker, or Atlantic menhaden, are a popular bait fish that number in the billions from Nova Scotia to Florida. Hundreds of millions of the fish are harvested annually for fish oil, fertilizer and fishmeal, authorities have said.

Read the full story at Newsday

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

NEW YORK: LI fishermen see tough days ahead as NYC restaurants back in lockdown

December 21, 2020 — With New York City restaurants back in lockdown, Long Island fishermen once again face the loss of one of the biggest markets for their fish as a choppy 2020 comes to a close.

A small measure of relief is being offered with federal stimulus finds, but fishermen have only till year’s end to apply.

Fishermen in the spring saw most wholesale prices tumble with restaurant closures statewide, then regain as summer opened outdoor dining and limited capacity at restaurants. The latest closure comes atop other setbacks, including the die-off for the second year in a row of Peconic Bay scallops, the sharp decline in the oyster industry, also tied to restaurant closures, and pressures such as ever-changing fishing quotas.

Read the full story at Newsday

Storm could bring 14-foot waves, disrupt fishing for a few days

December 16, 2020 — The coast could see some 14-foot wave heights from a winter snowstorm that is forecast to barrel into New Jersey on Wednesday.

We’ll see if that affects the current pattern of a morning striped bass bite on the beaches. Surf fishermen have been enjoying a good run of mostly slot size bass in spots like Sea Girt, and Brick on down through the Ocean County barrier islands.

Bob Matthews at Fisherman’s Den in Belmar said any sand eel imitation was working on the bass. He was in the thick of the action over the weekend and noted a lot of shad in the surf as well. In fact, he said he dropped his teaser because he was catching too many.

George Konowall of Philadelphia has the distinction of weighing in the final bass in the Long Beach Island Surf Fishing Classic. Konowall landed the fish Saturday afternoon at Barneget Light fishing with bunker bait. At 12 pounds, six ounces it posed no challenge to the leader, which at the end of the tournament on Sunday, was still Bob Daley’s 24-pound bass he caught back on Nov. 26.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

NEW YORK: US restaurant industry group protests shutdown orders

December 15, 2020 — As restaurants around the United States continue to suffer economic losses from renewed indoor and outdoor dining shutdowns in several states, restauranteurs are holding rallies, sending letters to Congress, and filing lawsuits in an effort to survive.

On 15 December, the New York State Latino Restaurant Bar & Lounge Association – along with numerous celebrities and other supporters – held a “Tuesday Super Rally” in New York City to protest the closure of indoor dining in the city. Restaurants around the country went “dark” on their Instagram pages to support the rally.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

New York’s commercial fishing sector appreciates aid, but worries about continued challenges for restaurants

December 10, 2020 — New York is now taking applications from commercial fishermen and other fishing businesses seeking relief from losses they suffered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And while fishermen are thankful for the assistance, an industry leader said more needs to be done, including helping restaurants.

The funding, a total of $6.7 million, comes to the state through the CARES Act passed in March. That COVID relief package included a total of $300 million in direct aid to commercial fishermen, with the Department of Commerce determining how much each state, tribal nation and territory received.

Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, told The center Square the pandemic created a perfect storm for the seafood industry, and the federal aid will help in an “unusual” year.

“Fishermen are essential workers,” Brady said. “No one wants a handout. These guys just want to be able to work, but in this case, they were able to work, but … the markets for fish were so depressed that your choices were go in and get paid at 1970s prices or don’t go in. But then you don’t have an income.”

A couple of items that would really help the industry recover would be for restaurants to rebound and for the return of fish processing in the state.

Read the full story at The Center Square

$2.8 Million in Grants Awarded in New England to Improve the Health of Long Island Sound

December 9, 2020 — The following was released by the Environmental Protection Agency:

Today, top federal and state environmental officials from New England announced 24 grants totaling $2.8 million to local governments, nongovernmental organizations and community groups to improve Long Island Sound. The grants are matched by $2.3 million from the grantees resulting in $5.1 million in funding for conservation around the Long Island Sound watershed.

Work funded through the Long Island Sound Futures Fund (LISFF) has shown how projects led by local groups and communities make a difference in improving water quality and restoring habitat around the Long Island Sound watershed. The grant program combines funds from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF).

“Long Island Sound is vital to local communities, economies and ecosystems, and these grants will greatly benefit the Sound for years to come,” said EPA New England Regional Administrator Dennis Deziel. “Protecting and restoring Long Island Sound requires a watershed-wide approach and EPA is proud to again support diverse and innovative projects in five of the states that comprise the Sound’s watershed.”

The LISFF 2020 grants will reach more than 670,000 residents through environmental education programs and conservation projects. Water quality improvement projects will treat 5.4 million gallons of stormwater, install 23,000-square-feet of green infrastructure and prevent 3,000 pounds of nitrogen from entering Long Island Sound. The projects will also open 3.7 river miles and restore 108 acres of coastal habitat for fish and wildlife.

Representative Rosa DeLauro, Co-chair of the Long Island Sound Caucus, added: “The Long Island Sound is one of our most treasured natural resources, and it is vital that we continue to support programs and services that maintain its health and vitality. Having grown up on its shores, the Sound has always held a special place with me, and I am so proud to have the opportunity to work to ensure that its beaches and waters remain places for children and families to enjoy. We have made extraordinary strides, but issues with sewer overflows, stormwater runoff, and other climate change issues challenge us to do more – and so we will. As one of the Long Island Sound Caucus leaders, and the incoming Chair of the House Appropriations Committee, which is the committee that has jurisdiction over all discretionary funding, I am thrilled to have helped provide this funding for a revitalized Long Island Sound. I remain committed to working with NFWF and EPA and with my Congressional colleagues, and the many Long Island Sound advocates here today doing this critical conservation work.”

Read the full release here

New York Fisheries Relief Program Application Period Now Open

December 3, 2020 — Members of New York’s marine fishing industry who have been impacted by the coronavirus pandemic can now apply for federal funding. Governor Andrew Cuomo announced on Tuesday that $6.7 million is available from the Marine Fisheries Relief Program established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES Act.

“As the economic pain of the COVID-19 pandemic continues to impact industries across the globe, New York’s marine fishing industry is no exception,” Cuomo said. “Whether it’s recreational or commercial fishing, the business which comprise this industry have been vital to New York’s economic success and cultural heritage since our state’s inception and its critical we ensure they have the resources and support they need to keep operating during these difficult times.”

Read the full story at Seafood News