Saving Seafood

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

NEW YORK: $6.7 million relief program will assist NYS fishing industry

December 1, 2020 — New York State announced that $6.7 million in federal funding is available from the Marine Fisheries Relief Program established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act to assist New York’s marine fishing industry following economic losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible seafood, commercial marine fishing, and marine recreational for-hire fishing businesses will be able to apply for the funding beginning December 1.

New York’s marine resources support nearly 350,000 jobs and generate billions of dollars through tourism, fishing, and other industries. The Marine Fisheries Relief Program allocation was determined by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries based on the total average annual revenues from New York’s fishery-related businesses prior to COVID-19.

“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,” Governor 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 ABC NEWS 10

Extended: Slow Speed Zone Southeast of New York City to Protect Right Whales

November 30, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect Through December 15

NOAA Fisheries is extending a Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone), southeast of New York City.

This Slow Zone was first triggered on November 17, when the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute acoustic monitoring buoy detected right whales in the New York Bight, New York. The buoy detected right whales again on November 30.

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

Southeast of New York City Slow Zone is in effect through December 15.

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

See the coordinates for all the slow zones and dynamic management areas currently in effect.

Read the full release here

Slow Speed Zone Southeast of New York City to Protect Right Whales

November 18, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect Through December 2

NOAA Fisheries is triggering a Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone), southeast of New York City.

This Slow Zone was triggered on November 17, 2020, when the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute acoustic monitoring buoy detected right whales in the New York Bight, New York.

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

Southeast of New York City Slow Zone is in effect through December 2.

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

Active Seasonal Management Areas November 1- April 30

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

Block Island Sound 

Ports of New York/New Jersey

Entrance to the Delaware Bay
(Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington)

Entrance to the Chesapeake Bay 
(Ports of Hampton Roads and Baltimore)

Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC

Within a continuous area 20-nm from shore between Wilmington, North Carolina, to Brunswick, Georgia.

Find out more and get the coordinates for each mandatory slow speed zone.

Give Right Whales Room

North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. NOAA is cautioning boaters and fishermen to give these endangered whales plenty of room. We are also asking all fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales and remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements. Commercial fishermen should use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.

Right Whales in Trouble

North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are only about 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

North Atlantic right whales are NOAA Fisheries’ newest Species in the Spotlight. This initiative is a concerted, agency-wide effort to spotlight and save marine species that are among the most at risk of extinction in the near future. 

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

More Information

Recent right whale sightings

Find out more about our right whale conservation efforts and the researchers behind those efforts.

Download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone

Acoustic detections in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston TSS, as well as other regions along the eastern seaboard.

Details and graphics of all vessel strike management zones currently in effect.

Reminder: Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.

Spread the Word!

All boaters, or interested parties, can sign up for email notifications  and selecting “Right Whale Slow Zones” under the Regional New England/Mid-Atlantic subscription topics. You can also follow us on Facebook (@NOAAFisheriesNEMA) and Twitter (@NOAAFish_GARFO)  for announcements.

Watch our video on Right Whale Slow Zones.

Read the full release here

‘Uptick’ in horseshoe crab population but numbers still not great, expert says

November 13, 2020 — Researchers scouring beaches from Brooklyn to Montauk found nearly four times the number of horseshoe crabs than they did last year, but a lead scientist said it’s little cause for celebration.

The annual survey, conducted during the crabs’ prime breeding season of May to August by the Center for Environmental Research and Coast Oceans Monitoring at Molloy College, found 957 horseshoe crabs this year compared with last year’s 16-year low of just 243. This year’s number is also the highest in the past four years: 2,202 were found in 2016.

On Long Island, iconic horseshoe crabs are used not for food but chiefly as a bait, to catch whelks, also known locally as conch, and eels. Whelks have been important to Long Island fishermen after the large drop-off in the Long Island lobster population.

State regulators say the 2020 commercial harvest was down, but they are still analyzing population data. A 2019 assessment by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission found the New York horseshoe crab population to be in “poor condition.”

Read the full story at Newsday

Coast Guard Suspends Search for Fisherman off Montauk

November 9, 2020 — Authorities suspended a search Sunday for a crew member of a commercial fishing boat who went overboard off eastern Long Island.

The fishing vessel Hope and Sydney sent a distress call at 11:20 p.m. Saturday reporting that crew member Carl Whitney, 32, had gone overboard about 18 miles south of Montauk Point, the U.S. Coast Guard said.

The missing fisherman was not wearing a life jacket, Coast Guard officials said in a news release.

Whitney went overboard the day after a teenage fisherman was swept out to sea at Cupsogue Beach County Park in Westhampton Beach. The search for the teenager continued Sunday, a Coast Guard spokesman said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

Local fish markets reel from loss of bay scallops

November 3, 2020 — The bay-scallop season on Long Island’s East End started Monday, but Braun Seafood Co., which serves 700 restaurants and a large retail base market, has yet to take in even a pound of the prized shellfish.

“It’s a shame,” said Ken Homan, the company’s president. “Everybody needs that extra buck, particularly with the economy the way it’s been this year. But it’s a bust.”

As reported in Newsday on Sunday, the Peconic Bay scallop fishery appears to have suffered another catastrophic die-off, idling scores of baymen and recreational scallopers and leaving another $1.6 million hole in an economy already reeling from COVID-battered restaurants.

Local fish markets, which saw the bottom fall out of their businesses during spring lockdowns, had been looking to scallops to help shore up a difficult year that saw many bounce back sharply during the summer, mainly on the back of increased retail business and restaurants opening outdoors.

Read the full story at Newsday