August 20, 2020 — New York Senator Chuck Schumer is the latest politician to speak out regarding the redeployment of at-sea observers.
At-sea observer requirements were waived in late March as the coronavirus began to spread in the U.S. That waiver was extended multiple times until being lifted this past Friday, August 14.
August 7, 2020 — A multi-user, planned transmission system for offshore wind in New York could achieve grid cost savings of over $500m, according to a new study produced by the Brattle Group.
Other benefits include “significantly reduced” environmental impacts and project risks if a multi-user, planned transmission system can be developed.
The report, Offshore Wind Transmission: An Analysis of Options for New York, evaluates the challenges of connecting each wind farm to shore individually in comparison to a planned approach.
Such an approach would comprise a high-capacity offshore wind transmission system serving multiple wind farms, reducing marine cabling, and optimising onshore landing points and substations.
The study found that planned offshore transmission “significantly” reduces seabed marine cabling by almost 60%, avoiding over 800km of seabed disturbance and reducing impact on fisheries and marine ecosystems.
July 29, 2020 — The Maine Department of Marine Resources has identified Julie Dimperio Holowach, of New York City, as the victim of a shark attack near Bailey Island yesterday. She was pronounced dead after being helped to the shore following the attack.
It may be the first recorded encounter of its kind in Maine and has sparked beach closures in parts of the state.
Dr. Nick Whitney, senior scientist and chair of the Fisheries Science and Emerging Technologies Program with the New England Aquarium in Boston, spoke with Maine Public’s Nora Flaherty about why there might be more sharks in Maine now than there have been in the past.
Dr. Whitney: I think it’s generally accepted that the increase in number of seals is leading to more white sharks coming closer to shore during some months. Other than that, I’m not sure if there’s been any major changes in migration patterns. Sharks have probably been using these waters for decades or longer.
July 14, 2020 — Offshore wind is considered one of the most promising forms of renewable energy to expand this decade. According to the nonprofit World Forum Offshore Wind, technological advancements, global government support, and cost reductions have allowed the industry to play a greater role in electricity generation. Offshore wind is currently most prevalent in Western Europe, but this source of energy production is rapidly growing in countries such as China and the United States.
In New York State, Governor Cuomo’s 2018 Offshore Wind Master Plan outlines steps for offshore wind development until 2030. A first-of-its-kind document in the United States, the plan delineated a study area known as the New York Bight Call Area for the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), the agency responsible for energy projects in federal water, to consider for future projects. BOEM has recommended several areas of interest (see map below), and the oil and gas company Equinor secured an approximately $3 billion lease next to the area for its Empire Wind project.
While the Offshore Wind Master Plan can help New York secure 2.4 gigawatts of carbon-free electricity by 2020 (enough to power 1.2 million homes), the projects could also potentially compete with other activities, such as fishing, vessel traffic, conservation, and ocean science research. In the NY-NJ Bight, scallopers are concerned about offshore wind projects negatively impacting fisheries. Examining the spatial proximity between the region’s scallop fishery and offshore wind industry highlights the need for wind development companies to take fishermen’s concerns more seriously, so that both parties can coexist successfully.
July 8, 2020 — Already struggling to stay in business since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the owner of a fourth-generation New York City seafood wholesaler was devastated to hear the news last week that restaurants in the city cannot open for indoor dining – only outdoor.
To top it off, Broadway theaters will remain closed through the end of this year, and nightclubs remain closed.
June 1, 2020 — Federal fisheries regulators on Tuesday delayed a plan to restart a program requiring commercial fishermen to take observers on fishing trips starting Monday, following widespread criticism of the move.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, citing concerns about the spread of the coronavirus, said it would restart the program Aug. 1.
Even while setting the Aug. 1 date, “we recognize that this public health crisis continues to evolve and changing conditions may warrant re-evaluating these plans,” NOAA said in a statement.
“Should our plans regarding redeploying observers and at-sea monitors change, we will announce any changes as soon as practicable,” the agency said.
Representatives for local fishermen said the restart should be pushed back further.
“Come back to us when there’s a vaccine” or effective COVID-19 treatment, said Bonnie Brady, executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association, based in Montauk.
June 23, 2020 — Fishermen should be prepared to see an armada of boats descend on our best striped bass fishing concentration points this week, possibly through much of July. Commercial striper fishermen will begin their intense harvesting season on June 24 — this Wednesday.
The first days of the frenetic, highly competitive season usually bring the very highest prices — and some of the lowest thoughtful behavior. With the lure of a thousand dollars for a day’s work, motivation can be powerful. If the initial supply is high, though, rewards can plummet fast. Too much early success by too many fishermen hurts their final bottom line.
Whole, gutted wild striped bass averaging 11 pounds right now are retailing at New York’s Fulton Fish Market for $213.18 per fish. That’s about $19.38 per pound and includes bones and head. Fillets are selling for about $29.99a pound What Massachusetts fishermen will get this year is anyone’s guess, but it likely won’t be stable or fair.
I remember lamenting back in 2014 that while the retail price of striped bass in the market was anywhere from $17 to $26 per pound, fishermen were getting only $4 to $5 a pound. Added to the challenge this year is the presence of seals stealing hooked fish off a line and great white sharks chomping off all but the heads.
Commercial fishing days starting this week will be limited to Mondays and Wednesdays until the state’s quota of 735,240 pounds is reached. That’s a huge toll on a species that has been in decline for at least the last five years. Commercial fishermen bring their fish to buyers the same day they catch them, so those wholesalers can immediately report our state’s catch. Seafood lovers should expect stripers at their favorite markets and restaurants this week.
June 16, 2020 — The reopening of Long Island restaurants for outdoor dining hasn’t translated into banner days for the region’s commercial fishermen and fish dealers, who say demand for wholesale fish, clams and oysters is inching up but nowhere near past levels.
While many local fishermen sell to local retailers, a steady local business even through the pandemic, the lion’s share of local fish go to companies that distribute to restaurants throughout the region and across the country. Three months of lockdowns over the coronavirus has backed up the market for the products, leaving warehouses for local frozen fish such as squid fully stocked, while drastically reducing demand for local clams and oysters. Market prices for most have fallen, though some, like fluke, are on the rebound.
Local fishermen have been catching and selling fluke, but with the New York quota at 100 pounds a day, the market isn’t lucrative. The market for porgies, also known as scup, has picked up as the plentiful fish come into season and more consumers learn to appreciate its value (and cook it whole).
Bill Zeller, owner of Captree Clam in West Babylon, said his business is down by around two-thirds from where it was a year ago, nearly all of the drop tied to restaurant closures. He delivers to distributors across the nation — Florida, Boston, the West Coast, where protests in recent weeks also led to some order cancellations just as some states were reopening.
May 28, 2020 — In the early days of the coronavirus shut-downs, commercial fishermen were among those gut-punched by the impacts of an economy screeched to a halt.
Fishermen were told they could keep working, and the fish they sought were plentiful, but the value of fish at markets reeling from the forced closures of tens of thousands of restaurants and people fleeing into their homes was minimal.
But fishermen say that as the pandemic has settled into the habits of humans across the world, where one window of opportunity has closed, others have opened and helped the industry keep itself … well, afloat.
They have been buoyed by a steep drop in the amount of seafood being imported to the U.S. from other countries — the practice itself a plague that many fishermen said the country needs to rid it self of — and a populace that has still eagerly sought out seafood to eat while in quarantine.
With restaurants either closed or doing a fraction of their usual business, fishermen have relied more on selling to retail seafood markets, or at retail farmers markets, selling fish off the back of their boats or pickups and, in some cases, door-to-door deliveries, to peddle their catch.
May 13, 2020 — Montauk’s fishermen have launched a historic and innovative new initiative to deliver fresh, New York State-certified seafood straight from their boats to local residents’ doorsteps. The effort, called Dock to Dish 3.0, comes just in time, as restaurant closures and stay-at-home orders have hurt traditional distribution channels and put perishable catches in danger.
Dock to Dish 3.0 is now operating locally as a pilot program for Montauk area residents, offering no-contact subscriptions via an e-commerce platform, with deliveries eventually expanding in June to reach more than 1,000 customers around Long Island and the NY Metropolitan Area each week. More than 500 people have already joined a waiting lists for memberships.
Designed to replace recently crippled and collapsed supply lines, and bring safety and balance to unpredictable market conditions that have arisen during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, this new system creates a distribution channel between Montauk’s commercial fishing fleet and NY consumers. The Long Island Commercial Fishing Association and United Parcel Service (UPS) have stepped up as partners to facilitate the subscription program, which will allow more than two dozen Long Island fishermen to ship New York State-certified fish fillets and sea scallops to members.