Saving Seafood

Orsted expects delays in South Fork offshore wind farm

April 30, 2020 — The South Fork offshore wind farm will “very likely” be delayed beyond its planned 2022 completion date, according to a top official for project developer Orsted, who cited a “prolonged” federal review of U.S. wind projects and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denmark-based Orsted’s U.S. offshore wind projects were still advancing, said chief executive Henrik Poulsen in comments with the release of Orsted’s first quarter financial report, but at a “slower pace” than planned. He cited the South Fork wind farm as one of two projects that were the “most exposed to the risk of delays.”

A second project by Orsted known as the Skipjack wind farm off the coast of Maryland also will likely be delayed by about a year from its originally 2022 completion date, Poulsen said.

There are also “increased risks of delay” for another New York project known as Sunrise Wind, intended to connect to the Long Island grid in 2024, Poulsen said, as well two other East Coast projects. Sunrise Wind, awarded by New York State with a capacity of some 880 megawatts, has been hampered by an inability to complete offshore site surveys by vessels because of COVID-19 restrictions, Poulsen said. The company expects to have “more clarity” on whether the projects will meet 2023-24 completion dates “after summer,” Poulsen said.

Read the full story at Newsday

Coronavirus halts nation’s largest purchase of offshore wind

April 27, 2020 — The state’s Public Service Commission (PSC) authorised the New York Energy Research and Development Authority (Nyserda) to issue a new offshore wind solicitation for at least 1GW and up to 2.5GW.

The energy regulator has planned to issue the tender – which would be the US’ largest offshore wind auction to date – this summer, according to a petition filed with the PSC.

However, Nyserda has suspended its plans to hold the auction round indefinitely as government agencies prioritise New York’s response to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

New York has recorded the highest number of cases and casualties in the US, according to statistics company Worldometer.

Read the full story at Wind Power Monthly

NEW YORK: Long Island butchers, fish markets and more pivot to delivery

April 20, 2020 — Man cannot live on takeout alone and, at some point, even the most stove-averse Long Islanders are going to have to start cooking. The good news is that some big-time restaurant suppliers, in an effort to shore up their flagging business, are now delivering to regular folks. Many local food purveyors are ramping up or initiating takeout services so you don’t have to go to the market, and some enterprising restaurants and caterers are even getting into the grocery game. In general, these companies offer quicker and more dependable delivery than regular supermarkets whose stock must be ordered through Instacart. But they are all overburdened in this new age of takeout so be prepared to be patient.

GENERAL GROCERIES

Baldor Specialty Foods: You’ve been eating Baldor provisions for decades without knowing it: it is one of the Northeast’s largest wholesale importers and distributors of fresh produce and specialty foods, a staple supplier of fine restaurants and markets. Now Baldor is making its vast inventory of specialty food available directly to consumers. All the staples are here, as well as foie gras, fiddlehead ferns and beef cheeks and pretty much anything you have ever eaten. Free delivery to all of Long Island with a $250 minimum. More info: baldorfood.com

The Chef’s Warehouse: One of the tristate region’s leading food service suppliers is now offering you 10-packs of frozen Neapolitan pizzas, 1-pound cans of jumbo lump crab meat, 5-liter tubs of gelato plus meats, produce, dairy and grocery items. Delivery takes up to four business days; trucks come to Long Island on Monday, Wednesday and Friday; free delivery for orders over $250 ($35 fee for smaller orders). More info: chefswarehouse.com

DiCarlo Foods (1630 N. Ocean Ave., Holtsville): You’ve probably seen DiCarlo’s trucks on Long Island’s roads and highways. The Holtsville-based company, founded in 1963, is one of the metropolitan area’s largest food distributors, supplying restaurants, pizzerias, hotels and institutions. But attached to the 5-million cubic-foot warehouse is a “Cash & Carry” open to the public that carries a wide range of fresh, frozen and packaged foods. Home delivery is available as well. More info: 631-758-6000, dicarlofood.com

Read the full story at Newsday

New York City seeks private support to keep crucial food distributors afloat

April 16, 2020 — New York City is seeking philanthropic support for its food distributors, raising some concerns about the viability of the merchants that sell fruit, vegetables and meat to groceries and bodegas in the epicenter of the United States coronavirus epidemic.

Food distributors are facing such “a significant liquidity issue,” that City Hall has asked the philanthropic and financial sectors to create a fund to support the merchants, according to a confidential memo acquired by POLITICO. While philanthropic dollars have been devoted to meals for the poor and vulnerable, the city is asking for donations to bolster a private industry crucial to the food supply of more than 8.6 million people.

“We’re completely dependent on the food distribution network,” said Kathryn Garcia, who serves as both the city’s Covid-19 food czar and its sanitation commissioner, in an interview Wednesday. “That’s how we eat. We need them to be resilient. We need them to be healthy.”

Read the full story at Politico

One month into coronavirus shutdowns, New Jersey fishermen search for new customers

April 9, 2020 — Weeks after the New York region’s fresh seafood market suddenly froze with government-mandated restaurant closings to control coronavirus, fishermen, docks and dealers are slowly finding new ways to get fresh fish to consumers.

“It’s a sustainable, natural, healthy resource,” said Richard Brecka, who owns the Shore Fresh Seafood Market at the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J. “We’ve got 13,000 pounds for tomorrow.”

Brecka’s crew was busily cutting black sea bass Wednesday afternoon, preparing for another open-air seafood sale near the dock, which was hit hard by the late March collapse of New York market prices. The first event April 4 attracted enough of a crowd – maintaining the required 6-foot social distancing among customers – to sell out 300 pounds of scallops in an hour.

“It’s coming back up” as retail customers seek out sources for local seafood, said Brecka. But the retail shop can handle only a portion of what the Point Pleasant fishermen can land during good weather, he added.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Tensions build over menhaden fishing off coast of New York’s Long Island

April 7, 2020 — The timing of a recent crackdown on the use of purse seiners to catch menhaden off the coast of the state of New York’s Long Island is being questioned, the local newspaper News Day reports.

Some fishermen, who launched their boats from a ramp in Riverhead, were reportedly greeted Wednesday morning by Travis Wooten, a constable, who said they would be cited for using seine nets that stretch beyond the town’s 50-foot limit. Wooten said his stakeout was the result of complaints by residents who are concerned the fishing boats are damaging the bay bottom, depleting it of companion species such as striped bass.

The harvesters, who previously worked in cooperation with the town to prevent large die-offs of the menhaden, also known as bunkers, said they were surprised by the move.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NEW YORK: Fishermen See Market Dry Out

March 27, 2020 — Unable to sell a 1,000-pound catch of fluke last week, Capt. Chuck Morici of the dragger Act 1 spent three days filleting the fish at Montauk commercial dock and offering it for free straight from his boat. On Saturday morning, he gave it away from the back of his pickup truck in downtown Montauk, a big handwritten sign announcing, “Free Fish.”

In a normal year, the religious period of Lent, when many people give up eating meat, tends to drive up seafood demand and prices. But the global COVID-19 pandemic has thrown normal to the wind.

In addition to the closure of most domestic restaurants, foreign markets such as Spain and Italy, which before the pandemic were historically large buyers of squid landed on the East End, for example, have stopped all imports. As a result, many fish buyers have implored fishermen to stay ashore.

Prices have fallen dramatically, said Bonnie Brady of Montauk, the executive director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association. “Everyone is frustrated that the buyers are not buying fish, but at the same time the restaurant market has dried up, and New York has always been beholden to the fresh fish market because we haven’t had processing to help us.”

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star

East Coast fishing crippled by coronavirus crisis, restaurant shutdowns

March 25, 2020 — Escalating coronavirus closures in Northeast cities have left seafood unsold and boats tied up, threatening to inflict lasting damage on the U.S. fishing fleet.

State governments ordering restaurants to close and people to stay in their homes brought business to a screeching halt at major seafood hubs like Boston and the New Fulton Fish Market in New York City’s sprawling Hunts Point food terminal.

“It’s really serious here. Some buyers have not given us a price, and in some cases, they still have the fish,” said Jim Lovgren, a longtime trawler captain with the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative in Point Pleasant Beach, N.J.

“The issue here is the restaurants. The average American doesn’t cook fish at home,” said Lovgren. Restaurant and food service buyers account for the vast majority of demand in the fresh fish market, but state orders limiting restaurants to offering take-out service only immediately evaporated those sales, he said.

The crisis hit amid a growing economy and a relatively mild winter with good fishing in the New York Bight. Jumbo fluke that had been bringing $4 a pound at the dock plummeted to 75 cents, meaning “50 cents to the boat,” said Lovgren.

“So, the market is upside down,” he added. Co-op members have even discussed whether they may need to close the dock if those conditions persist.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

JIM LOVGREN: Congress must act to save U.S. fishing industry

March 25, 2020 — With the coronavirus being spread around the world and nations reacting to this threat in many different ways — from doing nothing, to closing the borders and full quarantines — the unintended effects of such government actions have yet to be fully felt.

Granted the stock market has lost 30 percent in value in just three weeks’ time, the average American really doesn’t feel that unless he is living on his investment returns.

With the closing of schools, and restaurants and any places of public gatherings, an enormous crisis is being created. Many people are being put out of work, and some of them may not have a business to come back to when the crisis is over. The coronavirus may topple an empire if we let it.

How? By exposing our self-inflicted dependence on foreign imports by every major industry in our country.

Years ago, the problem was our dependence on imported oil from the Middle East. That problem was based on cost of production — it was cheaper to import oil than to produce our own oil. As oil prices rose, and fracking technology advanced, we have reached a point where we have energy independence — although it is based on fossil fuel, and not fissionable fuel.

In regard to almost every other industrial production, be it agricultural, pharmaceutical, manufacturing or whatever, our own companies have sold their soul to short-term profits. We are at the mercy of foreign companies and governments for many of our essential items, and it was our politicians of both parties that sold us out.

Read the full opinion piece at National Fisherman

US restaurant industry seeks relief as outbreak threatens millions of jobs

March 18, 2020 — Restaurants are calling on the U.S. government to provide aid in the wake of closures and limited-capacity requirements for foodservice in most states due to coronavirus.

More than nine million jobs in the leisure and hospitality sector are threatened, while 3,634 jobs have already been cut due to the COVID-19 outbreak, according to Challenger, Gray & Christmas, an executive outplacement firm.

Read the full story at Seafood Source