Saving Seafood

Dead whale found in LI waters was last seen caught in fishing line, NOAA says

September 20, 2019 — The North Atlantic right whale whose decomposed body was found floating in the waters off Fire Island earlier this week was seen alive last month caught up in fishing line, officials said.

Wounds likely inflicted by plastic rope confirmed he was the rare leviathan seen in the August video. Scientists had previously named him “Snake Eyes” for the twin eye-shaped scars on his head, said Philip Hamilton, a research scientist at Anderson Cabot for Ocean Life at Boston’s New England Aquarium.

The fishing line that may have ended the whale’s life — after he had swum in the Atlantic for more than four decades — ran through his mouth and possibly anchored his tail to the sea bed, Hamilton said.

Read the full story at Newsday

Right whale found dead this week identified as potentially ‘one of the great fathers of the population’

September 19, 2019 — The North Atlantic right whale found dead this week off Long Island, N.Y., has been identified as a 40-plus-year-old male who had been seen this summer entangled in fishing gear in Canadian waters.

The whale, known to researchers as “Snake Eyes,” was last seen entangled in the Gulf of St. Lawrence in August, after being seen there free of gear in July.

“This is his first sighting since the entanglement,” said Jennifer Goebel, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Scientists at the New England Aquarium called the whale Snake Eyes because of two bright white scars on the front of his head “that look like a pair of eyes when he swam towards you,” they said Wednesday.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

Trump move to delay Mass. wind farm concerns NY officials

September 19, 2019 — New York State is “watching closely” the federal government’s decision to stall a Massachusetts offshore wind project to review environmental and fishing impacts, a top state official said Wednesday, adding there’s no sign yet that the scrutiny will affect New York’s ambitious offshore wind plans.

“That concern does exist,” Alicia Barton, president and chief executive of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, told business leaders at a Long Island Association meeting in Melville Wednesday. She called the federal review a “significant setback” in the permitting schedule for that project, called Vineyard Wind.

Vineyard Wind in August said it was “surprised and disappointed” by the federal Bureau of Energy Management’s decision to scrutinize the “cumulative impacts [of offshore wind] driven by rapid growth of the industry beyond our project.”

For now, Barton said she had “no reason to believe” New York projects, which are slated to be in service in 2024, would be affected by the federal review. Nor does it appear to delay her expectation that additional leasing areas off New York will be offered by the federal government soon.

Read the full story at Newsday

Dead right whale off New York raises toll — and pressure on NOAA

September 18, 2019 — A dead North Atlantic right whale found floating off New York’s Long Island Monday afternoon could raise the official death toll of the endangered species to 29 in the last two years, jacking up pressure on the U.S. and Canadian governments to slow those losses.

The latest find comes less than a week after Chris Oliver, NMFS administrator, said the agency will move ahead with rulemaking to reduce the risk of whale entanglements in fishing gear — despite a withdrawal of support for proposed measure by the Maine lobster industry.

“We intend to address the threats posed by gillnets and to humpback whales at future (Atlantic Large Whale) Take Reduction Team meetings,” Oliver said in a statement issued Sept. 11.

NMFS officials said the carcass was discovered 4 miles south of Fire Island Inlet, and was so decomposed that its age, sex and cause of death could not be determined immediately.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Striped Bass Recovery Debate Divides Fishermen

September 10, 2019 — A roiling debate over how to reduce the annual harvest of striped bass along the Atlantic Seaboard to allow the species to recover from years of overfishing has pitted various fishermen against each other and sparked heated exchanges in online venues — and, last week, in a public hearing with federal fisheries managers.

Hundreds packed into a meeting room at Bethpage State Park last week to offer their views on a battery of options that marine biologists have laid out; they say each would reduce the number of dead striped bass — one of the nation’s most economically important fish stocks — by up to 18 percent per year. The goal is to help the stock recover to what scientists say are necessary levels by 2023.

The battle over how to proceed has focused primarily on what restrictions should be placed on recreational fishermen, who account for about 90 percent of the striped bass harvest, though the extent to which commercial fishermen should share in the cuts also is on the table.

Read the full story at 27East

NEW YORK: Statement from Governor Andrew M. Cuomo on Dismissal of Case Regarding Fluke Quotas

September 3, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Governor Andrew M. Cuomo (D-NY):

“New York’s commercial fishing industry is a critical driver of our economy that has been held back by outdated federal restrictions for decades. The hardworking men and women of this industry deserve equitable treatment so they can succeed and grow their businesses and continue to boost their local economies.

“New York will continue to challenge this unfair quota and explore every avenue to ensure that New York’s access to summer flounder is consistent with national standards and our state’s fishing industry can continue to thrive.”

Read the full release here

Judge dismisses NY’s lawsuit over commercial fluke quotas

September 3, 2019 — A federal judge has dismissed New York’s lawsuit seeking to challenge the state’s relatively small portion of the East Coast commercial fluke quota as a. congressman called for local fishermen to not comply with the restrictive allotment.

With little fanfare, U.S. District Judge Sandra Feuerstein on July 30 issued an order dismissing the case, allowing the state 10 days to file a notice to reargue its claims by next April. Court records showed no such filing had been made. New York’s original complaint was filed Jan. 14. Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo first threatened to sue over New York’s low quota at an event in Montauk in 2013.

Meanwhile, Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) on Friday recommended that New York commercial fishermen go out of compliance with the fluke quota system in what would be a clear signal to Washington of their frustration with the process.

Read the full story at Newsday

Long Island researchers get a rare gift: a shark tracker retrieved

August 30, 2019 — When a black electronic device shaped like a mini soda pop container washed up Tuesday on a Jersey Shore beach, the discovery was, to Long Island researchers more than 150 miles away, like finding a treasure map sealed in a bottle.

That’s because the shark-tracking device — plucked by a lifeguard from the sand at Island Beach State Park in Ocean County, New Jersey — contains reams of data to help researchers, including those at the South Fork Natural History Museum & Nature Center’s shark research program, learn more about the mysterious fish and how it roams Long Island’s waters.

For Greg Metzger, the research program’s field coordinator, discovering the device is as unlikely as it is beneficial to understanding sharks’ swimming patterns, including how deep and where they swim off Long Island and what temperatures they prefer.

Read the full story at Newsday

Why collaboration is critical to offshore wind and port success

August 29, 2019 — New York recently announced the largest procurement of offshore wind power in U.S. history: to develop 9.0 GW of projects by 2035. New Jersey has set a goal of 3.5 GW by 2030. Barely a year after Massachusetts pledged to at least 1.6 GW of offshore wind, the Department of Energy Resources released a report recommending the Commonwealth doubled that commitment. Connecticut has signed on for 2.0 GW of offshore wind. There are others.

Over the next two decades, East Coast states and California expect to develop more than two-dozen offshore wind farms. The interest in an American offshore industry is clear. Next, however, comes the how. Building a supply chain — and, specifically, port infrastructure that supports the unique requirements of offshore wind — is critical to industry advancement.

“Timing is everything and congestion could be a major problem over the next decade,” says Lars Andersen, president of K2 Management’s North American operations. K2 is an experienced owner’s engineer and lender’s technical advisor. “For example, a single port harbor facility will be overburdened if multiple projects are under construction at the same time. Therefore, developers will likely have to consider multiple facility strategies and secure their options well ahead of time.”

Read the full story at Windpower Engineering & Development

New York Will Study Fish, Birds And Fishermen To Help Wind Farm Planning

August 15, 2019 — New York State’s renewable energy agency will direct some $2 million over the next three years to a suite of environmental studies intended to forecast the effects of offshore wind farm construction in the waters off the Eastern Seaboard.

The studies will focus on the possible effects on migratory fish and bird species, and to help craft the energy development so that fishermen can continue to fish in the regions where the wind farms are built.

Five studies to be funded by the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency, or NYSERDA, will focus on surveying and monitoring fish and bird species that live in or transit the areas where the turbines will be built, and on how the activities of fishermen in those areas can be accommodated.

Read the full story at the Sag Harbor Express