Saving Seafood

New York to study climate change impact on oceans, oysters

August 27, 2018 — As New York’s oyster industry makes a comeback, the state is gearing up to study how changes in ocean chemistry caused by man-made climate change might threaten oysters and the rest of New York’s multi-billion dollar marine industry.

About a third of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is absorbed into the oceans, where it is converted into carbonic acid. This is causing a gradual, steady increase in ocean acidity levels, which are now about 30 percent higher than at the start of the Industrial Revolution.

Rising acidity levels are a threat to oysters, clams, corals and other aquatic creatures that make shells, since this increase also causes a decline in carbonate ions, which are a critical chemical building block of shell formation.

Last week, the state Department of Environmental Conservation announced creation of a 14-member task force to examine ocean acidification, which is a consequence of past and ongoing emissions of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels.

DEC Commissioner Basil Seggos said it will “ensure that the best available science is used to assess and respond to this emerging threat to our coastal waters and fisheries.” He said marine resources support the jobs of about 350,000 state residents.

“Ocean acidification has a dramatic effect on species such as shell fish, including oysters and clams, as well as corals and even plankton. It puts the entire food chain at risk from plankton to whales,” said Chris Thorncroft, chairman of the University at UAlbany Department of Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences.

Read the full story at The Albany Times-Union

Fishing vessel catches fire at sea, crewmembers rescued

August 27, 2017 — Three fishing vessels rescued the crew of the Rose Marie, a 77-foot stern trawler, which caught fire at sea Thursday, Coast Guard officials said.

Crewmembers from the fishing vessel Alexis Martina radioed watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England about 1 p.m., reporting the Rose Marie was on fire, according to U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Second Class Nicole J. Groll.

The crew abandoned ship into a life raft, she said. The Rose Marie was about 65 miles east of Chatham when the fire started between noon and 12:30 p.m. Thursday.

The Seven Seas, another fishing vessel that was nearby, rescued the four crewmembers from their life raft, she said.

The crew transferred to the fishing vessel Gabby G, which has a homeport of Montauk, N.Y., and awaited the arrival of a private tug, she said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Sturgeon, scallops and wind turbines

August 24, 2018 — Offshore wind energy companies are contending with many of the same environmental issues as other maritime industries in U.S. waters, and on a compressed timeline.

Pumped up by state policies encouraging renewable energy, and the Trump administration’s big buy-in to promote new domestic energy production, a dozen federal wind energy leases are already approved off the East Coast, and construction and operation plans for two projects are under review.

Deepwater Wind could have turbines on its South Fork Wind Farm off the east end of Long Island, N.Y., operational in 2020. The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management says developers have plans for 8.5 gigawatts capacity of offshore wind power, with construction picking up pace through the 2020s.

Renewable energy advocates hail this as a train coming down the track. Fishermen want scientists’ help to at least slow it down.

“We’re really hoping to partner with the scientific community in this process,” lawyer Anne Hawkins told an audience at the American Fisheries Society annual meeting in Atlantic City, N.J., this week.

Read the full story at WorkBoat

US government sues New York seafood processor

August 24, 2018 — The United States government is trying to permanently stop a New York-based seafood processor from preparing and distributing its fish balls and other products.

At the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a federal complaint against Brooklyn, New York-based Foo Yuan Food Products Company, alleging that the seafood company failed to adequately control the risk of Clostridium botulinum and Listeria monocytogenes growth and toxin formation in susceptible fish and fishery products.

The complaint seeks to permanently enjoin Foo Yuan Food Products, Owner and President Hsing Chang, and Secretary Susan Chang from preparing and distributing adulterated seafood products in violation of federal law.

Foo Yuan prepares, packs, and distributes refrigerated and frozen ready-to-eat fish balls, fried fish cakes, and fried fish balls.

“When food processors ignore federal laws concerning the preparation of food, they subject the public to serious health risks,” said Attorney Richard P. Donoghue, in a statement. “The Department of Justice has asked the Court to stop the defendants from processing, packaging or distributing any more food until they establish that they can comply with federal laws and regulations designed to avert those health risks.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NEW YORK: LI farmers and fishermen outline problems for Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand

August 20, 2018 — Long Island farmers and fishermen on Saturday outlined many complicated and pressing problems to U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), who sits on the Senate Agriculture Committee.

Their to-do list included: cleansing polluted bays by reconnecting them to the sea, obtaining an emergency permit to use a banned pesticide, policing counterfeit seafood, and securing seasonal workers despite an immigration crackdown.

Gillibrand, who stands for election in the fall and who might have presidential aspirations, vowed to “elevate” many concerns aired at a panel she convened that was hosted by the Ammerman campus of Suffolk County Community College in Selden.

To Bob Nolan, a New York Farm Bureau director, who described the labor shortage, she pledged to “take a good look” at the temporary worker program.

Read the full story at Newsday

NEW YORK: East Hampton Town Trustees Hear from Public on South Fork Wind Farm

August 16, 2018 — Residents, both for and against a proposal by Deepwater Wind to secure an easement from the East Hampton Town Trustees to land a power cable in Wainscott for the proposed South Fork Wind Farm, attended Monday’s trustees meeting with some calling on the board to consider the big-picture ramifications of global warming. Others questioned whether the project would solve the energy demands of the peak summer season on the South Fork.

Deepwater Wind has proposed a 15-turbine wind farm, roughly 30 miles off the coast of Montauk. The company has a contract with the Long Island Power Authority to supply it with power from the wind farm beginning in 2022. It has already secured its lease for the sea floor from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), although it still needs to go through a permitting process with BOEM and the Public Service Commission before it can begin construction.

While both the town board and town trustees in East Hampton have said they will petition to be a part of that review process, in terms of approvals, Deepwater Wind as of now has sought easements from trustees to land its power cable off Beach Lane in Wainscott and one from the town board asking to run the cable under town-owned roads to a power substation off Cove Hollow Road in Wainscott. Deepwater Wind has offered more than $8 million in community benefits in return for the easements and the town board voted, 3-2, in July to hire counsel to draft an agreement with Deepwater Wind. The trustees have yet to take a formal vote on any potential agreement with the company.

Read the full story at the Sag Harbor Express

New York clammer gets deferred-prosecution deal in fisheries case

August 16, 2018 — A Northport clammer who was the first Long Islander to challenge at trial charges growing out of the federal government’s ongoing fisheries probe has accepted a deferred-prosecution agreement that could see his case dismissed in a year.

Thomas Kokell, a former commercial trawler-boat captain, was indicted in 2016 on four counts of mail fraud, conspiracy and filing false fishing reports in connection with an alleged scheme to illegally harvest nearly 200,000 pounds of fluke in 2011 and 2012. The fish were valued at nearly $400,000.

Kokell was released Tuesday on his own recognizance after a court appearance in which the deal was approved by a federal judge, according to federal court documents and Kokell’s attorney. He will not enter a plea and the charges will be dismissed, avoiding prison time and fines, if he “avoids future misconduct” over the next year, according to his attorney Peter Smith and court documents.

The company affiliated with his fishing operation, however, will pay a fine of $5,000, according to Smith and the documents. Other fishermen caught up in the federal probe have seen several years of prison time and fines over $900,000.

Read the full story at Newsday

NEW YORK: NYPA to lead offshore wind study; LIPA will also have role

August 9, 2018 — A memorandum of understanding has been signed by New York power agencies and partners to conduct a study of successful offshore wind transmission models, with a specific focus on large-scale European projects, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said on Aug. 8.

The New York Power Authority will lead the study and a number of parties including the Long Island Power Authority will collaborate with NYPA on the initial phase of the research.

Input gained from the study will help determine the optimal infrastructure required to support offshore wind targets set by the governor.

Earlier this year, Cuomo announced the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan, which will guide the state in the development of 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind by 2030. The plan describes the conditions needed for the state to achieve its offshore wind target and indicates the need for future technical studies and analyses to advance the most cost-effective and responsible development.

Cuomo’s office said the findings of the study will be timely as the state looks at transmission costs which the master plan estimates could comprise 30 percent of total costs of an offshore wind development.

Particular attention will be given in the study to the physical design, including radial and network connections and interconnections between the projects and to the respective onshore transmission systems as well as development and rate structures.

It will also focus on the ownership structures, business models and financing approaches used in each jurisdiction, as well as the regulatory approaches governing transmission development and cost recovery.

Read the full story at the American Public Power Association

NEW YORK: East Hampton Trustees To Discuss Hiring Counsel for Deepwater Wind

August 9, 2018 — The Town Trustees in East Hampton will continue to debate the potential landing of a wind farm cable in Wainscott next week, as Deepwater Wind, the offshore wind company proposing the South Fork Wind Farm roughly 30 miles off the coast of Montauk, announced last week it will begin a seafloor survey of its leased sea bottom lands off Montauk and off the coast of Rhode Island to assist with the design and construction of proposed wind farms in both locations.

The Trustees are expected to hold an executive session during a meeting next Monday to discuss hiring special counsel to represent the body in negotiations over a community benefits package being floated by Deepwater Wind in connection to a request by the firm to land the South Fork Wind Farm power cable off Beach Lane in Wainscott. In order to do that, Deepwater Wind needs to secure easements from both the East Hampton Town Board and East Hampton Town Trustees.

In July, the East Hampton Town Board voted, 3-2, to hire its own counsel to draft an agreement to grant Deepwater Wind easement to run its cable from the beach under local streets to an existing LIPA substation off Cove Hollow Road. Members who voted in favor of the resolution also memorialized their support for the project in its resolution. Councilmembers Jeffrey Bragman and David Lys voted against the measure.

According to Trustee Clerk Francis Bock, the trustees, who manage wetlands, waterways and beaches in the town, are “pretty split” on whether to allow Deepwater Wind access to Beach Lane. A committee, made up of trustees Rick Drew, John Aldred, Susan McGraw Keber and James Grimes, has been formed to make a recommendation to the body on the hiring of outside counsel to represent the board in the state and federal review of the 15-turbine project. Mr. Bock said that counsel, if trustees do come to accord, would also be used to draft any agreement between trustees and Deepwater Wind specific to the benefits package.

Read the full story at the Sag Harbor Express

NY ratepayers will pay for $2.1B offshore wind plan, but won’t get the energy

August 8, 2018 — New York state ratepayers will pick up the tab for the Cuomo Administration’s multi-billion dollar plan to jump-start the offshore wind industry, but most won’t benefit from the energy produced.

Only consumers in Long Island and New York City will be able to access the wind-powered energy that’s going to be generated in the waters off the state’s Atlantic coast in the years to come.

As soon as 2020, typical residential ratepayers could see an increase of up to 76 cents a month in their electric bills as the state goes all-in on offshore wind as a critical piece of the state’s renewable energy future, The Journal News/Poughkeepsie Journal has learned.

That’s in addition to the average $2 per month charge state ratepayers are already paying for the bailout of three struggling upstate nuclear power plants for the next ten years.

The New York State Public Service Commission announced last week that it had agreed to procure some 800 megawatts of offshore wind energy over the next two years, the first phase in an effort to develop 2,400 megawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030, enough to power 1.2 million households in New York City and Long Island.

“Robust offshore wind development is not only critical to meeting our clean energy and carbon reduction goals, this investment has the potential to create thousands of jobs and fuel a $6 billion industry for New York as it combats climate change,” Cuomo said.

The Long Island Commercial Fishing Association (LICFA), based in Montauk, have joined a lawsuit challenging the decision by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to allow thousands of acres off the Atlantic coast of Long Island to be leased to offshore wind companies.

The six areas available for lease could hold up to 200 wind turbines.

“The historical, traditional commercial fishing communities of Long Island, which include hundreds of small business owners, the very tax and rate-payers whose businesses help to support other small businesses throughout Long Island, are ground zero for having their very livelihoods and businesses destroyed,” Bonnie Brady, the executive director of LICFA wrote in April.

Read the full story from the Poughkeepsie Journal at the Ithaca Journal