Saving Seafood

Why homemade gefilte fish is becoming an endangered species at Passover

April 19, 2016 — As if preparing for Passover wasn’t enough work and worry, now comes a gefilte fish crisis.

This might not be as consequential as, say, the Atlantic cod crisis. But for the diminishing few of us who still patshke (slave away) in the kitchen before Passover to make traditional gefilte fish from scratch, it’s definitely troubling.

What’s happened is that the freshwater fish used in making it — that tried-and-true trifecta of pike, carp, and whitefish — has become so hard to find and so expensive that homemade gefilte fish could someday soon be an endangered species. I worry we Jews are being priced out of our tradition.

“It’s all about supply and demand,” said Mike Machado, purchasing director of Boston Sword & Tuna, a fish wholesaler. “The species aren’t indigenous to this area. A lot of the whitefish nowadays, it goes to New York, which has the highest contingent of Jewish people.”

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

UN committee begins work on high seas biodiversity pact

April 13, 2016 — The first session of a preparatory committee tasked with elaborating draft elements for an international, legally binding instrument on marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction started unpacking several key topics with an eye on practical advancement, according to reports from the 28 March – 8 April meeting.

During the session, held at UN headquarters in New York, many delegations moved past debates on the usefulness of a new instrument that have stalled previous efforts, according to Earth Negotiations Bulletin (ENB). They instead began detailed exchanges on “how” to put such an instrument in place, given the pressures facing today’s complex marine and environmental governance landscape.

Discussion included consideration of the new instrument’s relationship with existing tools and bodies, guiding principles and approaches, marine genetic resources, environmental impact assessments, capacity building, and technology transfer, among other things.

“The constructive discussion and active participation in the room on all elements of the package bode well for the next PrepCom session,” said Jessica Battle, Marine Manager, WWF International, at the close of the talks last week.

Read the full story at the International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development

Regulations call for fewer, bigger black bass on hook

April 12, 2016 — While the Massachusetts regulations for recreational fluke and scup remain unchanged for the upcoming 2016 fishing season, recreational anglers will have to adhere to smaller bag limits and minimum possession guidelines for black sea bass.

Massachusetts, which is part of a multi-state management plan for black sea bass administered by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, must join Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey in the northern region in reducing its black sea bass harvest by 23 percent to adhere to the new management plan restrictions.

In Massachusetts, the 2016 black sea bass season will run May 21 to Aug. 31 and recreational fishermen will be limited to keeping five fish per day, with the minimum catch size set at 15 inches.

Those parameters are different from 2015, when the season ran May 23 to Aug. 27 and anglers were allowed to keep eight black sea bass per day as long as they met or exceeded the minimum possession size of 14 inches.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

A farm deep inside a Brooklyn warehouse may lead the way to large-scale urban agriculture

April 11, 2016 — Here’s one way to grow food in an urban environment: Raise a school of tilapia in a tank. Filter out the nitrogen-rich waste, and let naturally occurring bacteria transform it from ammonia into nitrate. Run that naturally derived fertilizer beneath the roots of greens, herbs and peppers. Let the veggies flourish beneath LED lights. Harvest the vegetables. Later, harvest the fish. Cook and serve.

Known as aquaponics, this complicated but efficient ecosystem is the latest attempt at making agriculture commercially viable in New York City—even though it has a spotty history, a not-quite-proven track record and plenty of skeptics.

“We do aquaponics for the quality of produce it yields,” said Jason Green, CEO and co-founder of Edenworks, an emerging commercial aquaponics company in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, that recently secured a commitment to supply baby greens and microgreens to Whole Foods Market stores in New York City later this year. “Our innovation is that we can do aquaponics cost-effectively, scalably and repeatedly.”

Though the premise of mimicking a natural system in a closed environment is ancient, Green says that new technologies including proprietary software, a complex plumbing system and cost-efficient LED lighting, plus a soaring demand for local food, will make fish-fed farms viable on a large scale, even in inner cities. A 2010 report from the New York City Council cited $600 million in unmet demand for regionally grown produce.

“Consumers are very interested in knowing the provenance of their food, and companies are responding to that by setting up systems to produce food in cities,” explained Nevin Cohen, an associate professor of urban food policy at the CUNY School of Public Health.

See the full story at Crain’s New York

A Massive Aquaponic Lettuce And Fish Farm Will Grow In A Brooklyn Warehouse

March 31, 2016 — BROOKLYN, N.Y. — “We build industrial-scale ecosystems.” So says Jason Green, CEO and co-founder of Edenworks, a Brooklyn-based urban farming startup. Unlike a typical indoor farm—a sterile environment, sometimes run by people in gloves or even by robots—Edenworks tries to build in as much life as possible.

In their new warehouse, set to open in New York City this summer, fish will grow in tanks, bacteria will turn the fish waste into a rich fertilizer, and plants will use that fertilizer to grow. “That’s the way the Earth works—we’ve just turned it into kind of like a manufacturing process, but it’s all based on ecology,” he says.

In a year, the 6,000-square-foot space will produce around 180,000 pounds of salad greens and tilapia for local grocery stores and restaurants.

The startup is one of a handful that will open large-scale urban farms this year. Nearby, in Newark, New Jersey, Aerofarms is turning a vacant steel factory into a 69,000-square-foot “aeroponic” farm. Gotham Greens just opened the world’s largest rooftop greenhouse in Chicago, an addition to the others it runs in New York. FarmedHere, which also runs a large indoor farm in Chicago, plans to open a nationwide network.

Edenworks claims to have an advantage over most of its competitors: because it uses aquaponics—combining raising fish with plants—it says the salad greens it grows actually taste better. (FarmedHere also uses aquaponics; most others use hydroponics or aeroponics to pump in a mix of nutrients separately, without using fish)

Read the full story at Fast Company

NEW YORK: Federal fish fight erupts over Hudson River PCB cleanup

March 31, 2016 — FORT EDWARD, NY — Federal agencies are fighting over how quickly the PCB dredging project of the Hudson River by General Electric Co. might someday make the fish once again safe to eat.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is disputing a finding by two other agencies — the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service — that EPA seriously overestimated by “several decades” how quickly recently-concluded GE river dredging will reduce PCBs in fish to levels fit for human consumption.

On Tuesday, EPA issued a 110-page rebuttal to the NOAA and Fish and Wildlife findings, which were first reported in 2015 and this week published in a peer-reviewed national scientific journal. Last fall, GE wrapped up a six-year dredging project between Fort Edward and Troy, although a coalition of environmental groups and river advocates said too much toxic pollution remains left behind.

EPA claimed less optimistic conclusions on future PCB levels in fish by other federal scientists “are not supported by the full range of available evidence,” according to an EPA statement accompanying its rebuttal.

Read the full story at the Albany Times-Union

NEW YORK: Feds identify offshore wind farm site

March 24, 2016 — Nearly a decade after plans for an offshore wind farm several miles off Jones Beach were scuttled, federal officials announced last week that an area off the coast of Long Beach has been identified for potential wind energy development — and called it a major step toward creating clean energy for the region.

The announcement by the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management — naming an 81,000-acre site in federal waters 11 miles south of the barrier island that would be suitable for wind turbines — was welcome news to environmental groups that have been calling for renewable energy sources and ways to reduce the region’s dependence on fossil fuels.

“This wind farm will be at least 11 miles offshore, if not more, and that’s important, because a decade ago, the first proposal was for 3.6 miles offshore,” said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of the Citizens Campaign for the Environment. “This will now be very far offshore and not be a visual concern. It’s important because we are in critical need of making the transition from dirty fossil fuels to clean, renewable energy.”

But the proposal has sparked the ire of those who claim that wind turbines in that area, known as the New York Bite, would negatively impact the commercial fishing industry. “The problem … is that it was an unsolicited bid — the power companies are coming out and saying we want this area without having talked to anyone prior to the selection,” said Drew Minkiewicz, a spokesman for the Fisheries Survival Fund, which opposes the construction of turbines in that area. “It’s a highly productive fishing area, including scallops. … We harvest over $5 million [worth] every year, on average.”

The announcement by the BOEM comes after Gov. Andrew Cuomo vetoed plans for a liquefied natural gas terminal roughly 16 nautical miles off Jones Beach in December, citing environmental concerns and saying that the terminal would conflict with the potential site of a wind farm. Officials said that an offshore wind power source is in keeping with Cuomo’s goal of generating 50 percent of New York’s energy from renewable sources by 2030.

Read the full story at the Long Island Herald

U.S. dedicates 81,000 acres off Long Island for commercial wind energy

March 16, 2016 — The yearslong process of assessing and approving an expansive wind-farm off the South Shore of Long Island moved another step forward Wednesday when the federal government formally designated the site a “wind-energy area.”

Fishing interests were quick to condemn the move, saying the government could have identified a much smaller segment or avoided the site entirely to protect vital fisheries for squid, monkfish, scallops and other species.

“We’re disappointed to say the least,” said Drew Minkiewicz, an attorney for the Fisheries Survival Fund, which represents 250 scallop fishing permit holders from Massachusetts to North Carolina. They face a combined loss of $5 million annually if the site becomes a wind farm.

Minkiewicz said the group would “use every means available” to stop the effort. The federal government “has to protect existing reasonable uses and they’ve done nothing of the sort so far. They’re clearly violating the law.” 

Read the full story at Newsday

Atlantic Scallop Fishery Opposes Location of Long Island Wind Energy Area

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — March 16, 2016 — Earlier today the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, a division of the U.S. Department of the Interior, announced its finalization of the first Wind Energy Area off the coast of New York. The Wind Energy Area is located approximately 11 miles off the coast of Long Island and totals about 81,130 acres. The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), which represents the majority of the full-time Limited Access scallop fleet has issued the following statement opposing the decision:

In 2011, the New York Power Authority, on behalf of the Long Island-New York City Offshore Wind Collaborative, selected a 127 square mile portion of the New York Bight (shown in the figure below) and applied for a commercial wind lease there. In accordance with its “Smart from the Start” policy, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (“BOEM”) then issued a request to determine whether there was any competitive interest for the site. Two other companies responded affirmatively. In 2014, BOEM issued a Call for Information for the same area. Responses to the Call revealed that the proposed area is critical to a wide range of maritime activities.

Despite the abundance of uses in the area, BOEM is moving forward with an environmental review of the project. The “Smart from the Start” process allows any company to submit an unsolicited bid for an ocean area of its choosing, without consideration of existing uses. Only far later, after costly site selection and physical suitability analyses have occurred, does the agency even request information from the public. Then, that information is merely presented in environmental impact statements, with no guidelines for how much conflict is too much to proceed. This process makes the burden of showing that a wind farm is not appropriate in a given area almost impossible, and it amounts to adverse possession of ocean lands.

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Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) data showing scallop fishing activity in New York Bight. Values increase from green to yellow to red. Proposed wind area is shaded triangle left of center.

A Sea of Conflicts:
The fishing industry refers to the area in question as the “Mudhole” or “Cholera Bank.” The commercial scallop fishery alone catches several million dollars of scallops per year in the proposed wind energy area, and many more fisheries also operate there, including for squid, monkfish, summer flounder, herring, and quahog. These fish are landed in Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut New York, New Jersey, and Virginia. It also hosts recreational angling, and contains designated Essential Fish Habitat for more than 35 federally-managed fish species including Atlantic cod, yellowtail flounder, bluefin tuna, and several skate and shark species.

The Mudhole is sandwiched between the vessel traffic separation lanes for New York Harbor, which require substantial buffer zones for safety. The World Shipping Council and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have already expressed concerns about the area’s proximity to sea lanes.

A wind energy facility in this location would also interfere with the operation of eleven high frequency radars in NY, NJ, and RI, according to comments from the National Ocean Service and Rutgers University. The radar network provides information critical to search and rescue activities, oil spill response, and beach closures due to high bacterial levels.

Finally, the Mudhole is teeming with wildlife. It is an important migratory area for numerous bird and bat species, and contains several federally-endangered species including North Atlantic right, humpback, and fin whales, Atlantic sturgeon, and several sea turtle species. A wind farm would impact all of these species.



View a PDF of the release

MASSACHUSETTS: Gloucester hooked to New Bedford fish fraud case?

February 29, 2016 — GLOUCESTER — The stunning arrest of New Bedford fishing mogul Carlos Rafael last Friday on federal conspiracy and fraud charges may have a Gloucester connection.

The affidavit submitted in support of the federal criminal complaint against Rafael and bookkeeper Debra Messier by Internal Revenue Service Special Agent Ronald Mullett, one of the undercover operatives involved in stinging Rafael, includes an oblique reference to Gloucester.

The reference takes place in a quote attributed to a New York man that federal investigators allege to be the wholesale buyer of Rafael’s illicit, off-the-books fish. The man initially is referred to only as “Michael,” but later in the affidavit also is called “Perretti.”

During the discussion, according to the affidavit, the talk turned to laundering money.

Gloucester talk

“During the meeting, the UCs (undercover agents) also told Perretti that they had cash on hand from an insurance fraud they perpetuated,” according to the affidavit. “Perretti explained that he could launder money from the UCs, suggesting he could reach out to individuals he used to charge 15 percent in the past.”

Read the full story at Salem State News