Saving Seafood

NORTH CAROLINA: Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project Begins Mid-January

January 4, 2019 — A large scale cleanup project to improve water quality, remove fishing debris and collect derelict crab pots from all of Eastern North Carolina’s coastal sounds will soon get underway.

Commercial fishers and North Carolina Marine Patrol will participate in the annual cleanup effort which takes from January 15th to February 7th.  Now in its third year, the project received $100,000 in funding from the General Assembly, allowing the North Carolina Coastal Federation to hire and train 76 local fishers to remove lost fishing gear during the “no-potting” period.

“This is helping the economy,” said Sara Hallas, the Coastal Education Coordinator for the North Carolina Coastal Federation.  “This is a slower time of the year for the fishing industry, especially for the crabbing industry, the fishing would be closed during this time of the year. So it does give them an option for employment during the slow winter season.”

Crews, which are comprised of two people, are paid $450 per day.  Last year, 3,496 crab pots were collected from coastal fishing waters.  But Hallas expects crews will encounter more marine debris this year because of Hurricane Florence.

Read the full story at Public Radio East

North Carolina: Oyster Restoration Partners Detail Progress

May 22, 2018 — MOREHEAD CITY, N.C. — A little more than 30 visited the state port here Monday for a glimpse of the construction of a large-scale oyster restoration project.

Representatives from the North Carolina Coastal Federation, North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries, North Carolina Sea Grant, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and other partners were joined by the media and citizens for the behind-the-scenes tour of the port.

The port is the staging area for year two of the three-year Swan Island Oyster Sanctuary project that’s part of the Sen. Jean Preston Oyster Sanctuary Network, a system of oyster sanctuaries. In March, 25,000 tons of granite were delivered to the port for the project.

The Swan Island Oyster Sanctuary in Pamlico Sound near the mouth of the Neuse River is the largest project of the federation’s 50 Million Oyster Initiative, which aims to restore 50 acres of oyster reef by 2020. In the first year of the project, 15 acres were built. Ten more acres are expected to be added this year.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

 

NORTH CAROLINA: Federation Nets Grant for Oyster Restoration

September 20, 2017 — The North Carolina Coastal Federation has received $1.088 million in funding from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to continue its oyster restoration work in Pamlico Sound. Construction on the second phase of the project is slated to begin in January.

This is the second year the federation has received funding from NOAA’s Community-based Restoration Program for its oyster restoration work. Last year, it was awarded a $1.275 million grant. By the end of the three-year period, the federation could receive up to $3.8 million for oyster reef construction. This funding supports the federation’s goal to build 50 acres of oyster reef statewide through its 50 Million Oyster Initiative.

Matching state budget appropriations from the North Carolina General Assembly have helped the federation receive this federal grant funding in 2016 and 2017. When combined with existing state funding, the budget provides $1.3 million to continue work on the Sen. Jean Preston Oyster Sanctuary Network.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

North Carolina environmental groups readying for a fight against seismic testing in the Atlantic

June 29, 2017 — As the deadline for public comment regarding proposed seismic testing off the Atlantic Coast approaches, several local organizations are gearing up in opposition.

Dana Sargent, head of the Cape Fear Surfrider Foundation’s Offshore Drilling campaign, has helped rally the groups against the proposal.

Members of the Cape Fear Surfrider Foundation, The North Carolina Coastal Federation, Oceana, the Water Keepers Alliance, and others have pulled together to form Don’t Drill NC, an non-profit group dedicated to fighting this proposal.

The proposal, put forward by the Marine Fisheries Division of NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration), seeks to allow five separate entities to conduct seismic air-blasting tests of the seafloor from the coast of Delaware, to Cape Canaveral, Fla., in an area extending 350 nautical miles offshore.

Although exploratory in nature, these tests are being used to locate areas of valuable oil and natural gas, which, if found, leaves the potential for drilling off the coast of North Carolina.

President Trump issued an executive order, called the “America First Offshore Energy Strategy,” in April of this year, aimed at repealing Obama-era regulations designed to protect the Atlantic coast from offshore drilling.

Read the full story at Port City Daily

NORTH CAROLINA: Fishermen Recover 4,270 Lost Crab Pots

February 16, 2017 — Commercial fishermen hired by the North Carolina Coastal Federation’s annual Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project collected 4,270 lost and derelict crab pots this year from sounds up and down the state’s coast.

The project was able to hire 72 fishermen during a week and a half timeframe in January to remove the crab pots. Thanks to a $100,000 appropriation from the General Assembly, this was the first time the project had expanded beyond northeastern North Carolina. The program extended across three North Carolina Marine Patrol districts along the state’s coast, from the Virginia state line to the South Carolina line.

Read the full story at CoastalReview.org

NORTH CAROLINA: Fishermen can earn $400 a day removing old gear from the waters

December 5th, 2016 — Fishermen can earn $400 a day removing old fishing and crabbing gear from the waters of northeastern North Carolina.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation is accepting applications through Jan. 13. Watermen must have a valid commercial fishing license and guarantee availability for work from Jan. 18 through Feb. 7, according to a news release from the federation.

Those accepted will have to attend a training session to learn general project protocol and how to use equipment such as data collection tablets and side-scan sonars.

Each boat can earn $400 per day and is required to have two people on board for safety. The project is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program and is intended to improve habitat and water quality, according to the release.

In January 2016, 11 crews, in partnership with state Marine Patrol officers, removed 753 crab pots, the release said. Combined with a shoreline cleanup, this project removed over 7.5 tons of fishing gear and marine debris.

Applications are available at www.nccoast.org/crab and can be mailed to P.O. Box 276, Wanchese, N.C. 27981.

Read the full story at The Virginian-Pilot

NORTH CAROLINA: Commercial fishermen needed to help clean up fishing gear in coastal waters

November 29, 2016 — The North Carolina Coastal Federation is currently accepting applications from commercial fishermen interested in assisting with an on-water cleanup of lost fishing gear from coastal waters.

Watermen are selected to participate in the Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project annually to help the federation and the North Carolina Marine Patrol remove lost fishing gear from coastal waters during the “no-potting” period, typically from Jan. 15 to Feb. 7.

In January of this year, eleven crews removed 753 pots from select areas in District 1. Combined with a shoreline cleanup, the project led to the removal of more than 7.5 tons of fishing gear and various marine debris from northeastern North Carolina waters, according to the NCCF news release.

The 2017 project will take place in select areas within all three Marine Patrol districts, statewide.

To qualify, watermen must have a valid Standard Commercial Fishing License and guarantee availability for work during the period of Jan. 18 through Feb. 7. They must also attend a mandatory training session to learn general project protocol and how to use project equipment.

Compensation is $400 per boat, per day. Each boat is required to have two people onboard for safety reasons. In some locations, more than one week of work could be possible for those accepted to this program.

The project is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program and is intended to improve habitat and water quality, as well as support coastal economies.

Read the full story at the Jacksonville Daily News

NORTH CAROLINA: Fishing Gear Recovery Effort Seeks Applicants

October 5th, 2016 — The North Carolina Coastal Federation is accepting applications from North Carolina-based commercial fishermen for its annual Lost Fishing Gear Recovery Project.

Applicants must have a valid Standard Commercial Fishing License and must be able available between Jan. 18 through Feb. 7, 2017. Selected watermen will be required to attend a training session.

The watermen will help the federation and the North Carolina Marine Patrol remove lost fishing gear from coastal waters between Jan. 15 to Feb. 7. The 2017 project will work within all three Marine Patrol districts across the state’s coast. Compensation will be $400 per boat, per day.

The project is intended to improve water quality and support coastal economies. During Jan. 2016 program, 11 crews removed 7.5 tons of marine debris, including 753 crab pots, from the waters of Northeastern N.C.  Funding comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online 

NORTH CAROLINA: Group to Get Grant to Build Oyster Reefs

August 23, 2016 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has given preliminary approval to a $1.3 million grant to the N.C. Coastal Federation for oyster restoration in Pamlico Sound, boosting the organization’s multi-decade efforts to turn the state into what founder and executive director Todd Miller believes can be “the Napa Valley” of oysters.

The money is part of $9 million for 17 habitat-restoration projects in coastal states. NOAA recommended all of the projects last month. Final approval depends on a legal review and on NOAA’s budget for the new fiscal year, which begins Oct. 1. The federation could receive as much as $4.3 million over a three-year period.

Miller said he believes that will happen, because even though federal budget appropriations have been uncertain in recent years, this program has been consistently well-funded. Either way, he said, it’s one of the most significant grants his organization has received, both in amount, but especially in potential effects on the state’s economy and a crucial part of its marine the environment.

In large part, that’s because the money leverages existing state appropriations to increase the acres of reef restored in North Carolina’s sounds. This year the state legislature appropriated $1.3 million for oyster restoration efforts in the state. The federal grant doubles the total funds available for oyster restoration in the next year.

As a result, Miller said, the federation and the state will embark on a joint effort that will be “industrial in scale” and will undoubtedly create jobs, both now, during construction, and in the future, as the oysters attracted to the reefs are harvested and sold.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

North Carolina spending, researching to get more tasty, earth friendly oysters

July 5, 2016 — MANTEO, N.C. — North Carolina will spend more than $1.6 million improving the habitats of oysters living in its waters.

The money will go toward further restoring oyster sanctuaries in the Pamlico and Albemarle sounds in hopes the species will rebound to levels not seen in decades.

“The General Assembly’s new budget takes big steps toward making coastal North Carolina the Napa Valley of oysters,” Todd Miller, founder and executive director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation, said in a news release.

The state’s 2015 wild oyster harvest of 119,000 pounds is nearly 20,000 pounds less than in 2014 but still much higher than in the 1990s and 1980s when diseases decimated the population.

The total population was 800,000 pounds in 1889, when scientists first began measuring the catch. It fell to 200,000 pounds by 1960.

Read the full story at the Virginian-Pilot