Saving Seafood

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

North Carolina Budget Marks $1.4 Million for Oyster Work

June 29, 2016 — Coastal conservationists and shellfish growers are cheering new investments in the state’s oyster industry included in the state budget compromise.

The $22.34 billion spending plan announced Monday includes $1.03 million in one-time funding to build oyster sanctuaries in Pamlico Sound. Also, a $300,000, non-recurring, shellfish rehabilitation fund will go to build new oyster reefs all along the coast. The budget also includes $149,000, recurring, for two new positions at the North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries to accelerate shellfish industry growth and increase shellfish production and recycling.

“The General Assembly’s new budget takes big steps toward making coastal North Carolina the Napa Valley of oysters,” said Todd Miller, executive director of the North Carolina Coastal Federation. “This funding will help implement the state’s blueprint for restoring the oyster industry and help attract more federal money to restore our oyster beds.”

The budget also provides $100,000 to clean up abandoned crab pots in state waters.

Advocates say boosting the shellfish industry can benefit coastal communities by providing work for fishermen and marine contractors and improving water quality.

Read the full story at Coastal Review Online

NORTH CAROLINA: Seismic testing companies say they will pursue NC coast

March 31, 2016 — EMERALD ISLE, N.C. — Several seismic testing companies said they are still trying to pursue the testing off our coast.

Here’s how it works: A large vessel tows a streamer, which emits sound waves to map the crust of the ocean along more than 400 miles of the NC coast.

The North Carolina Coastal Federation said the testing could impact multiple industries, from tourism to fishing and wildlife.

While several companies are waiting for their permits to get approved, officials along the coast said the data collected would be the first step needed toward off shore drilling.

Read the full story at WNCT