Saving Seafood

MARYLAND: Expo to highlight aquaculture, new equipment, gear

January 18, 2019 — The annual commercial fishing and aquaculture expo, the only one in the Mid-Atlantic region, kicks off at the Ocean City convention center on 40th Street this weekend.

The Maryland Watermen’s Association will host its 45th annual East Coast Commercial Fishermen’s and Aquaculture Trade Expo with more than 4,000 people expected throughout the three-day event, Jan. 18-20.

“The show was created to expose all the latest and newest equipment and gear, and what’s going on as far as regulations and requirements on commercial fishing,” Event Coordinator Victoria Brown said.

Last year, around 4,000 people attended the show.

Read the full story at Ocean City Today

Sportfishing Association opposes oil, gas, seismic testing along Atlantic coast

August 9, 2018 — The White Marlin Open is a hallmark event in Ocean City.

Last year, the tournament brought in more than 350 boats and 3,000 contestants – the camarederie and excitement were palpable.

The excitement this year is similar to last, but something has changed. We’ve all heard about the plans to open the Atlantic to drilling.

For the first time, fishermen are facing the prospect of our fisheries being pummeled by explosive noise, and our waters tainted by oil. Could this be our last tournament before oil and gas exploration in the Atlantic changes fishing and the town of Ocean City forever?

The Atlantic Coast Sportfishing Association hopes not.

Read the full story at Delmarva Now

MARYLAND: Why the fishing industry is against offshore wind farms near Ocean City

July 23, 2018 — Concern from the fishing industry is the latest development in the escalating debate over offshore wind farms near Ocean City.

Representatives say wind farms could cause harm by driving marine wildlife away, disturbing the ocean environment and making navigation more difficult for fishers and mariners.

“Now with the current offshore wind leasing process, we have these fishing grounds being sold right out from under us,” said Meghan Lapp during a recent presentation to the Ocean City Town Council. Lapp is a fishing liaison for Seafreeze Ltd., a Rhode Island commercial fishing company.

But marine biologists and wind farm officials say the impact won’t be that severe.

“I think they took an emotional approach to the problem. … So there was some degree of misinformation,” said Salvo Vitale, general counsel for U.S. Wind, one of the offshore wind energy companies involved in the Maryland project.

Conflicting information has muddied many discussions surrounding offshore wind energy. This back and forth pattern of counter arguments has persisted throughout the history of the project.

Read the full story at the Salisbury Daily Times

MARYLAND: Offshore Wind Projects’ Impact On Fishing Grounds Discussed

July 18, 2018 — After hearing a strong presentation on the potential impacts of offshore wind energy farms on fishing off the Ocean City coast and throughout the mid-Atlantic, resort officials this week seemed poised to strengthen their opposition to the proposed projects.

Since the Maryland Public Service Commission over a year ago approved the leases for two wind energy projects off the coast, Ocean City officials have been in a prolonged battle with the two approved developers to site the massive turbines offshore by at least 26 miles, or a distance perceived to have them not visible from the shoreline. From the beginning, the Mayor and Council’s official position has been an overall support of the concept of renewable, offshore wind energy, but not at the expense of sightlines from the resort’s coast and the potential impact on tourism and property values.

While much of the wind turbine issues, at least locally, have focused on the proposed distance and the perceived impact on tourism and property values, there has been little formal discussion of the possible impact on the resort’s vast fishing industry. Almost certainly, there will be some disruption of commercial and recreational fishing during the construction of the vast wind farms off the resort coast including some likely closures.

Read the full story at the Maryland Coast Dispatch

Ocean City’s effort to keep windmills far offshore fails as Maryland delegates reject proposal

March 13, 2018 — Maryland House of Delegates committee on Friday rejected a proposal that called for prohibiting wind farms from being built within 30 miles of Ocean City’s coast, a blow to the resort town’s effort to preserve beach vistas.

But town officials aren’t done fighting.

Ocean City officials have said that the sight of windmills on the horizon could dampen tourism spending and send visitors to the Jersey Shore or Virginia Beach. Two offshore wind developers are planning to build turbines off Maryland’s coast, after state regulators last year approved ratepayer subsidies for the projects that could cost typical utility customers $1 a month.

Mayor Rick Meehan said he had expected the proposed legislation to fail as lawmakers have fought for years over whether to allow wind farms off Maryland’s coast until the General Assembly in 2013 approved a process for constructing them that still has broad support. Meehan and other town officials are now turning their attention to efforts at the federal level, and potentially a second state-level review, to press regulators to keep wind turbines as far from beaches as possible.

“We support wind energy. We support clean energy,” Meehan said. “We just don’t want to see it at the detriment to Ocean City, our property owners and our economy.”

Read the full story at the Baltimore Sun

 

New England fishermen worry that wind turbines could impact their catch

December 26, 2017 — NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — East Coast fishermen are turning a wary eye toward an emerging upstart: the offshore wind industry.

In New Bedford, fishermen dread the possibility of navigating a forest of turbines as they make their way to the fishing grounds that have made it the nation’s most lucrative fishing port for 17 years running.

The state envisions hundreds of wind turbines spinning off the city’s shores in about a decade, enough to power more than 1 million homes.

‘‘You ever see a radar picture of a wind farm? It’s just one big blob, basically,’’ said Eric Hansen, 56, a New Bedford scallop boat owner whose family has been in the business for generations. ‘‘Transit through it will be next to impossible, especially in heavy wind and fog.’’

Off New York’s Long Island, an organization representing East Coast scallopers has sued the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to try to halt a proposal for a nearly 200-turbine wind farm. Commercial fishermen in Maryland’s Ocean City and North Carolina’s Outer Banks have also sounded the alarm about losing access to fishing grounds.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

 

Congressional Coalition Opposes Canyon Designation; Letter Calls Out ‘Additional Financial Stresses’

December 16, 2016 — OCEAN CITY, MD — Days after the Ocean City Mayor and Council fired off a letter last week opposing the designation of the Baltimore Canyon as the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary, a coalition of U.S Congressmen sent a letter of their own to a federal official who could ultimately make the decision.

In October, National Aquarium officials announced they were seeking an Urban National Marine Sanctuary designation for the Baltimore Canyon, a vast 28-mile long and five-mile wide submarine canyon off the coast of Ocean City that lies at the center of the resort’s multi-million dollar fishing industry. According to the National Aquarium’s petition drive, a designation of the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary for the Baltimore Canyon “presents a unique opportunity to connect an urban population to the ecological treasure using cutting edge deep sea exploration technology.”

The announcement in October met with an immediate reaction from the resort’s area’s multi-million fishing industry, whose representatives fear a sanctuary designation would ultimately limit, restrict or prohibit recreational and commercial fishing in the canyon. During a meeting at the Ocean City Marlin Club late last month, aquarium officials assured fishing industry leaders the intent of the designation was not to impact fishing in the Baltimore Canyon, but could offer no assurances about potential changes in the uses allowed.

Last Monday, after hearing a presentation from attorney Mark Cropper, who represents several marina owners, fishing captains and other stakeholders about the potential “devastating” effects of a sanctuary designation for the Baltimore Canyon, the council fired off a letter to its representatives in Annapolis including Gov. Larry Hogan urging them to formally oppose the designation. Just two days later, the coalition of U.S. Congressman including Andy Harris, who represents Maryland’s 1st District, penned a letter of its own to National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Dr. Kathryn D. Sullivan expressing serious concern with the proposal and calling into question its legality. Along with Harris, signing the letter Congressmen Tom MacArthur, Walter B. Jones, Frank LoBiondo, Lee Zeldin, Chris Smith and Roy Wittman.

Read the full story at The Dispatch

Urban Sanctuary Designation Sought For Popular Offshore Fishing Canyon

November 1, 2016 — OCEAN CITY, Maryland — The National Aquarium on Monday announced it is seeking the public’s support in its effort to nominate the Baltimore Canyon off the coast of Ocean City as the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary.

The Baltimore Canyon, a 28-mile long and five-mile wide submarine canyon off the coast of Ocean City lies at the center of the resort’s multi-million dollar fishing industry and contains fragile deep sea corals rarely seen anywhere in the world along with habitat for countless species of marine life. The National Aquarium has launched a petition drive to have it designated as the nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary, presenting a unique opportunity to connect an urban population to the ecological treasure using cutting edge deep sea exploration technology.

“The Baltimore Canyon is not only a fascinating ecosystem, but also a natural classroom and living laboratory that we can use to expose our children to a new world, our next frontier,” said National Aquarium Chief Conservation Officer Kris Hoellen. “We hope that with a groundswell of support from our community, we can designate this untapped aquatic treasure as our nation’s first Urban National Marine Sanctuary. It is time to invest in our deep seas and in Baltimore.”

Created millions of years ago, the canyon offers unprecedented ecological and educational value, according to the National Aquarium. In addition to protection from man-made threats, the National Aquarium hopes to gain special recognition for the Baltimore Canyon as the first Urban National Marine Sanctuary offering a groundbreaking opportunity for the public to connect and engage with the deep sea. The National Aquarium hopes to create a virtual high-tech system to connect discoveries from researchers in the canyon back to scientists, students and institutions on the mainland.

The National Aquarium is in the first states of the designation process with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Office of Marine Sanctuaries. The first step is the petition drive to gain public support for the designation although the process could take as long as three years. If NOAA deems the Baltimore Canyon worthy of the designation, other steps would include an environmental impact assessment after which a series of public hearings would be conducted.

Read the full story at The Dispatch

Marine sanctuary campaign worries anglers

October 28th, 2016 — Representatives of local fishing enterprises are worried that a recent push to designate the Baltimore Canyon as a marine sanctuary off the coast of Ocean City could put the area out of bounds to all anglers.

The National Aquarium on Monday launched a petition to establish the 28-mile long, five-mile wide submarine rift as its first Urban National Marine Sanctuary. The canyon contains several fragile deep-sea corals rarely seen anywhere else in the world. According to the nonprofit, this measure would protect its ecosystem and restrict the offshore exploration of minerals, oil and gas.

“The Baltimore Canyon is an aquatic treasure!” National Aquarium Chief Conservation Officer Kris Hoellen said. “It contains fragile deep sea corals rarely seen anywhere in the world as well as unique biological processes, such as methane seeps. Based on its ecological value, these corals and biological processes are irreplaceable and should be protected.”

That canyon is also a popular destination of Ocean City’s multi-million-dollar fishing industry, which could be left on the outside looking in if the standard sanctuary restrictions apply.

Read the full story at Ocean City Today 

Aquarium program offers food for thought on eating sustainably

May 4, 2016 — For decades, the National Aquarium has entertained millions of visitors while also teaching them about the need to conserve aquatic resources. The Baltimore institution has rescued marine animals off the coast of Ocean City, built floating wetlands to help clean the Inner Harbor’s water and featured Chesapeake Bay creatures in its tanks and exhibits.

But the aquarium was nearly silent on the subject of seafood consumption. The dark, serpentine halls told the story of precious resources being overfished. But that story didn’t have an ending — a solution for how to stem the decline. It had no programs to guide visitors on where to buy local fish caught sustainably, or how a customer could even understand what that meant.

That’s starting to change. A year ago, the aquarium hired its first director of sustainable seafood: T. J. Tate, who built a sustainable seafood program in the Gulf of Mexico. Tate is bringing together chefs, watermen and others in the seafood industry to talk about catching, raising, buying and eating locally caught fish, crustaceans and shellfish.

It is increasingly part of the story told by aquariums everywhere, at a time when overfishing is rampant worldwide while customers often overlook local products. Even fish that customers think is sustainable comes from far away — farm-raised salmon from Norway, or wild varieties from Alaska — and those distances have ramifications for air and water quality, too.  Visitors often ask what they should eat, and the aquarium wanted to find an engaging way to guide them.

“Telling the local seafood story in an integrated fashion — I mean the sustainable aquaculture supply and wild supply — is one of the most important things we can do to get people connected to oceans and the Bay,” said Eric Schwaab, who hired Tate when he was chief conservation officer at the aquarium. “There’s no better place to do that than Baltimore.”

Read the full story at the Bay Journal