Saving Seafood

Conservationists Making Headway In Rebuilding Oyster Populations in New Jersey Barnegat Bay

July 30, 2015 — BARNEGAT BAY NJ — A team of animal conservationists have begun re-establishing the local colony of oyster in New Jersey by releasing more than a million seedlings of the shellfish, known as spat, off of Barnegat Bay.

Members of the American Littoral Society sent off around 1.5 million oyster spat in Ocean Gate, which were then taken to an artificial reef system located around a quarter-mile off of the township of Berkeley known as Good Luck Point.

The group was joined by several other volunteers on boats in taking the seedlings to the reef, where they released the oysters into Barnegat Bay before returning to shore.

The goal of the Littoral Society with the oyster colony is to improve the quality of the water in the bay through the shellfish’s natural ability to filter out impurities and pollutants in the ocean.

The group also believes that by bolstering the number of oysters found in Barnegat Bay, the creatures can help strengthen the shoreline against the effects of devastating weather occurrences such as Superstorm Sandy. The hard shells of oysters and the raise profile and irregular shape of their beds can considerably reduce the impact of storm surges waves on the bay’s shoreline.

The presence of the oyster colonies also boosts the local boating and recreational fishing industries as it provides habitats for other sea creatures such as crabs and fish.

Read the full story at the Tech Times

 

New York Seafood Marketer Sentenced for Illegally Selling Over $100G in Fish, Shellfish

July 29, 2015- WESTBURY NY — A Westbury seafood marketer was sentenced to pay $100,000 for trafficking shellfish without the proper permits and licesnes, Acting Nassau County District Attorney Madeline Singas and the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation announced Wednesday.

Richard Scores, Jr., 57, of Commack, illegally sold more than $100,000 in fresh fish and shellfish to Long Island restaurants through his company Westbury Fish Co., authorities said.

Scores reportedly sold shellfish to restaurants in Garden City, Carle Place, Port Washington, New Hyde Park and Westbury, as well as in Commack in Suffolk County.

He was arrested in February for the illegal actions that occurred from January 2014 to February 2015.

Scores and Westbury Fish Co. pleaded guilty to one count each of Failure to Possess Shellfish Shipper’s and Processor’s Permit/Illegal Commercialization of Fish, Shellfish Crustacea and Wildlife as a misdemeanor and to one count each of Trafficking in Marine Food Fish and Crustacea for resale to other than the final consumer without a valid Food Fish and Crustacea Dealer and Shipper License/Illegal Commercialization of Fish, Shellfish Crustacea and Wildlife as a misdemeanor.

Read the full story at Plainview Patch

Lessons for Alaska: Oregon Shellfish Hatchery Tackles Ocean Acidification

July 13, 2015 — A recent NOAA study pegged 2040 as the date for the potential end of Alaskan shellfish hatcheries. That is, unless serious mitigation efforts are put in place to combat ocean acidification. Last week we reported on the research, done at the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery in Seward. Now, we’ll take a look at what a hatchery on the Oregon coast is doing to deal with these harmful changes in ocean chemistry.

The Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery is located in the small town of Tillamook, Oregon.

“This hatchery was started by Lee Hanson,” says Sue Cudd, who owns the hatchery now. “It was really the first shellfish hatchery that was commercial in operation. It started in 1978.”

She studied biology in school, worked for an oyster company for a while, and then came on with Lee Hanson to learn about the hatchery world. From the 1970s until 2006, there were natural ups and downs, but overall, things ran relatively smoothly.

“Then all of a sudden, in about 2006, we started seeing some pretty major problems. Then from the end of 2007 to the end of 2008, we couldn’t produce larvae anymore,” says Cudd.

Inside the Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery – Photo courtesy of ceoas.oregonstate.edu

For a year and a half, they tried to produce. Even when they did manage to get some larvae, they wouldn’t survive and develop. It was a financial nightmare for the business.

“We lose money really fast because the production cost is the same without having any production. So, it was tough,” says Cudd. “We got help from some customers. The oyster growers association [helped] and one of our state senators got us some community development money, so we had time to be able to try to solve this problem. Without that, I don’t know what would have happened because we just lost money so fast.”

Read the full story and listen to the audio at Alaska Public Media

 

CONNECTICUT: Shellfish industry, state regulators seek common ground with new panel

July 12, 2015 — HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Connecticut’s shellfish industry that sees state regulators as heavy-handed is backing an advisory council established by the legislature to seek common ground.

With demand strong for oysters and other shellfish, the industry and state officials have a shared goal to make sure Connecticut capitalizes on the lucrative agricultural niche. A key task of the Aquaculture Advisory Council will be to develop a plan to expand the shellfish industry.

It also will recommend procedures to make available maps with the names of shellfish bed leaseholders and review health and safety standards related to the industry — a matter that was pushed to the forefront two years ago by a temporary shutdown over tainted shellfish.

The group will include representatives of the industry, a habitat conservation organization, a marine studies expert and a local official from a shoreline community on western Long Island Sound where the state’s largest shellfish businesses operate. The 13-member council will be appointed by the governor and Democratic and Republican leaders of the legislature.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at The Elkhart Truth