Saving Seafood

Feds want to help build massive wind farm larger than the City of Houston off the coast of Galveston

July 25, 2022 — More than half a million acres of Gulf of Mexico waters some 24 miles off the coast of Galveston could be dotted by wind turbines after federal officials on Wednesday said they are considering leasing the area for energy projects.

The proposed “wind energy area” covers 546,645 acres — larger than the city of Houston — and could produce enough electricity to power about 2.3 million homes, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management said.

A second proposal about 64 miles off the coast of Lake Charles, La., would cover 188,023 acres and could produce power for 799,000 homes, officials said.

The wind energy area proposal is still just a draft, the bureau said. Visitors to its website can comment on the plans, and the bureau will hold online public meetings Aug. 9 and 11 to discuss the proposals.

The announcement is part of a Biden administration initiative to help develop 30,000 megawatts of offshore wind generation by 2030, a jaw-dropping increase from the 42 megawatts of electricity produced by the only two offshore wind farms in operation nationwide. Those projects, off the coasts of Virginia and Rhode Island, are in state waters; there are no projects in federal waters.

Another 15 projects are in the permitting phase, and eight states have set goals to procure a combined 39,298 megawatts from offshore operations by 2040, according to the U.S. Department of Energy. One megawatt is enough to power about 200 homes on a hot summer day.

If the offshore wind power flows into Electric Reliability Council of Texas, it could help the grid meet the record-breaking and growing demand the nonprofit grid operator has seen in recent months. For a moment Wednesday afternoon, demand surpassed 80,000 megawatts for the first time.

Some state officials, including ERCOT interim CEO Brad Jones and Gov. Greg Abbott, have blamed low output from the state’s onshore wind fleet for tight grid conditions this summer, although it has long been known that wind blows less on hot summer days and is usually strongest during winters and in the evenings. Offshore wind, however, performs much better during the middle of hot days.

Read the full article at the Houston Chronicle 

Coast Guard Searches for Poachers From Mexico Stealing Fish From U.S.

May 24, 2022 — At Hooked on Seafood, red snapper fetches a premium price. For fishermen, the tasty fruit of the Gulf of Mexico is like striking gold.

“Red snapper is the hottest commodity in the U.S., here in this border,” Hooked on Seafood owner Chris Johnson said.

But its high demand attracts schools of poachers from across the border.

“They’re taking our money out of our waters and selling it right back to us, and we’re paying to do it every day,” Johnson continued.

He’s a fishmonger and fisherman on Texas’ South Padre Island. He bellows a decades-long lament — illegal fishing operations from Mexico zip through the boundary waters poaching red snapper, shark, and shrimp by the thousands.

Read the full story at Seafood News

World’s biggest offshore wind developers eyeing Louisiana for Gulf’s first turbines

January 24, 2022 — The Texas coast may have better winds for offshore wind development, but it’s Louisiana’s political winds that are drawing the interest of the industry’s two biggest players.

Orsted and RWE, which rank No. 1 and No. 2 in the booming offshore wind market, both highlighted Louisiana’s political support for offshore wind in letters to federal energy regulators tasked with readying the Gulf of Mexico for what could be a flurry of offshore wind development.

RWE, a German company that has renewable energy operations in 15 countries, urged regulators to focus on Louisiana despite studies showing Texas has a clear advantage with stronger, more consistent wind speeds.

“To date, Louisiana is the only state along the Gulf of Mexico that has signaled its interest in pursuing an offshore wind policy to meet its climate objectives,” Kate McKeever, an RWE manager of U.S. government affairs, told the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, also known as BOEM.

Read the full story from the Times-Picayune at the Rome News-Tribune

A Battle On The Gulf Pits The Coast Guard Against Mexican Red Snapper Poachers

July 19, 2021 — It’s the hidden U.S.-Mexico border war.

For years, Mexican fisherman have crossed into U.S. waters to illegally catch high-priced red snapper. It has become a multimillion-dollar black market, a Mexican cartel is involved, Texas fishermen are outraged and the federal government can’t seem to stop it.

The U.S. Coast Guard on South Padre Island has a one-of-a-kind mission among the 197 stations along the nation’s seacoasts. Its chief enforcement activity entails bouncing across the swells of the Gulf of Mexico near lower Texas in pursuit of wily Mexican fishing boats filled with plump, rosy fish destined for seafood houses in Mexico City and Houston.

These are the red snapper poachers.

“United States Coast Guard! Stop your vessel! Stop your vessel!” yells a Coastie into his bullhorn as the 900-horsepower, fast-pursuit boat pulls alongside the Mexican lancha. Four Mexican fishermen tried to outrun it but thought better and throttled down. The fishermen are handcuffed, their catch is confiscated and the boat is towed back to the Coast Guard station.

Read the full story at NPR

Gulf Shrimp Fishery to Re-Open Off Texas on July 15, 2021

July 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

What/When:

NOAA Fisheries announces federal waters from 9 to 200 nautical miles off Texas will open to shrimp trawling beginning 30 minutes after official sunset, local time, on July 15, 2021, corresponding to the time Texas opens its waters to shrimp trawling.

Why This is Happening:

  • The waters off Texas are closed to shrimp fishing annually to allow brown shrimp to reach a larger and more valuable size prior to harvest, and to prevent waste of brown shrimp that might otherwise be discarded because of their small size.
  • The fishery closed May 15, 2021.
  • The re-opening date for Texas waters is based on the results of biological sampling by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and assessment of maximum tidal durations.
  • In addition, Texas regulations only allow a 60-day closure; the 60 day period expires July 15, 2021.

Read the full release here

Federal Waters off Texas Close to Shrimping on May 15, 2021

May 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

NOAA Fisheries announces federal waters from 9 to 200 nautical miles off Texas will close to shrimp trawling 30 minutes after official sunset, local time, on May 15, 2021, corresponding to the time Texas closes its state waters to shrimp trawling.

Federal waters off Texas are west of the line (from A to B) shown in the map below.  Fishermen should not use any other division between Texas and Louisiana federal waters, including lines on NOAA Chart 1116A, which is to be used for mineral rights and not for navigation.

Why This Closure Is Happening

The shrimp fishery is closed annually off Texas to allow brown shrimp to reach a larger and more valuable size prior to harvest, and to prevent waste of brown shrimp that might otherwise be discarded due to their small size.

The Texas closure ranges from 45 to 60 days.  The closing date is based on catch rates of brown shrimp collected with seine gear by the Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, mean length of shrimp collected in April, percent of samples containing shrimp, and periods of maximum nocturnal ebb tidal flow.

Texas will re-open state waters to shrimp trawling based on sampling projections of when brown shrimp will reach a mean size of 112 mm, and when maximum duration ebb tides will occur.  NOAA Fisheries will re-open federal waters off Texas when Texas re-opens its state waters.  Historically, the re-opening has been on or about July 15.  If there is a need to adjust the July 15 date for the re-opening, notification of the revised date will be published in the Federal Register and announced in a subsequent fishery bulletin.

Read the full release here

Texas fishing industry finally gets COVID-19 stimulus

January 29, 2021 — The Texas fishing industry is about to get a long-awaited $9 million that Congress allocated way back in March 2020.

Commercial fishing experienced “broad declines” as COVID-19 ravaged the country, according an analysis by NOAA Fisheries. Data shows that revenue among Gulf Coast and southeast fisheries fell sharply between February and June as the pandemic slowed the economy.

The $2.2 trillion CARES Act, which Congress passed in March, allocated $300 million for the fishing industry in coastal states. Texas was allocated $9 million, or 3 percent.

Read the full story at The Houston Chronicle

Feds triple the size of the Gulf of Mexico’s largest coral sanctuary

January 20, 2021 — The Gulf of Mexico’s largest coral sanctuary just got a lot bigger.

The federal government on Tuesday formally approved the expansion of the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, increasing its size from 56 square miles to 160 square miles.

Tripling the sanctuary’s size will better protect fragile coral reefs that support a variety of fish and other marine life off the coasts of Louisiana and Texas, said G.P. Schmahl, the sanctuary’s superintendent.

“From an economic point of view, it’s critical for fish that are important both recreationally and commercially,” he said, noting the abundance of red snapper, grouper and mackerel in the sanctuary. “If you fish the Gulf of Mexico, these areas are where the fish you want to catch have spawned and grown.”

The expansion “has been a long haul,” Schmahl said. Initially proposed under the administration of President George W. Bush and formalized under President Barack Obama, the process finally concluded concluded during the final week of President Donald Trump’s administration.

Read the full story at NOLA.com