Saving Seafood

Biden admin begins review of first N.C. offshore wind farm

July 30, 2021 — The Biden administration is beginning its environmental review of the first offshore wind project proposed off North Carolina, which is in a race to jump-start the industry before a Trump-era moratorium kicks in next year.

The Kitty Hawk offshore wind farm, developed by Avangrid Renewables, would be a 69-turbine wind array off the coast of the state’s Outer Banks. It could power up to 700,000 homes.

The 800-megawatt project would sit roughly 27 miles from North Carolina shores and more than 40 miles from Virginia Beach, where two transmission cables would land to connect with PJM Interconnection’s onshore grid.

An Avangrid analysis of the project forecasts a $2 billion economic impact from the project, much of that in Hampton Roads, the port region in Virginia that will serve as a home base to stand up the project.

The offshore wind farm would serve both Virginia and North Carolina renewable energy targets but is particularly important for North Carolina, where the Trump administration ordered a moratorium on offshore energy leasing shortly before leaving office. That moratorium begins in mid-2022 and lasts for 10 years.

North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper (D) last month signed an executive order to stand up 8 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2040 in the state.

Read the full story at E&E News

Virginia’s bluefish catch is shrinking — so is the state’s quota for commercial fisherman

July 20, 2021 — A long-term drop in Virginia’s commercial catch of bluefish has sparked a deep cut in the state’s share of the coastwide quota.

The latest amendment to the fishery’s management plan cuts Virginia’s share of the Atlantic coast quota from 11.88% to 5.87% — the biggest reduction for any of the coastal states.

New York and Massachusetts are the biggest gainers, with New York’s share rising from 10.39% to 19.76% and Massachusetts’ from 6.72% to 10.12%.

In addition to the new state allocations, the total coastwide allocation for commercial fishermen is declining from 17% of all bluefish landed to 14%. The difference means an increased share for recreational fisherman, from 83% to 86%.

All those changes are to be phased in over seven years, according to the fishery plan managers, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

The aim is to rebuild the total stock of bluefish. Bluefish have been overfished, but with the total catch down from a peak of about 180 million pounds in 1987 to just under 19 million pounds in 2019, they are not currently overfished.

Read the full story at The Daily Press

Dr. Derek Aday chosen to lead VIMS

July 8, 2021 — The following was released by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science:

William & Mary has named nationally renowned ecologist Dr. Derek Aday as its next dean of the School of Marine Science and director of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Aday, who will begin in this role at VIMS September 1, is head of the Department of Applied Ecology at North Carolina State University, university director of the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, a fellow of the American Fisheries Society, and editor-in-chief of the society’s flagship journal. His selection follows a national search to succeed Dr. John Wells, who is retiring after 17 years at the VIMS helm.

“William & Mary welcomes warmly Dr. Aday to the university community,” says President Katherine A. Rowe. “Following the exceptional leadership of Dr. Wells, VIMS and the School of Marine Science are positioned to expand the university’s reach globally in the coming decades. And for Virginia, VIMS is vital to ensuring the continued prosperity of the Commonwealth’s ecology, economy, and coastal communities. Derek Aday’s talents and experiences perfectly match these challenges and opportunities.”

For his part, Aday says he embraces leading VIMS into the future and the continued interdisciplinary work required to solve complex problems facing the waters of the Commonwealth, the nation, and the world.

“VIMS and William & Mary have incredible histories and traditions and I’m very much looking forward to becoming a part of the future of both organizations,” Aday says. “I’ve followed the great science and scientists at VIMS from afar for many years, and I’m humbled by the opportunity to join a community of talented scholars and educators that is making a real difference in the world.”

Provost Peggy Agouris says he’s been equally followed by VIMS scholars and students. Aday has written numerous articles in peer-reviewed publications on topics ranging from the ecology of fresh- and saltwater fishes to the impacts of mercury pollution on aquatic ecosystems.

“Dr. Aday is a remarkable scientist in marine science and ecology,” says Agouris, “and we are fortunate to have him lead VIMS and our School of Marine Science. He impresses on the academic and the leadership fronts, both of which are necessary to lead one of the most important and impactful marine science schools in the world. Under his leadership, I am confident that VIMS’s advisory, educational, and research arms will flourish.”

Aday’s 16-year career in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at NCSU has provided leadership experience in all three facets of VIMS’ mission of research, education, and advisory service. He said he looks forward “to the opportunity to lead a cutting-edge marine research institute with a strong tradition of student education and a vibrant connection to an outstanding university.” He also relishes the challenge of guiding VIMS in its role as a technical advisor to the Commonwealth of Virginia for coastal and marine issues, across what he called “an impressive scale and breadth of disciplines.”

Dr. Carl Friedrichs, Glucksman professor of Marine Science at VIMS and chair of the Dean & Director Search Committee, notes that Aday articulated an “inspiring vision for an innovative future for VIMS.”

“The search committee was struck by Derek’s proven leadership across a broad range of relevant roles,” Friedrichs says. “He cited ideas that built on, but also went beyond, our current strengths to enhance more ambitious, interdisciplinary research, advisory service, and educational initiatives on issues such as climate change and coastal resilience.”

An interdisciplinary worldview has been central to Aday’s success, both in research and administration. He currently chairs an academic department he described as “interdisciplinary at its core,” with researchers exploring many of the same topics studied at VIMS, including aquatic ecology, biodiversity, conservation biology, fishery science and aquaculture, applied toxicology, and global change.

Under his leadership, the department earned approximately $9 million in annual grant funding, created a unique outreach and engagement program and doubled the number of women and historically under-represented, tenure-track faculty members. He also played a leading role in strategic plans recently developed by both his department and college, an experience that will serve him well as VIMS initiated its latest strategic planning process just last year.

Aday also brings experience in managing the type of multi-disciplinary and multi-institutional partnerships that have long animated and strengthened the VIMS mission. As university director of the Southeast Climate Adaptation Science Center, he led a consortium that included five academic institutions of higher education; federal collaborators from the U.S. Geological Survey; state climatologists and tribal partners from four nations. Aday’s leadership portfolio at VIMS will likewise include a wealth of institutional, state, and federal partners.

Read the full release here

U.S. to review proposed Dominion Energy wind farm off Virginia

July 2, 2021 — The U.S. government will conduct an environmental review of a potential wind power project off the coast of Virginia, the Biden administration said on Thursday, part of an effort to create tens of thousands of jobs in the business by 2030.

Dominion Energy’s (D.N) Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind project calls for construction and operation of up to 205 wind turbines capable of generating up to 3,000 megawatts of electricity by 2026. The turbines would be located more than 20 nautical miles off the Virginia coast.

Dominion says the project, when fully built, could power up to 660,000 homes.

​ The Biden administration wants to develop 30 gigawatts of offshore wind power by 2030, creating nearly 80,000 jobs.

“Recent technological advances, falling costs, and tremendous economic potential make offshore wind a promising avenue for diversifying our national energy portfolio, creating good-paying union jobs, and tackling climate change,” Interior Department Secretary Deb Haaland said in a release.

Read the full story at Reuters

MARYLAND: Crab Population Is Not Being Overfished According To Blue Crab Report Released By Chesapeake Bay Program

July 1, 2021 — The Chesapeake Bay Program released the 2021 Blue Crab Advisory Report and it found that the blue crab population is not being overfished and is not depleted. The numbers may be down, but the population remains healthy.

“All of us who love blue crabs benefit from the science-based analysis and discussion in the Blue Crab Advisory Report. The report helps state resource managers set limits that leave enough crabs in the Bay to ensure healthy harvests for years to come,” said Sean Corson, Director, NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office and Chair, Sustainable Fisheries Goal Implementation Team.

The Winter Dredge Survey found that the blue cran population in the bay decreased from 405 million in 2020 to 282 million in 2021. Experts said this decline can be attributed to the juvenile crab population — crabs that will grow to harvestable size next year. That number is estimated to be 86 million, down from 185 million in 2020.

Read the full story at CBS Baltimore

Chesapeake Bay’s ‘dead zone’ to be smaller this summer, researchers say

June 30, 2021 — The Chesapeake Bay’s “dead zone,” the oxygen-starved blob of water that waxes and wanes each summer, is forecast to be smaller than average for a second consecutive year.

A consortium of research institutions announced June 23 that it expects the volume of this year’s dead zone to be 14% lower than average. In 2020, the zone was smaller than 80% of those monitored since surveying began in 1985.

The size of the summer dead zone is driven largely by how much excess nutrients flow off lawns and agricultural fields into the Bay during the preceding January to May, researchers say. Those nutrients — nitrogen and phosphorus — fuel explosive algae growth, triggering a chemical reaction that robs the water of oxygen as it dies back. The area is dubbed a “dead zone” because of the lack of life found within it.

This year, those first five months were slightly drier than usual, causing river flows entering the Bay to be 13% below average. As a result, the Chesapeake received 19% less nitrogen pollution compared with the long-term average at monitoring stations along nine major tributaries.

Efforts to curb nutrient pollution in the Bay’s 64,000-square-mile watershed also appear to have played a role in shrinking this year’s dead zone, scientists say. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has joined with Delaware, the District of Columbia, Maryland, New York, Pennsylvania, Virginia and West Virginia to implement a “pollution diet” for the Bay and its tributaries by 2025.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Commercial shrimp fishing could be coming to Virginia Beach

June 25, 2021 — Virginia could open a small commercial shrimp fishery off Virginia Beach, after a four-year experiment showed it is ecologically sustainable and commercially viable.

The Virginia Marine Resources Commission plans to hold a public hearing July 27 to consider proposed regulations to allow trawling for shrimp. Unlike the shrimpers operating to the south, Virginia fishermen would be allowed to tow only small nets, to reduce the chance of trapping too many other species.

“This will be a small-boat, small-gear fishery,” Pat Geer, VMRC’s Fisheries Management Division chief told the commission in a recent briefing.

While shrimp have been seen in Virginia waters for years, fishermen began reporting large numbers of them in 2017.

Read the full story at The Virginian-Pilot

VIRGINIA WIND TURBINE PILOT PROGRAM EXCEEDS EXPECTATIONS

June 23, 2021 — The two-turbine pilot program of Dominion Energy’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind venture has yielded better results than expected.

The pilot is Dominion’s precursor for plans to install 180 wind turbines in a leased block on the Atlantic’s continental shelf roughly 27 miles off Virginia Beach, at a cost currently projected at $8 billion. In doing so, Dominion is following a General Assembly directive to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by 2045.

Running since October, the two 600-foot tall pilot turbines, each driven by three 253-foot-long blades, are giving Dominion’s engineers a real-world education in the potential for Virginia coastal wind power. The turbines’ efficiency over winter and spring is beating the forecasts, and their downtime for maintenance is less than expected (about two percent).  Automated controllers that turn their mounts to “aim” them and adjust the blade angles to “harvest” the wind have proven more effective than human operators.

Still to be determined, though, is how well they perform in the summer months when winds drop below the 5–8 knots needed to start the blades. Scientific field studies are showing fish using the area and minimal interactions with birds, according to cameras on the towers.

The news may be encouraging, but the project still faces many challenges. The immediate one is the environmental impact statement needed for the full 180-turbine wind farm. Dominion plans to have a draft out for public comment next year and a final version in the fall of 2023.

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

University of Maryland environmental scientists give the Chesapeake Bay a C on health report

June 23, 2021 — After two straight year’s of declines due to record rainfall in 2018, the Chesapeake Bay’s health improved slightly in 2020, according to a report from the University of Maryland’s Center for Environmental Science.

The center’s grade for the estuary ticked up from a C- back to a C. The entire watershed received a B- for the second straight year.

The grade is based on measurements of phosphorous, nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, water clarity, aquatic grasses and bottom-dwellers.

Officials dubbed the data a mixed bag. For instance, the bay’s dissolved oxygen and nitrogen levels improved, but the scores for chlorophyll and phosphorous worsened. Water clarity, too, remains poor.

Read the full story at The Baltimore Sun

Coastal Virginia project set to be next Biden milestone for offshore wind

June 18, 2021 — Twenty-seven miles off the coast of Virginia Beach, Virginia, stand two offshore wind turbines, each taller than the Washington Monument, generating power for up to 3,000 homes.

In five years, Dominion Energy hopes to be finishing construction of its own ocean skyline — complete with 180 turbines standing roughly 200 feet taller than the pilot project, three underwater power substations, and a deep-sea transmission line to bring that electricity to shore.

The Virginia-based utility expects the commercial project, now the largest proposed offshore wind project in the country, to generate 2.6 gigawatts of electricity. That is enough zero-carbon electricity to power 660,000 homes.

Dominion Energy’s offshore wind efforts are a microcosm of what is happening all up and down the eastern seaboard. States and power companies invest billions in putting turbines in the water and turning East Coast ports into offshore wind industry hubs.

Read the full story at The Washington Examiner