Saving Seafood

$200 million wind turbine facility planned for Virginia

October 26, 2021 — Gov. Ralph Northam (D) and executives from Dominion Energy and Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy on Monday announced a $200 million project to finish building turbine blades that would harness offshore wind on 80 acres of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal.

A lineup of local, state and federal leaders said the project, the largest in the United States, positioned Virginia at the forefront of developing wind energy. “This puts us a vital step closer to being the leader in offshore wind,” Northam said, adding that in a few short years the state had pivoted from exploring offshore drilling, which would harm the environment, to offshore wind. “Virginia,” he said, “is all in for offshore wind.”

The facility, combined with its operations and maintenance activities, will create 310 new jobs, including 50 service positions to support Dominion’s Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project 27 miles off the coast. Dominion says the wind farm will generate enough electricity to power up to 660,000 homes at peak and avoid as much as 5 million tons of carbon dioxide being dumped into the atmosphere annually.

Read the full story at the Washington Post

On the water, a different view of menhaden fishing

October 26, 2021 — In his recent op-ed (“Fish spills renew concerns about menhaden management,” Oct. 2), the Chesapeake Bay Foundation’s Chris Moore gives readers a picture of a menhaden fishery that I and my crew do not recognize.

I’ve fished menhaden here in Virginia for most of my life. The view of the fishery expressed by Moore and the CBF of a distant Canadian conglomerate that doesn’t care about the health of the bay or the future of this fishery, could not be further from the truth. It is ignorant and insulting to hundreds of hard-working, blue-collar menhaden fishermen.

Much has been made, both in Moore’s op-ed and elsewhere, of the fact that Omega Protein, Virginia’s oldest and largest fishing company, now has a Canadian parent company. But menhaden fishing has been a Virginia institution since 1878, and there has been a menhaden fishery operating out of Virginia’s Northern Neck continuously since then. I’m a local, my crew are all locals, and many of them come from African American families who have fished menhaden for generations. The majority of these families have been fishing in Virginia long before CBF has even existed.

A corporate address in Canada does not erase the deep Virginia roots of this fishery and the fishermen who are part of it.

Read the full opinion piece at the Virginian-Pilot

 

Virginia’s striped bass forecast looks stable as juvenile numbers hold steady

October 20, 2021 — Juvenile striped bass numbers are holding steady in Virginia’s Chesapeake Bay tributaries, the latest annual survey by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science found.

But a parallel survey in Maryland waters showed below-average numbers.

The surveys look at striped bass that hatched in the spring and that will be large enough to catch, legally, in three to four years.

Preliminary results of the Virginia survey showed an average of 6.3 fish for each haul of a seine net in the James, York and Rappahannock rivers. These young striped bass usually measure between 1.5 and 4 inches. That’s the 9th consecutive year of average or above average results, VIMS said.

Read the full story and listen to the audio at the Daily Press

 

Maryland Striped Bass Survey Below Average for 3rd Year

October 19, 2021 — Maryland’s juvenile striped bass survey finds rockfish reproduction is below average for the third year in a row, continuing a worrisome trend. Virginia’s survey, meanwhile, shows a nine-year streak of average or above-average reproduction.

Both states conduct surveys of young-of-year striped bass to track reproductive success of the Bay’s treasured fish. The Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) reports an index of 3.2 in the 2021 survey, which remains well below the long-term average of 11.4.

DNR is optimistic, saying in a press release, “The coastal striped bass population has decreased in size, but is still capable of strong reproduction with the right environmental conditions. Variable spawning success is a well-known characteristic of the species.”

They do acknowledge that the below-average numbers “are a concern”. In 2019 the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) determined the striped bass species was being overfished, and set new limits for East Coast states to follow. Still, some environmental groups and even anglers feel that states like Maryland should be doing more.

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine

 

ASMFC Begins Preparations for Black Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment

September 28, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

Arlington, VA – The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (Commission) has begun work on the next Black Drum Benchmark Stock Assessment and is requesting data from academia, member states, federal partners, participating jurisdictions and stakeholders. A data workshop will occur in December 2021.

The Commission welcomes the submission of data sources that will improve the accuracy of the assessment. This includes, but is not limited to, data on abundance (fishery-independent survey catch rates, fishery-dependent catch per unit effort), biological samples (lengths, ages, weights), and life history information (growth, maturity, natural mortality, movement and migration). For data sets to be considered, the data must be sent in the required format with accompanying description of methods to Jeff Kipp, Senior Stock Assessment Scientist, at jkipp@asmfc.org by October 29, 2021.

For more information about the assessment or the submission and presentation of materials, please contact Savannah Lewis, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at slewis@asmfc.org or 703.842.0740.

Read the full release from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission

$14.7 Million NOAA Marine Debris Grant Includes Mid-Atlantic Projects

September 13, 2021 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is tackling the growing issue of marine debris, funding cleanup and research projects nationwide. A $7.3 million grant is matched to a total of $14.7 million—which will make 25 different projects possible, including some in the Bay region.

Of the funding, about $1.4 million will support five marine debris research projects, including one in Maryland and one in Delaware. The grantees will “investigate and identify the critical input pathways for marine debris introduction into the coastal zone,” NOAA says.

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine

 

Port of Virginia Expands Dominion Energy Lease to Create Wind Port

August 27, 2021 — The Port of Virginia reached an agreement to lease a dramatically increased portion of the Portsmouth Marine Terminal to Dominion Energy. The agreement, which positions the port to become a leader in the emerging offshore wind energy sector, puts to use an idle terminal area converting it into a large pre-assembly and staging area for the planned wind farm off the Virginia coast. Previously, the port had agreed to a lease to create a small staging area.

Under the new agreement, Dominion Energy will use 72 acres of the deep-water, multi-use marine cargo Portsmouth Marine Terminal as a staging and pre-assembly area for the foundations and turbines that will be installed 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Expected to be in service by the mid-decade, the Virginia wind project will produce more than 2,600 megawatts of renewable energy.

“This announcement is yet another milestone toward making Virginia the national leader in offshore wind power,” said Governor Ralph Northam. “The Commonwealth and Dominion Energy are standing together to promote clean energy, reduce carbon emissions, create jobs, and build a new American industry on the East Coast of the United States.”

The lease term is 10 years—valued at nearly $4.4 million annually—and includes an option for two five-year renewals. In January 2020, Virginia had agreed to a lease for 1.7 acres at the Portsmouth Marine Terminal through 2026, with options to expand to 40 acres. The original plan called for the terminal to operate solely as a staging area.

Read the full story at The Maritime Executive

eVTR Instructional Webinar on Tuesday Afternoon – August 24

August 20, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The next instructional eVTR webinar will be held Tuesday, August 24 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. This webinar will provide vessel operators and others with a walkthrough of the eTrips Mobile 2, Fish Online Apple iOS and Fish Online Web App as options for submitting your eVTRs. This webinar will focus on Virginia and North Carolina vessels, though anyone is welcome to join any webinar.

How Do I Join?

More information can be found on our webpage for this series: How to Use Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting Apps. This page includes webinar login information.

Questions?

Contact your local Port Agent.

VIRGINIA: DAUGHTER OF REEDVILLE FISHERMAN’S MUSEUM FOUNDER NAMED PRESIDENT

August 16, 2021 — A good recipe for success in any venture is passion, love of a cause and the energy to make it happen—and leading a maritime museum is no different.

Becky Haynie of Reedville, Va. checks all three boxes for the Reedville Fishermen’s Museum where she was recently elected president of the board of directors.

Becky’s passion and love of the job comes from her late father Wendell Haynie who passed away Dec. 20, 2020. Wendall, his brother Braxton and Alice Butler spearheaded the formation of the Greater Reedville Association in 1988, which led to the creation of the museum.

Reedville has a rich Tidewater Virginia commercial fishing heritage. The founder of the town, Elijah Warren Reed of Brooklin, Maine, arrived on Chesapeake Bay in a three mast schooner during the summer of 1867 and established what was to become the modern-day menhaden fishery. By 1912, the town’s economy had become the highest per capita wealth of any town in the United States.

Going back to her early childhood, Becky witnessed the passion and love that her father had for Reedville and its maritime culture. “When I was a kid there were all these derelict fish boats on the shoreline and one was the [fish steamer] East Hampton,” said Becky. “I had a 12-foot skiff with a 4-hp motor and I lived on the creek. It was the spookiest thing to me with that old boat laid up on its side and open inside, and we climbed all over it.

“We are considering doing a working watermen’s tour, similar to a our Christmas House Tour, where we will take people to Walter Roger’s fish trap pier to see the fish and pound net boats,” she said. “Next, we could go to Fleeton Point Seafood where they shed crabs and grow oysters and the big ticket would be a visit to the Omega Protein plant, the largest menhaden plant on the East Coast.”

Read the full story at Chesapeake Bay Magazine

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