Saving Seafood

VIRGINIA: ‘Our Sundays Are Different’: Reedville Fishing Community Shares Their Passion for Family, Community, and Menhaden Fishing

October 19, 2020 — The following was released by Omega Protein:

Sundays have always been different in Reedville, Virginia, a community created and sustained by the menhaden fishery. For over 140 years, Sunday has been the day when the fleet leaves the dock for the open water, and fishermen set out to sustainably harvest menhaden and earn a living.

Yesterday, at the start of another fishing week, fishermen and their families shared their experiences in the new Omega Protein video Our Sundays Are Different.

In the video, fishermen share what Sundays mean to them. It’s a day when they must say goodbye to their families, churches, and community, but also an opportunity to work a good paying job and provide for their loved ones.

“I do it for one reason, and the same reason my father did it and my grandfather did it before me, and that’s to earn a livelihood that I can take care of my family comfortably,” says Kenny Pinkard, a fisherman with Omega Protein.

“For me to be leaving early and go fishing and not watch football, it just makes sense,” says George Ball, another Omega Protein fisherman. “I don’t get paid to watch football, and I’m the only income in my home.”

Family members also share how their Sundays have been shaped by fishing, and how the fishing season has become an important part of their daily lives.

“I would say our Sundays, at least during the fishing season, have always been a little emotional,” says Taylor Deihl, the Marketing and Social Media Coordinator for Omega Protein, whose father is the captain of a menhaden fishing vessel. “That first Sunday of every season, me and my older sister would always go out to the truck with my dad, rain or shine, to hug him bye. So I’ve grown up in this industry, throughout my life it’s been my way of life.”

Since its founding, Omega Protein has been an integral part of the Reedville community. We are proud to be a part of the region’s long fishing tradition, and will continue to ensure that, for the people of Reedville, Sundays will always be different.

View the video here

Offshore wind project completes final step, ready to deliver renewable energy to Virginians

October 15, 2020 — Dominion Energy announced Wednesday that the Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind (CVOW) pilot project has completed the final stage of testing and is ready to enter commercial service providing clean, renewable energy to Virginians.

“This is a monumental day for the Commonwealth and the burgeoning offshore wind industry in America as CVOW is ready to deliver clean, renewable energy to our Virginia customers,” said Joshua Bennett, Dominion Energy vice president of offshore wind.

“Our team has worked diligently with key stakeholders and regulators while safely navigating through the coronavirus pandemic to complete this vitally important project that is a key step to reducing carbon emissions,” Bennett continued.

The next step for the two turbine, 12-megawatt project is submitting final documentation to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to complete its technical review — which is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Read the full story at WAVY

Mid-Atlantic Seismic Blasts Halted

October 14, 2020 — Oil and gas drilling companies are standing down from seismic testing in the Atlantic Ocean this year, to the relief of environmental groups and wildlife advocates in the Chesapeake Bay region.

The industry said in a status conference before the U.S. District Court in South Carolina that it will not move ahead with testing for oil and gas reserves this year. The current seismic blasting authorizations expire November 30, and renewing them would require another round of environmental review and public comment.

Bay Bulletin first reported two years ago the federal approval for five companies to do seismic surveys in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Maryland and Virginia, as a first step to gas and oil offshore drilling.

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Congress extends Bay Program, related conservation efforts

October 5, 2020 — The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a sweeping conservation measure that provides continued support for several key Chesapeake Bay initiatives and creates a new program to support fish and wildlife habitat restoration efforts in the watershed.

The America’s Conservation Enhancement Act provides support for two dozen conservation initiatives around the nation that were rolled into a single piece of legislation and overwhelmingly approved by the House on Oct. 1.

The Senate had already approved the bill without controversy, and it is expected to be signed by President Trump.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Relief is coming for Virginia fisheries, although payments likely won’t be large

October 2, 2020 — Fisheries managers are close to being able to roll out relief for Virginia’s hard-hit fishing industries, although a small federal allocation to the commonwealth means payments aren’t likely to be large, Virginia Marine Resources Commission officials said Tuesday morning.

“Because there were so little funding and such great economic damage, the idea of the sort of trying to make sure you make up the loss for people was not an option on the table,” VMRC Deputy Commissioner Ellen Bolen said during a presentation to the commission. “We just did not have enough money.”

Virginia’s fisheries have been pummeled by the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly as restaurants, one of their primary customers, have shuttered or severely curtailed their business. Officials have estimated direct losses to the industry of at least $100 to $120 million, not accounting for trickle-down effects to associated business like boat-building.

Read the full story at NBC 12

CARES Act spend approvals clears USD 13.2 million for fishery aid in four states

October 1, 2020 — Four states that recently gained CARES Act spend plan approvals are now in the process of distributing aid, which all together totals just over USD 13.2 million (EUR 11.2 million) in funds.

The four states – North Carolina, Virginia, Alabama, and Rhode Island – represent collectively less funding than many individual states. Currently just over USD 114.1 million (EUR 97.1 million) in funds have been cleared for release through spend plans, with the largest recipient so far – Massachusetts – receiving just over USD 28 million (EUR 23.8 million).

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Shad recovery efforts not paying off, study shows

September 21, 2020 — The American shad’s Atlantic population remains at a historic low, despite longstanding commercial fishing bans in several states and millions of dollars invested in restoring the fish’s habitat.

That sober news comes from the most comprehensive survey yet of the species’ status on the East Coast and the first of any kind in 13 years. The sprawling assessment by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission designates the shad population as “depleted” from Maine to Florida.

“There should be a lot more shad than there are out there,” said Michael Bailey, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service scientist and one of the assessment’s authors.

In the Chesapeake Bay region, the study suggests that the rate of death among adult shad — a key measure of a population’s health — is “unsustainable” in the Potomac River but “sustainable” in the Rappahannock and York.

Once one of the largest commercial fisheries along the coast and around the Bay, shad catches have bottomed out at about 1% of their late-1800s levels. Although the shad fishery has all but disappeared in the Chesapeake, scientists contend that the species serves a critical ecological role in the estuary as a vital link in its food chain.

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

Hampton Roads plan to bring offshore wind supply chain to region gets GO Virginia funding

September 15, 2020 — A plan to bring the makers of huge offshore wind turbines to Hampton Roads has gained financial support from Virginia’s statewide economic development initiative.

GO Virginia has awarded a $529,788 grant to the Hampton Roads Alliance to attract a supply chain for the offshore wind industry to the region. The economic development agency will lead a team of organizations in the project, including the Port of Virginia, the state Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy, the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, Old Dominion University and local chambers of commerce.

Part of the grant will be used to hire two staff positions at the economic development alliance, one of which has been filled. Matt Smith started two weeks ago as director of offshore wind for the organization. The alliance also plans to hire a marketing specialist. Alliance President and CEO Doug Smith declined to reveal the salaries of the two positions.

As part of the grant terms, the economic development alliance will provide matching funding, Doug Smith said. The economic development alliance will also continue to fully fund the program going forward. The Alliance is funded by 11 member localities — Chesapeake, Franklin, Hampton, Isle of Wight County, Newport News, Norfolk, Poquoson, Portsmouth, Southampton County, Suffolk and Virginia Beach — and more than 70 private-sector investors.

Read the full story at Inside Business

DELAWARE: DNREC adds ship to growing artificial reef

August 24, 2020 — On Aug. 13, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control sank the menhaden fishing boat Reedville at Reef Site 11. The coordinates of the sinking are N 38 40.423/ W 74 44.295. The ship sits in 87 feet of water and is 16 miles offshore from Indian River Inlet. She is 180 feet long and measures 38 feet from the keel to the top of the stack. With her cavernous hold, she is expected to be very attractive to both black sea bass and tog.

The Reedville was first commissioned as a Navy ship, then as an Army freight and supply vessel. When the ship was recommissioned as a menhaden purse seiner, she was named Reedville after the town in Virginia where the largest fish processing plant is located. The town is named after Capt. Elijah W. Reed, whose process for extracting fish oil from menhaden in the 19th century made him and the town very rich.

There are three other menhaden boats at Site 11 along with 997 New York subway cars, 86 Army tanks, eight tugboats, a fishing trawler and two barges. Last fall, a cruse ship was placed there as well.

Read the full story at the Cape Gazette

Menhaden Fishing Vessel Assists in At-Sea Rescue After Nearby Boat Catches Fire

August 24, 2020 — On Thursday the F/V Smuggler’s Point, a vessel that harvests menhaden exclusively for Omega Protein, found themselves involved in an at-sea rescue when a nearby boat caught fire.

The F/V Smuggler’s Point, which is owned and operated by Ocean Harvesters, had spent the day fishing off the coast of New Jersey. The fishing vessel was heading to Omega Protein’s facility in Reedville, Virginia, to unload their catch when the crew received a distress call from a nearby vessel.

Read the full story at Seafood News