Jim Donofrio, founder and executive director of the Recreational Fishing Alliance, will retire Dec. 31 after 25 years with the organization, the organization announced Wednesday. Donofrio founded the New Gretna-based organization after years as a full-time captain to fight for the rights and regulations of recreational anglers. John DePersenaire, former RFA Fisheries Police & Science researcher, will serve as interim executive director beginning Jan. 1. “It’s been an honor to lead and grow the Recreational Fishing Alliance,”>click to read< 10:31 Best of luck, Jim, Its been an honor to know you. BH
Category Archives: Mid Atlantic
No Crabs, No Scallops: Seafood Is Vanishing From Menus in U.S.
Prices went “crazy,” says Mike Price, who co-owns the Greenwich Village restaurant, and so he yanked them off the menu. Over in Napa Valley, Phil Tessier, the executive chef at a popular spot called PRESS, did the same. And in Atlanta, at the tapas joint the Iberian Pig, chef Josue Pena didn’t stop at scallops. The Alaskan halibut and blue crab are gone, too. That last one was a killer, Pena says. Crab croquettes had become a signature dish. “People were like ‘what’s up?’” But, he says, with wholesale costs soaring like they are, “the price we had to charge to be profitable was almost insulting.” For restaurants across the U.S., the re-opening from Covid lockdown has been anything but easy. >click to read< 11:47
Huffman and Case Introduce Legislation to Reauthorize Magnuson-Stevens Act
Jared Huffman D-CA, and Ed Case D-HI introduce the Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act. The following is a statement from Eric Schwaab, Senior Vice President, Ecosystems and Oceans, and a former administrator of the National Marine Fisheries Service at NOAA under the Obama administration. “The Sustaining America’s Fisheries for the Future Act, introduced today by Reps. Huffman and Case, brings much-needed attention to key challenges facing modern fisheries management. We fully support the bill’s goal to strengthen the MSA by arming fisheries managers with tools that can better address some of the most significant problems facing the sustainable future of U.S. fisheries, including threats from climate change. >click to read< 18:28
George S. Carmines, Sr., of Poquoson, Va. was a commercial deep sea fisherman
George S. Carmines, Sr., 84, went to be with The Lord, Wednesday, July 21, 2021. A native and lifelong resident of Poquoson, he was a commercial deep sea fisherman and a member of Tabernacle United Methodist Church. George loved NASCAR, racing, building and restoring classic cars and Poquoson High School Sports. He also enjoyed watching his grandchildren participate in their activities and participating in the annual Poquoson Work Boat Races. George was a member of The Order of Knights of Pythias. Left to cherish his memory is his loving wife of 60 years, Linda Burroughs Carmines; children, grandchildren, as well as many nieces, nephews and dear friends. >click to read< 15:22
Scallop fishermen and industry advocates call for changes to proposed NY Bight offshore wind farm area’s
In an online call with Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) officials, industry representatives highlighted the need for a buffer zone to protect the most valuable scallop area in the Mid-Atlantic and expressed concern over environmental and fisheries impacts of offshore wind development generally. Proposed lease areas need to be thoroughly re-evaluated to reduce impacts to scallops and scallop fishermen, who operate in the most valuable federally managed fishery. >click to read< 13:36
Fake ‘Green’ Energy: So Much Spent On Wind & Solar For So Little Return
Wind and solar are not just costly they are entirely useless. Never in the field of energy generation has so much been spent, by so many, for so little return. Forget the colossal and endless subsidies, forget the community division, forget the environmental destruction and landfills full of toxic blades and panels and start with the fact that wind and solar are simply incapable of delivering electricity as and when we need it. On that score, we’ll hand over to John Hinderaker for a look at wind and solar power’s utterly pathetic performance in the USA. At AmericanExperiment.org, my colleague Isaac Orr deals a double-barreled blow to the fantasy of “green” energy. First, after all of the hype surrounding wind and solar energy, where did Americans actually get their energy in 2020? >click to read< 09:20
Maine Fishermen slow offshore wind farm development – Keep Fighting
Actions by Maine fishermen directly affected the process of offshore wind development in the Gulf of Maine with a bill signed into law on July 7 by Governor Janet Mills. The measure was a response to plans that surfaced last year for a 16-square-mile, 12-turbine wind farm, called a “research array,” off the southern coast of Maine. Proponents promised good jobs and cheap, green electricity. Fishermen weren’t so sure. They envisioned wind farms springing up throughout the Gulf of Maine, harming marine life and damaging coastal communities. “We as fishermen work and take care of the water,” said Virginia Olsen, a Maine Lobstering Union director who lives in Stonington. “We feel these things will get dumped on the water and then someone will say, ‘Just leave them there, it’ll be a coral reef.’ But it will just be trash left for us.” >click to read< 16:55
How the U.S. Fishing Fleet Served the Navy and Coast Guard in WWII
In the early days of World War II, demand skyrocketed for vessels to fill the needs of the U.S. sea services. The Coast Guard was no exception as they competed with the U.S. Navy and U.S. Army for new construction as well as privately owned ships. Facing a high demand for vessels, the service turned to the U.S. fishing industry as a source for its cutters. These emergency acquisitions included East Coast trawlers, whalers from both coasts, and East Coast menhaden fishing vessels, such as the Emergency Manning vessel Dow (WYP 353). During World War I and World War II, the menhaden fishing fleet became a ready reserve for the Navy and Coast Guard. Both services needed small, shallow draft vessels for coastal convoy escort, mine planting, minesweeping, and anti-submarine net tending duty. Many of these vessels were purchased or leased, while others were loaned to naval forces by fishing businesses as their contribution to the war effort. >click to read< 18:28
Peconic Bay bay scallop fishery – Scallop Disaster Declared, But Some Hope for 2022
Ask any bayman, and all would agree that the bay scallop fishery in the Peconic Bay estuary system in the past two years was a total calamity. As such, it was no surprise to learn that the United States Department of Commerce recently declared the events of 2019-20 a fishery disaster. The declaration makes the fishery eligible for disaster assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Baymen may also qualify for disaster assistance from the Small Business Administration, according to the Department of Commerce. The department has balances remaining from previously appropriated fishery disaster assistance and will determine the appropriate allocation,,, >click to read< 10:27
Stonington fishermen fight for their livelihoods: The fleet’s past, present and tenuous future
While they have weathered storms, the loss of 41 fleet members at sea, declining catches and restrictions on how much fish they can land, the aging group of mostly men who make up the Town Dock Fleet now face a set of new challenges that threatens their future and that of the state’s last surviving commercial fleet. These include the difficulty of luring young people into a grueling but potentially lucrative occupation and the leasing of vast areas of their fishing grounds to offshore wind energy companies that plan to erect hundreds of massive turbines. >click to read< 09:17
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 35′ Duffy Tuna Boat, 410HP Sisu Diesel, Phasor 3.5 kw Aux.
To review specifications, information, and 45 photos, >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here<11:16
Sold Out! Biden, Mitchell, and the Dems Jeopardize the New Bedford/New England Fishing Industry
The New Bedford fishing industry, which has kept New Bedford out of the poor house for years, opposes the windmills. Environmentalists say the windmills will mess with the migration patterns of whales and other inhabitants of the deep. They oppose wind farms, too. Vineyard Wind was stopped in its tracks by the Trump White House, but Biden fast-tracked it earlier this year along with a windmill farm in the New York Bight, a rich fishing ground frequented by the New Bedford fleet. The Mayflower Wind project could win federal approval soon as well. Remember, the Obama-Biden Administration banned fishing in an area just off the New England coast. Trump overturned that foolishness. Wonder where the news media is on all of this? >click to read< ,, Are journalists failing today’s public? – Most reporters appear to be amateurs with no formal training in the field. >click to read< 07:51
Long Island: When will bay scallops once again be plentiful?
After years of up and down harvests, 2021 is shaping up as another potentially poor year for bay scallops. Bay scallops have been a multi-million-dollar crop for the fishing industry, from the baymen or women who work hard to harvest them in, to the markets that sell them and the restaurants that feature them prominently on menus. The loss of this cash crop, such an iconic symbol of our bays, hurts many people and calls into question the present and future health of our bays, as changes in water temperatures and steady sea rise continue. For perspective, consider this: After the huge crops of previous years, a die-off in 1985 caused by algae blooms brought the scallop almost to extinction. >click to read< 11:07
They’re not blown away by NJ’s offshore wind power plans!
Opposition is growing among citizens groups, and even some green energy-loving environmentalists are wary of the pace and scope of the plans. The most commonly voiced objections include the unknown effect hundreds or even thousands of wind turbines might have on the ocean, fears of higher electric bills as costs are passed on to consumers, and a sense that the entire undertaking is being rushed through with little understanding of what the consequences might be. Recreational and commercial fishermen have long felt left out of the planning for offshore wind, much of which will take place in prime fishing grounds. Similar concerns have been voiced by offshore wind opponents in Massachusetts, France and South Korea, among other places. >click to read< 09:50
Shellenberger Discusses Offshore Wind Farm Proposal – “This is literally the worst project I have ever seen,”
The California resident, author and environmental advocate spoke about how an offshore wind farm project planned 15 miles off the coast from Atlantic City to Stone Harbor is bad for the environment, wildlife, marine life and the fishing industry. Shellenberger, who is a proponent for nuclear energy, spoke of how the wind farm would not be an efficient way to receive power, would take up too much real estate and not be a consistent source of power. Tricia Conte, of Ocean City, founder of Save Our Shoreline, said in an interview prior to the program, “We are very excited to have Michael Shellenberger here in Ocean City. He is presenting the side that no one else is telling us.” Video >click to read<10:27
Community mourns passing of ‘a great American’, Capt. Warren Butler
Lifelong waterman, Captain Warren Butler, 92, died unexpectedly, Friday, July 2, of apparent heart failure. Upon learning of his death, Jerry Harris, founding family member of Harris Seafood, and Harris Crab House at Kent Narrows, said, “My whole family knew Captain Warren. He was a great man, a great American. He sold oysters to my father. I looked up to Captain Warren all my life. Black or white, he was a role model, someone to model your own life by. I wish there were many more people in the world like Captain Warren!” Butler had a lifetime passion working as a waterman, first, working alongside his father and brothers to help support their family. From 1954 to 1983, Butler worked in the oyster and crab industry in Maryland, Delaware and New Jersey. Throughout his life, he owned and operated 17 commercial boats, carrying may fishing parties out of the Chesapeake Bay, also oystering and sightseeing. photos, >click to read< 08:10
The“30 X 30 Plan” – The Biden Administration’s Latest Eco Con Job
Via yet another decree (Executive Order 14008), President Biden has ordered government agencies to “permanently protect” at least 30 percent of all US lands and waters by 2030. This “30 X 30 Plan” appears to presume that any areas not designated as park, refuge, or wilderness are not “protected,” even though the vast majority of federal lands are already effectively off-limits to mining, drilling, timber harvesting, and even grazing, by virtue of policies heavily tilted toward preservation and against any development.,,, But matters get truly interesting when we examine Team Biden’s plans to eradicate the 80 percent of US energy that now comes from fossil fuels and replace it with pseudo-renewable wind, solar, and battery power. >click to read< 12:20
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 40′ Young Brothers Lobster Boat, 650HP Mack E-7 Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 17 photos, >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:38
Rory Rodger Ahern, Jr., Greenfield, N.J. Scallop Fisherman has passed away
After years of struggling with mental health and substance use, Rory (Rodger) Ahern lost his battle at 29 years old. While his illness often took the forefront of conversations, we want to remember him as the dynamic and hysterical young man that he was while on this earth. His passion for fishing began at three years old and filled him with immense joy throughout his life. His last few months working as a commercial scallop fisherman on The Atlantic Warrior brought him the most happiness he’s experienced in years, thanks to a kind and supportive group of fishermen who encouraged him to set goals and envision a bright future. Rory had a beautiful heart and was always willing to help others without judgement, particularly because he understood how it felt to be judged and isolated. >click to read< 19:30
Michael Shellenberger: “I’m going to argue that everything we were told about renewable energy is wrong,”
Author and environmental advocate Michael Shellenberger will be the guest speaker Thursday evening at the Ocean City Music Pier. Best-selling author and nationally known environmental advocate Michael Shellenberger scoffs at the notion that ocean wind farms, like the one proposed off the South Jersey coast, are a good source of renewable, green energy. He regards them more as an industrialized threat to the environment, to the commercial fishing industry, to marine life and wildlife. “The big push to industrialize the East Coast will ruin the East Coast. It’s a gross environmental injustice,” he said. Video, >click to read< 11:57
H.R. 3697: Van Drew and Don Young introduce a bill introduce a bill reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act
U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, D-2nd, joined Alaskan Rep. Don Young, a Republican, to introduce a bill reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery and Conservation Management Act on Thursday. But the bill would make changes to the law that some environmentalists fear may result in taking more fish than is sustainable. Among other things, the reauthorization would change how fishery councils determine fishery stock rebuilding timeframes, giving the public a greater role in the development of science and fishery management plans. In a statement, Van Drew said H.R. 3697 “ensures that we have healthy fisheries, keep anglers in the water and keep fishermen fishing.” >click to read< 09:10
I am not happy. Jackie Odell was not appointed to serve on the NEFMC.
About the Council Seat. I to am not happy, and am very disappointed that Jackie Odell was not chosen to serve on the NEFMC council. She is more than qualified for that position. She was passed over, as Governor Baker chose recreational fishing stakeholder Michael J. Pierdinock, instead. Is it possible that his campaign donations since 2016 to the Baker campaign, have finally paid off? We all know that money talks and bullshit walks. The New Bedford Mayor is also unhappy with the council pick. Is this another example of being not chosen, based on your expertise, but about political contributions? The system stinks, and need to be fixed. So, put up or Shut up. Sam Parisi, Gloucester. Mass. 14:04
New England Fishery Management Council pick disappoints Gloucester Mayor – feds pulling bait-and-switch
Gloucester Mayor Sefatia Romeo Theken on Tuesday said the June 28 decision to appoint recreational fishing stakeholder Michael J. Pierdinock of Plymouth instead of Northeast Seafood Coalition Executive Director Jackie Odell “was a serious oversight which has not gone unnoticed” by commercial fishing stakeholders. Romeo Theken did not directly criticize Baker for his recommendation to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo, who had final say on the council appointment. But New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell did.,,, >click to read< 12:19
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 42′ Bruno & Stillman Tuna/Longliner, Detroit 671N
To review specifications, information, and 22 photos, Federal swordfish hand gear permit with larger baseline available,,, >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here<11:52
Going On Tour! Chesapeake Bay Buyboat History Comes to Life with 17th Annual Rendezvous
Skipjacks get all the glory, but there’s another hero of the Bay’s historic seafood industry worth celebrating: the buyboat. The era of Chesapeake Bay motor-powered buyboats started at the turn of the 20th century when gas and diesel engines powerful enough to push a boat the size of a Bay buyboat became affordable and available to the general public.,, Though most people recognize the term buyboat, it is somewhat misleading because buying and selling seafood was only a small part of the overall use of these boats. The Chesapeake Bay Buyboat Association will hold its 17th annual buyboat rendezvous from July 30- Aug. 8. The tour will start in Urbanna at the town-owned marina on Urbanna Creek from July 30-Aug. 1 and end on Aug 6-8 at Hudgins Horn Harbor Marina in Port Haywood. >click to read< 16:26
Lobster industry is anxious over upcoming North Atlantic right whale protection rules
The federal government is working on new rules designed to reduce risk to North Atlantic right whales,,, One of the threats the whales face is entanglement in ropes that connect to lobster and crab traps in the ocean. Early indications show that the changes required by the rules could be significant. They’re also vulnerable to ship strikes, and face the looming threat of warming oceans. Acting NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Paul Doremus said in June that the U.S. and Canada, which also harvests lobsters, must “take and sustain additional efforts to reduce right whale mortalities and serious injuries.” >click to read< 10:39
100s of offshore wind farm turbines greenlighted for New Jersey coast – Groucho Marx is all in!
Two wind farm projects were approved, and would provide enough power for 1.1 million homes,,, sure they will! The two projects are a 110-turbine wind farm by Atlantic Shores, which is owned by European power companies Shell New Energies US and EDF Renewables North America, and a 82-turbine farm by Ørsted called Ocean Wind 2. Atlantic Shores’ farm will be located about 10.5 miles off the coast of shore towns north of Atlantic City. Ørsted’s Ocean Wind 2 will be nearly 14 miles off Cape May. >click to read< – If Wind Farm Is Constructed You May Soon Forget It Is There – I’m going to have to buy Groucho Marx glasses, complete with a large nose, mustache and huge eyebrows, to dare show my face on LBI after writing this column. But stupid or brave, here I go. I support the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind proposal,,, Better wind than fossil fuels or nuclear. Natural gas pipelines can blow up; as for nuclear, I have only six words – Three Mile Island, Chernobyl and Fukushima. Do you remember when the Ocean County Health Department used to distribute potassium iodide pills in case of an incident at the Oyster Creek Nuclear Generating Station? Stupidity abounds. >click to read< Bill Gates says you’re all wrong! Game Changer: Bill Gates Backs Safe & Reliable Next Generation Nuclear Power Plants – >click to read<
Waterman Allen Ray Crockett of Tangier Island has passed away
Mr. Allen Ray Crockett, beloved husband of Jeanette Bowden Crockett, passed away Monday, June 28, 2021. Allen was the son of the late Merrill Ray Crockett and the late Ruth Hall Parks Crockett. He was born Dec. 26, 1936, on Tangier Island, where he remained a pillar of the community throughout his 84 years. Allen’s lifelong career as a waterman began when he was just a boy standing on a crate as he worked alongside his father. Over the years he would travel to Crisfield, Md., to sell his Dad’s crabs, where the buyer always greeted him by saying, “Look out! Here comes Merrill’s boy.” Throughout his career, he owned three boats, The Wellington K., The Jeannette C., and finally, The Claudine Sue, which is now proudly owned and operated as The Samantha Paige, by his grandson, Thomas Reed Eskridge. >click to read< 17:26
Commerce Department Announces 2021 Appointments to the Regional Fishery Management Councils
The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced the appointment of 31 members to the regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA Fisheries to manage marine fishery resources. Established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, councils are responsible for developing region-specific fishery management plans that safeguard and enhance the nation’s fisheries resources. Each year, the Secretary of Commerce appoints approximately one-third of the total 72 appointed members to the eight,,, >click here to read< 15:03
‘Free’ Offshore Wind Farm Power Costs Six Times the National Average Cost of Power in USA
Americans are fast learning that the cost of wind power is staggering, and the cost of offshore wind power is astronomical. Joe Biden and his Squad are eager to plant thousands of these things up and down the Atlantic coast, claiming that offshore wind power is ‘free’ and getting cheaper all the time. It’s a myth, to be sure, as Willis Eschenbach carefully details below. Block Island Wind Farm – And what are the economics of the Block Island Wind Farm? (insanity!) How much is that energy worth? The nationwide average to the customer is around 13 cents/kWh,,, And how much is Rhode Island paying for this “inexpensive” wind energy? Hang on to your jaw so it doesn’t hit the floor … they’re paying 24.4 cents/kWh, six times the national average, and it’s going up by 3.5% per year … so in ten years it will be 34.4 cents/kWh. But wait, there’s more.,,, Oh, plus the surcharge to pay for the transmission cable,,, >click to read< 09:54
