With a wind power project proposed off the beach taking a big step forward this week, Mayor Jay Gillian on Thursday criticized the approval process and called offshore energy production “a crazy gamble.” City officials have expressed skepticism about the Ocean Wind 1 project since its proposal, but at the City Council meeting, Gillian went farther than usual, offering a blunt assessment of the project, describing the approval process as rushed and suggesting most of the benefits would flow to a foreign company. Gov. Phil Murphy and company representatives celebrated the approval Wednesday. But the reaction was far different in Ocean City. “Despite the thousands of pages of paper masquerading as a complete review of the project’s impact, we still have absolutely no idea what this will cost the state’s taxpayers and ratepayers, and what benefits we might see in return,” >click to read< 10:58
Category Archives: Mid Atlantic
The Cape’s Scallopers Ride Out a Perfect Storm
This summer, a perfect storm combining sky-high fuel costs, a scarcity of experienced crew members, low wholesale prices, sharp declines in what scallop fishermen are allowed to take, and costly quota, has been keeping Cape Cod’s small-boat scallopers off the water. “There are a quite a few changing over to do other kinds of fishing because they can’t afford to go scalloping right now,” said Max Nolan, a scalloper from Eastham who owns the F/V Outlaw. “I don’t know how anyone is making it,” said Chris Merl, a Wellfleet scalloper and captain of the F/V Isabel & Lilee. Atlantic scalloping, which stretches from the waters of Maine to North Carolina, is one of the most lucrative fisheries in the nation, with its yearly catch valued at upwards of $500 million. But this year (the fishing year begins in April and ends in March), regulators have dropped the total amount of scallops boats are allowed to harvest to its lowest level in over a decade, and the limit stands at just 41 percent of what it was in 2019. >click to read< 08:55
The ‘very liberal’ doctor, the pro-GOP car dealer and the movement against offshore wind
This story is based on interviews with a dozen people who are organizing efforts to oppose offshore wind projects, as well as scientists and environmentalists. E&E News also reviewed tax documents, regulatory filings and emails obtained under New Jersey’s Freedom of Information Act. The wind opponents are gaining traction. Some Republicans in Congress have called for a moratorium on offshore wind projects. In New Jersey, where the debate has been particularly fierce, more than 40 mayors organized by a D.C. lobbyist called for a wind moratorium, and a recent poll found that more residents support halting wind projects (39 percent) than building them (35 percent). Wind detractors have packed public meetings in Rhode Island, and opponents have filed lawsuits in Massachusetts, New York and New Jersey to halt projects. >click to read< 14:49
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 45′ X 16’3″ Novi Scalloper/Lobster, 450HP, Cummins QSMII Diesel
To review specifications, information, and 35 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:35
‘It’s Just Not a Fair Fight’: Supreme Court to Hear Case that Could End Bureaucratic Rule
“There’s going to be plenty of trips where that monitor will make more than myself or my crew,” said Stefan Axelsson, a commercial fisherman. He and other herring fishermen from Cape May, New Jersey sued over the rule and their case will be heard by the Supreme Court next term, where it will be argued by famed appellate lawyer Paul Clement. “When you have the federal government regulating small businesses it’s just not a fair fight,” Clement recently told The Hugh Hewitt Show. However, instead of just hearing the specifics of this case alone, justices have chosen to take on the bigger issue by reviewing the power of the entire federal bureaucracy. Specifically considering one of the most important, and powerful, principles in the world of bureaucratic rulemaking known as the “Chevron doctrine.” >click to read< 14:02
Right whale’s decline worse than previously thought, feds say
The North Atlantic right whale numbers less than 350, and it has been declining in population for several years. The federal government declared the whale’s decline an “unusual mortality event,” which means an unexpected and significant die-off, in 2017. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released new data that 114 of the whales have been documented as dead, seriously injured or sub-lethally injured or sick since the start of the mortality event. That is an increase of 16 whales since the previous estimate released earlier this year. The agency recently completed a review of the whales using photographs from researchers and surveys to create the new estimate, said Andrea Gomez, a spokesperson for NOAA. >click to read< 17:51
Fishermen File Supreme Court Opening Brief Challenging Chevron Deference
July 17, 2023. A group of New Jersey herring fishermen today filed opening arguments asking the Supreme Court to strike down an unlawful federal regulation that could force them to surrender 20 percent of their earnings to pay for at-sea monitors. The regulation, argue the fishermen, is not supported by law. Former U.S. Solicitor General Paul Clement and lawyers from Cause of Action Institute represent the fishermen. They hope the justices will use the case to overrule Chevron deference, a legal doctrine that requires federal courts to defer to agency interpretations of law, even in the absence of expressed congressional authorization. >click to read the press release< 16:04
Energy industry uses whale activists to aid anti-wind farm strategy, experts say
One night in late March, J Timmons Roberts, a professor of environmental studies at Brown University, stepped in to a high school gymnasium in a small seaside town in Rhode Island. He was there to speak at a town hall aimed at allaying concerns about a local offshore windfarm. In the front row, he noticed a woman dressed as a whale, holding a sign that read “Save Me!” The woman in the front row was Mary Chalke, co-founder of the Save Right Whales Coalition (SRWC), a group of organizations across the east coast that oppose offshore wind projects, arguing they pose an existential risk to the endangered North American right whale. That night at the town hall, Roberts also spotted Elizabeth Knight, who founded Green Oceans earlier this year, another anti-wind organization in Rhode Island. Roberts said he felt compassion for Knight. “She thinks a train wreck is coming,” said Roberts. >click to read< 10:17
Seafood’s Inflated and Leveling Prices, Revisited
We decided to revisit the “Why Seafood Prices Are So Inflated” story and those whom we had interviewed to see where prices have landed in the summer of 2023, post-pandemic and post-historic inflation. Generally, the first place one goes with this topic is up to Viking Village, the docks of our working commercial fishing fleet in Barnegat Light, which holds a fleet of 40 boats up to 110 feet long. Viking Village states that its mission is to work only with U.S.-based fishermen and practice sustainable harvesting. In 2021, Viking Village General Manager Ernie Panacek primarily talked about the price of scallops, which were more affected by catch quotas than by the pandemic. Scallops were a hot topic then, and they’re still relatively expensive, but like two years ago, it has little to do with the pandemic and everything to do with those quotas set by the Fisheries Management. >click to read< 20:30
Viking Village Is A Uniquely Jersey Shore Experience
Viking Village seems like a place where time has stood still at the Jersey Shore and gives visitors a glimpse of what life was like during a time when fishing dominated the scene, long before tourism became the driving factor at the shore. The Viking Village, initially known as the Independent Fish Company, was founded as a lobster fishing co-op by first-generation Norwegian fishermen. As the lobster population began to decline, the fishermen adapted their gear and turned to sea bass fishing, which proved to be prosperous until the 1950s. Over the years, the fishing practices at the Viking Village evolved, incorporating scallop, gillnet, and longline fishing, which remain the backbone of its operations today. >click to read< 08:07
Weekend event to challenge wind farm plans up and down shore
Offshore wind power opponents scheduled a waterfront protest starting at 11 a.m. Saturday, with plans for participants to gather on beaches throughout South Jersey. Some have posted plans to gather in Ocean City, Wildwood Crest, on Long Beach Island and on Atlantic County beaches. “This is not just an Ocean City event. This is all New Jersey beaches and beyond,” said Adrienne Possenti, a Vineland resident who is helping organize the Ocean City gathering. But she said the Ocean City gathering is particularly urgent as the plans call for cables to pass under the city to bring offshore wind power to the grid. “If we can stop that, we stop the rest of the project,” Possenti said Wednesday. >click to read< 09:38
Wind Farm Protesters to “Link Hands” on Beaches – Opponents of a proposed wind energy farm off the South Jersey coast will link hands on the beaches Saturday in a protest symbolizing their unified fight against a project they believe will be an environmental and economic disaster. Photos, info, >click to read< 11:30
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 35′ Duffy & Duffy Tuna/Charter, 250HP Cummins GBTA-5.9MI
To review specifications, information, and 10 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:30
The Whale Killing Study the Feds are Afraid to Do
The Feds have admitted that offshore wind development can cause the death of whales and other marine mammals, but they refuse actually to assess that threat for any wind facilities. So I here outline what such a study should look like. This sort of study is what they are afraid to do because it would give numbers to the deaths that are likely to occur, species by species. First off, here is the Feds’ own description of some of the known deadly threats. In this case, the offshore wind activity is driving the monster piles that support the turbine towers, but there are others. >click to read< 10:02
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update, July10, 2023 – Red Snapper, Plain and Simple
My last couple articles seemed to connect with many readers, some good connections and some maybe not so good. I personally received some really good feedback and I was also forwarded several emails and websites who quoted my articles. I always love seeing our newsletters getting out there for more people to read and hopefully get people more engaged in the issues. I know most of the people reading this already know, but for some of the new readers who maybe were misled by some of the people sharing our message, I feel like I needed to clarify a couple things. >click to read< 12:50
New Jersey fishermen on hook for $7 million in pandemic relief
An audit conducted by Acting State Comptroller Kevin Walsh’s office found that more than half of the $14.4 million New Jersey distributed in federal funds to commercial fishermen through the pandemic-related program may need to be returned because the recipients might not have been eligible to receive the money. The comptroller’s office determined that about 41% of the payments, or $5.9 million, are subject to possible recoupment because the applicants were made “more than whole” by the money or were ineligible for relief payments under the program guidelines. Another $1.1 million in relief payments are subject to recoupment because the applicants failed to provide enough documentation to support their awards when requested, according to the comptroller’s report. >click to read< 07:54
Lund’s Fisheries’ Jeff Kaelin Appointed to Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission as Gov. Murphy’s Proxy
The Garden State Seafood Association is pleased to announce that Mr. Jeff Kaelin, of Lund’s Fisheries in Cape May, New Jersey has been confirmed by the Senate as Governor Phil Murphy’s proxy to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC). This represents the first time in nearly twenty years that New Jersey commercial fishermen have had a representative on the ASMFC. Garden State Seafood Association ‘I am extremely honored to have been chosen by Governor Murphy for this position and thank Senate President Scutari and Senator Testa for supporting me through the confirmation process. It has been a long wait and I’m excited to get to work on behalf of New Jersey,’ said Kaelin. >click to read< 19:00
Misinformation: Offshore wind isn’t killing whales. Big oil and gas just want you to think it is.
While ocean conservation organizations and scientists are raising the alarm about how climate change is harming whales, lobbyist groups, online news outlets, and conservative representatives have found a convenient scapegoat for these whale deaths: offshore wind farms. Self-styled “grassroots” groups like Protect Our Coast New Jersey, Save Our Beach View, Nantucket Residents Against Turbines, and the American Coalition for Ocean Protection claim that the technology used in the surveying phase of offshore wind farm development is killing whales — without any supporting evidence. Indeed, representatives from NOAA Fisheries, a bioacoustics expert at the University of Southern Denmark, and scientists at the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management are all on the record stating that there are no known ties between offshore wind and whale deaths. >click to read< 15:29
Letter: Informative wind energy resources out there, by Carol Frazier
I just watched a video on YouTube entitled “Bonnie Brady’s Crash Course in Offshore Wind and the Anti-Fishing Lobby”. I don’t recall any of our local news media (other than Mike Bradley of WGMD 92.7 fm) reporting on any of the information and facts contained therein. That said, I have also been made aware of a new fact regarding offshore wind of which people need to be aware. The wind turbines must be regularly “cooled” which is done by drawing ocean water into electrical substations using “once through” cooling systems – these systems are now prohibited in newer power plants because of the devastating effects on aquatic life. The first planned project off our coast calls for 121 turbines and up to four transfer stations. I would suggest everyone read the article “Offshore Wind Electrical Substations: The Secret, Silent Killers” by Jim Lovgren at Fisherynation.com. >click to read the letter< 08:38
World Ocean Day Prompts Calls for Action
Calling themselves “Ocean Rebels for the COZ” members of Clean Ocean Action (COA), Mayor John Peterson, naturalist Trisha DeVoe and others came out to promote for the aquatic environment during World Ocean Day. Those present noted that after four decades of progress in ocean protection, new and old threats were being fast tracked that could impact the ocean of today. Peterson said he hoped to see “officials of all elected levels of government, up and down the Jersey shore” in joining COA 
in making the public aware “of the threats to our ocean and what can happen if we become complacent. Lavallette resident Brick Wenzel spoke to Jersey Shore Online.com from the perspective of a commercial fisherman. “I am the fishing liaison for the Fishermen’s Dock Cooperative out of Point Pleasant Beach. I have been a licensed commercial fisherman since 1982. When you look at the industrialization of our ocean, the commercial fishing industry is the most heavily impacted blue water economy with the industrial build out.” Photos, >click to read< 12:51
Biden-Harris Administration Approves Third Major Offshore Wind Project in U.S. Waters
The Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced it has approved the plan for construction and operations of the Ocean Wind 1 project offshore New Jersey. Located about 13 nautical miles southeast of Atlantic City, the project will have an estimated capacity of 1,100 megawatts of clean energy – capable of powering over 380,000 homes – and is expected to create more than 3,000 good-paying jobs through development and a three-year construction cycle. >click to read< 07:30
NJ’s other wind farm developer wants government breaks, too.
A company approved to build New Jersey’s third offshore wind farm says it, too, wants government financial incentives, saying its project and the jobs it would create are “at risk” without the additional help. Atlantic Shores issued a statement Friday, shortly after New Jersey lawmakers approved a tax break for Danish wind developer Orsted, which has approval to build two wind farms off the state’s coast. Elaborating on Monday, the Atlantic City-based Atlantic Shores said it has contacted the offices 
of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, and leaders of the state Senate and Assembly, saying it seeks a “solution that stabilizes all awarded projects.” Atlantic Shores did not say precisely what sort of assistance it wants, and refused to publicly clarify its request, or discuss the likelihood of being able to complete the project with its current financing. Video, >click to read< 14:38
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 32′ Holland Tuna Boat, 425HP Yanmar Diesel,
To review specifications, information, and 15 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 12:01
A Call for a More Long-Term Solution to the Shoaling Problem in Ocean City’s Inlet
For commercial fishermen like Mike Coppa, getting through the inlet is not as easy of a task. “In any waterway you’re supposed to be able to come in between them buoys and have water, but right now no, no, no,” said Coppa. “You have to be on top of that red one and almost run it over to find water.” Coppa’s 75-foot fishing vessel, F/V Instigator, ran aground back in March. Since then, he said he and his crew have avoided Maryland all together. “We had to basically change our plans and fish in other states that we had quota, and then we ended up going to New England scalloping all summer,” said Coppa. Video, >click to read< 07:56
Making A Name In Outer Banks Seafood – Vicki Basnight is carrying on the family legacy, one catch at a time
When you pick up the specials list at the Lone Cedar Café in Nags Head, it’s hard to miss Vicki Basnight’s name. On a spring night during the short soft-shell crab season, her name is on it four times, not just as co-owner of the restaurant she opened 27 years ago with her parents, Marc and Sandy, but also as the crabber for the fried soft-shell crab bites appetizer, the fried soft-shell platter with French fries and coleslaw, the soft-shell crab and shrimp pasta, and the stuffed softshells filled with mounds of flaky white crabmeat. Truthfully, she gets a little embarrassed about it. But there are other names on the menu, too: Luke Midgett, who traded another fisherman for the rockfish, Boo Daniels and Joe Elms, who caught the tuna used in two different dishes. Photos, >click to read< 13:27
The dirty details of offshore wind’s ‘clean energy’
“In New Jersey, it’s go hard or go home,” Gov. Phil Murphy Tweeted after signing an executive order to up the state’s offshore wind goals by nearly 50% last September. Perhaps, the governor didn’t consider the fact that those in the state who question the perils and efficacy of offshore wind turbines are playing by the same saying. This “clean energy economy,” as conceived and fast-tracked by the Biden administration (and treated as the holy grail by Gov. Phil Murphy), has been shoved down the throats of those who live in shore communities, even though the risks to every aspect of marine life are poorly understood and little evidence exists that wind energy will make a noteworthy impact on climate change. By Linda Bonvie, >click to read< 09:53
Lobster barges have anchored in Greenwich’s Mianus River since the ’70s. The state says they must go.
The dock owners are fighting back. Gus Bertolf Jr., one of the two owners identified by the state, said the docks have been there since the 1970s and that he had not received the removal order when reached by phone on June 30. “The town of Greenwich wants to push me out of my business of commercial lobstering that has been going on for over 50 years,” he said this week. “I make a living off the water and just because I’m not a multimillionaire, they don’t want me to do my business and that’s just not right.” Robert Vissa, the second dock owner identified by the state, also said on June 26 he had not received the removal order. Vissa said he has been a lobsterman on Long Island Sound since 1972. >click to read< 12:01
Corporate Welfare: Lawmakers pass controversial bill to give tax break to offshore wind developer
Lawmakers narrowly advanced fast-tracked legislation Friday that would give a Danish company a multimillion-dollar tax break for its offshore wind project, despite objections from Republicans who slammed it as “corporate welfare.” The bill would allow Ørsted, the company approved to build a 1,100-megawatt project 15 miles off the Atlantic City coastline, to keep federal tax credits that otherwise would return to ratepayers. The value of the credit would be $2.40 per year per ratepayer, by Ørsted’s estimate, but the company’s total potential savings is unclear. Critics questioned why legislators should give “a corporate bailout to a foreign company on the backs of New Jersey ratepayers,” as Assemblywoman Vicky Flynn (R-Monmouth) put it. >click to read< 09:25
Commercial fisherman in NJ speaks out about wind turbine plan
Brick Wenzel is a commercial fisherman at the Jersey Shore. He joined me on my “Common Ground with Bill Spadea” podcast and on the broadcast this week. Brick is speaking out against the governor’s wind turbine plan, joining a chorus of opposition hoping to end the project once and for all. As I mentioned, when he appeared on the podcast he came bearing gifts! The fresh squid right off of one of his boats was a welcome treasure! As you know, Jodi got it on ice and we cooked it up the next night. Brick explained that one of the missions he’s on, in addition to commercial fishing and battling the wind project, is to provide protein to the folks who are truly food insecure. His organization is able to gather fish that has very little to no market value and deliver them to food banks across the state. Watch the podcast, key to 30:07 >click to read< 09:31
Reins Loosened Slightly On Chesapeake Bay Crab Harvest
“We’re being cautious, but I think we’re being responsible,” said Ed Tankard, a board member with the Virginia Marine Resources Commission, which voted June 27 to ease certain bushel limits. In Maryland, the state Department of Natural Resources announced on the same day a raft of industry-friendly changes to its crab controls, including modestly increasing the allowable harvest of female crabs and lifting limits on the harvest of males over Labor Day weekend. Those moves came a few weeks after the panel that regulates the Potomac River’s fishing industry agreed to roll back bushel limits on female crabs to 2021 levels. >click to read< 12:21
Save Our Shores Rally Beachgoers to Offshore Wind Fight
A day at the beach took on a different meaning Saturday as offshore wind opposition groups came together to educate the public about the impact of wind energy on Jersey Shore communities during a “Save Our Shores” event on the 68th Street beach in Long Beach Township. A short distance from where groups like Save LBI, Clean Ocean Action, Defend Brigantine, and Save the East Coast set up, Jon Shields and Emily Fiore, both of Surf City, put a familiar Save LBI sign in the sand and stood behind it. Shields said he comes from an engineering background, learned about wind turbines and what to do when they are built in school and that’s where his concerns stem. Lots of photos! >click to read< 11:09
