A loose coalition of offshore wind opponents is forming from North Carolina to New England to the Great Lakes to question or challenge the expanding list of proposed projects. The Thomas Jefferson Institute for Public Policy has affiliated with the coalition, with our concerns over Dominion Energy Virginia’s proposed 5,280 megawatt project basically being economic. Massive worldwide economic forces are behind this push, most of them positioning the company to earn substantial profits from energy ratepayers. The Virginia State Corporation Commission, basically under orders from the General Assembly to approve the offshore wind proposed by Dominion, has estimated the all-in consumer cost of the Dominion project at more than $37 billion. It accounts for about a third of the $807 annual increase in residential electric bills the SCC has projected by 2030, with the power provided dependent on unreliable wind. >click to read< 11:55
Category Archives: Mid Atlantic
Biden to restore Obama’s marine national monument
President Biden announced that he will restore protections to the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, The restored protections, which Biden will sign on Friday, will prohibit commercial fishing in the monument, with fishing for red crab and American lobster phased out by September 15, 2023. Recreational fishing in the monument will still be allowed. Former President Barack Obama originally established the conservation area in 2016, creating the country’s first and only marine monument in the Atlantic Ocean. President Trump re-opened large sections of the area to fishing in June 2020, calling the restrictions “ridiculous,” “terrible” and “deeply unfair.”(He was right) Advocates for the commercial fishing industry expressed dismay at Biden’s proclamation,,, “Prohibiting hard-working commercial fisherman from sustainably harvesting while allowing owners of luxury yachts to spear fish for the same species in the same location is hypocritical,” said Bob Vanasse of Saving Seafood,,, >click to read< 10:00
Lawyers Line Up to Smash Atlantic Coast Offshore Wind Farm Projects
Big spending Joe Biden wants to squander untold $billions of taxpayer’s hard-earned on wind power, including thousands of turbines to be planted across the pristine and productive fisheries situated off the New England and mid-Atlantic coasts. Fishermen are, quite rightly, already up in arms, determined to prevent the mindless destruction of the marine environment and, with it, their livelihoods. It’s an outrage, to be sure. And Atlantic coast fishermen are not alone in their sense of fury. David Stevenson takes a look at a lawsuit being pursued by pro-environment and pro-community residents from Nantucket against one of Biden’s threatened monstrosities. >click to read< 09:32
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 72′ Steel Offshore Lobster Boat, 460HP Cat, John Deere 40 Auxiliary
To review specifications, information, and 56, yes, 56 photo’s! >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here< 10:40
Has the Precautionary Principle been blown away by wind power?
Clog our near shore and offshore waters with hulking (approaching 1,000 feet tall today, who knows what’s in store for tomorrow?) structures supporting huge rotors with tips moving through the air at velocities approaching 200 miles per hour? So what? Festoon our seabeds with electrical cables carrying huge amounts of electricity, the passage of which will generate electro-magnetic fields that will almost certainly have some effect on some of the species of critters that will be influenced at some level by those fields daily, monthly or annually? Who cares? Influence wave/current/tidal scouring and associated turbidity in undetermined-and very likely undeterminable-ways on the fish, marine mammals, birds, phyto- and zooplankton, and other sea life? What’s the difference? >click to read< By Nils Stolpe-FishnetUSA, more from Nils, >click here< 08:05
Sea of choices confronts Biden in ocean protection
The Biden administration appears to have a head start on protecting the United States’ oceans. After all, on paper, the nation is already more than two-thirds of the way to the goal. But as the administration puts together a tracking mechanism for its pledge to conserve 30 percent of the nation’s lands and waters by 2030, environmental activists warn that frequently cited statistics provide a misleading picture of ocean conservation. At the same time, advocates for the fishing industry question counter the nation is much closer to the final objective, if not already there. They argue that conservation shouldn’t always mean activities like fishing are banned and say their industry has shown itself willing to help protect vulnerable species. >click to leave< 17:04
Preserve The Heritage Of Maryland’s Seafood Industry
A newspaper article published last month reported that Maryland comptroller and announced candidate for governor Peter Franchot promised, if elected governor, to phase out the centuries-old wild commercial oystering industry, likely starting with a moratorium. The article also quoted Franchot saying he would rather “properly compensate” watermen for losing their jobs than find a bipartisan solution. I can guarantee that if this happens, you will eventually destroy the entire seafood industry as we know it. I find this to be a knee-jerk reaction by someone who has spent little time trying to help the industry over his many years in politics but has obviously spent a great deal of time counting votes promised by environmental groups. >click to read< By Ron H. Fithian 08:52
Fishermen Are Making Their Last Stand Against Offshore Wind. Really? When?!! I don’t want to miss it!
U.S. Fishermen Are Making Their Last Stand Against Offshore Wind – In Massachusetts, the fishing advocates who sued BOEM say that the federal government ignored their requests for more rigorous scientific study of offshore wind turbines’ effect on fishing, as well as their concerns over wind turbines making it harder to traverse to fishing grounds, among other grievances. “This project is really important because it is the first one,” says Annie Hawkins, executive director of the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance (RODA), the coalition suing the federal government. “We need to make sure that the government and the offshore wind industry aren’t just paying lip service to other ocean users.” >click to read< Lip service? How about fighting instead of nuzzling, aligning, and political pandering?!! Read about Joes bird protection’s, but never once mentions the wind farms. >click< 06:00
Delay Implementation of Gear Marking & Modification in Right Whale Rule
In a letter today to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, Governor Janet Mills urged swift action by NOAA Fisheries to reduce the unnecessary economic harm to Maine fishermen that the recently announced Federal whale protection rule will cause. “I don’t believe this rule, as written, should take effect at all, and, at the very least, I urge you to direct NOAA Fisheries to delay the rule’s implementation of gear marking and gear modifications (including both trawling up and insertion of weak points) to July 1, 2022,” wrote Governor Mills. “It is entirely unfair that Maine lobstermen continue to be the primary target of burdensome regulations, despite the many effective mitigation measures they have taken and despite the data showing that ship strikes and Canadian fishing gear continue to pose significant risk to right whales,” >click to read< 14:38
New Jersey fishing industry wonders if it can coexist with Biden’s planned massive wind farms
Clammers like Charlie Quintana are back from two days at sea on the Christy. Quintana worries about climate change: He says he’s noticed a change in the fisheries because of warming oceans. But he also worries that the hundreds of thousands of acres of wind farms planned for the East Coast will limit where he can catch clams,,, Surf clams were the first seafood to be regulated by the federal government, leading the way for what has become one of the most regulated industries in the nation. Where, when, how and how much are harvested is strictly monitored and enforced.,, “We are literally fighting for the existence of the clam industry to remain in the port of Atlantic City.” >click to read< 10:36
300-pound stingray attacks man off NY coast
A boat crewman was jabbed by a 300-pound stingray off the New York coast, forcing the U.S. Coast Guard to launch a daring helicopter rescue in the dark late Sunday. It happened about 40 miles southwest of Montauk, according to a news release. The man was working aboard the Shelby Ann, a commercial fishing boat, when he “was struck by a stingray barb below the knee” and began going into shock, officials said. Video >Click to read< 09:16
NTSB to Host Roundtable on Fishing Vessel Safety
National Transportation Safety Board Chair Jennifer Homendy is set to host a virtual roundtable next month on improving fishing vessel safety. The commercial fishing industry remains largely uninspected and is a marine sector of concern.,, The roundtable will feature government officials, industry leaders, fishing vessel operators, safety experts and survivors of fishing vessel accidents to discuss what can be done to address commercial fishing safety concerns, implement NTSB safety recommendations and improve the safety of fishing operations in the U.S. >click to read< – The roundtable is set to take place October 14, 2021. More details can be found here. 13:27
Maiden Voyage
Stateside, Scania is known for its solid footing in commercial marine industry, Bristol Bay, Alaska’s salmon fisheries and Maine’s lobster boats are longtime proponents of the Swedish manufacturer. Scania engines are also used in trawlers, which often utilize commercial engines rated by the International Organization for Standardization as ICFN, or for continuous use. And now, with the Covid-19 pandemic having limited Scania’s bread-and-butter, North American commercial markets, the engine maker has invested in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency certification needed to enter the American recreational marine space. >click to read< 10:04
Offshore windfarms – some of the important actors
While I might have missed some of it, I haven’t seen much discussion of “who’s on first” vis-à-vis offshore windfarm development. Considering this, and considering that their development and the development of other controversial (at least to “historical” users of our nearshore and offshore waters) has the potential to severely impact or perhaps destroy, destroy the domestic commercial fishing industry starting in the mid-Atlantic/New England, I thought it might be instructive to examine some of the corporations who are interested in/committed to this INDUSTRIALIZATION of the ocean areas waters that have fed so many of our citizens and provided onshore and offshore employment for fishing communities since pre-revolutionary times. By Nils Stolpe /FishNet USA >click to read< 19:15
East Hampton Eyes Options After Losing Truck Beach Appeal – Fishermen, “We’re not going away,,,”
New York State’s highest court buried the Town of East Hampton’s bid to overturn a ruling that Truck Beach in Amagansett is private property, but the fight appears to be far from over. Meanwhile the fishermen who’ve been plying the contested waters intend on fighting for their tradition that dates back three centuries to Colonial times. Critics drove on the beach in protest of a prior ruling that barred them from doing so, and are now prepared to go to jail over the issue. “We’re not going away and if we have to go down there every single weekend to make that point we’ll do that,” said Dan Rodgers, a Southampton-based attorney who represents a group of commercial fishermen that are effected by the decision. “And if the homeowners have the courage to stand up and file a trespassing complaint…we’ll go off in handcuffs, my clients will go off to jail and we’ll fight this out in court. They’re willing to do that. >click to read< 14:01
Photo’s! Hoopers Island boat docking competition to benefit Hoopers Island Volunteer Fire Company
The Hoopers Island Boat Docking went off without hitch, and with a lot of hitches as boat captains competed in the annual fundraising competition. The competition to benefit the Hoopers Island Volunteer Fire Company was held on Sunday, Sept. 12, at the P.L. Jones Boatyard in Fishing Creek. Ryan Kastel in Kastel Bros. came in first in the small boats category, Will Watkins took first in medium boats in No Smoke and John Ashton placed first in large boat in Miss Julie. Derrick Hoy and his crew on Crusher took the teams category, and Ashton and Hoy won the shootouts for over 36 foot and under 36 foot boats respectively. 8 photos, >Click to read< 13:26
North Carolina Fisheries Association Weekly Update for September 17, 2021
Legislative updates, Bill updates, Calendar, >Click here to read the Weekly Update<, to read all the updates >click here<, for older updates listed as NCFA >click here< 08:48 
Why Offshore Wind Farms Face Lawsuits – The American Coalition for Ocean Protection
Nantucket residents have filed a landmark lawsuit over federal approval of Vineyard Wind, the first industrial scale offshore wind project in the U.S. Federal law protects existing ocean uses: commercial fishing, vessel traffic, the viewshed, and endangered species from new energy projects. Since federal approvals of all offshore wind projects will likely use the same flawed process, a court win for this lawsuit may stop all the projects. Specifically, Ackrats is the group filing the complaint and is concerned about Vineyard Wind’s negative impact on the North Atlantic right whale, “one of the most critically endangered species on the entire planet.” Those Nantucket residents are not alone. Beach communities from North Carolina to Maine and the Great Lakes joined together to form the American Coalition for Ocean Protection. >click to read< 16:13
Peconic Bay Scallop: After disappointing seasons in 2019, ’20, the outlook remains bleak
Last week, Steve Tettelbach, head of Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Peconic Bay Scallop Restoration Program, finished up a series of dives at the seven sites from Flanders to Montauk,,, “At six of our seven sites, the average density declined by 64% to 99% between May and late August, and the highest die-off occurred at the three sites with the highest initial densities in spring 2021,” Mr. Tettelbach said. Only the site in Napeague Harbor saw an increase in bay scallop numbers over the course of the summer. Bay scallops in New York waters are supposed to live about 18 months. Why have bay scallops in the Peconic Bay system died months prematurely en masse for three years in a row? >click to read< 16:04
9/11 Boat Evacuation: Greater Than Dunkirk
Romans 8:28 says “all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Twenty years after the 9/11 terror attacks that murdered nearly three thousand people we are beginning to see ‘the good’ that God brought on that day. That someone like Christina Stanton, a regular New Yorker who ran for her life after the second plane came within 500 feet of her apartment balcony… would find a deeper, more real faith in Jesus Christ. That Peter Johansen, the director of Ferry Operations, would become God’s agents in helping to rescue a half million people through a massive boat evacuation and how the two people who were strangers before 9/11, became friends. It was New York’s version of Dunkirk, the mass evacuation of people stranded in what became a war zone on 9-11. audio report, >click to read< 08:21
Port captains recall heroic mission to evacuate New Yorkers from Ground Zero on 9/11
New York Waterway Port Capt. Michael McPhillips had been standing in the wheelhouse of a ferryboat halfway across the river, when he noticed the South Tower begin to buckle. He’d already made eight round-trip runs ferrying passengers to New Jersey since the first plane hit, while also manning the radio and fielding questions. At 9:45 a.m., when another captain offered to take the helm of the Frank Sinatra so that McPhillips could focus on operations, the overwhelmed port captain had gladly given up the wheel. He soon wound up conducting operations in the wheelhouse of a different ferry, the George Washington. Now, seeing the cloud exploding up and out from the shrinking South Tower, he barked out a warning to a captain who had been lining up for his approach to the World Financial Center terminal: “Get the f–k out of there!” >click to read< 09:01
Delaware lobsterman ‘Captain Bill’ Melvin Ernest Rice has passed away
Ernest “Bill” Melvin Rice, 81, of Lewes passed away at home Sunday, Aug. 22, 2021. He was born June 17, 1940, in Lewes, son of the late Ernest M. and Charlotte (Smith) Rice. Bill was a proud veteran, having honorably served in the U.S. Marine Corps. After his military service, he started his own business along with his wife, Jean, called Indian River Lobster Co., where they provided seafood to the area. Bill started first clamming commercially, then fishing, and then went on to become one of Delaware’s first lobsterman. >click to read< 15:34
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 64′ Steel Scallop/Dragger, 350HP Cummins
To review specifications, information, and 12 photo’s >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:14
Decaying Anna anchors a boatload of visions in Cape Vincent
“It was quite an adventure,” he said, recalling the trip Anna took to Cape Vincent. “The hull was always leaky. There were constant bilge pumps going and checking on the boat. It got here. It was a hell of a trip for an old girl like that. In many ways, I’m surprised it wasn’t more of an arduous or unsuccessful trip. But there she is.” He’s witnessed the growth of her legend and has seen visitors stop by for photos with her. “To be honest with you, I’m shocked at how this whole thing has gotten so popular and so many people are talking about it and are interested,” he said. photos, >click to read< 08:45
Hurricane Ida: Leaves Toxic Chemicals, Oil Spills, And Sewage Swirling In Her Wake
Days after the storm swept through the region, the environmental aftermath is emerging in a petrochemical corridor packed with hazardous-chemical plants and refineries. In some areas, the chemicals are mixing with raw sewage released from treatment plants that lost power.,, Nearly 100 spills and other episodes have been reported to the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality as of Thursday afternoon, raising concerns among environmentalists and public health officials about toxic discharges. >click to read< 10:47
‘Everything is Gone’ New Jersey’s Largest Dairy Devastated by Hurricane Ida
The National Weather Service has confirmed five tornadoes touched down in New Jersey and eastern Pennsylvania Wednesday evening during the fierce thunderstorms that were triggered by the leftovers of Hurricane Ida. The Eachus family owns and operates Wellacrest Farms, home to 1,400 Holsteins cows. The family says they are still trying to process what quickly unfolded and the damage left behind. >click to read< This isn’t just a job. It’s our lives. Tornado ravages New Jersey’s largest dairy farm – The blue skies and chalky clouds above Wellacrest Farms resemble illustrations in a children’s book. But the destruction on the ground evokes images more akin to a horror film. “It’s hard to believe that, for about one minute of time, so much destruction could happen,” said Eric Eachus, a third-generation co-owner of the farm his grandparents built in 1943. >click to read< 08:45
It’s Very Bad. Incredible Hurricane Ida’s remnants swamp Northeast; at least 8 deaths linked to flooding
The remnants of Hurricane Ida dumped historic rain over New York City, with at least nine deaths linked to flooding in the region, as it swamped subway cars and submerged vehicles and homes. Catastrophic weather came to the largest city in the U.S. after a grim two weeks across the nation that has seen 20 dead in flooding in a small Tennessee town, wildfires threatening Lake Tahoe, Tropical Storm Henri in the Northeast and Ida’s landfall in Louisiana, which left 1 million people without power, maybe for weeks. Earlier Wednesday, the storm blew through the mid-Atlantic states with at least two tornadoes, heavy winds and drenching rains,,, >click to read< 08:09
From the Office of Governor Janet T. Mills – A Letter to the Lobster Industry
In Letter to Lobster Industry, Governor Mills Calls Right Whale Rule “Extremely Disappointing” & Pledges to Work with Maine’s Congressional Delegation to Fight It. – September 1, 2021. In the wake of yesterday’s National Marine Fisheries Service’s Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Rule, Governor Janet Mills last night sent a letter to Maine’s lobster industry expressing solidarity with them and calling the rule “extremely disappointing”. In the letter to Maine’s lobster harvesters, dealers, and processors, Governor Mills pledges to work with Maine’s Congressional Delegation to determine the best way to address the industry’s and administration’s concerns: >click to read< 14:24
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 72′ Stacked Wheelhouse Trawler, Cat 3412E, State and Federal Permits
To review specifications, information, and >102 photo’s click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here< 11:23
Coast Guard Aids Commercial Fishing Vessel Taking On Water Off LBI
A crew from Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light aided the commercial fishing vessel F/V Relentless after it took on water just outside the Barnegat Inlet off Long Beach Island Sunday afternoon. The family owned and operated 74-foot East Coast scalloper/dragger is based out of Viking Village in Barnegat Light, Boatswain’s Mate Second Class Philip Augustino, who piloted the 47-foot motor lifeboat, said the station received a call directly from the fishing boat captain at 12:30 p.m. on Aug. 29. When they arrived on the scene, the boat had already taken on about 3 feet of water in the engine room. >click to read< 09:48
