Category Archives: Mid Atlantic
New York: $6.7 million in Coronavirus relief to marine fishing industries
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $6.7 million in relief aid is being distributed starting today to New York’s seafood, marine commercial, and for-hire fishing industries after excessive business losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New York State will distribute an additional $5.7 million in the coming months, for a total of $12.4 million, through the Marine Fisheries Relief Program, which administers federal funding provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. >click to read< From ny.gov, >click to read< 11:40
‘Tragedy of the Commons’ Will be the Fate of Marine Environment in Atlantic Offshore Wind Farms
Like the English commons, the Atlantic waters could take just so much ‘grazing’. The Canadian government finally recognized the cod fishery had crashed and closed it;,, Recognizing that fish could not be owned until they were caught, government regulators attempted to at least partially privatize fishing rights. So too, the waters in which they swim (Hague Line dividing CN and US waters in the Gulf of Maine and on Georges Bank.) It was that bottom and those waters that wind farm builders wanted “rights”.,,, So, the question arises “why don’t the fishing interests move to protect these sensitive marine habitats?” They have tried without much success. >click to read< 18:43
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 38′ Flowers Lobster boat, new Cummins 9 L Diesel, new gear, new shaft, new cutlass,,,
To review specifications, information, and 10 photos, >click here< , To see all the boats in this series >click here<12:27
Ocean Industrialization: The Biden Administration vs. Atlantic fisheries
In its rush to burnish its green bona fides, the Biden administration is showering billions of dollars of subsidies onto European offshore wind developers, and in the process threatening both the environment and the livelihoods of Atlantic coast commercial fishermen. Big Wind — money-making corporations, not philanthropists — stands to earn big bucks. And for what? The reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from building all of that offshore wind will be minuscule and will have no impact on world climate whatsoever. Instead, it is poised to wreck an entire industry and the thousands of jobs that commercial fisheries support. >click to read< 08:50
The people are Opposed to Offshore Wind in Cape May, N.J. – Anti Offshore Wind Farm protestors gather
They could not all go in to the meeting of the Cape May County Commissioners on Tuesday afternoon, but opponents of a planned offshore wind farm knew they were heard when the members of county government came out to them. Speaking to those gathered outside before returning to the commissioners meeting, commission Director Gerald Thornton said wind energy will cost consumers more and will not provide many jobs to local residents. >click to read<– Anti-wind farm protestors gather in Cape May Courthouse – There were no chants or marching at a protest late Tuesday afternoon outside the Cape May County Administrative Building. Tricia Conte organized the demonstration. She also created the group Save our Shoreline which has over 4,000 members. >click to read< 07:55
A push to boost commercial fishing industry, post-Coronavirus on Long Island
With the pandemics, the industry suffered on Long Island as restaurants all but shut down, wiping away an important client base for commercial fishing. As the economy continues to reopen, Suffolk County has launched a survey aimed at developing a real-time snapshot of the Long Island commercial fishing industry, which officials say has been “especially hard-hit by the COVID-19 pandemic,” according to a press release from the county. The survey is available here. The information and data collected through the survey will highlight the needs of local fishermen and will guide and assist agencies in providing the resources necessary to continue to support a viable and sustainable fishing industry. >click to read< 11:48
Oppose Industrial Offshore Wind Farms – Attend Peaceful Protest Tuesday April 27th at 4:30pm
I represent Save our Shoreline NJ, a group of nearly 4000 concerned businesses, homeowners, residents, fishing community members, and New Jersey shore vacationers. The view of the industrialization of our ocean by these giant wind farms is the least of our concerns. At first I was concerned about the view, which will be a horrible blight upon our beautiful Jersey Shore, but now I know that other issues are of greater significance. One major environmental concern is for the severely endangered Atlantic Right Whale and other juvenile whales that regularly visit the Jersey Shore. A major economic concern, our electric bills, which will cripple our New Jersey economy, environmental and economic concern is for the fluke fishery,,, by Tricia Conte >click to read< 07:36
Feds charge Montauk fisherman, Gosmans with violating fishing limits, conspiracy, obstruction
Charged with Conspiracy, Fraud, and Obstruction – Today, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York unsealed the indictment of one fisherman, a wholesale fish dealer, and two of its managers for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and obstruction in connection with a scheme to illegally overharvest fluke and black sea bass. All four defendants are from Montauk. >click to read< Other stories of F/V New Age, >click here<
Nature is not a Whore!!!
We have incredible fishing grounds on our East Coast!!! Why destroy a renewable sustainable Resource??? Molesting these grounds by dumping massive amounts of construction materials on them is insane!!! Keep in mind the many rules the EPA has against ocean dumping!!! Not to mention the likely hood of them turning into a Dumping Ground after they become useless… Out of sight out of mind!!! What wonderful habitat the Turbine bases will make for the Green Crabs ocean Locust!!! We can’t forget about the Whales… The European Wind Farms do not see a significant Whale migration… What aren’t they saying??? >click to read< 09:41
Work on offshore wind farm begins – Some NJ groups are fighting it!
The $1.6 billion wind farm is known as Ocean Wind and is a partnership with Orsted and PSE&G. But there are some groups in New Jersey who are against the wind farm. “The level of awareness is just beginning to grow here, but most people not even knowing that these are proposed,” says LBI Wind Without Impact leader Jim Binder. Binder’s group is fighting to preserve the ocean in its current state. “Our research shows that the right whale migrates through this area. There are only about 300 or 400 that still remain. >click to read< 08:45
Offshore Wind Farms: Cape May Commercial Fishermen Must be Heard – They may be heard, they won’t be listened to
“The commercial fishermen have a lot of reservations about what’s going on,” said Thornton. “I would like the board to take a position to oppose this, “I am going to personally oppose it,”,,, Thornton cited figures provided by Rutgers University, reporting the commercial fishing industry in the county produces $192 million of product. “It is very significant,” In the Northeast, from Maine to Virginia, the county is ranked second in value and total pounds harvested, he said, adding it is “standard practice” in Europe and Asia to compensate commercial fishing businesses for lost income from offshore wind projects. NO! “We’re not hearing any of that here. Not at all,” said Thornton. In the U.S., there is no legal process for that to take place, he said. Certain states negotiated payments of their own with commercial fishermen, he continued. >click to read< 10:54 (starting to smell,,,)
N.J. commercial and recreational fishing groups aligning against coming offshore wind farms – ‘This is our farmland’
Capt. Hank Lackner docked a 100-foot trawler in Cape May on a recent day after unloading a catch of squid that might end up as calamari on someone’s plate just about anywhere in the United States. Lackner fears that offshore wind farms coming to the waters off the New Jersey coast in the next few years could threaten his business. Other commercial and recreational anglers, along with the Recreational Fishing Alliance, a political action organization, share his concerns. Jim Donofrio, founder of the RFA, and one of the most outspoken critics of offshore wind, says the industry creates too many issues for fishing that haven’t been fully addressed. “We want them gone,” Donofrio said. >click to read< 07:55
In New England, “The resource keeps diminishing.” Clammers Dig Through The Pandemic For Fewer Shellfish
In Maine, the largest clam producing state, fishermen produced their lowest haul in more than 90 years at a little more than 1.3 million pounds in 2020. Nationwide totals aren’t compiled yet, but Maine’s haul typically accounts for more than half the U.S. total, and hauls in other clamming states such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York have been trending downward in recent years. “The resource keeps diminishing.” The clamming industry has had to contend with more marine predators of clams such as green crabs and milky ribbon worm in recent years. >click to read< 13:33
Euro invasion! “Ørsted is ready to mobilize.” – Town Trustees urge Ørsted to get fisheries studies underway immediately
Members of the East Hampton Town Trustees this week said that South Fork Wind Farm developer Ørsted needs to get fish population surveys started immediately, even though the actual proposal will not be finalized until later this spring, so as to be able to capture the full two seasons worth of data demanded by a fisheries study mandated in state approvals for the project. As one of the agreed-to conditions,,, Trustee John Aldred said that he and the Trustees attorneys, blah blah blah, blah blah blah,,, “I don’t want to be a defender of Ørsted, but,,, lol! >click to read< 13:11
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 49′ 6″ Fiberglass/Wood Lobster/Gillnetter, Cummins 855
To review specifications, information, and 28 photos, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series >click here<11:21
Tilghman Island Blessing of the Fleet: Watermen, first responders honored for life-saving rescue
The watermen’s fleet has officially been blessed, along with five men who rescued a waterman earlier this year and saved his life after falling overboard into the Chesapeake Bay’s cold waters. Public officials, community and religious leaders and locals gathered at Dogwood Harbor in Tilghman Island on Sunday, April 11, to give their blessings to the watermen. The ceremony offers good graces to the seafood catchers as they prepare to fish, crab and oyster in the Bay and its tributaries this year. The annual “blessing of the fleet,” comes just after crabbing season officially began on April 1. photos, >click to read< 08:42
New York Wind Power Plans Make No Sense, NY wants a green energy ‘superhighway.’ Hydro-Québec can help
New York needs big ideas if it’s to overcome its current state of decline,,, But Democrat candidate Eric Adams’ wind power proposal is not that plan, and it’s with great respect and an open invite to sit down with the candidate, and any candidate of any party, to explain why. Mr. Adams noted Rhode Island’s wind farm as an example of a state committed to the technology. Let’s explore. The promises were great. The wind farm promised to cut 
electricity rates on Block Island by 40%. Rates have gone up, >click to read< New York state wants a green energy ‘superhighway.’ – Hydro-Québec says it can help New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo build a green energy “superhighway” from Canada to New York City. >click to read< 16:50
It’s Not Just Windmills – Nils Stolpe
Demand for undersea cables will only grow as more businesses rely on cloud computing services,,, “All of that data is going in the undersea cables.” I have known Captain Jim Lovgren for most of thirty years. I have worked with him on a number of issues,,, Based on this I have no compunctions about strongly recommending that you read the piece that he wrote and titled, “Its Time For A Fishing Industry Buy Out By Offshore Wind” And, unfortunately, I see the struggle that both recreational and commercial fishermen are facing with myriad huge windmills planned in our coastal waters as only the tip of the iceberg. >click to read, with links< 20:51
Lower and middle class Americans will pay for the Biden Administration offshore wind power “plan”
Last week, the Biden administration announced “a bold set of actions” that it said will “catalyze” the installation of 30,000 megawatts of new offshore wind capacity by 2030. A White House fact sheet claimed the offshore push will create “good-paying union jobs” and “strengthen the domestic supply chain.” One problem: It didn’t contain a single mention of electricity prices or ratepayers. The reason for the omission is obvious: President Biden’s offshore-wind scheme will be terrible for consumers. >click to read<,,, Offshore wind is a bad deal for the marine environment, ratepayers and taxpayers. Biden’s plan should be torpedoed before it leaves the harbor. 17:28
Coast Guard medevacs an injured fisherman 113 miles southeast of Cape Cod
The Coast Guard medevaced an injured fisherman 113 miles southeast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, Wednesday. At approximately 3:34 p.m., Coast Guard District One watchstanders received notification from a crewmember of the commercial fishing vessel Motivation, home-ported in Cape May, New Jersey, reporting a 50-year-old crewmember experiencing shortness of breath and a fever and requested assistance. video, >click to read<15:24
ITS TIME FOR A FISHING INDUSTRY BUY OUT BY OFFSHORE WIND
If Offshore wind farm companies want the commercial fishing industry to support the construction of massive wind farms on their long time historical fishing grounds, then those companies must offer a vessel buy out option to fishermen before they are put out of business by these same wind developers.,,, While the Biden administration is busy throwing billions of dollars to people who aren’t even citizens, how about throwing a few billion to the commercial fishermen that your green new deal is about to destroy. If multi national corporations are allowed to just prance right into our territorial waters and take them over from the local fishermen leaving them bankrupt and out of work, then the federal government ought to own up to the damage it is creating to the fishing industry and create a voluntary buy out program, jointly financed by them and of course the Windmill companies,,, >click to read< By Jim Lovgren 21:37
Fishermen, DMR: New North Atlantic Right Whale regulations could cripple lobster industry
The proposal, released in late December 2020, includes measures like regional gear marking, breakaway rope, extra traps per trawl line and restrictions on certain fishing areas. But it is the emphasis placed on ropeless fishing traps that has officials at the Maine Department of Marine Resources most concerned. In its Biological Opinion regarding right whales and the fishing industry, NMFS identifies ropeless fishing as a solution, among others, to reduce whale entanglements that cause death or serious injury. DMR argues that ropeless gear is largely under-researched and unaffordable. DMR used EdgeTech traps to estimate cost increases associated with converting to ropeless fishing,,, An EdgeTech fishing unit costs $3,750, >click to read< 19:36
Biden – Harris Admin announces major offshore wind farm plan, fantasize about job creation numbers
To help meet that target, the administration said it would accelerate permitting of projects off the Atlantic Coast and prepare to open up waters near New York and New Jersey for development. The administration also plans to offer $3 billion in federal loan guarantees for offshore wind projects and invest in upgrading the nation’s ports to support wind construction.,, Officials made a similar case on Monday, saying offshore wind deployment would create 44,000 new jobs directly in the offshore wind sector, such as building and installing turbines, as well as 33,000 new indirect jobs. Liars. >click to read< 17:42 Of course, the old Obama gang is here! “We are ready to rock and roll,” says OBiden climate adviser – To make this happen, Biden’s national climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, told reporters today in a press call that the administration would speed up the permitting process. while a crackpot Senator chimes in., >click to read<
Fishing industry unimpressed with Biden Harris’s NOAA/NMFS climate crisis notions. (Offshore Wind Farms, either!)
President Biden ordered NOAA to collect information from a wide range of groups on increasing the resilience of fisheries as part of his plan to address climate change and to protect 30% of U.S. ocean areas by the year 2030. The NOAA directive is included in the sweeping executive order Biden signed his first week in office that made “the climate crisis” a centerpiece of his presidency. “Fisheries, protected resources, habitats and ecosystem are being affected by climate change,” acting NOAA Fisheries chief Paul Doremus said at the beginning of yesterday’s conference call. >click to read< 07:55
Pile driving for constructing offshore wind turbine supports alters feeding behaviors of longfin squid
With the offshore wind industry expanding in the United States and elsewhere, a new study raises questions about how the noise from impact pile driving to install turbine supports can affect feeding behaviors of longfin squid, a commercially and ecologically important cephalopod.,, The study addressed short-term impacts to squid feeding behavior and noted that future research should look at longer exposures to noise and field work with 
free-swimming squid. In particular, the study found that rates of anti-predator behaviors were similar when subjected to recordings of piledriving whether the squid was hunting at the start of the noise, suggesting that the noise diverted squid attention from a feeding task toward predator defense. >click to read< 14:13
‘Irreversible losses’: Wildlife expert fears for North Sea habitat – The North Sea off Suffolk could be facing “irreversible wildlife losses” because of the impact on its environment of the growing number of windfarms. >click to read<
1,500 Wind Turbines. 2,700 Square Miles. Atlantic Offshore Wind Farms Will Be Big.
American offshore wind farms, (built of foreign components) of which there are 17 in the works for the Atlantic Ocean, are no longer far off on the horizon. Dire predictions of climate change and how to most quickly pivot to clean energy have fueled the embrace of offshore wind. And while most stakeholders seem on board with the nearly Eiffel Tower-sized turbines, the fishing industry remains a holdout. Meanwhile, the cumulative effect of so many turbines spread across the Mid-Atlantic Bight remains unknown. The bight stretches from the Outer Banks of North Carolina to the Gulf of Maine. video, notable quotes, >click to read< 10:50
I liked Mayor Passero’s State Pier comments before he signed a gag order
I am sorry to say that not only did New London Mayor Michael Passero sell out the other victims of Gov. Ned Lamont’s $200 million remake of State Pier from road salt contractors and longshoremen to local fishermen when he signed a deal with the rich utilities that will profit from the project. But he settled cheaply. We all know that Eversource has legions of Connecticut politicians in its back pocket. I assume the utilities have prepared a T-shirt for Mayor Passero, with a big “E” for Eversource on the front and an “O” for Orsted on the back, and he might be expected to wear it whenever they call a news conference, jerk on his leash and demand a performance, as they are enabled to do by the host community agreement. >click to read< 09:53
A Chesapeake blue crab turned up on Dollymount Strand in Ireland
While the crab is not much to look at in terms of alien invaders, the National Biodiversity Data Centre has warned it is larger and more competitive than native crabs, and the female can lay up to six million eggs a year. Once in competition with the smaller Irish native crabs the American version – also known as the American blue crab, would be likely to take over, scientists fear. The appearance of the crab on Dollymount strand, where it was photographed last month by Ruth McManus, is the first recorded appearance of the crab on these shores. How it got here is a bit of a mystery, the centre says it hopes the “Dollymount One” is something of a one-off. >click to read< 15:40
Offshore wind farms will damage New Jersey’s economies and ruin it’s ocean views
The hundreds of wind turbines due to be built up to 20 miles off New Jersey in the next five years or so will spoil ocean views, undermine local economies and hurt wildlife while boosting the profits of overseas developers, critics say. These opponents reject claims by wind farm builders and their enthusiastic supporters, including Gov. Phil Murphy, that the clusters of turbines are emissions-free. The manufacture and maintenance of the massive steel structures will require huge amounts of fossil fuel-powered energy,,, Jim Donofrio, executive director of the nonprofit Recreational Fishing Alliance, rejected Murphy’s argument that offshore wind is good for the environment, the economy and the future. >click to read< 08:33
Public comments of residents and officials reiterate concerns about Ocean Wind offshore wind farm off Atlantic City
Rick Robinson likens the idea of building up to 98 wind turbines on the ocean horizon to placing them on the rim of the Grand Canyon.,,, Saying offshore wind farms will “forever reshape our Eastern Seaboard,” U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-2nd, joined representatives of the fishing industry and tourism interests in asking for changes in the way wind farms are approved. “I have spoken with many fishermen, and they continue to feel disenfranchised in this process by both their government and the corporations that now own their established fishing grounds,” >click to read< 11:26
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