Category Archives: Mid Atlantic
Evermore competition
“We always overestimate the change that will occur in the next two years and underestimate the change that will occur in the next ten.” Microsoft founder Bill Gates. Salmon farming is now well into that next 10, and if you’re an Alaska commercial fishermen or resident of an Alaska community still dependent on commercial fishing, you ought to be worried. Why? Because stories like this have become an almost weekly occurrence: “Norwegian company secures financing for industrial-scale salmon farm in rural Nevada.”, or in (Belfast, Me, Humboldt County, Ca., Maryland’s Eastern Shore,,, >click to read< 14:25
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 57′ Fiberglass Scalloper, Cummins 855, Northern Lights 12 KW Genset
To review specifications, and information, and 26 photos >click here<, Vessel is in good condition. Vessel has had extensive work done in past 2 years. There is a Federal LAGC Scallop Permit available for an additional $80,000. To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 13:26
‘Forever chemicals’ found in Chesapeake seafood and Maryland drinking water
More testing has found so-called “forever chemicals” in a striped bass, blue crab and oyster from the Chesapeake Bay,,, Eleven different PFAS compounds were also detected in tap water sampled from three homes in Montgomery County,,, PFAS are a group of more than 8,000 chemical compounds used in nonstick cookware, flame retardants, water-repellant and stain-resistant clothing and furniture, as well as in fire-fighting foams used at airports and military bases. They do not break down in the environment. They also spread easily through water and can build up in animals or organisms that ingest them, including people. >click to read< 18:04
From the sea floor to the courtroom, the fight to save right whales
The North Atlantic right whale is one of the most endangered species on the planet. Scientists announced last month that there are only about 360 of the animals left, down roughly 50 from the previous year’s survey. They live along the East Coast, from northern Florida to Canada, where the 50-foot-long, 140,000-pound leviathans must navigate through millions of commercial fishing lines primarily, lobster traps, and one of the world’s most crowded shipping channels. Too often they become tangled in those lines, or are struck by a ship, (Ships, A LOT of ships). The fight to save them, led by biologists and conservation groups, has grown urgent — in the water and in the courts. >click to read< 11:28
Offshore Wind Farm Threatens Tangier Family’s Conch Fishing Livelihood
A small group of Tangier watermen find themselves competing with Virginia’s biggest power company, Dominion Energy, for natural resources in an area just outside the Chesapeake Bay 27 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. Dominion Energy is using a 2,135-acre site in federal waters – leased by the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy – for its recently launched Coastal Virginia Offshore Wind Project, a two-turbine, offshore wind test site. >click to read< 15:18
NOAA Fisheries Approves Electronic Reporting Requirements for Mid-Atlantic and New England Commercial Vessels
NOAA Fisheries has approved a recommendation from the Mid-Atlantic and New England Fishery Management Councils to require federally permitted commercial fishing vessels to submit vessel trip reports electronically as eVTRs within 48 hours of the end of a trip. This requirement will take effect November 10, 2021. This action affects all commercial vessels holding federal permits for any species managed by the Mid-Atlantic or New England Fishery Management Councils, >click to read< 14:59
William Edwin Cain Jr., has passed away
William Edwin Cain Jr., born March 26, 1940, passed away at his home on Nov. 6th, 2020. He was 80. Mr. Cain’s parents, during his childhood moved the family from Marshallton, DE to Walnut Street in Rock Hall, MD, where his dad, William Cain Sr. started a small Seafood Business (Cain’s Seafood). It’s there, that he learned the Bay, becoming a waterman. Billy, as everyone knew him, had a love of the Bay and wanted all the nautical teachings he could learn. Mentored by the late Calvin Kendall, a waterman icon himself, he taught Young Billy all he could of the Bay and how to harvest it. Billy purchased his pride; the Sea Lady. Over the years Billy built many friendships,,, >click to read< 09:40
Coast Guard suspends search for commercial fisherman who went overboard off Montauk
The Coast Guard suspended the search Sunday afternoon for a missing fisherman who went overboard 16 nautical miles south of Montauk Point, New York, Saturday. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound watchstanders received the initial radio distress call via VHF Channel 16 at 11:20 p.m. from the commercial fishing vessel F/V Hope and Sydney, reporting that crew member Carl Whitney, 32, had gone overboard. The individual was reported wearing an orange t-shirt, jeans and carrying a green duffle bag. He was not wearing a personal floatation device. >click to read< 16:46
Coast Guard searches for missing fisherman off Montauk, N.Y
NEW YORK – The Coast Guard is searching for a missing fisherman who went overboard 16 nautical miles south of Montauk Point, New York, Saturday. Coast Guard Sector Long Island Sound watchstanders received a radio distress call via VHF Channel 16 at 11:20 p.m. from the commercial fishing vessel Hope and Sydney, reporting that crew member Carl Whitney, 32, had gone overboard. The individual was reported wearing an orange t-shirt, jeans and carrying a green duffle bag. He was not wearing a personal floatation device. >click to read< -USCG- 09:25
Varied New Jersey Fishing Businesses May Apply for Grant for 35 Percent Loss in 2020
Since the pandemic began, fishing revenue in New Jersey is down about 35 percent, according to the N.J. Department of Environmental Protection. Viking Village commercial dock General Manager Ernie Panacek said, “All the commercial entities will be awarded something … it depends on each individual case” and may not be “a lot,” he said. “We deferred some (fishing) trips away from March and April because of the business slowdown. I kept everybody working here, but we lost revenue because we lost trips and limited the trips, made them smaller.” Fortunately, there are always consumers attracted to a quality product. If they weren’t able to get it inside a restaurant, a number of consumers bought it anyway. >click to read< 13:04
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 66’x18′ Wood Dragger with Longfin Squid Tier 1 permit, additional permits
To review specifications, and information, and 3 photos >click here<, To see all the boats in this series, >click here<11:53
Opening day is a no show for scallops and baymen
Shelter Island’s town dock was deserted, not what you expect on opening day for bay scallop fishing. A few minutes later, bayman John Kotula arrived, but not to go scalloping. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” Kotula said, ignoring a stiff wind and soul-sapping 39 degrees.,, Keith and Louise Clark of Shelter Island renewed the license for the scallop-processing facility in their basement, an act that was equal parts stubbornness and ungrounded optimism. The death of the adult bay scallops in 2019 was shocking, but hope truly eroded in August of this year when researchers and baymen documented a second mass mortality. >click to read< 07:57
One day into the new season, and there are few if any adult scallops – For Ms. Phillips and her husband, Mark, a commercial fisherman who seems to work around the clock all year long, their family-owned seafood business on the creek in Greenport diversified long ago to help them weather situations like this year’s scallop crop. “But this lack of scallops will really hurt so many people who each year depend on them for their income.” >click to read<
Commercial fisherman Michael Foy free from British Virgin Islands jail after plea deal
After a five-month ordeal in which he was imprisoned in British Virgin Islands, Stafford fisherman Michael Foy accepted a plea deal Friday and is free to go, aside from paying a $4,000 fine. Foy, 60, was arrested June 8 by British Virgin Islands custom officials and charged with illegal entry for violating the islands’ COVID-19 curfew. He was subsequently charged with unregistered and unlicensed fishing, and failure to arrive at a customs port. “The goal all along was to bring Michael (Foy) home. This was an acceptable decision for all parties. He can start putting this whole ordeal behind him,” >click to read< 08:50
Statement from the Director of Public Prosecution On the Case Commissioner of Police v Michael Foy – We wish to inform the public that Defendant Michael Foy changed his plea before the Magistrate’s Court on 28th October, 2020. To provide some background, on 8th June, 2020, the Defendant Mr. Micheal Foy was apprehended in Territorial waters off of Norman Island by Her Majesty’s Customs.,, >click to read< 11/4/20 14:32
Elected Officials Hear Concerns From Watermen
Elected officials assured commercial watermen they heard their concerns at a meeting last week. On Oct. 16, Congressman Andy Harris joined Sen. Mary Beth Carozza and Delegate Wayne Hartman to meet with commercial fishermen at the West Ocean City Commercial Harbor. Harris offered support as they pursue changes to ensure local watermen can continue to earn a living. “You just tell us when and to whom we have to make the case,” Harris said. Harris joined Carozza and Hartman at Sea Born Seafood last Friday to talk about issues facing local fishermen. Sonny Gwin, who operates the Skilligallee, stressed the importance of maintaining local boats’ ability to fish for black sea bass. Watermen also asked Harris to work toward increasing limits on red crabs. >click to read< 12:20
Scores more wind turbines proposed for Long Island’s South Shore
Scores more 600-foot tall wind turbines would be built off Jones Beach under a new proposal. Norwegian energy conglomerate Equinor has bid to create another 2,500 megawatts of offshore wind power for New York state and Long Island with two projects. One, which would connect to the local electric grid in Nassau County, would more than double the number of turbines off Long Island to some 200. A second would be built around 50 miles from Montauk Point and connect to the state grid in Queens. The plan would also include conducting assembly work in Brooklyn. >click to read< 10:42
The CARES Act: Lengthy Process, Little to Show for Connecticut Fisheries
Nearly seven months after the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act was signed into law, eligible fisheries and related businesses can apply for $1.8 million in economic aid through the CARES Assistance to Fishery Participants (CAAFP) program. Connecticut is part of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC), which also includes Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida. From the $300 million, 31 entities received funding. Connecticut’s allocation was $1.8 million, the 9th lowest on the list. Rhode Island received $3.3 million,,, >click to read< 09:58
Fisherman charged in 2018 scallop boat slaying ruled mentally incompetent
A Newport News man charged with killing a fellow fisherman two years ago on a scallop boat off the coast of Massachusetts has been declared mentally incompetent to stand trial. Franklin Meave faces life in prison on a federal charge of killing Javier Rangel Sosa, 54, a well-liked fisherman,, On Sept. 18, 2018, the Captain Billy Haver, an 83-foot fishing boat, left its York County dock with a crew of seven to dredge scallops off the Massachusetts coast. Sosa was the boat’s chief mate; Meave was a hired hand. Five days later,,, “Mayday, mayday, mayday,” the boat’s captain said,, “We have a man gone crazy here on the boat, man,” he said when the Coast Guard responded. “One man, I don’t know if he’s dead or what. But one of the crew members went crazy, and he started hitting people in the head with a hammer. >click to read< 14:50, Six articles, starting in September 24, 2018, >click to read<
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 82′ Raised Foc’sle Steel Stern Trawler with Federal, State Permits
To review specifications, and information, >click here< To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 12:04
Collins and several colleagues call on NOAA to resume ‘usual operational tempo’
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) should get back to its regular schedule of conducting fisheries research surveys, which have been cancelled since May due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to U.S. Sen. Susan Collins and several colleagues. Additionally, NOAA should identify and resolve any challenges created by the pandemic that prevented this year’s surveys to ensure surveys are safely conducted in 2021, the lawmakers wrote in a Sept. 30 letter sent to Dr. Neil Jacobs, acting administrator at NOAA. Among the members who joined Sen. Collins in signing the letter were U.S. Sens. Richard Burr (R-NC), Roger Wicker (R-MS), and Doug Jones (D-AL). >click to read< 09:00
New York’s restaurants and seafood need help from Congress
Each summer in the Bronx, the New Fulton Fish Market teems with fresh seafood harvested by U.S. fishermen in the waters off New England and the Mid-Atlantic. Fishermen land New York’s famous oysters, lobster, Montauk Sea Bream, and countless other offerings that quickly make their way to restaurants like Grand Banks. In New York and New Jersey alone, the commercial fishing industry is valued at $11 billion. When you consider the additional $17 billion market size for the restaurant industry, the value of these two industries is staggering. They fuel our coastal economy, employ thousands, and are significant economic drivers. >click to read< 16:10
The true cost of wind power is staggering, and despite wild claims to the contrary, is becoming more even expensive, not less.
Dr John Constable and Gordon Hughes have done what the mainstream media have never done and what renewable energy rent seekers would rather they didn’t: they’ve opened the books of account to show that where the true cost of onshore wind and solar is staggering, the cost of offshore wind power is out of this world. The dramatically falling costs of renewables are now a political, a media, and conversational cliché. However, the claim is demonstrably false. Audited accounts show that far from getting cheaper, wind power is actually becoming more expensive. Politicians and journalists would be certain about the matter. >click to read< 08:46
Commercial Fisherman Captain Michael Foy still jailed in British Virgin Islands after two charges dismissed
The Magistrates Court in the British Virgin Islands dismissed the illegal fishing charges against Stafford fisherman Michael Foy, according to his family and attorneys. The court did not dismiss the illegal entry charge and he’s scheduled to stand trial on that charge Oct. 27.,, “It’s definitely a small win on the charges and a big win on the monetary fines. The illegal entry carries a small fine and up to a year in prison, so we definitely want to win that one,” said Kimberly Kelly, Foy’s sister. “I’m just really praying they release him on bail. It will be a lot easier for all of us to prepare during the next 18 days if he were out of prison.” >click to read< 17:16
To fight climate change, should we mine the deep sea?
Ancient rocks lie across vast fields miles below the surface of the Pacific Ocean. Far from people, but not entirely out of reach, they contain metals such as cobalt, used in batteries for technology like electric cars. They are numerous, about the size of meatballs or potatoes, and formed over millions of years. These stones may hold a key to fighting climate change, according to a contingent of entrepreneurs who want to mine them. To wean the world off fossil fuels that worsen global warming, scientists say, will require a lot of batteries. Opponents argue that rushing into deep-sea mining risks destroying a pristine wilderness,,, Skeptics of the industry believe it is better to focus on improving mining conditions on land. >click to read< 17:25
Real Estate Rent Seekers Furious: Trump Sinks USA’s Offshore Wind Industry
Never a fan of the wind industry, Donald Trump has just destroyed its prospects all along America’s Atlantic coast. Trump’s ban on offshore drilling for oil and gas, has the altogether brilliant side-effect of preventing any more offshore wind turbines from cluttering up the coastlines of several states from Florida to North Carolina, with his sights set on Virginia, as well. Trump’s ban on oil and gas extraction offshore will have little effect on America’s oil and gas sector. America’s shale oil and gas revolution, which has turned the USA into a net oil and gas exporter, is an exclusively onshore affair. But, as to be expected, the effect on its wind industry has sent rent seekers into apoplexy. >click to read< 10:37
Commercial Fisherman, Farmer, Joseph Michael Kelly has passed away
Mr. Joseph Kelly, 59, of Parksley, passed away on Tuesday, September 29th. Mr. Kelly was born to Thomas and Teresa Kelly on Long Island, and he grew up in Orient, New York, graduating from Greenport High School in 1978. He attended college in Farmville, VA and after a brief period in Long Island, he moved to Parksley, VA, and spent his career working both as a commercial fisherman and a farmer. He was particularly proud of his fishing boat “Toots”, which he used for both for fishing and long-line lobstering in the waters off the east coast of Virginia. Mr. Kelly was a dedicated husband, father, and grandfather. >click to read< 07:58
Trump’s Offshore Oil Ban includes a halt to Offshore Wind Farms
President Donald Trump’s decision to rule out energy development along the coasts of Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas will bar not just offshore oil and gas drilling — but coastal wind farms too. The broad reach of Trump’s recent orders, which was confirmed by the Interior Department agency that oversees offshore energy development, comes as renewable developers are spending hundreds of millions of dollars snapping up the rights to build wind farms along the U.S. East Coast.,, The approach is being condemned by both oil drilling and wind energy advocates. Blow me. >click to read< 09:13
Vineyard Wind project has opposition, with considerable opposition among conservationists
I read with great interest “The power of wind” point of view (Sept. 21) by Allie McCandless. The writer enthusiastically defends the Vineyard Wind Project as one that will launch Massachusetts “into a clean future.” In fact, the Vineyard Wind project has raised considerable opposition among conservationists. The 84 projected wind turbines would install two 220,000-volt alternative current submarine cables, seriously disturbing the underwater ecosystem and the fishing industry by generating heat, noise and possibly disturbing the electromagnetic field.,, There is a powerful lobby behind the wind turbine industry. There is also a growing worldwide conservation movement that has taken stock of the issues caused by already installed wind,,, By Marie Huet, >click to read< 15:46
Senators Introduce Legislation to Establish Offshore Aquaculture Standards
Senators Wicker-R, Schatz -D and Rubio -R introduced legislation, the Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act (S. 4723) in the U.S. Senate. The bipartisan AQUAA Act, which has companion legislation in the U.S. House, would support development of an offshore aquaculture industry in the U.S. to increase the production of sustainable seafood and establish new economic opportunities in federal waters. >click to read< 13:43
First Nations, commercial fishermen demands end to B.C. salmon farms – A broad coalition of First Nations leaders, wilderness tourism operators, environmental NGOs and commercial and sport fishing organizations gathered in North Vancouver Sept. 22 demanding the federal government fulfill recommendations of the Cohen Commission to immediately remove open-net salmon farms from the Discovery Islands, and abolish all others from BC waters by 2025. >click to read<
Hot Air And The Offshore Wind Industry – Claims it will invigorate these state economies are thin gruel
Seven Atlantic Coast states—Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Virginia have enacted mandates to subsidize the development of thousands of megawatts of offshore wind turbines. In addition to making bold claims about environmental benefits, proponents promise the mandates will create new offshore wind manufacturing and service industries that will create jobs, and lots of them, along the eastern seaboard.,, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority claims that developing 2,400 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind will create 5,000 new jobs and $6.3 billion in infrastructure spending. Similar claims of economic grandeur have been made in New Jersey and Virginia. Not to be outdone, the American Wind Energy Association claims the offshore wind industry will create between 45,000 and 83,000 new jobs by 2030. >click to read< 12:05
As Wind Farm Proceeds, So Does Pushback – Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource Energy, which are developing the proposed South Fork Wind farm, filed a joint proposal with the New York State Public Service Commission,, Commercial fishermen are almost universally opposed to the wind farm, fearing an impact on their livelihood, >click to read< 13:47
BETA expected to stall inland over Texas – Teddy to bring heavy rain, strong winds, destructive waves to Nova Scotia
Tropical Storm Beta is forecast to weaken and gradually lose tropical characteristics while spreading flooding rains further inland across the lower Mississippi Valley… >click to read< ,, Hurricane Teddy Public Advisory – Interests in Atlantic Canada should closely monitor the progress of Teddy. >click to read<
Hurricane Teddy’s impact on Massachusetts: Coastal flooding, large breaking waves as high as 24 feet and winds as strong as 55 mph in the forecast >click to read< 09:09
