Category Archives: Mid Atlantic
Court rejects fishermen’s challenge to Equinor’s Empire Wind
A D.C. district court rejected an attempt by commercial fishing groups to block a wind project off the coast of New York on Sunday, siding with developer Equinor ASA and the Interior Department. The Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF), which represents scallop fishermen who work off the Atlantic coast, claimed that the Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) had violated two federal laws when it awarded Equinor, formerly Statoil, the $42 million rights to assess potential for wind turbines in a 127-square-mile block in 2016.,, The agency issued the lease without considering the interests of fishermen within that area, said the FSF, joined by several local seafood and fishing associations and three towns in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and New Jersey. >click to read<11:40
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting in Cape May, October 1-4, 2018
The public is invited to attend the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s meeting to be held October 1-4, 2018 The meeting will be held at the Congress Hall, 200 Congress Place Cape May, NJ. Briefing Materials & Agenda Overview Agenda >click here< Attend Meeting with Adobe Connect >click here< Listen Live!18:33
Seafood Processor Pleads Guilty to Massive Crab Meat Switcheroo
A Virginia seafood processor has pleaded guilty to falsely labeling millions of dollars worth of foreign crab meat as a “product of the USA,” the Justice Department announced Wednesday. James Casey, owner and president of Casey’s Seafood Inc., entered his plea in federal court in Newport News, Virginia. Prosecutors said he admitted conspiring with others to substitute foreign crab meat for Atlantic blue crab and, as part of the plea, admitted to falsely labeling more than 183 tons of crab meat, which was then sold to grocery stores and independent retailers.>click to read<17:35
Atlantic herring quotas may be cut again
Later this month, fisheries regulators will decide whether to adopt a new set of regulations, known as Amendment 8, that could include restricting fishing areas for the herring and could, for the first time, account for the fish’s place in the larger ecosystem. The New England Fishery Management Council’s Atlantic herring committee will meet next week to vote on a recommendation to the full council, which meets the following week. Consideration of the new management system, and the restrictions it would bring, follows the announcement in August that next year’s quota for Atlantic herring had been cut by 55 percent from its original level. >click to read<16:06
Waterman charged with 600+ fishing, boating violations in Delaware City area
DNREC Fish & Wildlife Natural Resources Police arrested a commercial waterman from Sussex County on Thursday for more than 600 shellfish and boating violations near Delaware City.
Shawn P. Moore, 40, of Georgetown, was charged with 322 counts of failure to tend commercial crab pots within 72 hours; 171 counts of improperly-marked commercial crab pot license number on buoy; 121 counts of over-the-limit commercial crab pots; two counts of crabbing from a vessel not displaying a proper color panel; >click to read<08:20
Ocean acidification may reduce sea scallop fisheries
Each year, fishermen harvest more than $500 million worth of Atlantic sea scallops from the waters off the east coast of the United States. A new model created by scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), however, predicts that those fisheries may potentially be in danger. As levels of carbon dioxide increase in the Earth’s atmosphere, the upper oceans become increasingly acidic—a condition that could reduce the sea scallop population by more than 50% in the next 30 to 80 years, under a worst-case scenario. Strong fisheries management and efforts to reduce CO2 emissions, however, might slow or even stop that trend. >click to read<16:26
Offshore wind energy: fishermen ask for relief
Offshore windmills may be the future of energy here, but they’re presently a source of agitation to commercial fishermen. A vocal group of them, who aren’t necessarily opposed to windmills but just the placement of them on or near fishing grounds, which if you ask them is anywhere the water is salt, gave the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management their two cents at a public meeting Thursday. “All of these areas are prime scallop grounds. We’re not going to take any of this lying down,” said Arthur Osche, a member of the Point Pleasant Fishermen’s Dock Co-operative. Osche was referring to fishing grounds in Hudson North and Hudson South, two designated wind farm lease sites that start about 17 miles east of the coastline here. Fellow co-operative dock member Jim Lovgren said if their access to the grounds is restricted then they should be paid for the economic loss. “Mark off the area and then compensate us,” said Lovgren. >click to read<
Long Island turbine siting – ‘You’re impacting the whole resource’
Fishermen and city officials raised the alarm Tuesday about potential wind turbines in prime fishing and scalloping grounds south of Long Island. About 55 people attended a meeting with the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management to discuss the agency’s evaluation of possible offshore wind locations within a 2,300-square-mile portion of the New York Bight, between Long Island and New Jersey. Scalloper Eric Hansen said 40 to 50 percent of the scalloping grounds fished by New Bedford scallopers is within the area the federal government is considering leasing to wind developers, and if fishing there becomes dangerous, people will fish harder in the remaining places. “You’re impacting the whole resource,” he said. >click to read<13:35
Twenty-Five Foot Basking Shark Led to Fishing Vessel Capsize
The U.S. National Transportation Safety Board has released an investigation report into the sinking of the commercial fishing vessel Langley Douglas in September 2017, noting the presence of a 25-foot basking shark in the catch and the captain’s subsequent decision making. The 79-foot-long, 143-gross ton vessel developed a port list, capsized and subsequently sank 60 miles east of Cape Charles, Virginia. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescued the five people on board. No injuries or pollution were reported. The Langley Douglas was valued at $1.95 million.,, At 0910 on September 11, 2017, the captain ordered the crew to haul in the net and prepare the main deck and hog pen area. The crew also placed scupper plates in front of the port and starboard freeing ports to prevent catch from going overboard. The captain told investigators that he remembered seeing the cod-end sensor flashing, >click to read<23:26
New York’s Whales Love Bunker. So Do Fishing Boats. Conflict Ensues.
It has been a bountiful summer for bunker in the waters off New York, and for local whale spotters. Bunker, a favorite food of many larger predators, including whales, are enjoying another year in a decade-long recovery.,,, On Aug. 30, a boat from Omega Protein lowered a net nearly six city blocks long into the water, about 25 miles southeast of the Rockaways, and pulled up about 800,000 pounds of bunker, also known as menhaden. On Sept. 6, Omega returned to the vicinity and hauled out nearly 2 million pounds more. Tom Paladino, a former charter fishing boat captain who started running whale watches from the American Princess in 2010 as local whale sightings began to grow, did not mince words. “We have a major issue with a fishing fleet coming in and taking all the food from the whales,” he told his passengers. Omega says it is doing nothing of the sort and is removing only a tiny fraction of the local menhaden that its spotter pilots have estimated to be in the tens of millions. “The best science shows that this is a completely sustainable fishery and the whale diet is not being impacted at all,” said an Omega spokesman, Ben Landry. > click to read<11:51
Rain, floods, tornadoes hit Carolinas as Hurricane Florence makes landfall
The Carolina coast saw major storm surges, strong winds and fierce rain early Friday as Hurricane Florence arrived on land at Category 1 strength. The center of the storm arrived about 7:15 a.m. EDT near Wrightsville Beach, N.C., close to the South Carolina border, the National Hurricane Center said in an advisory update. Meteorological models project up to 40 inches of rain for parts of North and South Carolina through Sunday before the hurricane disperses. >click to read<09:00
For Chesapeake watermen, storm is another challenge in a tough year
Pasadena waterman C.J. Canby and his crew of three pulled up their crab pots early Wednesday and for the most part found a healthy catch. “Oh boy,” Canby exclaimed as they hoisted one of the wire cages out of the Chesapeake Bay near the mouth of the Patapsco River. “That’s a $100-a-dozen crab.” It measured 8¼ inches across. Every so often, a trap came up empty. Canby assumes it’s because recent rain, wind and waves knocked the crab pot on its side, preventing crustaceans from sidestepping their way inside. Ahead of Hurricane Florence, he’s working to put more of his pots in deeper waters and on muddy terrain, where they’re less likely to be disturbed. >click to read<19:21
NWS National Hurricane Center – Hurricane Florence Advisory Update 200 PM EDT
Hurricane Florence Intermediate Advisory – NWS National Hurricane Center Miami FL LOCATION…33.6N 76.0W ABOUT 110 MI…180 KM ESE OF WILMINGTON NORTH CAROLINA, ABOUT 165 MI…270 KM E OF MYRTLE BEACH SOUTH CAROLINA, MAXIMUM SUSTAINED WINDS…105 MPH…165 KM/H, PRESENT MOVEMENT…NW OR 315 DEGREES AT 10 MPH…17 KM/H MINIMUM CENTRAL PRESSURE…955 MB…28.20 INCHES >click to read<14:13
New York’s offshore wind plan faces commercial fishing opposition – $1 billion boat-to-plate industry at stake
The plan to turn ocean wind into energy calls for anchoring 15 wind turbines, each one a little taller than the Washington Monument, into the sea floor more than 30 miles off the coast of Montauk, Long Island.,,, And that’s right smack in the middle of where Chris Scola makes his living. Several days a week, Scola motors his rusting trawler – the Rock-n-Roll III — into the waters off Montauk’s coast, drops a dredging net onto the ocean floor and scoops up hundreds of pounds of scallops. Once those cables go in, Scola fears his nets will get entangled, making dredging so difficult he’ll need to find a place to fish further offshore with a larger boat, sending himself deeper into debt. >click to read<08:34
NWS National Hurricane Center – Hurricane Florence Advisory Update
At 500 PM, the center of the eye of Hurricane Florence was located by satellite near latitude 27.5 North, longitude 67.1 West. Florence is moving toward the west-northwest near 17 mph (28 km/h). A motion toward the west-northwest and northwest is expected through early Thursday. Florence is expected to slow down considerably by late Thursday into Friday.,,, Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 140 mph (220 km/h) with higher gusts. Florence is a category 4 hurricane,,, Hurricane-force winds extend outward up to 60 miles (95 km) from the center and tropical-storm-force winds extend outward up to 175 miles (280 km). >click to read<17:23
On the water with bayman Sawyer Clark
When Sawyer Clark turned 16, he bought a boat and went into the family business: fishing. In the four years since, he has graduated from high school, given college a try and returned to the profession he was born for, despite having a pretty good idea of how dangerous and unpredictable the life of a bayman is. “I tried to stay out, but I fell in love with it,” he said. The Clark family has been fishing on the East End for so long, Clark’s great-great-grandfather took scallops in Peconic Bay with a sailboat before motors were used. >click to read<09:38
National Hurricane Center: Hurricane Florence Public Advisory
At 500 AM AST (0900 UTC), the center of Hurricane Florence was located near latitude 24.9 North, longitude 58.9 West. Florence is moving toward the west-northwest near 9 mph (15 km/h). A west-northwestward motion with an increase in forward speed is expected during the next couple of days. A turn toward the northwest is forecast to occur Wednesday night or Thursday. On the
forecast track, the center of Florence will move over the southwestern Atlantic Ocean between Bermuda and the Bahamas Tuesday and Wednesday, and approach the southeastern coast of the United States on Thursday. >click to read<09:17
South Fork Wind Farm : Plea to fund fishing survey has still not been granted
Several months after they asked East Hampton Town for $30,000 to collect data aimed at protecting fishing grounds and compensating commercial fishermen when they are unable to work, that request has still not been granted, the director of the Long Island Commercial Fishing Association and the liaison chosen by East Hampton Town’s fisheries advisory committee to communicate with Deepwater Wind complained to the town board on Tuesday. While the liaison, Julie Evans, and Bonnie Brady of the fishing association addressed the board, Deepwater Wind, the Rhode Island company planning to construct the 15-turbine South Fork Wind Farm approximately 30 miles off Montauk, is in the midst of a projected four-month survey at the site and along the transmission cable’s route to shore. >click to read<09:04
Capt. Mark Phillips and the Illusion, the last of its kind
‘It’s not fish you’re buying – it’s men’s lives.’’ – Sir Walter Scott. The Predator sits dockside in Greenport, behind Alice’s Fish Market, a rusting hulk of a fishing trawler, 75 feet long and with no certain future to speak of. It is Mark Phillips’ boat, but he is away most days trolling offshore for squid in his other trawler, the Illusion. “It is not going to sea anytime soon,” Phillips said by cellphone, an edge of weary disgust in his voice. “The Predator’s days have come and gone.” The Illusion was dragging for squid near Nantucket on a hot day in mid-July. Phillips had started that week near Jones Inlet on western Long Island, but the ocean had heated up and the squid, which don’t like warm water, were scarce, so he moved the Illusion farther east in pursuit of success. >click to read<09:41
Jimmy’s Seafood Responds To PETA With Its Own Billboard – “I wasn’t going to take it lying down.”
Jimmy’s Famous Seafood is pinching back at PETA with its own crabby billboard. It reads, “SteaMEd crabs. Here to stay. Get famous.” and E in “SteaMEd” are to highlight the word “Me” in response to PETA’s billboard posted up near several downtown Baltimore seafood restaurants in August. PETA’s billboards read, “I’m me, not meat. See the individual. Go vegan.” “My father always told me when someone punches you, just make sure you punch them back even harder. I wasn’t going to take it lying down. I wasn’t worried about offending anybody. I was just worried about opening my doors the next morning,” Jimmy’s Famous Seafood CEO John Minadakis said. >click to read<21:59
Local waterman offers crabbing, fishing trips
Although it’s been several years since he last taught at Cambridge-South Dorchester High School, local waterman Fred Pomeroy has never left the classroom. Today, Captain Fred, the owner-operator of Stoney Cove Charters, takes visiting families on the Little Choptank River and teaches them how to dip for crabs on a commercial-length trotline. Along the way, they learn river navigation, the life cycle of a crab and receive a history lesson on Chesapeake Bay watermen. >click to read<11:47
New York Activists Make False Accusations Against Menhaden Fishermen
Gotham Whale of Staten Island, New York and Menhaden Defenders posted material on Facebook suggesting that legal, regulated fishing of menhaden in federal waters off New York and New Jersey would leave marine mammals such as humpback whales and dolphins with nothing to eat, resulting in the whales moving to other waters. The two posts specifically cited normal fishing activity by Omega Protein Corporation vessels. A blog post by a photographer, linked to by Gotham Whale, falsely accused the fishermen of marine mammal interactions. >click to read<12:58
Have bluefish changed their habits?
What is causing them to change their behavior is puzzling fishermen and federal fishery managers who appear to have hit a wall trying to figure out the best way to utilize the fish. By all indications the numbers of bluefish up and down the East Coast are not scarce, they’re just not where they’re expected to be. “There’s an abundance of them. They’re just 80 to 100 miles offshore where the longliners can’t keep them off the hook,” said Captain Lenny Elich, who runs the Miss Barnegat Light party boat. The two federal regional bodies that manage bluefish want to revise the allocation of bluefish between commercial and recreational fisheries by taking as much as 4 million pounds from the recreational harvest and giving it to commercial fishermen. >click to read<14:26
New York’s RE Debacle Deepens: Offshore Wind Power All-at-Sea Without Massive Subsidies
Where the cost of onshore wind power is staggering, the cost of offshore wind power is astronomical. Of course, in either case, in the absence of massive and perpetual subsidies, there would never have been a single turbine constructed on land or at sea, ever, period. New York State’ Governor, Andrew Cuomo is just the latest in a long line of politicians in bed with crony capitalists the wind and solar ‘industries’. His obsession with wind power is sending New York’s power prices into orbit. And his plan to spear thousands of turbines off the New Jersey coast has incensed local fishermen who are literally told developers to get f*%#@d: Deepwater in Deep Trouble: Fishermen Tell Off-Shore Wind Farm Developers to F@*#K Off. >click to read<07:50
Life on the Bays – Stories of beauty and heartache
Once numbering in the thousands, independent baymen have worked in the public waters off Long Island for centuries. Now these clammers and fishermen, many in their 60s or 70s, go mostly unnoticed. So do their daily struggles. Whether in Peconic Bay, Hempstead Bay, The Great South Bay, or others, the baymen share common pains: declining clam and fish populations, lack of affordable docking, increased regulations and catch limits. They cite pollution, fertilizers, global warming and governmental disinterest as culprits. Of course, there is also the literal pain they endure from the repetitive physical stress of their jobs. And then there’s Oyster Bay. 40 minute video, >click to read<10:55
‘OC Shark Hunter’ arrested for unauthorized shark fishing off Assateague
A Wicomico County man who went by “OCSharkHunter” on social media was charged Sunday with guiding fishing trips without a license, according to Maryland Natural Resources Police. Nicholas Ager, 43, of Willards was arrested and charged after a two-month investigation of complaints about offers of paid shark fishing excursions on Assateague Island, Natural Resources Police said in a release. >click to read<16:08
PETA is coming after Baltimore’s beloved crab
The animal rights group selected the local crustacean as the mascot for its latest pro-vegan campaign. A billboard in Baltimore pictures a crab with the words, “I’m me, not meat. See the individual. Go vegan.” Danielle Ohl, a reporter for the Capital Gazette, tweeted a picture of the billboard Thursday, and it set off some strong reactions. Locals took to Twitter to share their reactions to the billboard that was erected yesterday on the corner of East Baltimore Street near the Shot Tower. Jimmy’s Famous Seafood chimed in, too. “I thought it was fake, honestly,” said Tony Minadakis, owner of the restaurant. “I was shocked. It was pretty tone-deaf.”>click to read<08:58
Hermaphrodite Crab Spotted Near Deal Island
A rare catch in the Tangier Sound left many watermen puzzled. The strange crab seemed to display both male and female characteristics. It’s almost as if you drew a line down the middle, the right side of the crab female– the left, male. A group of watermen discovered the hermaphrodite crab Monday morning. Tom Wheatley was sorting through hundreds of crabs when he quickly spotted the unique crustacean, unsure of which pot to place it in. “I was combing through a box of crabs and this one crab caught my eye. It threw me off for a second,,, Video>click to read<10:57
Senate MSA reauthorization a step back for fishing communities
In July, the House passed H.R. 200 the “Strengthening Fishing Communities and Increasing Flexibility in Fisheries Management Act,” a much needed update of federal fisheries law that allows for both sustainable fisheries management and the long-term preservation of our nation’s fishing communities. Unfortunately, its counterpart bill making its way through the Senate would likely have the opposite effect. The Senate bill, S.1520, or the “Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act of 2018,” introduces changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA)—the main law governing U.S. fisheries—that would impose increasingly burdensome regulations on American fishermen and undermine H.R. 200’s goal of increasing flexibility in fisheries management. >click to read<17:51
Epizootic Shell Disease – New findings suggests earlier springs and hotter summers foster increase in shell infections
New findings reveal that as coastal waters in the northeastern U.S. continue to warm — bottom temperatures in Long Island Sound have increased 0.7°F per decade over the last 40 years — resident lobsters are becoming increasingly susceptible to epizootic shell disease, a condition that has depleted the southern New England population and severely impacted the local lobster fishery.,,, As the name implies, epizootic shell disease occurs when the bacterial populations that normally inhabit the surface of a lobster’s carapace change and begin consuming the cuticle, causing it to erode. >click to read<09:18
