Category Archives: South Atlantic
FF&WC assessing spiny lobster’s role in protecting state’s coral reef
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission acknowledged Friday they are researching if the eating habits of the spiny lobster can help preserve the state’s fragile coral reef ecosystem. “We are looking into whether spiny lobsters, especially the spotted spiny lobster, because it feeds directly on the reef, while the Caribbean spiny lobster, feeds mostly off of the reef in the surrounding seagrass and hardbottom habitats, can be used as a form of biocontrol of the invertebrates like fireworms and corallivorous snails that eat coral,” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:22
SC shrimp season fully opened but fewer local shrimpers are on the waters.
Two words and one action can help South Carolina’s storied and struggling shrimping industry: Eat local. For some, it’s a culinary click-phrase that goes unpracticed. For others, it’s a habitual routine at farmers markets, grocery stores and restaurants. But for Cameron Reaves, who captains a shrimp boat with Beaufort-based Sea Eagle Market, his family’s livelihood depends on people eating locally. “The shrimp market is kind of a mess right now,” Reaves said. “It’s hard for a lot of shrimpers to make it.” Fuel prices – at over $3 dollars a gallon – are slightly lower than last year, but they are still high for what the boats burn through in a day. Reaves’ 70-foot boat that can hold up to 30,000 pounds of shrimp averages 200 gallons daily. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:12
Florida Fish and Wildlife Hosts Commercial Fishing Industry Summit
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) hosted Florida’s first Commercial Fishing Industry Summit in St. Augustine on May 21 and 22. According to FWC, the goal of the summit was to gather representatives from the industry to help develop a vision for the commercial fishing industry for the next five to 10 years. Partnering organizations included Florida Stone Crabber’s Association, Fish & Wildlife Foundation of Florida, Beacon Fisheries, Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders’ Alliance, Kathi’s Krabs, Organized Fishermen of Florida, Lampl Herbert Consultants, Southeastern Fisheries Association, Florida Keys Commercial Fishermen’s Association, and the Southern Offshore Fishing Association, Inc. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:46
ICCAT North Atlantic Swordfish Stakeholder Engagement Session
The Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to ICCAT is holding a public meeting via webinar session to receive an update and provide input on the development of a management strategy evaluation (MSE) for North Atlantic swordfish. The meeting is open to all interested stakeholders. The virtual meeting will be held by webinar session on June 13, 2024, from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. EDT. Please register to attend, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:51
When a massive chemical plant came knocking, it was Hilton Head’s Black fishermen who answered
On a spring day in 1970, a small group of fishermen set sail to take on a giant. Shrimpers with the Hilton Head Fishing Cooperative boarded a 43-foot fishing trawler and headed for Washington, D.C., with protest signs, a petition and a mission to halt the building of a multimillion-dollar industrial plant on the banks of the Colleton River. What happened next is a story of perseverance through unlikely odds: A group of Black fishermen from a backwater sea island faced off against a state-sponsored $200 million chemical-processing plant — and won. It’s a story still told today. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:45
Technology Helping Prevent Whale Strikes
As many as 80 whales are estimated to die each year off the West Coast of the US as a result of ship strikes, and about a third of all Right Whale deaths in the Atlantic are attributed to ship strikes. Sperm Whales in the Mediterranean are also listed as an endangered species, and ship strike is their leading cause of death. Whale avoidance is clearly top of mind for mariners. It is time to explore how currently available technology can help in this endeavor. As the world looks to new technologies to assist in whale avoidance, it is important to ensure there is no impact on the whales and the environment. Likewise, as governmental regulations evolve, operating vessels near whales requires a strong understanding of the rules implemented to protect them. There should be strict adherence to safe practices that coincide with the use of the right technologies. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:42
Tidal Vision, a startup turning crab shells into a green industrial chemical, is raising fresh cash
Tidal Vision, a green chemistry company founded by a former Alaska fishing boat captain, is raising more investment to fuel growth. A new SEC filing reveals $46.7 million in fresh cash. We reached out to the company for comment on the filing. Tidal Vision uses an environmentally friendly, zero-waste process to turn discarded crab shells into a valuable industrial chemical called chitosan. The material is something of a wonder ingredient and can be used in water purification, to preserve produce, to promote plant growth, as a flame retardant in fabrics, and in pharmaceuticals and cosmetics. It offers a safe alternative to toxic chemicals, metals, petroleum products and pesticides used in industry. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:30
Offshore Wind Cumulative Impact Issue Analysis
When the Feds finally do the cumulative environmental impact analysis for whales as mandated by the Endangered Species Act there are a number of basic issues to be resolved. Here is a quick look at some for the desperately endangered North Atlantic Right Whale (NARW). Cumulative refers to the combined impact of multiple offshore projects. The first issue is which projects to combine for analysis. NARW are found along the entire Atlantic coastal waters which bounds the geography. Other endangered critters are found along the Gulf and West Coasts. Projects can be in very different stages of development. Here is a hierarchy of sorts that gives several obvious options, from relatively small to enormous. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:07
Big crowd turns out for 86th Blessing of the Fleet
The 86th annual Blessing of the Fleet Saturday had a new wrinkle with the holy water coming from on high. During past blessings, Catholic priests have stood on the bows or decks of tow boats or other ships and showered fishing boats and pleasure craft with holy water and they pronounced blessings. On Saturday, Father Timothy McKeown of St. Francis Xavier Catholic Church, rode a Brunswick Fire Department ladder to a spot over the East River and blessed the passing vessels from above. 12 Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:42
Trump Presidency Is Next Worry for Battered US Wind Sector
Companies racing to build multibillion-dollar wind farms in US waters are already contending with surging borrowing costs, supply-chain woes and project pullbacks. Now, they’ve got a new worry: Donald Trump. The former US president and presumptive Republican nominee has made no secret of his animus toward wind energy, whether on- or offshore. He famously battled a project within view of his golf course in Aberdeen, Scotland, and has derided wind farms as bird-killing monstrosities. But he has recently ramped up his rhetoric, telling attendees at a Florida fundraiser last month that he hates wind farms, according to people familiar with the matter. Renewable developers are bracing for more attacks Saturday, when Trump will hold a rally on the beach in Wildwood, New Jersey — a state that’s become the front line for fights over the future of offshore wind. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:34
The number of fish on US overfishing list reaches an all-time low. Mackerel and snapper recover
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released an updated analysis of American fisheries late last week via its annual “Status of the Stocks” report, which provides an assessment of the populations of the seafood species fishermen catch and customers buy. The report states that 94% of fish stocks are not subject to overfishing, which is slightly better than a year ago. The U.S. was able to remove several important fish stocks from the overfishing list, NOAA said in a statement. They include the Gulf of Maine and Cape Hatteras stock of Atlantic mackerel and the Gulf of Mexico stock of cubera snapper. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:33
NOAA Breaks Ground on a New Marine Operations Center Facility in Newport, Rhode Island funded by President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda
Today, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) held a groundbreaking ceremony for a new facility on Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island that will serve as the future home of the NOAA Marine Operations Center-Atlantic. In December, the NOAA Marine Operations Center-Atlantic, on behalf of NOAA, awarded $146,778,932 to Skanska USA to build the new NOAA facility. The design and construction of the facility is funded in part by the Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in history, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The facility will include a pier to accommodate four large vessels, a floating dock for smaller vessels, space for vessel repairs and parking, and a building to be used for shoreside support and as a warehouse. Construction is anticipated to be completed in 2027. This project will operate under a Project Labor Agreement, consistent with EO 14063, issued by President Biden. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 15:39
A Letter to Senator Elizabeth Warren
I am Sam Parisi, a third-generation Gloucester fisherman. Recently U S Congressman Garret Graves, Senator Roger Wicker, and SenatorTed Cruz. to Modernize data used by NOAA and bring better science to the table. (Graves, Wicker Urge NOAA to Catch Better Data for Fisheries Management) We need to require NOAA to compare their science with other independent surveys and science. Our fishermen’s lives depend on how much fish is out there and we should be able to catch, without overfishing different species. We need to update the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act that would require NOAA to compare before making restrictions. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:58
Man Of Fortune: Beloved Fisherman to Receive Memorial Statue at Shem Creek
When dawn breaks on Shem Creek, there will soon be a glimmer on the water like never before. Atop the boardwalk that connects both sides of the creek will stand a bronze, life-size statue of a man who is now remembered as a Lowcountry legend. His name is Captain Wayne Magwood and soon his legacy will forever be enshrined as a testament to the role he played in preserving the area’s rich maritime history. Magwood’s life, career and family lineage have revolved around Shem Creek for the past century. In 1930, his father’s cousin, Captain William Magwood, was the first fisherman to bring ocean shrimp into Mount Pleasant and laid the foundation for the commercial industry to be built at Shem Creek. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:55
Breaking: Dominion Energy Atlantic Coast Offshore Wind Project Delayed by Lawsuit Seeking to Protect Endangered Right Whale
An order by a federal judge on Monday delayed the start of “pile driving” construction for a massive wind project off the Atlantic Coast by Dominion Energy. Judge Loren L. AliKhan convened an expedited status conference hearing in response to a coalition of three public interest groups—The Heartland Institute, the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow (CFACT), and the National Legal and Policy Center (NLPC)—suing Dominion and the Biden administration, claiming they have not done the legally required research to determine the project won’t harm the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:33
A call for the price of shrimp to rise as St. Helena Island’s boats head to sea
The future is uncertain for shrimpers in coastal South Carolina, but you wouldn’t know that from the bright, buoyant crowd that gathered Saturday at the Gay Fish Company. Attendees rang in the start of the 2024 season with cowbells and noisemakers, sending off a fleet of shrimp trawlers into the Harbour River as their nets waved like sails in the gentle morning breeze. Owned by a family of veterans spanning three generations, the Gay Fish Company on St. Helena Island held its inaugural “Blessing of the Fleet” Saturday morning. Typically involving a local pastor praying over captains for a safe and bountiful season, the practice has been a staple in fishing communities for centuries. But as fisheries up and down the coast grapple with industry shakeups from overseas, the ceremony takes on a new sort of significance. Photos, Video, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:29
White shrimp Georgia’s official crustacean
Gov. Brian Kemp brought his bill-signing tour to Brunswick Thursday, signing a package of measures related to coastal issues. House Bill 1341 declares the white shrimp Georgia’s official crustacean. White shrimp account for 70% of the state’s annual shrimp harvest, Kemp told coastal Georgia political and business leaders during a ceremony at the state Department of Natural Resources Coastal Regional Headquarters. House Speaker Jon Burns said having an official state crustacean will help promote Georgia white shrimp to consumers at restaurants and grocery stores. “It’s a family business. It’s gone on in our state for generations,” said Burns, R-Newington. “We want to ensure the opportunity continues to exist in the future.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:21
Dockside Safety Exam Program – Coast Guard helps commercial fishermen ensure a safe catch
As the nation’s largest estuary, the Chesapeake Bay is a highly valued resource for more than 18 million people who live in its watershed. Producing about 500 million pounds of seafood each year, the Bay supports commercial and recreational fishing and creates one of the most economically significant regions of the Unites States. According to NOAA and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, commercial fishing is one of the country’s most dangerous occupations. “What we do for the local fishing community is support their workplace safety,” said Timothy Diehl, a Coast Guard vessel safety examiner from Sector Maryland-National Capital Region in Baltimore, Maryland. Most of Diehl’s workdays are spent traveling to area marinas where he meets with commercial fishing vessel operators and owners. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 07:21
Graves, Wicker Urge NOAA to Catch Better Data for Fisheries Management
U.S. Congressman Garret Graves and U.S. Senator Roger Wicker – along with U.S. Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Ted Cruz (Texas), U.S. House Natural Resources Committee Chair Bruce Westerman and 20 other bipartisan Members of Congress – urged the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Assistant Administrator Janet Coit to modernize the data used by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and bring better science to the table for fisheries management. “Historically, the federal government’s fisheries data management has been a failure. Their system overestimates what has been caught, which gives us less opportunity to fish. There are real solutions on the table to reverse this trend .“We know that there’s better and more precise fisheries management data being collected by the states than what the federal government can provide, and we want NMFS to use the best data and science,” said Congressman Graves. “Our children and grandchildren deserve sound science and sustainable fisheries management. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:23
Mount Pleasant’s annual ‘Blessing of the Fleet’ honors local shrimp and fishing industry
An annual event that pays tribute to the Lowcountry’s shrimping and fishing industry returns this weekend to Mount Pleasant Memorial Waterfront Park. Blessing of the Fleet and Seafood Festival serves as a kickoff to coastal shrimping season, which typically begins in early June. It also serves as a reminder to eat and buy locally caught shrimp to support Charleston’s seafood industry. It happens Sunday, April 28 from 11:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Attendees can enjoy a boat parade, live music, craft show and plenty of free activities with the Ravenel Bridge and Charleston Harbor as a backdrop, organizers say. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 06:34
Biden administration plans to tee up offshore wind across the nation’s coastlines
The Biden administration is planning to boost offshore wind energy production, announcing up to a dozen opportunities for industry to bid on chances to build wind turbines in U.S. oceans over the next five years. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland is slated to announce the lease sales at a conference in New Orleans. The 12 potential opportunities Haaland is announcing include sales in the central Atlantic Ocean, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico, the New York Bight and off the coast of Oregon, California, Hawaii and a yet-to-be-determined U.S. territory. These sales were described as potential sales that could occur rather than ones definitely slated to happen, and if former President Trump wins election, he may want to cancel them. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:56
Athearn Marine Agency Boat of the Week: 68′ Steel Shrimper/Scallop Dragger, Cat 3406
To review specifications, information, and 5 photos’, >click here<, To see all the boats in this series, >click here< 08:41
At start of season, shrimpers are ‘cautiously optimistic’ despite market concerns
Fresh shrimp soon will be hitting the docks as the first stage of shrimp season gets underway the morning of April 19. This stage is limited to certain areas until the S.C. Department of Natural Resources can confirm the majority of female white shrimp have reproduced. “We want them to be able to spawn before harvest, because the current spawn will become our fall shrimp crop,” DNR spokesperson Erin Weeks said. This approach is essential to ensuring the industry remains sustainable, said Bryan Jones, South Carolina state co-director of the U.S. Shrimpers Coalition and a first-generation shrimper based in McClellanville. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 12:28
Gay Fish Company to hold Blessing of the Fleet ceremony, public welcome
Since 1948, the Gay Fish Company on St. Helena Island has been fishing, shrimping, processing, and selling local seafood to thousands of customers from all over the country, and the world. After 76 years in business, you would be hard pressed to find many other families in the Lowcountry who are more synonymous with the shrimping and fishing industry. To do something special for the commercial fishermen that are docked there, and to raise awareness for the industry to the public, the family-owned seafood company is hosting its first ever Blessing of the Fleet Ceremony on April 27th, and the public is welcome to attend. more, >>click to read<< 06:22
Coastal Georgia Shrimping: A new season of uncertainty, possibilities and hope
In a word, “difficult,” said Dee Kicklighter of their most recent shrimping season. Kicklighter, who has worked with Mathews for about eight years, has seen first-hand how the unpredictability of the business can be costly. “You plan for something to be one price, and then the next week you come back, and it could be potentially thousands of dollars more, depending on what you’re dealing with,” he said of fluctuating prices, including fuel. Over the years, Mathews said the ever-changing cost of fuel has taken a toll on the number of shrimpers in the industry. It’s not just Georgia shrimpers contending with the negative effects from imports. North Carolina, Texas, Louisiana, Florida and other coastal states are also feeling the friction of narrowing profit margins that threaten their way of life. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 09:15
Mount Pleasant invests in improved safety, functionality of shrimp boat docks
Much needed upgrades are coming to an important part of Mount Pleasant’s legacy. Town leaders are allocating money to renovate its shrimp boat docks in preparation for a busy shrimping season. “The more boats, the better the dock needs to be,” Rocky Magwood, President of SC Shrimpers Association said. The process of bringing shrimp from the deck to the table is a vision that’s coming to life as the Town of Mount Pleasant’s budget for shrimp boat docks will allocate funding for an updated look and safety upgrades. Magwood says that the docks are wearing out and it’s necessary for a refresh. Video, more, >>click to read<< 13:01
The One Weird Trick Trump Could Use to Get Away with January 6th
Far from shore after a week at sea, a Florida fisherman named John Yates was buste
d by wildlife officials for catching grouper that were too small. But before returning to the dock a day later, Yates chucked the contraband fish overboard rather than hand them over to authorities. So, the federal government charged Yates with destroying evidence under a law passed in response to the energy giant Enron and its shady financial practices. Called the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, the law was intended to crack down on financial fraud and evidence destruction. Yates argued that the law governed document shredding and fish aren’t documents. Eight years later, the Supreme Court sided with the fisherman in a precedent-setting 2015 decision that limited prosecutions. Today, that dump of grouper could wind up getting Donald Trump off the hook for January 6th. more, >>click to read<< 10:47
Lawmakers support new fees on Louisiana seafood dealers who import foreign catch
State lawmakers advanced separate bills Tuesday to address the dominance of cheap foreign seafood in Louisiana. One would require seafood dealers to pay higher fees for importing foreign catch into the state, and another would require wholesalers and retailers to obtain a new seafood importer license. House Bill 748, sponsored by Rep. Jessica Domangue, R-Houma, would raise the state’s imported seafood safety fee from a flat $100 per year to a 0.1% assessment on the company’s gross revenue. The proposal marks the freshman lawmaker’s first bill, which Domangue, the daughter of a commercial fisherman, called “very special” for its ability to protect the domestic seafood industry. It cleared the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment with unanimous support and will head to the House floor for consideration. more. >>click to read<< 08:05
Graves and Peltola Urge Biden to Immediately Halt Unsafe Shrimp Imports
U.S. Congressman Garret Graves (South Louisiana) and Congresswoman Mary Sattler Peltola (Alaska) sent a letter to President Biden urging him to immediately halt shrimp imports into the United States from India, following concerning reports of severe food and safety issues and labor violations in Indian shrimp processing facilities. The reports highlight that shrimp imported from India are farmed and they regularly do not meet domestic health standards; the suppliers themselves know this to be true, evidenced by their tactics to evade detection at American ports. Graves and Peltola noted that there is already high-quality, healthy shrimp caught in America that is being pushed out of the market by foreign shrimp sold at artificially low prices and unsafe for consumption. more, >>click to read<< 12:49
Southern Shrimp Alliance: The Outlaw Ocean Project Investigation Regarding Imported Shrimp Supply Chains
On the same day that Corporate Accountability Lab (CAL) publicly released the results of its three-year investigation into forced labor practices in the Indian shrimp industry, Hidden Harvest: Human Rights and Environmental Abuses in India’s Shrimp Industry, and the Associated Press published an article and video news story by investigative journalists Martha Mendoza, Mahesh Kumar, and Piyush Nagpal confirming CAL’s findings, The Outlaw Ocean Project has provided a rare view into the inner workings of a major Indian shrimp exporter to the United States, Choice Trading Corporation Private Limited. more, >>click to read<< 09:25
