Daily Archives: October 22, 2019
Stonington fishermen say windfarm developer not responding to their concerns
Joe Gilbert, who has a fleet of four commercial boats based at the Stonington Town Dock, said he met with John O’Keefe, head of marine operations for Ørsted, in March to discuss the “vast” concerns that he and other fishermen have ranging from potential environmental impacts to spacing in between turbines. The meeting, which lasted several hours, was productive with O’Keefe taking copious notes, Gilbert said. “I thought it was the beginning of an open dialogue between the wind developer and the fishermen,”,, Gilbert said he never heard back from O’Keefe about how Ørsted plans to address the issues, even after following up multiple times with him and other company officials. Eventually, he and a group of Stonington fishermen were offered a meeting,,, >click to read< 21:05
U.S. Senate’s proposed $14 million funding increase to fight Asian carp not matched in House budget
Last month, the Senate Committee on Appropriations approved a funding bill that included $25 million for Asian carp management, a $14 million increase from last year. That money would go to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to be divided nationally for areas dealing with the fish. At the time, U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., was hopeful the bill would give areas including Tennessee more resources to deal with the threat.,, The funding increase would be used to expand a block and tackle plan. The plan includes installing sound barriers that would keep carp from traveling through dams and then paying commercial fishermen to harvest the fish. >click to read< 19:26
Opinion: Maine’s plan for lobster lines an improvement
A federal proposal to cut fishing lines off the Maine coast was dead in the water to lobstermen, who said it would put either their lives or ability to make a living at risk.,,, The federal proposal, released this summer, called on Maine to reduce the number of surface-to-seabed buoy lines by 50 percent in both state waters, which run out to three miles from shore, and federal waters,,, lobstermen were right to be wary of the proposal. And since industry buy-in is necessary to make any plan work, the state was right to put forward its own proposal. >click to read< 16:33
EnBW North America hires fisheries liaison
EnBW North America has appointed Beth Casoni as the company’s fisheries liaison and has joined the Responsible Offshore Development Alliance’s (RODA) joint industry task force devoted to address issues of mutual interest to commercial fisheries and offshore wind. The company said its immediate attention is on the New York Bight – an area off the coasts of New York and New Jersey, where the federal Bureau of Offshore Energy Management is expected to auction wind lease areas in late 2020. >click to read< 11:22
Estonian fishing company Reyktal to start NW Atlantic prawn fishing next fall
The last time that ocean fishing vessels sailing under the Estonian flag fished for prawns in the Northwest Atlantic’s NAFO 3M area was approximately 10 years ago. Mati Sarevet, head of AS Reyktal, said that the company will likely return to the familiar waters next fall. He added that it is still too early to estimate how big of a share prawns caught in the Northwest Atlantic could make up of the company’s production. >click to read< 10:37
Offshore Wind Getting Crushed by Carbon Capture
Guest table-turning by David Middleton. Ms. Casey has a BA in philosophy, is a career bureaucrat. and has held several part time jobs with enviro-nitwit websites. Hence, she’s an energy expert. Whatever offshore wind power may or may not do in the future, is irrelevant to the fact that it’s currently only “crushing” the budgets of energy consumers.Offshore Wind vs. Carbon Capture: Who’s Crushing Whom? The US currently has one of each up and running. The energy math is decidedly one-sided. Block Island Wind Farm, The Block Island Wind Farm generates much less energy than an average single Marcellus gas well. In it’s first year of operation the Block Island Wind Farm managed a 39% capacity factor. >click to read< 09:14
‘It’s grim.’ After spring floods, Louisiana oyster harvest slows to a trickle
Fall is when Louisiana normally begins harvesting a torrent of oysters. This year, the torrent is barely a trickle. Restaurants have resorted to rationing. They’re reaching far beyond their normal local supply chains to get whatever boxes and sacks of oysters they can find, revising menus and tapping stockpiles of frozen product to keep fried oysters on their po-boys and seafood platters. Many in the business are calling the shortage the worst they’ve ever seen, worse than the aftermath of hurricanes Katrina and Rita in 2005 or the BP oil spill disaster in 2010, both of which devastated the local industry. Photo’s >click to read< 08:29
Hampton-Seabrook Harbor dredging begins – here’s why it’s vital
Work has begun on the dredging of the Hampton-Seabrook Harbor, a project local and state officials have said was urgently needed to protect the Seacoast’s fishing and seaside economy.,,, Keith Johnson of H&L Contracting, whose company is doing the work, said those who use the harbor will still be able to use it while the work is ongoing. Army Corps of Engineers project manager Coral Siligato said the work is scheduled to take place through March 15. The inner harbor work is slated to be completed by Feb. 1. >click to read< 07:14
