Daily Archives: January 7, 2020
Feds answer lawmakers’ calls to fast-track replenishment of Dune Road
Army Corps of Engineers will begin seeking bids Wednesday for a project to replenish a severely eroded beach along Dune Road in Hampton Bays after lawmakers pushed for the federal agency to fast-track the work. The barrier island has sustained several washovers since October in the area near the Shinnecock Commercial Fishing Dock, the state’s second-largest fishing port, putting millions of dollars’ worth of infrastructure in jeopardy. >click to read< 16:04
Future of offshore fish farming in federal waters at issue in court
The potential environmental and economic consequences posed by proposals for fish farming in federal waters dictate that Congress — not a federal agency — must decide how to regulate the industry, an attorney told a federal appeals court Monday. At issue before the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was a September 2018 ruling by a federal judge who threw out National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s rules for fish farms in the Gulf of Mexico, saying Congress never gave the agency authority to make them. >click to read< 14:58
Meet Chris Schillaci who Joins Greater Atlantic Region’s Aquaculture Program! – In December, Chris Schillaci joined the Greater Atlantic Region’s aquaculture program, bringing ten years of experience to his new role. We asked Chris a few questions as he was settling in. >Click to read<
Florida Keys Fisherman Can’t Dip A Toe In Keys Waters For Five Years
A commercial fisherman in the Florida Keys has been sentenced in a case involving undersized lobster. The sentence also keeps him out of the water for quite some time. Alfredo Gonzalez was the captain of the lobster boat Perseverance when Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission officers stopped the vessel off the Gulf side of Marathon on Jan. 13, 2018. >click to read< 11:51
Skipper Michael Joyce says fish littering the shore indicates stocks higher than expected
A Lark Harbour fisherman says it’s frustrating to see thousands of mackerel wash up dead on local shores, while fishermen were not permitted to catch any of the fish last season.,,, Andrew Smith, a stock assessment biologist for Atlantic mackerel with DFO, says the input of harvesters is an important part of studying fish stocks, but he said the scientific data doesn’t support the idea that stocks are higher than estimated. >click to read< 10:29
Virginia faces a threatened shutdown of its large commercial fishery for Atlantic menhaden.
Virginia faces a threatened shutdown of its large commercial fishery for Atlantic menhaden after federal officials found the state had allowed too many of the commercially and ecologically important fish to be taken from the Chesapeake Bay. In a letter released Thursday, the head of the Commerce Department agency that regulates federally managed fisheries declared Virginia out of compliance with an interstate management plan for menhaden. >click to read< 09:12
RODA Calls for 4 Nautical Mile Transit Lanes in New England Offshore Wind Areas
Today, RODA submitted a proposal to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and the National Marine Fisheries Service calling for the designation of 4 nm transit lanes through the New England wind energy lease areas. 4 nm transit lanes would preserve safe and efficient passage along the routes most often used by fishermen. >click to read< 08:30
Fishermen call for 4-nautical-mile lanes between offshore wind turbines – >click to read<
In praise of those who make our lives more comfortable – John DeMonti
How I take for granted the things that just appear on the store shelf and, increasingly, at my doorstep. It makes me feel sheepish to know that men go out in boats into the frigid Atlantic Ocean so, when I’m flush, I can have a feed of lobster. I know that they are paid well for their catch, thanks, in large part, to a burgeoning middle class with purchasing power in China. But I’ve also stood before the fishermen’s memorial in Lunenburg that lists the names of the more than 600 folk from Lunenburg County who have lost their lives ensuring that fish gets on all of our dinner plates. >click to read< 07:27
