Tag Archives: Belford Seafood Cooperative

Middletown crabber’s family gets $2.75M settlement after deadly dock fall

The estate of Patrick Shopp, a commercial crabber who died from injuries related to a fall at the Belford Seafood Cooperative dock, won a $2.75 million settlement in a Monmouth County court, the family’s lawyer confirmed. Shopp initially suffered the injury on March 5, 2019. Christopher J. Conrad who represented Shopp said he fell through a broken board on the dock, lost his balance and dropped about eight feet down onto the deck of his crab boat, Scapper. Conrad said Shopp perforated his colon as a result of the fall, which required multiple surgeries over the the next 15 months. Shopp then sued Monmouth County, who owns the property, and the Belford Seafood Cooperative, which leases the property, for negligence for failure to maintain the property. >click to read< 13:03

NJ Fishing Community Says Coronavirus Aid Helped Keep Them Afloat

With New Jersey’s commercial fishing industry about to receive a second round of federal coronavirus aid, boat owners and those who run fishing-related businesses say the extra money is helping keep them afloat amid a sea of red ink. The state’s fishing industry received $11 million last March under the CARES Act, an early aid bill passed in response to the COVID-19 outbreak. And it should get roughly the same amount under a second bill passed by Congress in December.,, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone Jr. said Monday. Pallone held a news conference Monday at the Belford Seafood Cooperative in Middletown with boat owners and those who run related businesses. >click to read< 10:24

Winter Blue Crab season starts

Fresh blue claw crab is available for retail purchase at the Belford Seafood Cooperative in Middletown. The commercial dredge season for blue claw crab started Thursday and the first harvests have been reaped from crab grounds in Sandy Hook Bay and elsewhere. The Dutch Girl returned about noon to the co-op dock with its haul of about a couple dozen bushels of crab — a mix of females, small and large males. About eight co-op boats in total crabbed on opening day. While a portion of the crab harvest loaded at the co-op will be trucked out to other markets and restaurants, plenty will be kept for retail sale at the Belford seafood market counter. The crab dredge season goes from Dec. 1 through March 31, (except in Delaware Bay where the season is Nov. 15 through April 15). Short video, Read the story here 19:48