Tag Archives: new-york
In a bayman’s death is a lesson
On a summer day in August, a memorial was held at Green River Cemetery in Springs for a man named Dan King, who had died in North Carolina in April 2020. Dan grew up in the Springs section of East Hampton, where his family had roots going back three centuries to the first European settlers. Dan was a fisherman, specifically a member of the haul-seining community. That’s a method of fishing in which dories are launched from the beach into the surf and nets are spread out to encircle schools of striped bass that are then winched onto the shore. The Kings had done it for generations, as had members of the Lester family. >click to read< 13:09
Fishermen cited for trespassing at Amagansett’s Truck Beach
Fourteen East Hampton Town fishermen were cited for trespassing on an Amagansett beach on Sunday during an act of civil disobedience they hope will serve as a test case for beach access rights. Attorney Dan Rodgers said he will represent those who were issued summonses when they return to town justice court on Oct. 27 and will argue they were allowed to be there. “I can tell you this, the baymen and women that I represent are going to fight like hell,,, >click to read< 08:51
Port captains recall heroic mission to evacuate New Yorkers from Ground Zero on 9/11
New York Waterway Port Capt. Michael McPhillips had been standing in the wheelhouse of a ferryboat halfway across the river, when he noticed the South Tower begin to buckle. He’d already made eight round-trip runs ferrying passengers to New Jersey since the first plane hit, while also manning the radio and fielding questions. At 9:45 a.m., when another captain offered to take the helm of the Frank Sinatra so that McPhillips could focus on operations, the overwhelmed port captain had gladly given up the wheel. He soon wound up conducting operations in the wheelhouse of a different ferry, the George Washington. Now, seeing the cloud exploding up and out from the shrinking South Tower, he barked out a warning to a captain who had been lining up for his approach to the World Financial Center terminal: “Get the f–k out of there!” >click to read< 09:01
The First Montauk Blessing Of The Fleet Post COVID Brings Great Joy
The message that permeated on every vessel that took part in the first Montauk Blessing of the Fleet post COVID was that it was in fact a blessing it was happening at all. A year ago, the whole country was locking down, so many traditional East End events were canceled, and there was no annual Blessing of the Fleet in Montauk.,, On the F/V Anna Mary, the boat of Captain Anthony Sosinski and Fisherman John “Johnny Loads” Aldridge, family and friends celebrated with cold beverages, pasta salads, chips and dips, and an assortment of tasty home baked cookies. Sosinski displayed his talent of navigating the boat throughout the 75 or so commercial boats of all sizes that paraded from in the Harbor out to the Block Island Sound. Aldridge and his family and friends know what it is to feel God’s mercy. Eight years ago, “Johnny Loads” fell overboard only to be recused the next day by a 
Coast Guard helicopter as almost every commercial Montauk fishing craft was out there searching for him. >click to read< 12:25
Montauk Blessing of the Fleet – This drone footage by Joanna Steidle shows decorated vessels passing by robed clergymen, who give the boats their blessing. Onlookers can be seen gathered on the docks and shoreline. >click to watch<
New York: $6.7 million in Coronavirus relief to marine fishing industries
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo announced $6.7 million in relief aid is being distributed starting today to New York’s seafood, marine commercial, and for-hire fishing industries after excessive business losses due to the COVID-19 pandemic. New York State will distribute an additional $5.7 million in the coming months, for a total of $12.4 million, through the Marine Fisheries Relief Program, which administers federal funding provided by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act. >click to read< From ny.gov, >click to read< 11:40
Feds charge Montauk fisherman, Gosmans with violating fishing limits, conspiracy, obstruction
Charged with Conspiracy, Fraud, and Obstruction – Today, a federal grand jury in the Eastern District of New York unsealed the indictment of one fisherman, a wholesale fish dealer, and two of its managers for conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and obstruction in connection with a scheme to illegally overharvest fluke and black sea bass. All four defendants are from Montauk. >click to read< Other stories of F/V New Age, >click here<
In New England, “The resource keeps diminishing.” Clammers Dig Through The Pandemic For Fewer Shellfish
In Maine, the largest clam producing state, fishermen produced their lowest haul in more than 90 years at a little more than 1.3 million pounds in 2020. Nationwide totals aren’t compiled yet, but Maine’s haul typically accounts for more than half the U.S. total, and hauls in other clamming states such as Massachusetts, Rhode Island and New York have been trending downward in recent years. “The resource keeps diminishing.” The clamming industry has had to contend with more marine predators of clams such as green crabs and milky ribbon worm in recent years. >click to read< 13:33
New York Wind Power Plans Make No Sense, NY wants a green energy ‘superhighway.’ Hydro-Québec can help
New York needs big ideas if it’s to overcome its current state of decline,,, But Democrat candidate Eric Adams’ wind power proposal is not that plan, and it’s with great respect and an open invite to sit down with the candidate, and any candidate of any party, to explain why. Mr. Adams noted Rhode Island’s wind farm as an example of a state committed to the technology. Let’s explore. The promises were great. The wind farm promised to cut 
electricity rates on Block Island by 40%. Rates have gone up, >click to read< New York state wants a green energy ‘superhighway.’ – Hydro-Québec says it can help New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo build a green energy “superhighway” from Canada to New York City. >click to read< 16:50
Biden – Harris Admin announces major offshore wind farm plan, fantasize about job creation numbers
To help meet that target, the administration said it would accelerate permitting of projects off the Atlantic Coast and prepare to open up waters near New York and New Jersey for development. The administration also plans to offer $3 billion in federal loan guarantees for offshore wind projects and invest in upgrading the nation’s ports to support wind construction.,, Officials made a similar case on Monday, saying offshore wind deployment would create 44,000 new jobs directly in the offshore wind sector, such as building and installing turbines, as well as 33,000 new indirect jobs. Liars. >click to read< 17:42 Of course, the old Obama gang is here! “We are ready to rock and roll,” says OBiden climate adviser – To make this happen, Biden’s national climate adviser, Gina McCarthy, told reporters today in a press call that the administration would speed up the permitting process. while a crackpot Senator chimes in., >click to read<
Judge Drops Shinnecock Fishermen’s Federal Lawsuit
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed by three Shinnecock Indian Nation fishermen who have fought to protect their indigenous fishing rights in eastern Long Island. David Taobi Silva, Jonathan Smith and Gerrod Smith were seeking $102 million in punitive damages, as well as temporary and permanent injunctions to end what they call racial discriminatory practices by state and local law enforcement. “[The men had] not put forward sufficient evidence to establish that the state proceeding is motivated by a desire to harass or is conducted in bad faith,” U.S. District Court Judge Sandra Feurestein said in her ruling. >click to read< 15:02
Cuomo Announces $6.7 Million in Cares Act Funding to Assist New York’s Marine Fishing Industry – Application Period Opens Dec. 1
Governor Andrew M. Cuomo today announced $6.7 million in federal funding is available from the Marine Fisheries Relief Program established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security, or CARES, Act to assist New York’s marine fishing industry following extensive economic losses resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Eligible seafood, commercial marine fishing, and marine recreational for-hire fishing businesses will be able to apply for the funding beginning Dec. 1, to help provide financial relief for this hard-hit and crucially important industry. >click to read< 09:42
Hot Air And The Offshore Wind Industry – Claims it will invigorate these state economies are thin gruel
Seven Atlantic Coast states—Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Maryland, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and Virginia have enacted mandates to subsidize the development of thousands of megawatts of offshore wind turbines. In addition to making bold claims about environmental benefits, proponents promise the mandates will create new offshore wind manufacturing and service industries that will create jobs, and lots of them, along the eastern seaboard.,, New York State Energy Research and Development Authority claims that developing 2,400 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind will create 5,000 new jobs and $6.3 billion in infrastructure spending. Similar claims of economic grandeur have been made in New Jersey and Virginia. Not to be outdone, the American Wind Energy Association claims the offshore wind industry will create between 45,000 and 83,000 new jobs by 2030. >click to read< 12:05
As Wind Farm Proceeds, So Does Pushback – Orsted U.S. Offshore Wind and Eversource Energy, which are developing the proposed South Fork Wind farm, filed a joint proposal with the New York State Public Service Commission,, Commercial fishermen are almost universally opposed to the wind farm, fearing an impact on their livelihood, >click to read< 13:47
BP, Equinor Partner to Develop Offshore Wind Farms off New York, and Massachusetts
Two of Europe’s largest oil companies will develop offshore wind projects jointly in the U.S. in yet another example of energy giants migrating towards the development of renewables. Equinor of Norway, and has entered into an agreement to sell a 50% stake in two of its U.S offshore wind farm projects to Britain based BP for $1.1 Billion. Empire Wind, located just southeast of the Long Island coast, spans 80,000 acres, with water depths of between 65 and 131 feet. Beacon Wind is located 20 miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, and covers 128,000 acres. >click to read< 15:40
Still Love NY? NY’s Offshore Wind Obsession Means Vastly Higher Power Price
Offshore wind is the renewable-energy industry’s shiny new toy. Led by New York, seven Atlantic-coast states have now imposed mandates to expand offshore wind use over the next decade, with the Empire State last week soliciting bids for an additional 2,500 megawatts of offshore power, on top of the 1,700 megawatts procured previously. Advocates claim offshore wind will contribute to a low-carbon future, spur an economic renaissance, and create thousands of jobs. Don’t buy it. The mandates are yet another boondoggle that will benefit a well-connected few, saddling everyone else with even higher power costs. Consider Rhode Island’s 30-megawatt, six-turbine offshore wind project located off Block Island and operated by Deepwater Wind. >click to read< 14:34
Cuomo’s Curse: New York Governor’s $47,000,000,000 Wind & Solar Boondoggle
A decade from now, New Yorkers will rue the day that Andrew Cuomo determined to run their state on chaotically intermittent wind and solar. Like everywhere else that’s attempted to run on sunshine and breezes, New York’s power prices are bound to rocket out of control and its enviable grid reliability will soon become a thing of the past. ,, One of the recently awarded off-shore wind project proposes to use 10.2 MW turbines and that means that 1,604 wind turbines >click to read< 09:49
Marine Biologist Doubts Parasite Was Only Cause of Bay Scallop Collapse
A parasite that the New York State commissioner of environmental conservation called “a significant threat” to the Peconic Bay scallop fishery has been detected in a sample of bay scallops from Shelter Island — and may have been a factor in the near total collapse of the adult scallop population throughout the estuary last year. A type of single-cell protozoan from a group known as coccidia, the parasite found,, >click to read< 17:17
Schumer Votes No On USMCA Trade Deal Because It Doesn’t Include Climate Change
The Senate passed the deal by a margin of 89-10. The USMCA‘s supporters say the bipartisan trade agreement could help America’s farmers, ranchers, businesses and workers. “Despite the fact that it includes very good labor provisions, I am voting against USMCA because it does not address climate change, the greatest threat facing the planet,” the New York senator said in a press statement addressing his vote. ” … the USMCA falls far too short.” >click to read< 09:46
Two New York companies and owners plead guilty to seafood sales fraud
In a plea agreement with the government, Roy Tuccillo Sr, and his son, Roy Tuccillo Jr and two of their food processing and distribution companies, Anchor Frozen Foods Inc, and Advanced Frozen Foods Inc pleaded to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. They admitted to importing giant squid from Peru, marketing it as octopus, and using email and wire transactions to sell it to grocery stores in interstate commerce. >click to read< 13:39
Consultant: State should not renew licenses if commercial fishermen can’t show minimum income
New York commercial fishermen would be barred from renewing their licences if they could not prove three years income at $15,000 a year under a recommendation by a state consultant. About three dozen fishermen attended the meeting at Stoney Brook University Tuesday night, where response to the recommendations, one of a series of proposals by consultant George Lapointe, was mixed and sometimes heated,,, >click to read<
Toxic lobsters? – Long Island Sound dumping dispute nears tipping point
Connecticut says the new underwater dump site is needed to maintain the state’s economic development effort – including its lucrative submarine construction business at Electric Boat’s shipyard,,, New York says the site will be harmful to its ecology and tourism, and Connecticut could, and should, dump the material it dredges up somewhere else.,,, Toxic lobsters? Lobstering is still done in Long Island Sound, though there are far fewer lobsters than in the past. >click to read<10:08
Lake Erie walleye quotas up but ‘devastating’ drop for perch, says commercial fishery
The allowable catch limit for yellow perch in Lake Erie has dropped by as much as 32 per cent for the part of the lake near Chatham-Kent, Tim Tiessen, president of the Ontario Commercial Fisheries’ Association, said Monday. The quota is dropping by about 20 per cent for commercial fishing boats operating south of Essex County.,,, “That’s going to be hard for the fisherman,” On the plus side, the quota for walleye is going up about 20 per cent across Lake Erie. The binational Lake Erie Committee of fishery managers from Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Ontario recently decided the total allowable catch limits,,, >click to read<16:43
New York Commercial fishermen hit with two-week fluke fishing closure
The closure began Sunday, and when it reopens Aug. 1, fishermen will be limited to a daily limit of 50 pounds of fluke. “That’s not even a box of fish,” said Riverhead fisherman Phil Karlin, who noted boxes are typically 60 or 70 pounds. The state Department of Environmental Conservation that enforces the federal quota restrictions notified fisherman of the closure via mail several days before, saying it was necessary to preserve fish for the fall, Mr. Karlin said. “It’s putting a hardship on all fishermen,” Mr. Karlin said. “We’ve had it tough as it is. To close it in the middle of the summer like this is not good.” >click to read<07:49
First U.S. Offshore Wind Developer Acts on Fishing Gear
U.S. offshore wind developer Deepwater Wind has adopted a first-of-its-kind procedure designed to prevent impacts to commercial fishing gear from its activities. Deepwater Wind’s Block Island Wind Farm is America’s first offshore wind farm, and the company is currently in active development on utility-scale wind farms to serve Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Maryland. The procedure was developed in close coordination with the commercial fishing industry and is based off extensive feedback from fishermen in ports up and down the Atlantic coast. Deepwater Wind believes that keeping fishermen informed is the key to preventing damage to fishing gear. >click to read<18:19
Conservationist intends to sue five states over whale entanglements, including individual lobstermen
A noted North Atlantic right whale conservationist who is suing Massachusetts officials over the licensing of commercial lobster pot gear has said he intends to do the same thing in five other states starting with Maine. The Maine DNR is killing and injuring endangered whales and sea turtles in U.S. coastal waters from its licensing of lobster pot gear, and gill nets, said Richard “Max” Strahan of Whale Safe USA, which is based in Cambridge. >click to read<08:18
BLACK SEA BASS – THE NEW “WAR BETWEEN THE STATES”
On April 9, 1865, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant at the Appomattox Court House in Virginia, signifying the end of the U.S. Civil War. One hundred and fifty-three years to the day, north and south are set to do battle yet again, this time over sea bass. From April 30 through May 3, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASFMC) will hold its 2018 spring meeting in Arlington, VA, a city that was once the dividing line between Confederates to the South and the Union Army to the north during the bloodiest war in U.S. history. >click to read<12:41
New York Releases Offshore Wind Master Plan
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) have released the New York State Offshore Wind Master Plan, an extensive document that highlights the state’s progress on offshore wind development while charting an ambitious path forward. The plan is designed to help meet the Governor’s previously announced goal of procuring 2,400 megawatts (MW) of offshore wind energy by 2030. >click to read<09:44
Coast Guard warns mariners, prepares for storm, New Jeresey and North, Hurricane Force Wind Warning for Coastal NE
The Coast Guard is advising mariners and swimmers along the New York and New Jersey coasts to use caution as a powerful storm approaches Thursday night through Saturday. Mariners are warned to take the following precautions to protect their vessels and their crews: “With the potential for severe weather, our overall concern is ensuring the safety of the people and mariners who live and work on the water,” said Capt. Jason Tama >click to read< 17:27
HURRICANE FORCE WIND WARNING IN EFFECT FROM FRIDAY AFTERNOON THROUGH SATURDAY MORNING
National Weather Service – 417 PM EST Thu Mar 1 2018 .Synopsis for Massachusetts and Rhode Island coastal waters… A powerful and long duration coastal storm gets underway tonight into Sat, and perhaps lingers into Sun. >click to read<17:35
NY Commercial fishermen reeling from shutdown of fluke fishery
It was the busy Labor Day Weekend, and Southold Fish Market owner Charlie Manwaring had been forced to stock his popular East End restaurant and market with out-of-state fluke for the first time in recent memory. “This is my backyard, and on a holiday weekend I have no fluke,” he complained to Rep. Lee Zeldin (R-Shirley) at a meeting Friday morning with two dozen angry Long Island fishermen and women at the Mattituck fishing dock. “I have to rely on Rhode Island and Jersey and Massachusetts and Carolina.”. “The fluke paid our bills,” said Cindy Kaminsky, who fishes commercially out of Mattituck.,,, “Nobody’s been willing to stand up and say to lawmakers, ‘You need to make this fair to New York fishermen,’ ” said Southampton attorney Dan Rodgers of New York Fish, an advocacy group. click here to read the story 17:42
New York – State DEC officials agree to meeting over LI fishing permits
The state Department of Environmental Conservation has agreed to meet with Long Island fishing interests over long-held complaints about access to restricted commercial fishing permits following a move by local legislators seeking quicker action on state fishing rules. The meeting, brokered by Assemb. Fred Thiele (I-Sag Harbor), is expected to address the complexities of acquiring, transferring and even passing to family members permits to fish for vital local fish such as striped bass and fluke. It may also address so-called latent permits, in which a large percentage of existing permits are held but not used. Fishermen also have complained of long-standing moratoriums on certain species of fish. click here to read the story 09:29
Decision Will Allow Disposal Of Dredged Materials In Long Island Sound
Federal environmental officials Friday dismissed protests from New York and issued a final ruling that will allow operation of an open-water site in eastern Long Island Sound for disposing of dredged materials from harbors and ports. The EPA decision drew applause from Connecticut’s congressional delegation and state officials who argued that halting dredge disposal in the eastern Sound would be a damaging economic blow for shoreline communities in this state. In its ruling, the EPA shifted the location of the new open water disposal site to place it entirely within Connecticut waters. New York officials and environmentalists fear the open water disposal of muck dredged primarily from Connecticut harbors could pollute the waters of the Sound and harm commercial and recreational fishing. Read the story here 12:34
