State and Local Archives - Page 665 of 897

New NYC Health Department Rule Mandates Raw Fish Make Pit Stop In Freezer First

July 11, 2015 — Beginning in August, most raw fish served in any New York City restaurant will have to be frozen first.

As WCBS 880’s Jim Smith reported, the city Department of Health and Mental Hygiene’s rule is going into effect next month, requiring fish being served raw or under cooked to first be frozen to kill off bacteria.

But James Versocki, counsel for the New York State Restaurant Association, said there are exemptions — meaning you’ll likely not notice any difference the next time your order a tuna roll.

Read the full story at CBS New York

FLORIDA: More than $20,000 of lobster and shrimp stolen from seafood supplier

July 10, 2015 — MIAMI, Fla. — Friday, customarily a big seafood consumption day, turned into a big seafood theft day at Miami’s Sea Land Distribution.

Thieves plowed a hole in a storage warehouse and stole $20,000 to $30,000 worth of mostly lobster and shrimp overnight. Perpetrators knew not only where but when to execute the heist for maximum take.

It was the first from the restaurant supplier in more than 30 years of business.

Read the full story at the Miami Herald

MASSACHUSETTS: 151 Cape Ann crew, dockhands to share in $3M relief

July 13, 2015 — The state will distribute about $3 million in federal fishery disaster aid to 525 eligible Massachusetts-based crew members, dock workers and owner-operators, including 136 from Gloucester and 15 from other towns on Cape Ann, according to the state Division of Marine Fisheries.

Peter Lorenz, DMF spokesman, said letters went out June 30 to 601 Massachusetts-based crew members who applied for the funds, informing them of their status.

Lorenz said 76 applicants were not qualified for any payments.

The payments for eligible years range from $1,209 per year to $10,080 per year, with 68 successful applicants to receive $8,064 per eligible year while 120 successful applicants maxed out at $10,080 per eligible year.

Lorenz said the qualified recipients, including the 151 from Cape Ann, must fill out state-vendor forms. Once the forms are approved, the agency will begin scheduling payments — which will go out weekly on Fridays.

The $3 million earmarked for crew members, dock workers and some owner-operators is part of the $8.3 million initially contained in the second phase of the $75 million in federal fishing disaster funding approved by Congress in January 2014.

The four coastal New England states, as well as New York and New Jersey, received about $33 million of the total $75 million, with Massachusetts’ share amounting to about $14.8 million.

The first phase of funding funneled $6.5 million to more than 200 eligible federal limited permit holders in the form of checks of $32,500 per eligible permit.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

DELAWARE: Crab yield projected to be double last year’s catch

July 8, 2015 — LEIPSIC, Del. — As summer heats up, so does crab season.

Local crabbers are bringing in more blue crabs now than they have all season to this point.

“Overall, this year has been better than last year, but these past few weeks have been way better and I think the rest of the summer looks promising,” said Lingo Voss, a local crabber for more than 40 years.

Lingo and his brother, Larry, crab with a few employees in the Leipsic River starting at daylight during the season, which runs from March to November.

The Vosses usually are done with the day around noon.

“It’s easier to get more done in the morning and it’s also the coolest time of day,” Lingo said. “If you come out in the afternoon, it’s going to be too hot for the crabs and they’re not going to last very long.”

The brothers keep a daily log of how many crabs they bring in. After flipping through a few pages they saw that during the week of July 4th, 2014, the largest catch amounted to only three bushels.

The Vosses said on any given day over the past month or so their boats bring in five to 10 bushels a day.

According to the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control’s projections, about 3 million to 3.5 million pounds of crabs (weight includes the shell) are expected to be harvested in 2015. If the yield meets the projections, it will be almost twice as many crabs as last year, the best year since 2010.

To make projections for each year, DNREC monitors the size and quantity of young crabs between April and October at 26 Delaware locations, a process they’ve followed since 1978.

Read the full story at Delaware State News

NORTH CAROLINA: Second Crystal Coast town enacts fishing restrictions because of shark attacks

July 10, 2015 — A second town along the Crystal Coast is enacting restrictions on fishing in light of recent shark attacks, while the state is giving them the green light.

Pine Knoll Shores says it will ban all fishing with 200 yards of 10 popular beach access locations in the town, effective Monday.

This comes after Emerald Isle put a temporary ban on shark fishing and “chumming” within the town limits until September 15th.

Experts have said that shark fishing can entice the sharks closer to the shore. Since June 11th, eight people in the state have been bitten by sharks.

The locations in Pine Knoll Shores are: Ocean Park, Iron Steam public beach access, Memorial Park public beach access, Hammer Park access, two public accesses at Beacons Reach, the Knollwood public beach access, as well as the lodges at The Atlantis, The Seahawk, and The Windjammer.

Read the full story and watch the video at WITN

NORTH CAROLINA: Last call for flounder comment

July 8, 2015 — Flounder are fish enjoyed on many N.C. dinner tables, and their popularity is shared by recreational and commercial fishermen.

That popularity has brought many comments to N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries as the July 10 deadline arrives for public comment on six southern flounder management proposals approved for consideration during the Marine Fisheries Commission’s May meeting.

“We had a public meeting that about 150 people showed up at, and about 60 spoke, and we’ve received quite a few written comments,” said Patricia Smith, Marine Fisheries public information officer. “It’s a very important fish in North Carolina.”

Southern is one of three flounder species found in North Carolina.

Catch reduction options, increased size limits and gill net mesh restrictions are among measures being considered to help southern flounder recover from fishing pressure.

Read the full story at The News & Observer

Taunton, Mass. dive team recovers commercial eel fisherman’s boat after river mishap

July 7, 2015 — Shifting tides and floating logs stranded a Rhode Island pair and their slippery sushi harvest along the Taunton River on Sunday.

An eel fisherman and his grandson had to jump from their boat as it took on water near a railroad trestle.

Police responded around 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon, according to Taunton Police Dive Team leader Sgt. Matt McCaffrey.

Police said commercial fisherman Brad Higson, 59, of Brayton Road, Tiverton, was out on the river Sunday with his 8-year-old grandson.

The eel-fishing duo had been recovering the bounty from 60 eel pots left hanging from orange buoys along the waterway.

Read the full story at the Taunton Daily Gazette

North Carolina town bans shark fishing

July 7, 2015 — An Eastern North Carolina town has banned shark fishing until after Labor Day.

The Emerald Isle Board of Commissioners met in a special meeting on Monday and adopted a new ordinance that temporarily bans shark fishing and / or “chumming” activities on the beach and nearshore areas, effective immediately, according to information from the town.

Read the full story at the Jacksonville Daily News

NORTH CAROLINA: Several saltwater species get upgrades in latest stock-status report

July 7, 2015 — The N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries upgraded the status of a handful of popular saltwater species in its annual stock status report released last week.

The report upgraded to “viable” the status of spotted seatrout, king mackerel, black drum and kingfish. It upgraded gag grouper from “concern” to “recovering.” A popular baitfish, menhaden, was upgraded from concern to viable. The viable status means the stock is not overfished and is not experiencing overfishing.

Read the full story at North Carolina Sportsman

New York’s Marine Constituencies Make Nice

July 6, 2015 — I get something of this same nightmare feeling of unease when I witness the conversations between representatives of industry and conservation here in New York. It seems to me that both parties fundamentally want the same thing: An ecologically healthy ocean that supports an economically vibrant city. But neither of them can hear the other or trust in their intent.

Too often these exchanges devolve into finger pointing, defensive posturing and cynicism, even though an objective analysis of their positions indicates that they are not mutually exclusive.

That’s why I found the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Council’s recent announcement of an amendment to protect deep sea coral so refreshing. Instead of talking past each other, representatives of the commercial and recreational fishing industry, scientists, researchers, and conservationists looked for collaboration and trust.

Together they found compromises to protect the livelihoods of fishermen and the habitats of deep sea coral. This includes the astounding Hudson Canyon – the largest submarine canyon on the East coast, located just off our own shores. When the regulations are finalized, the deep sea coral protection zone (nearly the size of Virginia) will comprise the largest fishery protected area on the Atlantic seaboard.

Read the full story at the Huffington Post