Other News

Travel anywhere on the Seacoast and you’ll see fishing boats along the shore. But where to eat their fresh fish? Good luck with that. About 11 million pounds of fish, including just over 3 million pounds of fin fish, landed on the New Hampshire coast last year, and nearly all of it left the state after being unloaded on the pier.

Like most of us, I didn’t have a clue that our fish are heading down the interstate. But for those who’ve been watching the industry consolidate over the last 30 years, it’s like standing by while trucks full of money disappear down the road. And seeing 400 years of tradition being sold to out-of-staters. And, for some reason, saying “no, thanks” to an affordable supply of fresh healthy food, only to buy it back a few days later and older, at a higher price.

The math doesn’t make sense to a small group of people who have been meeting at Portsmouth City Hall since October working to turn the tide. This week, they’ll launch “NH Seafood Fresh and Local,” a new brand intended to help consumers identify locally landed seafood, species that are both fresh and managed to sustainability.

Read the complete story at The Wire.

Dozens of wind turbines could sprout within sight of the Massachusetts shoreline under a first-of-its-kind state blueprint with the promise of generating both electricity and controversy.

The draft plan, scheduled to be released today, would allow a series of small wind farms of up to 10 turbines each in coastal waters that stretch 3 miles from shore. Substantially larger farms – similar to what’s proposed in Nantucket Sound – could be built off Cape Cod near Cuttyhunk Island and adjacent to another tiny island several miles off Martha’s Vineyard.

But much like zoning laws on land that attempt to protect sensitive areas, the state plan aims to spare precious pieces of the sea that include fish nurseries and endangered whale feeding zones. Before developers could start aquaculture farms, lay electric cables, or plant wind turbines in those areas, they would have to prove there is no better alternative.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

A draft of the state’s historic ocean management plan being released today would prohibit Boston developer Jay Cashman from building his proposed, large-scale, commercial wind farm in the upper portion of Buzzards Bay.

At the same time, the plan opens the door for small-scale, community wind projects with 10 or fewer turbines to be sited in most of the state’s coastal waters, including the upper bay. In addition, the plan identifies two potential locations for commercial-sized wind farms: the southern end of the Elizabeth Islands at the mouth of Buzzards Bay and an area southwest of Nomans Land near Martha’s Vineyard.

An extensive review of ocean uses in Buzzards Bay concluded that Cashman’s proposal by Patriot Renewables LLC — which originally called for a 300-megawatt project with a total of up to 120 turbines sited off Dartmouth, Fairhaven and Naushon Island — was not an appropriate fit for the narrow bay, said Ian Bowles, state secretary for energy and environmental affairs.

Read the complete story at The South Coast Today.

The 2009 Summer Community Lecture Series is sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant, the URI Cooperative Extension/Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan, and the participating libraries. For more information, visit seagrant.gso.uri.edu. These lectures are free, but seating is limited. Please contact Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6800 to reserve your seat.

July 16, 2009

Vessel Traffic, Safety, and Offshore Wind Farms: Navigating the Coast Guard’s Review Process

Edward G. LeBlanc is chief of the WaterwaysManagement Division for Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, an area that includes Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound, Buzzards Bay, Nantucket Sound, and all ocean waters adjacent to Rhode Island, Southeastern Massachusetts, and Cape Cod. His division ensures navigation safety through a variety of preventative measures including aids-to-navigation, vessel traffic management, boating safety education, and compliance with federal regulations. The Waterways Management Division also reviews any proposed facility or activity that may impact navigation on a federal waterway, such as offshore renewable energy installations (e.g., wind farms), dredging and bridge maintenance operations, and marine regattas.

North Kingstown Free Library

100 Boone St., Wickford

7–8 p.m.

 

August 6th Rhode Island Ocean Zoning: Where NOT to Put a Wind Farm in Rhode Island Waters

Work is underway to gather data to assist in siting offshore renewable energy facilities (wind farms) in R.I. coastal waters. Environmental conditions, existing uses, ecological impacts, and technological constraints are all factors to determine viable sites for offshore energy development. Malcolm Spaulding, URI professor of ocean engineering, will describe the marine spatial planning approach that is being used. This work is being done as part of the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan to zone Rhode Island’s waters.

South Kingstown Peace Dale Library

1057 Kingstown Rd., Peace Dale

7–8 p.m.

Alice and Larry Hatch always bring a cooler filled with ice when they shop for seafood each week.

They don’t go to a supermarket or even a seafood shop. This summer they’re getting their fish – whole, with eyes staring up – directly from the fishermen who caught it.

A similar agriculture model has been around for decades; farmers sell portions of their harvest directly to people who take it home and prepare it for dinner. Now fishermen are getting in on the act, selling their fresh fish to people who pay in advance for a share of the catch.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

The commercial herring fishery on the California coast will be closed for the first time in history in response to historically low population numbers.

The state Fish and Game Commission took emergency action Thursday to close the fishery, which is now under way and would normally continue until November.

The closure is expected to take effect in about 10 days, said Fish and Game Deputy Director Sonke Mastrup.

Read the complete story at The Sacramento Bee.

Arne Fuglvog, a former commercial fisherman who serves as a fisheries aide in Sen. Lisa Murkowski’s Washington D.C. office, is a finalist to head up NOAA’s Fisheries Service.

(See the story written by the ADN’s Elizabeth Bluemink when Fuglvog, who once served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, moved to Murkowski’s office from Alaska in 2006.)

The finalists are down to Fuglvog and Brian Rothschild of Massachusetts, reports the Gloucester Daily Times in "America’s Oldest Seaport." The Massachusetts newspaper has had exhaustive coverage of the appointment process, including this profile of the two candidates.

Read the complete story at Politicker.

The 2009 Summer Community Lecture Series is sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant, the URI Cooperative Extension/Nutrition and Food Sciences Department, the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan, and the participating libraries. For more information, visit seagrant.gso.uri.edu.

These lectures are free, but seating is limited. Please contact Rhode Island Sea Grant at (401) 874-6800 to reserve your seat.

 

June 18th

Understanding Climate Change: What it Means for Rhode Islanders

Global climate change and sea level rise effects are already being seen in Rhode Island in rising temperatures, erosion, and increased flooding. URI GSO Associate Dean and Ocean Engineering Professor Kate Moran and URI Coastal Resources Center/Rhode Island Sea Grant Coastal Management Extension Specialist Pam Rubinoff have studied climate change and coastal issues around the world and will speak about what changes Rhode Islanders can expect in the coming years as well as an innovative project the state is working on to develop offshore renewable energy resources.

Newport Public Library Program Room 300 Spring St., Newport

7–8 p.m

 

July 16, 2009

Vessel Traffic, Safety, and Offshore Wind Farms: Navigating the Coast Guard’s Review Process

Edward G. LeBlanc is chief of the WaterwaysManagement Division for Coast Guard Sector Southeastern New England, an area that includes Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island Sound, Buzzards Bay, Nantucket Sound, and all ocean waters adjacent to Rhode Island, Southeastern Massachusetts, and Cape Cod. His division ensures navigation safety through a variety of preventative measures including aids-to-navigation, vessel traffic management, boating safety education, and compliance with federal regulations. The Waterways Management Division also reviews any proposed facility or activity that may impact navigation on a federal waterway, such as offshore renewable energy installations (e.g., wind farms), dredging and bridge maintenance operations, and marine regattas.

North Kingstown Free Library 100 Boone St., Wickford

7–8 p.m.

 

August 6th

Rhode Island Ocean Zoning: Where NOT to Put a Wind Farm in Rhode Island Waters

Work is underway to gather data to assist in siting offshore renewable energy facilities (wind farms) in R.I. coastal waters. Environmental conditions, existing uses, ecological impacts, and technological constraints are all factors to determine viable sites for offshore energy development. Malcolm Spaulding, URI professor of ocean engineering, will describe the marine spatial planning approach that is being used. This work is being done as part of the R.I. Ocean Special Area Management Plan to zone Rhode Island’s waters.

South Kingstown Peace Dale Library 1057 Kingstown Rd., Peace Dale

7–8 p.m.

The five-armed creatures appeared by the thousands last Sunday at Scusset Beach State Reservation – spiny-skinned organisms so resilient that if one of their arms gets lopped off, it grows right back.

A starfish invasion is underway.

Enormous mats of the spiny creatures are infesting pockets of New England waters from Narragansett Bay to Cape Cod Bay this spring, charming beachcombers but tormenting some fishermen who worry they could devour the region’s bounty of oysters, scallops, clams, and mussels. Starfish have little economic value – even seagulls gag when eating them – but their colorful skin and iconic shape bring squeals of delight from children and have made them a popular trinket in beachside tourist shops.

Read the complete story at The Boston Globe.

Charlie Brighton, owner of the F/V Kelsi & Morgan, landed 1.6 million pounds of baitfish last year. This year, with strict rules imposed by the National Marine Fisheries Service that effectively shut off groundfishing for federal permit holders effective May 1, Brighton said he won’t be catching bait anymore.

Instead, he said, he’s trying to learn how to catch squid.

“The groundfishing rules ruined me,” Brighton said. “So now I’m trying to catch squid. The other day, there were 25 draggers out of Point Judith west of East Matunuck Beach and we were all trying to chase squid. We must have looked terrible to all those people on the beach. In their mind they must be thinking ‘They’re raping the ocean.’ But the government has put everyone in the position to be chasing one little creature.”

Meanwhile, over at the Bait Co. in Galilee, owner Andrea Incollingo said her prospects are looking “bleak.” Before the new rules went into effect, she relied on a small group of federal permit holders to supply her with skate, most of it caught with flounder. That baitfish is then sold to the region’s lobstermen, who pay between $40 and $50 per 500-pound barrel.

Read the complete story at South County Independent.