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The real reason why youโ€™re suddenly seeing whales in N.J. and N.Y. waters

November 28, 2016 โ€” If youโ€™ve spent any time walking the beaches or boating the ocean waters of New Jersey or New York in recent weeks, youโ€™ve likely been treated to spectacle that has been a rarity in these parts for most of the past century or so: whales.

Theyโ€™ve been seemingly everywhere.

Breaching just past the sandbars in Asbury Park.

Swimming past groups of surfers in Rockaway Beach.

Bumping into boats off Belmar.

And this weekโ€™s ultimate cetacean sensation: a humpback whale swam up the Hudson River for a photo op in front of the George Washington Bridge.

Besides inspiring a chorus of oohs and aahs, the increase in sightings is adding a blubbery new wrinkle to a raging debate over a far smaller fish: the Atlantic menhaden. Itโ€™s the menhaden, also known as โ€œbunkerโ€ โ€” clumsy, multidinous, slow swimming virtual floating hamburgers โ€” that those whales are chasing.

Even as the whales were gulping down bunker along the coast of New Jersey, the ASMFC has been pushing the commercial quotas back up closer to pre 2012 catch levels. Last year, the catch limit was raised 10 percent, with the ASMFC citing data that showed bunker were not being overfished.

And, then, three weeks ago, the council voted to raise the commercial catch limits another 6.5 percent.

That move has been cheered by commercial fishing operations who argue the limits were never necessary and simply jeopardized an industry that employs hundreds of people from New Jersey to Virginia, where the largest menhaden processing operation, Omega Protein Corp, is located.

โ€œThe fact that thereโ€™s a lot of fish around has nothing do with reducing these quotas,โ€ said Jeff Kaelin, spokesman for Lundโ€™s Fisheries, a Cape May commercial fishing company that sells bunker as lobster bait. The increased number of whale sightings is simply the result of smaller fish growing to a larger size due to โ€œenvironmental conditions.โ€

โ€œThe stock was not overfished,โ€ he said. โ€œItโ€™s never been.โ€

Kaelin said the 20 percent coast-wide reduction translated into a roughly 50 percent cut for New Jersey companies that harvest bunker, because it shut down the fishery early in the year and put the stateโ€™s crucial fall harvest off limits.

โ€œIf the science says we need to cut back we will, but in this case we feel very strongly that weโ€™re underfishing the stock,โ€ he said.

Read the full story at NJ.com

Oysters, Clams, and More: Future of Green Farming in a Garden State?

November 1, 2016 โ€” Streamlining regulations and getting rid of excessive paperwork could spark an upsurge in โ€œgreen aquacultureโ€ in New Jersey

In an effort to promote the eco-friendly aquaculture industry, the Senate and Assembly have unanimously passed a bill to reduce the paperwork involved in setting up this type of business. The lawmakers, who hope the governor will sign their bill to encourage โ€œgreen aquaculture,โ€ believe that fish-farming in New Jersey waters holds the potential to create jobs for the long term.

โ€œWeโ€™ve made it virtually impossible for them to succeed. Only the most persistent people have been able to move forward,โ€ said Jeff Van Drew (D-Cape May Court House), who sponsored the legislation (S-317) to drastically streamline regulations so applicants could essentially submit one packet to be distributed interdepartmentally instead of encountering the many conflicting demands they currently face.

Rutgers University estimates that the 160 aquaculture businesses already operating in the state contribute $36 million directly and indirectly to the economy. But considering that surrounding states have grown their aquaculture industries to 30 times the size of New Jerseyโ€™s, those arenโ€™t nearly enough dollar signs for the Garden Stateโ€™s legislators and would-be aquaculturalists; they think the legislation will help to cut out some of the 11 different state, local, and federal agencies with which those aspiring to be part of the industry currently must file paperwork.

The New Jersey Department of Agriculture defines aquaculture as โ€œthe raising of marine and freshwater organisms under controlled conditionsโ€ and includes โ€œfood fish and shellfish, cultured pearls, ornamental and aquarium fish, and plants for food, fuel, garden ponds and aquariums.โ€

Read the full story at the NJ Spotlight

Delaware might scuttle ferry for artificial fishing reef

LOWER TOWNSHIP, N.J. โ€” A Cape May-Lewes Ferry boat that has been for sale for four years likely will be scuttled as a new artificial reef after failing to draw interest on the commercial market.

The MV Twin Capes has been moored at the Delaware River & Bay Authorityโ€™s docks in Lower Township since it was gradually taken out of service about two years ago.

The ferryboat is bigger, heavier and more nicely appointed than the other three in the fleet. It has a full restaurant, a food court and two plush bars that were added as part of a $27 million renovation in 1996.

But the bigger boat costs more to operate, DRBA spokesman James Salmon said. It requires a bigger crew (17 people instead of 12) and uses more fuel than the other three ferries with every 17-mile crossing over the Delaware Bay.

The DRBA has a tentative agreement to sell the ferry for $250,000 to Delawareโ€™s Department of Natural Resources for use as an artificial ocean reef.

Delaware is partnering with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, which has decades of experience sinking barges, boats and construction material to create offshore habitat for fish.

Read the full story at Press of Atlantic City

Commission could increase menhaden catch

August 2, 2016 โ€” New Jersey commercial bait fishermen want to see the coastwide catch of menhaden increased nearly 80,000 metric tons.

โ€œWeโ€™re focused on the science. If the science supports an increase, we want to take it,โ€ said Jeff Kaelin from Lunds Fisheries, a commercial fishing operation in Cape May.

The amount of menhaden fishermen will be able to take from the water next year will be decided Wednesday in Alexandria, Virginia, when the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission meets.

The Atlantic Menhaden Technical Committee has given the ASMFC options that would allow the catch to increase by as much as 10,000 to 80,000 metric tons.

Only one option is to keep the status quo at 187,880 metric tons. There is no option to reduce the catch.

Kaelin said Jersey purse seiners have been shut out of the fishery since July 4, after fishermen reached their allocation for this year. He said if they had more quota, they could be selling bait to New England lobstermen who are clamoring for bait.

Read the full story at the Asbury Park Press

How safe is the fishing industry in South Jersey?

May 25, 2016 โ€” CAPE MAY, N.J. โ€” The dangers of commercial fishing were illustrated dramatically 6 miles off Cape May on April 28 when the scallop boat Last Stand collided with a 400-foot barge pushed by the tug Dean Reinauer.

Three fishermen aboard the Last Stand donned survival suits, climbed into a life raft and paddled away from the rigging as the fishing boat rolled and sank beneath the waves in just minutes.

Nobody was hurt, and the U.S. Coast Guard based in Cape May rescued the fishermen safely. The Coast Guard is investigating the accident.

โ€œThe industry is as cautious as they can be. They are prepared. Theyโ€™re not careless. Theyโ€™re not reckless,โ€ said Gregory DiDomenico, president of the trade group Garden State Seafood Association.

DiDomenico said the sinking shows how preparation and training made a difference in a crisis. By comparison, he said, many times more recreational boaters die in accidents each year.

โ€œWhen you consider all the regulatory measures and Coast Guard inspections and the amount of technology and electronics on board today โ€ฆ they want to come home at the end of every trip,โ€ he said.

Read the full story at Press of Atlantic City

Changing Migration Patterns Upend East Coast Fishing Industry

May 11, 2016 โ€” Summer flounder that once amassed in North Carolina have gradually shifted about 140 miles to New Jerseyโ€”one facet of the northward migration of fish species that is upending traditional fishing patterns.

The move north has sparked debate among regulators over how to respond to changing natural resources that could affect commercial fisheries across the eastern seaboard.

For the first time, a group of researchers backed by the federal government is trying to ascertain what the northward movement means for fishermenโ€™s income and way of life.

โ€œSome fisherman will end up losing out and some will win big,โ€ said Malin Pinsky, an assistant professor of ecology and evolution at Rutgers University, who is part of a team of scientists from Rutgers, Princeton University and Yale University studying the phenomenon.

Funded through a piece of a $1.4 million National Science Foundation grant, the team of scientists is examining how shifting patterns of where fish congregate is affecting commercial anglers and how they are changing their practices. They are also studying what kind of regulations may be needed to adapt to these changing realities.

For Lundโ€™s Fisheries, for example, the northward creep has forced the companyโ€™s boats to catch the flounder in New Jersey and then spend time traveling to North Carolina, where regulations allow them to bring them on shore in more abundant quantities. When the boats travel south, the fishery canโ€™t catch sea bass, scup and other species they may have reeled in at the same time in waters off New Jersey.

โ€œIt does cause us to drive fish around the ocean longer than we have historically. That gets factored into the cost of doing business,โ€ said Jeff Kaelin, an executive at the company, which has facilities in Cape May, N.J., and North Carolina.

Read the full story at the Wall Street Journal

First U.S. Clam Fishery Embarks on Sustainable Fishing Assessment

December 22, 2015 โ€” The following was released by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC):

The Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog fishery has become the first clam fishery in the U.S. to step forward for assessment to the Marine Stewardship Councilโ€™s (MSC) global standard for sustainable fishing. Working with scientists, the fishing industry and conservation groups, MSC has developed the worldโ€™s most credible and recognized standard for environmentally sustainable wild-caught seafood.

Iconic surfclams and ocean quahogs are important commercial species in the U.S, found in products such as breaded clam strips, minced clams, stuffed clams, chowders and bisques. In 2014, the surfclams and quahogs harvest was valued at approximately $30 million and $22 million, respectively.

If certified, these clams will be eligible to carry the internationally recognized blue MSC ecolabel, which provides consumers an easy way to choose seafood that can be traced back to a certified sustainable source.
 
Mike Kraft, Vice President of Sustainability, Bumble Bee Seafoods, one of the processors supporting this assessment said: โ€œOur customers and consumers care about sustainability and want to contribute to healthy ocean ecosystems by enjoying sustainably harvested surfclams and quahogs now, and in the future. We are confident that the MSC process will validate the sustainability of these well-managed and healthy fisheries.โ€

Brian Perkins, MSC regional director โ€“ Americas, said: โ€œThe MSCโ€™s vision is for oceans to be teeming with life for future generations. We welcome the U.S. Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog fisheryโ€™s decision to enter MSC assessment. This is an important milestone for the MSC and for fishing in the U.S.โ€

Landing ports for U.S. Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog are New Bedford, Gloucester, and Fairhaven, Massachusetts; Warren and Bristol, Rhode Island; Point Pleasant, Atlantic City, Cape May, and Port Norris, New Jersey; and on occasion, Ocean City, Maryland. The processors supporting this assessment include: Bumble Bee Seafoods; Sea Watch International Ltd; Lamonica Fine Foods; Atlantic Capes Fisheries Inc.; and Surfside Foods LLC.

The independent assessment will be conducted by SCS Global Services, an accredited third-party conformity assessment body. SCS Global Services will assemble a team of fishery science and policy experts to evaluate the fishery according to the three principles of the MSC Fisheries Standard: the health of the stock of surfclam and ocean quahog; the impact of fishing on the marine environment; and the management of the fishery. The process takes around 18 months and is open to stakeholders. All results are peer reviewed and no decision is made about a fisheryโ€™s sustainability until after the assessment is

Court case highlights conflict between fishermen and marine mammals

November 16, 2015 โ€” A Cape May County tuna fisherman is fighting federal charges of shooting a pilot whale that was feeding on his boatโ€™s catch.

Daniel Archibald denies the charges filed against him in U.S. District Court. But his lawyer, Bill Hughes Jr., said in court papers that even if Archibald shot the animal, he wasnโ€™t breaking any laws.

The unusual case highlights the often contentious relationship between fishermen and the seals, whales and dolphins that steal their catch. And it points to the murky laws that give fishermen, marine contractors, researchers and others permission in some cases to kill them.

Prosecutors say Archibald, 27, of Cape May, in 2011 used a rifle to shoot at short-finned pilot whales feeding on the long-line catch of the Capt. Bob, a tuna boat based in Sea Isle City.

He was charged with conspiracy to take marine mammals on the high seas and violations of the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Read the full story at Press of Atlantic City

New Bedford seafood company files for chapter 11 bankruptcy

October 28, 2015 โ€” A New Bedford seafood company filed yesterday under chapter 11 of the bankruptcy code, listing assets of $709,000 and liabilities of $2.9 million.

Chapter 11 usually indicates a company is trying to reorganize and stay in business.

Top Quality Seafood & Shellfish LLC listed its biggest unsecured creditor as Atlantic Capes Fisheries of Cape May, New Jersey, owed $2.06 million. The filing attributes the debt to a โ€œcivil judgment.โ€ The biggest Boston creditor listed is Redโ€™s Best, owed $15,643.

Read the full story from the Boston Business Journal

Dozens of whales join fishermen off New Jersey coast

August 18, 2015 โ€” Dozens of long finned pilot whales joined anglers fishing offshore in the 24th Annual MidAtlantic offshore fishing tournament taking place this week in Cape May.

Several pods of the whales mixed in with the fishing boats as they trolled for trophy fish in the offshore canyons.

Pilot whales are the second largest member of the dolphin family with killer whales being the largest. According to Bob Schoelkopf  founder of the  Marine Mammal Stranding Center in Brigantine said pilot whales feed mainly on squid and they travel in large groups with up to 150 individuals. Males can reach up to 25 feet and females are about 18 feet.

View the video and read the full story at Asbury Park Press

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