Saving Seafood

ACFHP Releases Request for Proposals to Study and/or Restore Black Sea Bass Habitat

December 7, 2015 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

The Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership (ACFHP) is seeking research and/or restoration proposals to address black sea bass habitat issues in the Mid-Atlantic region (from Long Island Sound to Cape Hatteras), with an emphasis on the use of natural and/or artificial reefs and their ability to maintain and enhance fishery productivity. Projects can range from 12 – 24 months in length, and should include guaranteed monitoring for at least three years. The maximum award for an individual project is $225,000, and multiple highly ranked projects will be considered if the amount requested totals less than the $225,000 in available funds. All proposed artificial reef construction projects must be developed in coordination with the artificial reef manager in their respective state (contact information listed in the Request for Proposals) to be eligible for funding.

Proposals are due by January 15, 2016 at midnight. The full Request for Proposals is available here: Black Sea Bass Habitat RFP. For questions or to submit a proposal, please email Lisa Havel, ACFHP Coordinator, at LHavel@asmfc.org.

New England’s ports, long past prime, seek to stage comeback

September 6, 2015 — The noise and bustle of nearby neighborhoods fade away at New Haven’s sprawling port. An oil and chemical tanker floats placidly at a dock. A tug pushes a barge out in Long Island Sound. Only occasionally do trucks rumble up to a scrap metal business or deliver materials for road work.

What was a key port for lumber and other goods dating to Colonial times is, like other New England ports, facing a reckoning after a lengthy decline.

In the region that nurtured the beginnings of New World commerce with whaling, fishing and shipbuilding, state and local governments are taking stock of aging infrastructure at deep-water ports. As they move to stake out their share of global trade, the challenge is how to stay relevant in an age of ever-larger ships.

“There are so few people who know about our deep-water ports,” said Judith Scheiffele, executive director of the New Haven Port Authority. “I think it’s kind of taken for granted.”

Read the full story from Savannah Now

Plan Afoot to Continue to Restore the Long Island Sound

July 11, 2015 — A broad swath of bipartisan federal lawmakers are looking to extend the federal government’s support of the restoration of the Long Island Sound.

In late June, a consortium of Connecticut and New York lawmakers introduced legislation that would extend the Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act from now until 2020. If passed, it would provide a large pool of federal money to clean up the Sound.

In 1985, the EPA, in agreement with the New York and Connecticut, created the Long Island Sound Study, an office under the Environment Protection Agency (EPA) that works to restore the Sound, addressing low oxygen levels and high nitrogen levels that have depleted fish and shellfish populations and hurt wetlands.

In 1990, the Long Island Sound Improvement Act passed. providing federal money for cleanup projects, including wastewater treatment improvements.

In 2006, Congress passed the Long Island Sound Stewardship Act, which provided federal money for projects to restore coastal habitats to help revitalize wildlife populations, coastal wetlands and plant life.

Since then, for every $1 appropriated, the Long Island Sound Study has leveraged $87 from other federal, state, local and private funding sources, totaling more than $3.8 billion, enabling the program to significantly reduce the amount of nitrogen entering the Long Island Sound from sewage treatment plants by 35,000,000 pounds per year. They’ve also used the money to restore at least 1,548 acres and protect 2,580 acres of habitat land.

Read the full story at the East End Beacon

 

Darien, Conn. Lobsterman Calls For End To Pesticide Use To Restore The Industry

July 1, 2015 — The Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act would seek funding of $65 million for water quality and shore restoration programs. Murphy supports the bill, along with his fellow Connecticut Democrat U.S. Richard Blumenthal, and New York’s two Democratic U.S. Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Chuck Schumer.

Frate said it was pesticide used to combat the West Nile Virus in 1998 and 1999 that decimated the Sound’s lobster population and sent it into a tailspin from which it has yet to recover.

Connecticut banned the use of some pesticides, but New York hasn’t, he said.

But Carlo said he’s noticed a rebound in the number of lobsters.

“The lobsters right now are looking nice and healthy,” he said. “There’s been a huge improvement since 2012.”

Read the full story at the Darien Daily Voice

 

Lawmakers seeking $65 million to clean up Long Island Sound

June 22, 2015 — Conn. — With new legislation proposed to protect and restore the waters of the Long Island Sound, Connecticut and New York lawmakers are hoping to reverse the effects of decades of over-development and pollution.

The Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act would combine two water quality and shore restoration programs to be funded at, respectively, $40 million and $25 million per year through 2020. It was introduced by U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) on Monday.

Co-sponsoring the bill are Sens. Richard Blumenthal and Chris Murphy, both Connecticut Democrats, who called the Sound the “most valuable natural resource” of the region.

The Sound brings in billions yearly from sport and commercial fishing, boating, recreation and tourism.

Read the full story at CT Post