Saving Seafood

Climate change, scorching summers bring more Southern fish to Delaware waters

September 4, 2018 — Surrounded by some of the largest coastal estuaries on the East Coast, Delaware sees its fair share of varied marine life from sharks and whales to funky fish and crustaceans.

But rising temperatures on land and sea are starting to mix things up even more.

Some species previously known to frequent Florida, others that rarely traveled beyond the Chesapeake Bay and tropical fish that look like they came from a fancy aquarium instead of First State waters are catching the attention of fishermen and scientists along the coast.

“There is an issue with climate change, or whatever you want to call it,” said Rich King, an avid fisherman, Sussex County resident and the mind behind DelawareSurfFishing.com. “It’s affecting the fish stocks because they’re changing migration patterns.”

On King’s website, which chronicles the ins-and-outs of fishing along the Delaware coast, reports outline everything from tropical Portuguese men-o-war washing ashore to foot-long Florida pompano to fancy butterfly fish caught in crab traps.

Read the full story at the Delaware News Journal

Environmental groups protest oil exploration

February 7, 2018 — Surrounded by protest signs against drilling for oil off Delaware’s coastline, environmentalists and other concerned citizens from across the state gathered in Dover to voice their concerns over a proposal by the federal government to open East Coast waters to offshore drilling.

In early January, U.S. Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke said the majority of federal waters could be open to offshore oil and gas exploration if a revised National Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Program is accepted. The five-year leasing program runs from 2019 to 2024.

Organized by Marine Education Research and Rehabilitation Institute Executive Director Suzanne Thurman, the Jan. 18 protest attracted nearly three dozen people who packed into a small conference room of the Holiday Inn.

Among them was Lewes Mayor Ted Becker. Pointing to Sussex County’s two strongest industries, agriculture and tourism, he said an accident would affect everyone. There’s a lot of concern about what this potentially could mean, Becker said.

The rally occurred as the federal government’s Bureau of Energy Management was hosting a public meeting in the hotel’s large conference room. It was one of 23 meetings scheduled throughout the country. A couple of days before the Dover meeting, BOEM staff met in Annapolis.

Beyond the obvious potential environmental impacts, speakers also addressed other issues, like employee safety and styles of oil platforms.

John Doerfler, representing Delaware Surfrider, said the proposed draft puts oil company employees at great risk because it rolls back safety measures. “They’re putting the lives of the men and women who work for those companies at risk, just so they can fatten their pockets,” Doerfler said.

Read the full story at the Cape Gazette