DOCSLIB.ORG

Comments Received Between

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Comments Received Between Ralicky, Thomas From: Rod Richardson <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 29, 2020 2:55 PM To: Filipowich, Susan Cc: Curt Schade; Lucy Sachs; John Mackall; Michael Patrick; carl safina; Ralicky, Thomas Subject: Re: Site 840 ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- PS — I had not seen Curt’s reply before I sent this. But I think his response underscores the truth of my point: many will feel as shocked and betrayed as I do. — R On May 29, 2020, at 2:52 PM, Rod Richardson <[email protected]> wrote: Susan, Thank you for the response to my questions. In the initial meetings, I and many others heard SCALP administrators say that “everything was on the table.” But if existing lease sites, particularly 840 - 841, that interfere with navigation rights, are now considered to be grandfathered- in in their current location, no matter what, no matter the objections of neighbors, and if SCALP will not begin to prohibit use of surface gear in the existing and operating sites objected to during the 10 year review process — then everything is NOT on the table. And if these things are off the table, and if you are taking zero action in the interim to limit the placement of NEW floating gear in locations where you know there are heavy objections (like 840) then this 10 year review process is a joke. Up until now I thought you were proceeding in good faith, that everything was on the table, as was said. Now, I suspect that is no longer true. I suspect many will feel as shocked and betrayed as I do. Information about floating gear permits being sought and issued for sites in areas under objection – and therefore highly likely to provoke and escalate conflict – should at very least have been publicly shared with all stakeholders. It was not. Certainly, this is the first I am hearing of it. Once again, the lack of transparency is resulting in lack of trust. I fear county and state bureaucrats are now conspiring – by not share key information, by making misleading statements that prove to be not quite true, by outrageous overreach – to steal the navigation rights of the public, and impair public trust doctrine environmental protections, and effectively rip them to shreds. With respect to your question re the area west of Nappeague State Park, I am not talking about adding NEW lease site. I was responding to a question posed by someone about what areas or lease sites had been identified as least objectionable for floating gear. I was saying that the local boating club and maybe other groups, I believe, have made an offer of compromise, that would avoid further conflict. Curt can chime in if I have it wrong. The offer is (a) SCALP eliminates lease site 838 - 847, which are right in the center of the traditional sailing instruction and regatta area; (b) SCALP relocates the only existing operating lease (841) to any available site among 848 - 853 or anywhere else that is unobjectionable. Sites 848 - 853 are less objectionable, but still objectionable…. it's a 1 compromise. Obviously, if you do nothing to prevent 840 from becoming an operating lease with floating gear, this will make compromise much more difficult. If these solutions are not even on the table now, if 840 and 841 become grandfathered in with the use of floating gear forever, compromise is probably impossible, and the review process is broken. You could put the wheel back on the bus by agreeing to the compromise offered promptly. Thank you for anything you can do to respond constructively. Rod Richardson On May 29, 2020, at 12:58 PM, Filipowich, Susan <[email protected]> wrote: Hello Rod, Thank you for your participation during yesterday's Ten Year Review Advisory Group meeting. Lease site 840 was applied for under the 2016 Lease Application Cycle, as previously noted, the lease application process takes a year plus to complete and this lease agreement was executed in 2017. As I am working remotely, I do not have access to all my leaseholder files but I believe lease site 840 received the required approval from the ACOE in April of 2019. I may have misspoke yesterday and said August 2019. Per Debra Barnes's statement, the NYSDEC DMR issued the required off-bottom culture permit and shellfish bed permit in February of 2020. With respect to your other inquiry about any other empty sites in Gardiner’s Bay that are seeking permits for floating gear, I assume you mean the sites that are leased but are not currently being used for shellfish farming? If so, yes, lease site 852; which many of the people you have CC'd on this email are aware of has applied for permits that would authorize the use of floating gear. I am not aware of any other leaseholders in that areas that have applied for permits for floating oyster cages. Under this Ten Year Review all sites that were leased and still hold a lease are being grandfathered in to those locations; and are automatically being included in the Shellfish Cultivation Zone revision. As discussed, the County is responsible for the location, size and term of a lease; we do not regulate the shellfish farming or harvest methods used. I also want to take this opportunity to address another comment you made during yesterday's meeting about adding lease areas off of Napeague State Park. Are you talking about the area I circled on the attached screen cap? If so, you will see that we already have leases west of there and that a private oyster grant is located just north; oyster grants can only be used/leased by the owner. With respect to the area east of the area I circled off Lazy Point, Advisory Group Members that represent the Town of EH and the EH Town Trustees have expressed their respective group's desire to remove those areas; additionally we received a lot of comments with respect to that area being a high boat traffic area (see second attachment). Any farther east and that goes past the County designated jurisdiction. Thank you again, Susan Filipowich Senior Environmental Analyst Suffolk County Dept. of Economic Development and Planning Division of Planning & Environment H Lee Dennison Building, 2nd Fl. 100 Veterans Memorial Highway, PO Box 6100 Hauppauge, NY 11788 2 631-853-4775 Tel 631-853-4044 Fax practiceGREEN Save a tree. Read, don't print, emails. ________________________________ CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE: This electronic mail transmission is intended solely for the use of the individual/entity to whom it is addressed and may contain confidential information belonging to the sender. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that any disclosure, copying, distribution, or the taking of any action in reliance on the contents of this information is strictly prohibited. If you have received this transmission in error, please notify the sender immediately by e-mail and delete the original message. -----Original Message----- From: Rod Richardson <[email protected]> Sent: Thursday, May 28, 2020 5:53 PM To: Filipowich, Susan <[email protected]> Cc: Curt Schade <[email protected]>; Lucy Sachs <[email protected]>; John Mackall <[email protected]>; Michael Patrick <[email protected]>; carl safina <[email protected]> Subject: Re: Site 840 ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Susan, Please also clarify the options for what will happen with sites 840 and 841, as a result of the 10 year review. Is it guaranteed that they will have leases renewed allowing floating gear? Are they grandfathered in in those locations? I am not sure I entirely understood your answer in the meeting. Thank you for clarifying, and thank you for holding these meeting to try to resolve these user conflicts. Rod On May 28, 2020, at 5:24 PM, Rod Richardson <[email protected]> wrote: Hi Susan, Please kindly furnish me the dates when various permits were issued for site 840. That was mentioned in the meeting but I did not have the chance to jot it down. 3 Also, have any other empty sites in Gardiner’s Bay sought or been granted permits for floating gear? If so, which ones, and please furnish the details. Thank you! Rod <R.Richardson_email.jpg><R.Richardson_email 2jpg.jpg> 4 Ralicky, Thomas From: Curtis Schade <[email protected]> Sent: Friday, May 29, 2020 2:05 PM To: Filipowich, Susan Cc: Rod Richardson; Lucy Sachs; John Mackall; Michael Patrick; carl safina; Ralicky, Thomas; Joan Priore; Lansdale, Sarah; Dale, Dorian; Fleming, Bridget; Philip Burkhardt; Curt Schade Subject: Re: Site 840 ATTENTION: This email came from an external source. Do not open attachments or click on links from unknown senders or unexpected emails. Thanks for your reply Susan. We have worked in good faith with you and others throughout the 10 Year Review process and remain optimistic that you will take the objections to floating gear in lease sites in this area of Gardiner's Bay seriously and require the lease sites be used for bottom only cultivation with minimal surface marker buoys as intended in your Program Management Guide, or be removed from the program. These lease sites shouldn't even exist as been made apparent by testimony from Bob Valenti who admitted that the only reason these sites were put in place is that Brad Loewen of the FAC didn't want them anywhere and Bob personally wanted to try a few by his leased aquaculture site on the east side of the bay.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Red Mullet Mullus Surmuletus
    AND Red Mullet Mullus surmuletus United Kingdom, Cornwall Bottom Gillnet, Bottom Trawl, Beam Trawl June 5, 2017 The Safina Center Seafood Analysts Disclaimer Seafood Watch and The Safina Center strive to ensure that all our Seafood Reports and recommendations contained therein are accurate and reflect the most up-to-date evidence available at the time of publication. All our reports are peer-reviewed for accuracy and completeness by external scientists with expertise in ecology, fisheries science or aquaculture. Scientific review, however, does not constitute an endorsement of the Seafood Watch program or of The Safina Center or their recommendations on the part of the reviewing scientists. Seafood Watch and The Safina Center are solely responsible for the conclusions reached in this report. We always welcome additional or updated data that can be used for the next revision. 1 Table of Contents About The Safina Center ................................................................................................................. 3 About Seafood Watch® ................................................................................................................... 4 Guiding Principles ........................................................................................................................... 5 Summary ......................................................................................................................................... 6 Introduction ...................................................................................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • A Ban on Bluefin Just Might
    Published on The New Republic (http://www.tnr.com) Bradford Plumer March 4, 2010 | 1:50 pm For some time now, it's seemed likely that the Atlantic bluefin tuna would go extinct in the next few years. The popular sushi staple has been drastically overfished, its stocks have collapsed, and recent attempts to set global quotas on annual catches were half-hearted and inadequate. It's been a bleak scene all around. But now marine biologist Carl Safina brings word that there's one last attempt to save the tuna—a ban on international trade. And here's why it just might work: Because bluefin tuna fishing worldwide is driven by prices paid in Japan, where individual fish have sold wholesale for up to $175,000, every population is depleted. … Even if international trade is banned, bluefin tuna could still be caught and sold within any given country. But the fish are now sufficiently scarce that without Japan’s prices, many boats would turn unprofitable and give up. The fish could recover, and a more sustainable fishery develop. The United States has supported a ban, while Japan isn't too keen on the idea. Which means a lot will depend on whether the EU countries vote as a bloc and decide to support the ban. (They've been noncommittal so far.) It's sort of remarkable: A few decades ago, the idea that any of these countries could support a ban would have been unthinkable—there's just too much money at stake for the fishing industry, and the lobbying pressure can be intense.
    [Show full text]
  • Strengthening Government Regulation to Save Marine Fisheries Nicola Kieves
    University of Minnesota Law School Scholarship Repository Minnesota Law Review 2005 Crisis at Sea: Strengthening Government Regulation to Save Marine Fisheries Nicola Kieves Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr Part of the Law Commons Recommended Citation Kieves, Nicola, "Crisis at Sea: Strengthening Government Regulation to Save Marine Fisheries" (2005). Minnesota Law Review. 699. https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/mlr/699 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the University of Minnesota Law School. It has been accepted for inclusion in Minnesota Law Review collection by an authorized administrator of the Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Note Crisis at Sea: Strengthening Government Regulation To Save Marine Fisheries Nicola Kieves * Around the world the health of marine fisheries continues to deteriorate.' In American waters, overfishing occurs in more than half of all fisheries. 2 Because they are an open-access re- source "owned by all and owned by none," 3 in the absence of some restrictions, fisheries are likely to be harvested until deci- mated. 4 Countries continue to close their most profitable fisher- ies,5 threatening society's health and economic welfare. 6 Socially, overfishing leads to longer working hours, lower wages, and increased rates of unemployment for fishermen. 7 * J.D. Candidate 2006, University of Minnesota Law School; B.A. 2002, Middlebury College. Thank you to Jana Bruder and Ryan Stai for their com- ments and encouragement throughout the editorial process and to Professor Jim Chen for his advice and guidance. This Article is dedicated to my family for their unwavering support these past months and all my life.
    [Show full text]
  • Conserving Wild Fish in a Sea of Market-Based Efforts
    Conserving wild fish in a sea of market-based efforts J ennifer J acquet,John H ocevar,Sherman L ai,Patricia M ajluf,Nathan P elletier,Tony P itcher,Enric S ala,Rashid S umaila and D aniel P auly Abstract Over the past decade conservation groups have put Introduction considerable effort into educating consumers and chang- ing patterns of household consumption. Many groups aim- ish consumption is on the rise globally. The USA now 100 ing to reduce overfishing and encourage sustainable fishing Fconsumes almost five times more fish than it did 2 2 2004 500 000 1910 practices have turned to new market-based tools, including years ago (c. million t in vs c. , tin ; 2006 consumer awareness campaigns and seafood certification NMFS, ), and Chinese consumers are now consuming schemes (e.g. the Marine Stewardship Council) that have almost five times more seafood per capita than they did in 1961 25 4 -1 2005 4 8 -1 1961 been well received by the fishing and fish marketing in- ( . kg person in vs . kg person in ; 2006 dustries and by the public in many western countries. Here, Halweil, ). Worldwide, per capita consumption of 1960 9 we review difficulties that may impede further progress, such marine fishes has nearly doubled since the s( kg 1960 16 1997 2006 as consumer confusion, lack of traceability and a lack of in the svs kg in ; WHO, ) while the human demonstrably improved conservation status for the fish that population also doubled over this same time period. Future are meant to be protected. Despite these issues, market- projections show that seafood supply from capture fisheries based initiatives may have a place in fisheries conservation is decreasing and that, overall, today’s marine fisheries are 2002 2006 in raising awareness among consumers and in encouraging unsustainable (Pauly et al., ; Worm et al., ).
    [Show full text]
  • A Voice for Nature
    Agenda Item F.3.b Supplemental Public Comment 2 Full Version ELECTRONIC Only March 2016 February 25, 2016 Dorothy Lowman, Chair Pacific Fishery Management Council 1100 NE Ambassador Place, #101 Portland, Oregon 97220 RE Agenda Item G.2: Swordfish Management Policy Connections; authorization of deep set buoy gear Dear Chair Lowman and Council Members: We understand that the Council is now considering transitioning buoy gear from an experimental gear to a federally authorized gear under the Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan. We are writing to ask the Council to make authorization of buoy gear a high priority and initiate this process early in 2016, so that West Coast fishermen can start fishing with buoy gear as soon as possible. As an organization that works to create a more knowledgeable constituency for ocean conservation and assesses the sustainability of seafood species, we are always thrilled to hear of innovative ideas that could improve the way we fish. This is why we are so excited about deep-set buoy gear. We believe that buoy gear is a viable alternative to the currently used drift gillnets in the U.S. West Coast swordfish fishery, and could help make the fishery more sustainable. Experiments conducted with buoy gear off the West Coast have found that this fishing method catches high numbers of marketable swordfish and minimal amounts of non-target species, like sea turtles, whales, and bluefin tuna. This fishing method also results in a higher quality swordfish product, similar to harpoon-caught swordfish; this means fishermen get a higher price for their catch and consumers get a tastier product.
    [Show full text]
  • By PAUL GREENBERG Published: August 12, 2007 a Few Months
    By PAUL GREENBERG Published: August 12, 2007 A few months ago I took the most expensive nap of my life, and when it was over I decided it was all Hemingway’s fault. For $500, I booked a marlin charter out of Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. I had never gone for the really big fish, and I was juiced to finally get the chance. I imagined myself sitting, like Papa, on the deck of the Pilar, fighting the big fish in the big chair, muttering through gritted teeth the great man’s motto “Il faut (d’abord) durer” — first, one must endure. But after hours of dragging footlong lures at 8 knots, I began thinking that it could be the big fish that have not endured. Not a single marlin raised its sword to our lines, nor did one appear for the other 30-odd boats trolling in the lee of the trade winds that day. And as I nodded off in the fighting chair and recalled the photographs of Hemingway posed with giant marlin and tuna, I started wondering whether it was possible to calculate the effect the world’s best fishing writer might have had on the world’s biggest fish. The thought wouldn’t have occurred to me a few years ago. Like Hemingway, I took up fishing because of the limitlessness the sea seemed to offer. I shared his notion that the “great ocean currents are the last wild country there is left,” and believed of the sea as Hemingway did that “no one knows what fish live in it, or how great size they reach.” As a child, if I ever felt guilty about my kills, I summoned a kind of waking dream in which all my victims thanked me.
    [Show full text]
  • Police Bust Fake-ID Scheme Party by Sara Weiss Said Lawrence Thornton, Associate Said Patrolman Tom Finch
    Will you Golf team finishes Animal rights• marry mel first time sin group protests a e 7 page 2 Action Police bust fake-ID scheme party By Sara Weiss said Lawrence Thornton, associate said Patrolman Tom Finch. arrests: the raid. sweeps Staff Reponer director of Public Safety. The raid ended a six-month After a confidential informant Weldin said Lubowsky has been Police from four departments, Howard A. Lubowsky, 32, of investigation that began when two told police that Lubowsky would operating in at least four states: including Newark and University Jersey City, N.J. was charged with Stone Balloon doormen be in Cannon Wednesday night, New York, New Jersey, Police, arrested two New Jersey 31 counts, including forgery and confiscated what appeared to be police set up the raid by planting a Pennsylvania and Delaware, DUSC residents Wednesday night in a conspiracy, following the 9 p.m. three New Jersey drivers' licenses person wearing a body making fake licenses and selling Cannon residence hall room for police raid, said Newark Police and turned them in to Ne wark microphone in the dorm room. them for $50 each. Students elect running a false identification card Cpl. James Weldin. Police in Oc10ber. When the person had recorded "To say he produced several operation. Claudia Silverberg, 31, of East Newark Police then contacted enough incriminating evidence, hundred of these IDs would be leaders for three In addition, two university Morris Plains, N.J. was also University Police, who were about six or seven officers entered conservative," said Trooper Juan sophomores, both Cannon arrested and charged with 13 assisted by two New Jersey police the room and made t,he arrests.
    [Show full text]
  • Carl Safina Beyond Writing
    Carl Safina Beyond Writing: Looking into the Hearts and Minds of All Living Things One of the most prolific and respected natural history authors in the world, Carl Safina’s magical writings have led to conservation efforts across the globe and brought a far greater understanding of the interconnection between humans and their animal brethren. Named by The Audubon Society as one of the 100 leading conservationists of the 20th Century, Carl Safina is best known for lyrical non-fiction writing. His work explores how we are changing the natural world and what the changes mean for human and non-human beings. Carl sees that the durability of human dignity and survival of the natural world will depend on each other; we cannot preserve the wild unless we preserve human dignity, and we cannot conserve human dignity while continuing to degrade nature. His work fuses scientific understanding, emotional connection, and a moral call to action. Safina was born to parents whose Brooklyn apartment was filled with singing canaries—his father’s hobby. Trips to New York’s zoos, aquarium, American Museum of Natural History, and his uncles’ boat lit a city kid’s early fascination with animals. He began raising homing pigeons at age seven, and spent his teen years training hawks and owls, and immersed in fishing, bird-banding, and camping. Soon these passions took him on adventures in Kenya, Nepal, Greenland, and Arctic Canada and beyond. Carl Safina’s seven books include “Song for the Blue Ocean,” “The View From Lazy Point; A Natural Year in an Unnatural World,” “A Sea in Flames; The Deepwater Horizon Oil Blowout,” “Beyond Words; What Animals Think and Feel,” “Eye of the Albatross,” “Voyage of the Turtle: In Pursuit of the Earth’s Last Dinosaur,” and others.
    [Show full text]
  • 2015 ANNUAL REPORT the SAFINA CENTER Formerly BLUE OCEAN INSTITUTE PROFILE
    2015 ANNUAL REPORT THE SAFINA CENTER formerly BLUE OCEAN INSTITUTE PROFILE “Isabella is a true genius at getting a point across in totally unexpected ways; her Green Porno series is a brilliant example.” —Carl Safina ISABELLA ROSSELLINI Film and Fashion Icon, Science Communicator, Nature Lover Most of us know Isabella Rossellini from the big screen, small screen, covers of top fashion magazines and as the face of Lancôme. Lesser known, perhaps, is her lifelong love of animals and her endless fascination with science. Most recently, her award-winning series of shorts, Green Porno, combines creative storytelling with insightful lessons about animals’ sexual behaviors. Created with the goal of translating the dense science-speak of academic texts into understandable language for non-scientists, the result is fascinating, entertaining and altogether educational. Green Porno was followed by two other animal-themed television productions: Seduce Me: The Spawn of Green Porno and Mammas—a celebration of the Rossellini says, “I envied Carl’s ability to hear bird song, to maternal aspects of the animal world. identify the species, know where those birds were traveling To prepare for Green Porno, Rossellini spent time with Alan Alda, acclaimed actor from, and know which fish were followed by specific birds. He and namesake of the Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook understands wild nature and beautifully ‘decodes’ it for readers. University. Alda is an ambassador for communicating science to broad audiences Since he and I live near each other on Long Island, I read Lazy of all ages. Point with great attention.” Rossellini explains, “In the attempt to be absolutely precise, scientists create a While working in Boston on her new film,JOY , Isabella received language that is so enigmatic, you can’t understand it.
    [Show full text]
  • 2014 ANNUAL REPORT the SAFINA CENTER Formerly BLUE OCEAN INSTITUTE
    2014 ANNUAL REPORT THE SAFINA CENTER formerly BLUE OCEAN INSTITUTE “The greatest story is that all life is one life. All differences are minor, compared to our intimate similarities. We are the same in different ways.” —Carl Sa!na The Sa!na Center (formerly Blue Ocean Institute) | Nassau Hall, Suite 111 | School of Marine and Atmospheric Sciences | Stony Brook University | Stony Brook NY 11794-5000 www.sa!nacenter.org | admin@sa!nacenter.org | 631-632-3763 “Eric is a diligent leader for our group; probing, progressive, supportive, stimulating.” —Carl Sa!na “Peter was the real deal, and reading him as a kid helped me envision the possibility of a life of adventure and in!uence.” —Carl Sa!na P R O F I L E Eric Graham, chairman of the board. Photo by Jen Graham. Peter Matthiessen on Carl Sa!na’s boat, First Light during a 2004 !shing trip off Montauk, Long Island, NY. Photo by Carl Sa!na. ERIC GRAHAM P R O F I L E From Tuna Trader to Sustainable Energy Entrepreneur Entrepreneur Eric Graham !rst met Carl Sa!na Since then, Graham’s passion for developing Graham adds, “I’m profoundly concerned and PETER MATTHIESSEN 1927-2014 in the early ‘90s when Sa!na was researching and bringing transformative sustainable energy amazed that what we do on land, from an Friend, Hero, Honorary Board Member tuna for his first book, Song for the Blue technologies to market has led him to start and energy perspective, can impact the oceans. Ocean. At the time, Graham was working with manage businesses that have touched on every When you look at the ocean from the shore, it Peter Matthiessen lived and died by the sea.
    [Show full text]
  • Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, and the Law
    Indiana Law Journal Volume 93 Issue 2 Article 2 Spring 2018 The Fragile Menagerie: Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, and the Law James M. Chen Michigan State University College of Law, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj Part of the Agriculture Law Commons, Animal Law Commons, Environmental Law Commons, Land Use Law Commons, and the Natural Resources Law Commons Recommended Citation Chen, James M. (2018) "The Fragile Menagerie: Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, and the Law," Indiana Law Journal: Vol. 93 : Iss. 2 , Article 2. Available at: https://www.repository.law.indiana.edu/ilj/vol93/iss2/2 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Law School Journals at Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. It has been accepted for inclusion in Indiana Law Journal by an authorized editor of Digital Repository @ Maurer Law. For more information, please contact [email protected]. The Fragile Menagerie: Biodiversity Loss, Climate Change, and the Law* JAMES MING CHEN† I. THE HIPPODROME OF THE GODS: RACING AGAINST ECOLOGICAL AND EVOLUTIONARY APOCALYPSE ....................................................................... 304 II. ACROSS THE APOCALYPSE ON HORSEBACK: LEGAL RESPONSES TO BIODIVERSITY LOSS .................................................................................... 310 A. OVERKILL ........................................................................................... 310 B. ALIEN INVASIVE SPECIES ....................................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Trawls – Bulldozers of the Ocean
    Source: Safina Center http://safinacenter.org/ The Safina Center (formerly Blue Ocean Institute) was founded in 2003 by Dr. Carl Safina. It was built on three decades of research, writing and policy work by Dr. Safina. The Institute is based at Stony Brook University on Long Island, NY and is a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. Trawls – Bulldozers of the Ocean By Elizabeth Brown The Safina Center is often asked to describe various types of fishing gear and explain which ones are the most destructive to the ocean. Another frequent question is why our seafood ratings for a particular species differ depending on the fishing method used. In this series, we will describe how common types of gear work, what they catch, how they affect ocean wildlife and habitats, what technologies or regulations can help lessen the gear’s negative effects, and what we see as the path forward to ensure healthy oceans in the future. We want to help seafood consumers, businesses, and chefs who use our seafood ratings better understand what the terms ‘trawl’, ‘longline’, or ‘handline’ really mean. We also hope this series will help everyone understand the collateral damage that fishing can cause to the ocean and the importance of choosing seafood caught in a responsible way. Trawls, particularly bottom trawls, are bulldozers of the ocean, scooping up and destroying anything in their path. Trawls – Bulldozers of the Ocean What is a trawl? Trawls are enormous, cone-shaped nets that are towed by one or two boats. As the net is towed, it herds and captures thousands of fish and other creatures.
    [Show full text]