Atlantic CoastWatch JULY - AUGUST 2001

Hudson PCB Cleanup: The Aftermath

News For Coastal Advocates
“Mrs. Whitman Stays the Course,” ran the headline on the New York Times
editorial page. The text applauded the EPA administrator for deciding to press
forward with the Clinton administration’s plan to order General Electric to spend z
almost half a billion dollars to dredge out the Hudson’s accumulation of toxic
chemicals called polychlorinated byphenyls (pcb’s). Whitman left the Clinton plan Hudson PCB Aftermath 1
largely intact, adding a series of performance reviews at every stage of the massive
project in order to assuage skeptics.
Caribbean Initiatives 1
From the mid-1940s, until they were banned in 1977, the company had
dumped into the river about 100,000 pounds of pcb’s. The EPA classifies these Sayings 2
manmade chemicals as a probable human carcinogen. They may cause a variety of
other health problems including, as suggested in a recent University of Illinois
study, mental impairment in human adults. GE has long alleged that the most Courts & the Seashore 3
prudent course would be to leave the pcb’s where they are because the dredging
would cause more environmental problems than it would solve. The Times argued, Publications 4
conversely, that the Whitman decision “has saved Mr. Bush from another policy and
public relations catastrophe on the environment.”
Catch-40B 4
The company retains its combative stance. Its website continues to claim
that “neither sound science” nor local voices, which “overwhelmingly oppose” the Discharge Goals 5
Whitman decision, had been heeded. Further, GE notes the “remarkable improve-
ment” in the river’s quality that has occurred because of the company’s research
Reef Fish Protection 6
and restoration activities over 25 years.
(Continued, p. 7)
Mohegan Oyster Farms 6

Strengthening Caribbean Conservation Upcoming Events 8

The ecological treasures of the Caribbean islands are among the most
celebrated in the world, with some 7, 000 plant species and 800 vertebrate species z
that exist nowhere else on earth. Until recently, the task of protecting this diverse
and rich environment has been dominated by US-based environmental groups. Recurring:
Recently, though, conservation initiatives have surfaced in many of the islands that
feature stronger participation by local citizens, and directly address human needs as
well as those of other species. International efforts to strengthen these groups are People; Awards; Species &
also on the upswing. Two conferences held this summer underscore these trends.
Habitats; Restorations; Products;
Cuba, the largest island in the Caribbean, is home to over 350 species of Funding; Report Cards;
birds. 25 of these species are endemic (found nowhere else), with 20 facing extinc- Job Openings
tion. Appropriately, Cuba was host this summer to the largest conference on bird
conservation ever held in the region. Organized by the Society of Caribbean
Ornithology, the meeting attracted experts on bird conservation in the region from Atlantic CoastWatch is a bimonthly
North America, Europe and the Caribbean to share insights on habitat and species nonprofit newsletter for those
conservation as well as on how to support environmental education. interested in the environmentally
sound development of the coastline
Outcomes included a plan to promote the exchange of information, and to from the Gulf of Maine to the
identify a series of Important Bird Areas (IBAs) throughout the Caribbean where Eastern Caribbean. Available at
native species, especially waterbirds, are in urgent need of better protection. www.atlanticcoastwatch.org
(Continued, p. 7)

Atlantic CoastWatch
Vol. 5, No. 4
A project of the Sustainable
Development Institute, which seeks
to heighten the environmental quality
of economic development efforts, in
coastal and in forest regions, by
communicating information about
better policies and practices. SDI is
classified as a 501(c)(3) organization,
exempt from federal income tax.
Board of Directors
Robert J. Geniesse, Chairman
Roger D. Stone, President
Hart Fessenden, Treasurer
Hassanali Mehran, Secretary
Edith A. Cecil
David P. Hunt
Freeborn G. Jewett, Jr.
Gay P. Lord
Advisers
William H. Draper III
Joan Martin-Brown
Scientific Advisory Council
Gary Hartshorn
Stephen P. Leatherman
Jerry R. Schubel
Christopher Uhl
Staff
Roger D. Stone, Director & President
Shaw Thacher, Project Manager
Robert C. Nicholas III, Contr. Editor
Sarah Verhoff, Program Associate
Anita G. Herrick, Correspondent
Laura W. Roper, Correspondent
2001 Major Donors
Avenir Foundation
The Fair Play Foundation
The Curtis and Edith Munson
Foundation
Mad River Foundation
Sponsored Projects
Trees for DC
Environmental Film Festival in the
Nation’s Capital, March 14-24, 2002
Visit Coastal News Nuggets
Daily headlines posted weekly
on www.atlanticcoastwatch.org
2
Sayings
The Chesapeake Bay Program is the largest estuary cleanup and
restoration project ever undertaken by the United States. EPA plays a major role in
directing the effort. In 2000, Omega Protein Corporation located in Reedville,
Virginia, harvested 178.2 million pounds of Atlantic Menhaden from Chesapeake
Bay while the commercial Bay harvest has averaged 300 million pounds since 1970.
Approximately 50% of menhaden caught by the commercial Atlantic fishery since
1970 has been taken from Chesapeake Bay. In fact Maryland’s commercial fishery
harvest, of all species, only totaled 33.5 million pounds in 2000, or approximately
12% by weight of the commercial menhaden fishery’s Bay average since 1970.
Since there is no quota or limit to control the menhaden harvest, this intensive
fishery seasonally depletes the Bay’s most valuable living resource. Ironically,
another federal agency, NOAA, is the guarantor for $20.6 million in financial
assistance to Omega, which is the largest fishing operation on the Atlantic Coast.
The Chesapeake is an important nursery area for Atlantic menhaden and
accounts for 45% of its recruitment along the eastern shore of the United States.
Atlantic menhaden are the most important and one of the most abundant fish
species in the Chesapeake Bay. The adults are very adaptable and will feed on
several species of phytoplankton, as well as suspended organic plant detritus.
Atlantic menhaden are an ecologically critical species. They consume and
redistribute a significant amount of energy within and between the Bay and other
estuaries, and the coastal ocean. This is due, in part, to their tremendous numbers,
individual growth rate, filter feeding capacity, and seasonal movements. A healthy
Atlantic menhaden population can filter a volume of water equal of the entire
Chesapeake Bay in less than one day, and has the potential annually to consume up
to 25% of the Bay’s nitrogen. Menhaden are also an extremely important prey
species for many predatory fish such as striped bass, bluefish, weakfish and
Spanish mackerel. Because of their schooling behavior, they are also a favorite
target for the common loon, herons, egrets, ospreys and eagles.
NOAA’s financial support for Omega flies in the face of efforts to restore
the Bay. Further, for an agency that plays such a prominent role with its annual
assessment of the menhaden stock, it seems ironic that NOAA should financially
assist an industry they are supposed to help regulate, at the same time. And, there
is little doubt NOAA financial assistance runs at cross purposes to those of the
Chesapeake Bay Program.
Jim Price, President
Chesapeake Bay Ecological Foundation
URL: www.chesbay.org
With Appreciation
We extend warm thanks to those of our readers who, between June 26 and
August 20, 2001, kindly made contributions of $50 to $1000:
Milo C. Beach Sarah B. Ittmann Hamilton Robinson Jr.
James W.B. Benkard Peter and Beverly Jost David Rockefeller
Huntington T. Block Hunter Lewis William D. Rogers
Isabella G. Breckinridge Wingate Lloyd John A. Sargent
The Casey Family Foundation Peter S. Lowenthal Edith N. Schafer
Lawrence Coolidge Nigel S. MacEwan Ferdinand P. Schoettle and
John C. Cooper III John D. Macomber Anita G. Herrick
Leslie D. Cronin Dorothy P. Miller Rainey and Melissa Sellars
Rudolph Eberstadt Jr. Sally S. and Decatur H. Miller Clyde E. Shorey Jr.
Elinor K. Farquhar Gail S. Moloney A. Ann Stone
The Folger Fund James E. Moltz The Summit Foundation
James L. Gault Natural Resources Defense Council Ellen Sykes
Marion S. Guggenheim Louisa F. Newlin Sarah T. Wardwell
Elinor Hallowell Malcolm E. Peabody The White Family Fund
Joseph W. Henderson Elizabeth S. Porter Gertrude deG. Wilmers
Elizabeth D. Hodder Hector Prud’homme Robert G. Wilmers
David P. Hunt Marie Ridder Timothy E. and Wren Wirth
Patricia S. Huntington Charles R. Robinson Mr. and Mrs. Robert B. Worth
 3
People

After 22 years of tireless stewardship,

Courts and the Seashore Fran Flanigan stepped down this
summer from the directorship of her
In a landmark takings case, the US Supreme Court delivered a split organization, Alliance for the
decision in Palazzolo v. Rhode Island. Anthony Palazzolo, a Westerly, Rhode Chesapeake Bay. “In the modern
Island landowner seeking to fill and develop 18 acres of coastal salt marsh since history of efforts to restore the
1978. Despite pre-existing environmental regulations, the plaintiff contended Chesapeake Bay, Fran Flanigan may be
economic deprivation of $3.1 million. The Supreme Court reversed Rhode Island’s the most important person you never
Supreme Court ban of landowners from challenging such pre-existing regulations. heard of,” wrote Baltimore Sun
The majority opinion asserted that government may not be relieved “of its obliga- columnist Tom Horton. Networker
tion to defend any action restricting land use, no matter how extreme or unreason- and facilitator are among the terms
able” according to the Washington Post. used to describe Flanigan. But maybe
the best, Horton suggested, is the
At the same time, because an upland area of the property can legally be Yiddish term yenta, or matchmaker.
developed, the Court did not uphold Palazzolo’s contention of deprivation of all URL: www.sunspot.net
economic benefit. It remanded the decision to determine whether compensation
was due back to Rhode Island’s Supreme Court. A key opinion that may serve to Soon to take office as secretary of
quell future lawsuits came from Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. She noted that Maryland’s Department of Natural
courts should continue to consider whether property owners knew of regulations at Resources is J. Charles (“Chuck”)
the time of purchase. In essence, the court found that states cannot preclude Fox, a seasoned environmental policy
landowners from challenging environmental regulations. But if states are chal- analyst and policy maker with previ-
lenged, the court added, they must be prepared to defend their regulations in court. ous tours of duty with EPA and
URL: www.aboutpalazzolo.com several environmental organizations.
Environmentalists hailed the appoint-
South Carolina’s Court of Appeals ruled that construction or mainte- ment, though some hold the departing
nance of groins to hold beach sand is illegal under its coastal management law. secretary, Sarah Taylor-Rogers, in
This ruling on a lawsuit brought by the SC Coastal Conservation League equally high regard. URL:
(SCCL) and the Sierra Club forbids South Carolina’s Ocean and Coastal www.dnr.state.md
Resource Management (OCRM) agency from issuing any groin permits. Al-
though no new groins have built since 1980, South Carolina has more than 150 of Zoologist and oceanographer Barry
them between Garden City and Hilton Head, many needing repair. In the Myrtle Costa-Pierce has been named the
Beach Sun News, SCCL’s Nancy Vinson said “we differ on the benefits of groins. first new director of the $3.5 million
Groins will help keep sand in place updrift of where they are placed. But down- Rhode Island Sea Grant program in
stream, they rob the neighboring areas of sand.” OCRM is appealing the decision. 16 years. Costa-Pierce’s wide-ranging
URL: www.islandpacket.com career has included faculty appoint-
ments at 8 academic institutions,
Canada’s Supreme Court has upheld the right of municipalities to ban consultancies with the World Bank
residential applications of pesticides. The court sided with the Montreal suburb of and various other international
Hudson, the first municipality to ban residential pesticide use in 1991. 36 other economic development agencies, and
Quebec towns, the city of Halifax, and several provinces have adopted similar the directorship of the Mississippi-
measures. Said Angela Rickman of the Sierra Club of Canada in the New York Alabama Sea Grant Coalition.
Times: “This ruling raises public awareness of the health and environmental
consequences of pesticide use. Until now a lot of Canadians have assumed that Awards
because the government permits pesticides, they were safe. A lot of people don’t
read the warning labels.’’ URL: www.sierraclub.ca/national/media The Rehoboth Beach Country Club has
been recognized as the nation’s first
Connecticut’s Supreme Court struck down the town of Greenwich’s Certified Audubon Cooperative
beach policy as unconstitutional. Non-residents could only visit its beaches in the Sanctuary by the educational division
company of a resident. The Constitution State’s court determined this violated of Audubon International. Club
citizens’ rights of expression and association. Because towns are entitled to superintendent Edwin L. Brown led
protect their natural resources based on the basis of traffic and environmental the effort to obtain sanctuary status
issues, Greenwich has re-submitted its case, and failing that plans an appeal. for the golf course, requiring a high
degree of environmental quality in the
In July the Nova Scotia Ecology Action Centre, with the help from areas of wildlife and habitat manage-
Sierra Club Canada, took legal action against Canada’s Department of Fisher- ment, water conservation and water
ies and Oceans. The issue is the annual opening of the Georges Bank fishing quality management. Audubon’s web
grounds to bottom fishing and the well documented habitat disruption the dragging site provides case studies of other
provokes. Judicial review will continue into the New Year. The judge has the option Atlantic golf courses that have
of banning next year’s opening on the grounds that Canada’s Fisheries Act prohib- adjusted their management to the
its damaging fish habitat. A lesser but noticable accomplishment would be a court benefit of the environment.
order for a more rigorous scientific assessment. URL: www.chebucto.na.ca URL: www.audubonintl.org

Species & Habitats
David Evers, of the BioDiversity
Research Institute in Falmouth, ME,
concludes that 30% of all Maine loons
are “at risk” from mercury poisoning.
Reproductive, behavioral, and physi-
ological impacts may result, says
Evers. The highly toxic mercury that
loons ingest comes from fish as a
result of deposits from acid rain, local
incinerators, and old coal-fired power
plants. Ironically, according to a
report issued by a coalition of environ-
mental groups, Maine leads New
England in mercury reduction efforts.
URL: www.briloon.org
First noticed five years ago by Dan
Mundy of Jamaica Bay EcoWatch,
the decline of salt marshes in this
treasured New York city bird sanctuary
has accelerated rapidly in the last two
decades. No one is quite sure why.
Of Jamaica Bay’s 10,000 acres, 3,000
acres of marsh grass, and the salt
marshes they hold in place, could
disappear within 20 years at rates five
times what they were thirty years ago.
Among reasons cited in a Long Island
Newsday article: dredged borrow pits
for extensions to Kennedy Interna-
tional Airport’s runways; releases of
nitrogen and phosphorous from water
treatment plants, and the overgrowth
of mussel beds which can block water
flows. Not cited is sea level rise since
the unusually high rate of decline has
not been observed elsewhere in the
region.
The appearance of Asian shore crabs
in Maine had Penobscot Bay Watch
offering a $5 bounty until they realized
that it might encourage cultivation.
The Asian shore crab, with its
cversized claw, arrived in New Jersey
circa 1988. It is known for tearing the
limbs from larger green crabs,
European invaders from the 1950s,
and its arrival triggered fears of de-
clawed juvenile lobsters. Megan
Tyrell of the University of New
Hampshire indicates that is unlikely
becuase the Asian crab lives under
rocks between the high and low tide
marks, not in the lobster’s seafloor
habitat. The Asian crabs are expected
to advance steadily, at the expense of
the green crabs, across the Bay of
Fundy. URL: www.penbay.org
4
Publications
z A useful tool for coastal homeowners is a CD-Rom entitled Dock Design
with the Environment in Mind: Minimizing Dock Impacts to Eelgrass
Habitats created by David M. Burdick and Frederick T. Short of the Jackson
Estuarine Laboratory at the University of New Hampshire. Emphasizing the
ecological importance of healthy eelgrass meadows, the authors show how a fixed
or floating dock’s orientation, height, and width can be adjusted to the benefit of the
grasses. E-mail marie.polk@unh.edu
z Conservation Geography: Case Studies in GIS, Computer Map-
ping, and Activism (ESRI Press, 2001) is a handsome and lavishly illustrated
compendium with many examples of how grassroots groups have made effective
use of the technology. The Housatonic Valley Association and the Chesapeake
Bay Foundation are among the Atlantic coastal groups whose work is featured in
the volume, edited by Charles L. Convis Jr., Environmental Systems Research
Institute’s conservation program coordinator. URL: www.esri.com/conservation
z In Conservation Biology: Research Priorities for the Next Decade
(Island Press 2001) a cluster of distinguished authors outlines the strategies most
likely to result in protection for the environment during the years ahead. Editors
Michael E. Soule and Gordon H. Orians have included a multi-authored chapter
comparing the best techniques to conserve coastal and marine ecosystems with
those applicable to the terrestrial world. URL: www.islandpress.org
z With easing travel restrictions, birders headed for Cuba will be pleased to
know of the new Field Guide to the Birds of Cuba by Orlando H. Garrido and
Arturo Kirkconnell, illustrations by Roman F. Company (Comstock Publishing
Associates 2000). Awarded five stars by an Amazon.com reviewer, the book
extends well beyond the usual business of bird identification to include sections on
habitats, the archipelago’s 21 endemic species including the famous bee humming-
bird (smallest of all birds), and travel tips as well. URL:
www.cornellpress.cornell.edu
Catch-40B
Last year, those opposed to overheated development on Martha’s Vineyard
thought they had cornered Connecticut developer Corey Kupersmith. He had
proposed to build a golf course, and associated luxury housing units, on a 273-acre
tract that is the last increment of open space in the town of Oak Bluffs. Largely on
environmental grounds, the Martha’s Vineyard Commission turned Kupersmith
down.
This year the developer returned with a modified proposal—and also an
alternative scheme to drop the golf course and simply build 366 housing units on
the site. Under the “anti-snob” provisions of Chapter 40B of the Massachusetts
General Laws, Kupersmith could bypass the planning board and go straight to the
board of appeals so long as his project included one fifth or more units for low-
income residents.
Should a rejection occur at this level, reported the Martha’s Vineyard
Times, the developer could then turn to the state appeals board, which “rarely
upholds 40B denials by local boards.” The Martha’s Vineyard Land Bank,
meanwhile has also been negotiating with Kupersmith about buying the property.
Other undeveloped land along the Massachusetts coast faces similar
prospects with 40B applications pending on Nantucket, in Barnstable on Cape Cod,
and elsewhere. URL: www.mvtimes.com
 5
Harvesters in Maine use rotating
blades and vacuum pumps to pull
rockweed, a seaweed used as live-
Discharge Goals vs. Pumpout Realities stock feed additive, from rocks in the
inter-tidal zone. At low tide, rockweed
A flurry of recent policy moves seeks to tighten protection for marine shields organisms from the sun. At
environments by limiting or banning discharges from boats and ships. Inhibiting high tide it provides habitat and forage
the trend are gaps in the availability and reliability of pumpout facilities for boaters. for numerous species. With prices
reaching $26/ton, the harvest has
An EPA proposal to designate the state waters inside the Florida Keys caused alarm among scientists,
National Marine Sanctuary a no-discharge zone (NDZ) has received much conservationists and fishermen. After
attention. The Florida Keys is one of 13 National Marine Sanctuaries in coastal a request for a moratorium from
waters of the United States. The sanctuary relies on clear waters and low nutrient Maine’s Department of Marine
levels to sustain its seagrass meadows, mangrove islands, and extensive living Resources for Cobscook Bay was
coral reefs. turned down, the species has gotten
US Fish and Wildlife Service
The more than 150 square mile Tortugas Ecological Reserve was recently protection in Maine’s Moosehorn,
added to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, which already houses Petit Manan and Rachel Carson
the third largest coral barrier reef in the world. This move has prompted NOAA to wildlife refuges. URL:
take the EPA designation a step further by banning discharges in all federal waters www.penbay.org
within the sanctuary, and asking the International Maritime Organization to
designate the area as a Particularly Sensitive Sea Area (PSSA). The Keys would be For its mosquito control program, the
the third area in the world to receive PSSA status, following Australia’s Great Wells Chamber of Commerce in
Barrier Reef and the Sabana-Camaguey Archipelago in Cuba. Maine sells dragonfly nymphs, also
known as mosquito hawks, which eat
The Three Bays of southern Barnstable, Massachusetts have also recently up to a hundred a day. Dragonflies go
been declared no-discharge zones. The water quality of North, Cotuit and West Bay, for 50 for $30, 100 for $52 and 1,000
known together as the Three Bays, has worsened over the years, prompting EPA for $450.
action. Other areas seeking NDZ designations are New Jersey’s Barnegat Bay and
Herring Bay in Maryland. Restorations
Due to the increased availability of pumpout stations and the more recent The Nature Conservancy con-
pumpout boats making the rounds in harbors, the ongoing debate over onboard cluded a $64 million deal to reduce
waste treatment systems vs. shoreside pumpout facilities has diminished. Uncer- construction from 33 to 6 housing
tainty remains, however, about whether these waste facilities can keep up with peak units at the 215-acre Herring Creek
boating periods and whether boaters are actually using these services. farm on Edgartown, MA. The Conser-
vancy will purchase the entire prop-
With many marinas along the east coast offering free pumpout services, it erty, then restore 62 acres of rare
seems little could be more convenient for boaters hoping to protect the waters in sandplain grassland habitat that had
which they fish, swim and play. While this is true in most cases, the Bass River area been degraded from farming, and sell
suggests much that can go wrong with pumpout facilities. The Cape Cod Times 113 acres back into carefully controlled
reported irregular disposal service from two marinas there, the Bass River Marina development. URL: www.tnc.org
and Ship Shops Inc. The Bass River Marina facility had been down for a month,
worrying people like Massachusetts Marine Fisheries biologist Vin Malkowski. In 1999 the town of Riverhead, least
He had received complaints from boaters and is concerned that they would turn to green of the five townships on the
the still legal method of dumping three miles offshore. environmentally sensitive east end of
Long Island, NY, violated state
Part of the problem, he said, is not just that the plants are having mechani- regulations by dumping more than
cal and electrical problems. Funding from state and federal clean water programs 250,000 gallons of incompletely
is low and marinas often wait six weeks before receiving a decision on a grant treated sewage into the Peconic Bay
request. Malkowski cited another problem that he deals with frequently: boaters estuary. One result was a week-long
who find waste removal a nuisance. “A gentleman called from Boston Harbor and ban on shellfishing in affected waters.
said there was no pumpout available. It turns out there were eight or nine available Part of the innovative settlement that
but nowhere he felt comfortable maneuvering his new luxury boat,” he said. Many Riverhead negotiated with the state’s
boaters also complain about the waiting time. Department of Environmental
Conservation consists not of just a
Facing these realities will soon become more routine for marinas every- fine, but an $8,000 clam reseeding
where. With new NDZs dotting the coast, more waste facilities will have to be put project in which close to half a million
in place to enable boater’s compliance with regulations, and more funds made clams are being reared on floating
available to improve maintenance and the quality of services. Without these racks. When they get big enough, they
revisions, preserving spectacular marine environments like the Florida Keys will be relocated into local waters for
National Marine Sanctuary faces yet another uphill challenge. URLs: www.epa.gov, clammers to harvest.
www.noaa.gov

Products
Alternatives to asphalt and concrete
are paving the way for construction
that reduces toxic runoff from roads
and parking lots. Two companies are
touting their own versions of eco-
friendly pavement—Road Oyl, from
Soil Stabilization Products Co.,
and Stabilizer, from Stabilizer
Solutions, Inc. Both substances use
aggregate binders derived from plant
byproducts, making them petrochemi-
cal-free and 20 degrees cooler than
the much darker asphalt. URLs:
www.stabilizersolutions.com;
www.sspco.org
Fisheries management gets a boost
with new cod-safe nets. Provincetown
MA fisherman Luis Ribas, and marine
fisheries biologist Arnold Carr, fuse
experience with science to produce
the Ribas and topless nets. Both allow
cod and juveniles of other species to
escape while trapping targeted
flatfish. In tests the Ribas, with its 8-
inch square meshing, reduced bycatch
by 76 percent. The topless net, which
allows upward escape, achieved a 94
percent reduction. Further testing is
necessary before the nets are ap-
proved. URLs:
www.capecodonline.com/cctimes/
unintendedcod1.htm
The Monterey Bay Aquarium has
come out with Seafood Watch, a guide
to making “informed choices about
fish and seafood”. Their goal is to
support sustainable fisheries by
advising the public against purchasing
certain types of fish, depending on
how or where they were caught.
Seafood is divided into three catego-
ries: “Best Choices”, “Proceed with
Caution” and “Avoid.” This informa-
tion is accessible via the aquarium’s
website. It also shows ways to receive
a print copy of the Seafood Watch
wallet card and a hotline number.
URL: mbayaq.org/
Don’t let those dreaded sea nettles
spoil your day at the bay. NOAA can
now provide those visiting the
Chesapeake Bay with possible jellyfish
locations and distributions. Scien-
tists, led by Christopher Brown of
NOAA, use historical data with
estimates of sea surface temperature,
salinity and water depth to map likely
6
Better Reef Fish Protection Urged
The Miami-based ReefKeeper International recently urged the Carib-
bean Fishery Management Council (CFMC) to adopt regulations to reduce and
eventually phase out the use of wire-mesh fish traps and take other measures to
protect essential fish habitat in US Caribbean waters. Data shows that almost
every targeted reef species in the region is overfished. These waters are the only
ones in the US and its territories whose coral reefs are left unprotected. Fish traps
are highly problematic for reef habitats because they damage coral when hauled in,
remove juveniles, and are non-selective. Regulations on gap and mesh sizes are,
moreover, unenforceable because traps can be hidden out at sea using buoys.
ReefKeeper hopes that a reduction can occur by gradually removing out-
of-compliance nets from the fishery, replacing them with safer ones. With many
fishers reporting catches of less than 5 pounds per trap, and with the average fish
weighing less than a pound, ReefKeeper maintains that phasing out wire-mesh
traps will actually help fish numbers and sizes increase. Lobster trap fishers in
Florida voluntarily enacted trap-based regulations in 1996 and saw lobster yields
rise. ReefKeeper expects such results to encourage the CFMC to adopt reef
protections throughout the Caribbean. A decision is expected this fall. URL:
www.reefkeeper.org; www.earthtimes.org
Mohegans Gamble on Oyster Farming
Though aquaculture has proliferated along much of New England’s coast, a
proposal by the Mohegan Indians of southeastern Connecticut to cultivate oysters
in Long Island Sound has provoked a sharp outcry.
In part the controversy surfaced because the Mohegans’ plan includes
fixed and floating nets and cages, with potential disruption of navigable waters.
“The concept is really not that unusual, but it’s the first such proposal of any scale
in Long Island Sound,” said Cori M. Rose of the US Army Corps of Engineers
in the New London Day. “In Maine, these systems are regularly used, and they
underwent similar scrutiny when they were first proposed.” The Corps carries
responsibility for final permitting if state agencies sign off. To date Ms. Rose has
received more than 1,000 letters about the issue. Nearly all oppose the Mohegans’
effort to diversify from their casino in nearby Norwich to occupations nearer their
sea-based cultural heritage.
To raise 20 to 30 million oysters annually, Mohegan Aquaculture LLC
plans to use 40 acres of water beds in the first year, gradually expanding to 265
acres over the five years of the permit. An total investment of $12.7 million would
be made. Conflict arose in part because early proposals mis-represented the
locations for the oyster cages, exceeding the leased areas’ boundaries and effec-
tively increasing the area under consideration. Also, the four initial locations
identified for surface and near-surface shellfish cages lay just outside major
recreational and commercial fishing harbors.
Countering the argument that near harbor oyster cages would represent a
navigable hazard, Mohegan Aquaculture asserted in a June proposal that sus-
pended cages would be strung from sub-surface steel lines running at 10 feet
depth, between fixed buoys 850 feet apart, representing no greater a risk to boats
than lobster pots. However, many boats in the region draw six or more feet of
water, and with a slight tensioning of lines between buoys, and the rise and fall of
choppy waters, damaging collisions rather than mere entanglements would result.
Tightened lines would render large areas of Fisher’s Island Sound non-navigable.
(Continued, p. 7)
 7
sea nettle locations. Recent maps are
available on the web. Swimmers and
boaters are advised to be cautious or
Hudson PCBs, Continued from p. 1 avoid these nettlesome areas. URL:
coastwatch.noaa.gov/seanettles
In hailing the Whitman decision, a coalition of environmental groups called
Friends of a Clean Hudson emphasized the economic benefits stemming from Funding
the full-fledged dredging effort called for in the EPA plan. The group foresees 3,500
new jobs along the 40-mile stretch of the river that is to be dredged, resulting in $88 The Long Island Sound Study,
million over five years in wages on the project, and an additional $53 million conducted under EPA’s National
windfall in the form of less direct benefits for two entire counties. Estuary Program, is in its eighth
year of making grants available for
In no event, said EPA sources, is active dredging likely to begin before educational programs, projects, or
2004. How the project fares overall, said several sources, depends in large mea- publications. The maximum grant for
sure on the degree to which the company cooperates with the ruling or fights the each proposal is $5,000 and projects
process. In an interview with the Times, said Ned Sullivan, executive director of must be within the LIS watershed.
the environmental group Scenic Hudson: “If GE comes in wanting to make this a URL: www.epa.gov/region01/eco/lis
failure, they could certainly do that.” URLs: www.hudsonvoice.com,
www.cleanhudson.org, www.scenichudson.org Funding is available for coral reef
conservation projects through the
National Fish and Wildlife Foun-
dation. Most grants are between
Caribbean Conservation, Continued from p. 1 $10,000 and $50,000 and proposals
may address inland areas and coastal
Jamaica, with some 300 kinds of birds and 47 endemic bird species or watersheds as they apply to coral reef
subspecies, will be the first island to initiate the IBA program. With funds from a degradation. URL: www.nfwf.org
debt for nature swap, a coalition of government and private organizations led by
Birdlife Jamaica, local affiliate of BirdLife International, will undertake the Report Cards
initiative. Local groups on all other major Caribbean islands are expected to join
the program. The Natural Resources Defense
Council reported an 83% increase in
At another conference in the Dominican Republic, reported Earth Times, beach closings and advisories, from
representatives from learning institutions, environmental groups and research 6,160 in 1999 to 11,270 in 2000.
organizations throughout the Greater Antilles sought “to integrate hard science Reason for 85% of the closings was
with policy making considerations” in their efforts to protect biodiversity. Michael elevated bacteria counts. Improved
Smith of the Center for Applied Biodiversity Science at Conservation Interna- monitoring, stricter standards, and
tional asserted that he has “better access to information on the Caribbean at major better reporting from local authorities
US museums such as the Smithsonian and the American Museum of Natural are among reasons for the big jump.
History in New York than anyone in the Caribbean.” Participants agreed on the URL: www.nrdc.org
importance of improving infrastructure in the Caribbean to support scientific
research, and making information about local environments more accessible Exhaustive analysis by a multi-
locally. disciplinary team of scholars leads to
the conclusion that “ecological
Both conferences broke new ground in their scope and with the participa- extinction cause by overfishing
tion of many Caribbean-based organizations that were once less visible, but are precedes all other pervasive human
emerging as key players in the effort to save and restore Caribbean species and disturbance to coastal ecosystems”.
habitats. URLs: www.birdlifejamaica.com, This finding, published in an article
entitled “Historical Overfishing and
the Recent Collapse of Coastal
Mohegan Oyster Farming, Continued from p. 6 Ecosystems” (Science, Vol 293, 27
July 2001) shows how practices
employed by aboriginal and pre-
Following a public comment period that ended July 12, Mohegan Aquacul-
colonial people as long as 125,000
ture modified its proposal. The company now plans to use 150 acres in areas not
years ago led to the beginning of
heavily frequented. Included would be sites along the Pawcatuck River and in Little
decline of some species. Though
Narragansett Bay, waters adjacent to Ram Island, Pine Island and near Niantic.
human impacts have accelerated
These waters border untouched salt marshes and densely populated residential
greatly in recent years, say the
coastlines. Of concern now are ecological impacts from oyster detritus, shellfish
article’s 19 authors, the extent to
pathogens, and the ability of the proposed structures to withstand gales, and who
which early ecological change affected
would become liable for clean up. To date the Town of Groton has opposed
marine ecosystems raises “the
Mohegan Aquaculture’s proposals. The state Department of Environmental
possibility that many more marine
Protection ruling is expected in January. Then the Corps will act. URL:
ecosystems may be vulnerable to
www.stoningtonct.com/mohgeganaquaculture.hmtl
collapse in the near future.”

Tax-deductible contributions to the Sustainable Development Institute,
earmarked for Atlantic CoastWatch, are urgently needed.
Job Openings
The Nature Conservancy is
looking for an ecologist for its
Great Bay, NH estuary project.
URL: www.tnc.org
Riverkeeper in Garrison, NY
seeks a development director.
URL: riverkeeper.org
Assistant director needed for the
National Fish and Wildlife
Foundation’s Coastal and
Marine Programs. URL:
www.nfwf.org
The Marine Fish Conserva-
tion Network is seeking a
media coordinator in DC.
URL: www.conservefish.org
A systems administrator is
needed for the World Wildlife
Fund in DC.
URL: www.worldwildlife.org
The School for Field Studies
is looking for a Center Director
for the Turks and Caicos. URL:
www.fieldstudies.org
Atlantic CoastWatch
Sustainable Development Institute
3121 South St., NW
Washington, D.C. 20007
Tel: (202) 338-1017
Fax: (202) 337-9639
E-mail: susdev@igc.org
URL: www.susdev.org
www.atlanticcoastwatch.org
Upcoming Events
September 5-6. Wetlands and Remediation: The Second International Confer-
ence, Burlington, Vermont. URL: www.battelle.org/wetlandscon/default.htm
September 6. Seminar held by the Environmental Law Institute: “Looking Beyond
Palazzolo: Consequences for Environmental Takings.” Washington, DC. RSVP: (202)
939-3858
September 13-14. New England Interstate Water Pollution Control Commission
hosts “Watershed Planning and Assessment Techniques for Local Officials and
Organizations” in West Point, NY. URL: www.neiwpcc.org/techtrans.html
September 15. Virginia Waterways Cleanup Day sponsored by Clean Virginia
Waterways. Tel: (434) 395-2602.
October 7-11. The first Caribbean Media Exchange on Sustainable Tourism will be
held in Montego Bay, Jamaica. Counterpart International, Tel. (202) 721-1577.
November 4-8. The Estuarine Research Federation will hold its 16th Biennial Confer-
ence, “An Estuarine Odyssey.” St. Pete Beach, FL. URL: www.erf.org/erf2001/
ERF2001.htm.
November 4-9. The Conservation Fund, US Fish and Wildlife Service, and the
University of Florida will hold a course on GIS Design for Regional Conservation
Planning in Shepherdstown, West Virginia. URL: www.willallen.com/gisdesign.html
November 12-17. The Caribbean Aquaculture Association will be coordinating the
aquaculture session of the 54th Annual Meeting of the Gulf and Caribbean Fisheries
Institute in Providenciales, Turks and Caicos Islands. E-Mail: dbenetti@rsmas.miami.edu