Fishermen's Forum
The 1999 version of the two-day Long Island Fishermen's Forum gets under way on Friday, Jan. 22, at the eastern campus of Suffolk Community College in Riverhead.
The annual series of workshops, trade displays, health checkups, and safety seminars, all aimed at commercial fishermen, is sponsored by the marine program of Cornell Cooperative Extension.
As usual, this year's forum agenda calls for morning and afternoon sessions on both days. The first day gets started at 9 a.m. in room 111 of the Shinnecock Building with a session focusing on aquaculture. Dave Relyea of F.M. Flower and Sons of Oyster Bay will speak about Vibrio parahaemolyticus, a shellfish bacterium.
More About Shellfish
There is an emergent market for live (in the shell) bay scallops here in the Northeast. Ed Richardson of E.J. Richardson Associates will speak about the market, as will Jeff Gardener of Shellfish for You of Westerly, R.I.
Steve Lang of York College will present his economic and social evaluation of the oyster farming training program in East Hampton.
Blue mussel culturing is the subject Jeff Davidson of the University of Prince Edward Island will address.
How To Regulate
Friday afternoon, beginning at 1 p.m., will be devoted to the always-thorny subject of fisheries management. This session will be held in room 111 of the Shinnecock Building. Tony DiLernia, New York delegate to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, will moderate discussions on a number of species.
Bob Hamilton of the Mid-Atlantic Council will bring fishermen up to speed on the abundance and regulation of yellowtail and winter flounder.
Gordon Colvin, the state's director of marine resources, will discuss fluke (summer flounder) and the possibility that the current state-by-state system of management will be abandoned in favor of a more uniform plan favored by many fishermen.
Along The Coast
It will be Bob Hamilton's duty to explain the management of scup (porgies) via a combined coastwide/state quota system.
Jim O'Malley of the New England Fishery Management Council will discuss the possibility of a complete closure of the dogfish fishery.
Jack Dunnigan of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission is scheduled to be on hand to discuss the commission's management plans for species that migrate coastwide within state waters.
What's changing on the state level is the question that Byron Young of the Department of Environmental Conservation will undertake to answer.
Internet Info
That fishery management is complex is not a surprise to fishermen, but what may surprise them is how easy it is these days to get a hold of important data, including regulatory updates. To this end, there will be a hands-on demonstration, both days, on how to find such information on the Internet.
Free medical screenings also will be offered both days, all day. Health care workers from Stony Brook Univeristy Medical Center will test hearing, blood pressure, pulmonary function, and more. On Friday at 10 a.m., Dr. Wajdy Hailoo of the medical center will talk about health and safety issues confronted by fishermen.
A wetlands workshop is scheduled in room 101 of the Shinnecock Building from 8:30 to noon on Friday. Chris Pickerel of the Extension Service will present "Non-Tidal Pond Basics."
Pond Dredging
Allan Connell of the Natural Resources Conservation Service will speak about non-tidal hydrology and water control structures, Sven Hoeger of the Creative Habitat company will describe landscaping for erosion control, and Mark Bellaud of the Aquatic Control company will tell how to manage nuisance aquatic vegetation and algae.
From 1 to 4 p.m. in room 111, Ed Lynch, Federal construction project coordinator for the County Department of Public Works, will speak about the dredging of non-tidal ponds.
Steve Lawrence of the D.E.C. will add some things to keep in mind when considering such dredging.
Vessel Safety
On Jan. 23, a Saturday, beginning at 8:30 a.m., Ed Michels, an East Hampton harbormaster and former commanding officer of the Montauk Coast Guard station, will give a refresher course in fishing vessel safety. He will review Coast Guard required safety drills including flooding control, man-overboard, and abandon ship procedure.
How to respond to hypothermia and resuscitation will be reviewed in addition to the basic onboard safety requirements. Mr. Michels will be in room 112 of the Shinnecock Building.
Also on Jan. 23, at 11 a.m. in room 116 of the Shinnecock Building, Creighton Wirick of Brookhaven National Laboratory will bring fishermen up to date on brown algae and what is being done to find the cause of its periodic blooming.
Lobster Management
The same day, from 10 a.m. until noon, Jack Dunnigan, executive director of the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, will present an updated lobster management plan in room 111 of the Shinnecock Building. This session should be lively, in that the commission has suggested limiting the number of traps a lobsterman may use.
And then there is the more theoretical discussion about whether Long Island Sound lobsters mature faster (at a smaller size) than elsewhere. A few lobstermen are sure to reason that, if this is so, the population should be managed differently.
An update of lobstering rules in New York State will be presented by Carl Lobue of the D.E.C.