Mid-Atlantic Region

• Delaware Sea Grant provided advice and assistance to the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Liaison in the development of a new video on how commercial fishermen can prevent whale entanglement in fishing gear.
• The video is now under production at the University of Delaware Media Services.

• A collaborative effort is underway to explore shellfish aquaculture development in the Chesapeake Bay region.
• In cooperation with NOAA's National Sea Grant College Program, the NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office has funded Maryland Sea Grant to facilitate a Chesapeake Bay Shellfish Aquaculture Planning Project to guide future efforts and investments in the Chesapeake Bay region.
• The project will engage a broad group of stakeholders in both Maryland and Virginia.

• On April 13th, North Carolina's Waterfront Access Study Committee presented 27 recommendations in a formal report.   
• The committee noted the need to ensure a diversity of waterfront-dependent uses of the shoreline, and the need to retain and enhance public access to coastal public trust waters.
• According to the report, "Skyrocketing market demand for this limited, finite shoreline resource, accelerating non-waterfront-dependent development of the shoreline, and steadily increasing real property taxes are among the factors contributing to this loss." 
• The report calls for an immediate response by the State.
• Established by the General Assembly last year, the 21-member study committee has met since September, and hosted three public comment sessions. The final report was submitted to the N.C. Joint Legislative Commission on Seafood and Aquaculture, the N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission and the N.C. Coastal Resources Commission.
• The complete report is available online at: www.ncseagrant.org/waterfronts

• New Jersey Sea Grant recently launched a new initiative to increase the number of New Jersey boaters, marinas and municipalities that collect and recycle shrink wrap and other non-biodegradable boating-related waste materials.
• The Shrink Wrap Plus Recycling Program, co-sponsored by New Jersey Sea Grant and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection's Coastal Management Program, is the first statewide effort of its kind (and is funded through the NJ Department of Transportation's I Boat NJ Program). 
• Approximately 500 tons of shrink wrap material is used each year in New Jersey for shrink-wrapping boats for storage during the winter months, and only 250,000 pounds, roughly half of that amount, is recycled. 
• The program will be implemented in two phases: 1) an education and outreach campaign focused on explaining the benefits of the program to marinas, boaters, municipal officials and county recycling coordinators (and demonstrating proper recycling procedures for the targeted materials); and, 2) funds will be made available to county recycling entities for the collection and recycling of the shrink wrap. 

• Virginia Sea Grant, in cooperation with several other state, federal and private agencies, hosted a national symposium on waterfront access, May 9-11.
• The three-day symposium served as a catalyst to organize and share the most current thinking regarding the growing impediments to boating and fishing access. Seafood processors, commercial fishermen and maritime businesses are literally "losing ground" as the waterfront becomes more privatized.
• Attendees learned about local, state, and national-level initiatives designed to address issues of water access and water-dependent industries.
• This symposium offered a unique opportunity for coastal zone managers, city and regional planners, public officials, resource agency staffers, water-based enterprises (marinas, boat yards, etc.), academics, aquatic resource educators, fishery management professionals, and the fishing and boating industries to exchange ideas and develop potential collaboration strategies that address public access needs.