Nearly 170,000 Gallons of Oil Spills Into Houston Ship Channel

Over the weekend, nearly 170,000 gallons of oil spilled into the Houston Ship Channel in Texas City, TX after a collision between a barge and ship. The spill occurred after a barge carrying more than 900,000 gallons of oil collided with a 585-foot ship on the?channel. The waterway connects the Galveston Bay and the Gulf of Mexico and?handles as many as 80 vessels per day. According to Texas Gov. Rick Perry?s office,?the barge has been moved to a ship yard away from the scene of the spill.?The Coast Guard said 24 vessels will continue working to clean 4,000 barrels worth of oil today, about 45 miles from Houston. Winds have spread out the oil, further complicating containment efforts.?About 90,000 feet of boom had been set up along the Texas City dike over the weekend. The U.S.?Coast Guard says no ships will be allowed to leave port until the oil spill is fully under control. No timetable has been set for the channel?s reopening, but it is clearly impacting businesses of all sorts, including fishing tackle shops, ferries and tourism.The spill could impact the bird population as thousands of shorebirds are still in the area. The?Bolivar Flats Shorebird Sanctuary is just east of the spill site. It is known to attract 50,000 to 70,000 shorebirds to its muddy, flat terrain. The Coast Guard said it found and transferred fewer than 10 oiled birds to a wildlife rehabilitation center by Sunday afternoon. Just last week, about 10,000 gallons of oil spilled from a Sunoco pipeline into a nature preserve area near Cincinnati, OH. As long as we continue to rely on dirty oil, we will continue to see environmental disasters such as these over and over again.

?Oceana Report Names ‘Dirtiest’ US Fisheries

Ocean conservation group Oceana?has named nine “dirty” fisheries that, combined, throw away more than half of what they catch and are responsible for more than half of US bycatch. Bycatch is wasted edible fish and drowned animals that are thrown back into the sea. Anything can be bycatch, from sea turtles that are caught to bring you shrimp or the millions of pounds of cod and halibut that are thrown overboard after fishermen have reached their quota. Bycatch also represents a real economic loss when one fisherman trashes another fisherman’s catch. Oceana’s report, “Wasted Catch: Unsolved Bycatch Problems in US Fisheries,” reveals between 17-22 percent of US catch is discarded every year. US bycatch could amount to up to 2 billion pounds every year. The group said that some fisheries discard more fish at sea than they bring to port and that adequate monitoring of fishing operations’ discarding practices is not in place. Always try to purchase sustainable caught seafood and shellfish, preferable by line or pole which eliminates bycatch greatly. Click here for more information on how you can make sustainable seafood choices.

New York Chefs Sign Pledge to Use Local Ingredients

Governor Andrew Cuomo has announced that, to date, more than 100 restaurants have signed the Pride of New York Pledge. The pledge, part of the Taste NY initiative, is a commitment to increase by 10 percent New York State grown or made products and ingredients on their menus. The signing chefs also agree to increase the presence of beverages produced in the State by 10 percent or more, including beers, wines, spirits and ciders. Many Long Island restaurants and purveyors have already signed the pledge. Look for more New York themed dishes, prepared with local ingredients at these local eateries; Ayhan?s Shish-Kebab (3 locations), Besito (2 locations), The Cheesecake Factory (3 locations), Dock to Dish, Golden Pear Caf? (4 locations), J.Kings, Jack Halyard?s, Jewel, Mirabelle, Monsoon, Roots Bistro Gourmand, West East Bistro and Shake Shack. Moreover, if your favorite restaurant is not listed above, feel free to ask the chef to join with others and take the pledge to support New York?s farmers, vintners, brewers and artisanal producers.