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New York Sea Grant Extension is working closely with coastal businesses hard hit by Sandy:

Surveying the Impacts of Sandy on Recreational Fisheries

Antoinette Clemetson, NYSG’s marine fisheries specialist, is working on the effect of Sandy on several segments of the coastal business sector: recreational fishers, marinas, bait and tackle businesses, charterboat and headboat captains—since the declaration of a fisheries disaster.

The impacts to the fisheries community has been tremendous and the costs to the region’s infrastructure are being measured in the billions of dollars. Docks, boats, businesses and entire communities have been lost in several locations. As the region struggles to assess the impacts on livelihoods, a collection of industry groups asked NY Sea Grant to facilitate data collection to document the damages in recreational fishing communities.

In mid-November, the Department of Commerce officially determined that a regional fisheries disaster had occurred. In addition to authorizing Small Business Administration loans (SBA), the determination allowed Congress to appropriate disaster relief funding to assist affected communities. At the request of the New York Fishing Tackle Trade Association, United Boatmen of NY, New York Sportfishing Federation, Regal Marine Products, and the Recreational Fishing Alliance, New York Sea Grant is helping to collect information to document losses and physical damages to businesses as a part of the recreational fishing industry. NYSG developed a confidential questionnaire and asked business owners to describe the changes in their business that occurred since Saturday October 27, 2012. Data are being collected from tackle shops, party/charter boats, and marinas, and create the foundation to prepare a spending plan that is required in an appropriation request to rebuild the fishing industry.


Surveying the Impacts of Sandy on Marinas

NYSG’s Jay Tanski is also working closely with marinas to survey their economic losses. He has asked marina owners to describe the type, square footage, and initial investment on the buildings, facilities, structures, inventory and equipment in their marina before and after Sandy as well as estimate the lost revenues and marketing opportunities.

The NYS 2100 Report also encourages the use of green and natural infrastructure, including “provid(ing) incentives for creation of soft shorelines and wetlands,” and “including building living shorelines, new wetlands,” and similar structures. Tanski is conducting a workshop on the uses of living shorelines and related methods in the spring of 2013.