SV First Light

09/15/2026

Tues, Sept. 22 6p to 8p - NJ and Delaware host the ASMFC hearing on cutting the Chesapeake menhaden cap
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The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJ DEP) and Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) are co-hosting a virtual public hearing on Draft Addendum II to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) Atlantic menhaden plan, Tuesday, September 22, 6p to 8p. Registration is through asmfc.org. Written comment runs to 11:59p October 9 at [email protected], subject line "Atlantic Menhaden Draft Addendum II." The Atlantic Menhaden Management Board will vote on the Menhaden plan in November at the ASMFC annual meeting.

The hearing is taking the subject of the Chesapeake fishery cap reduction under consideration. The cap is currently 51,000 metric tons. The options include cutting it by up to 50%, splitting it into three quota periods so the harvest stops landing all at once in summer, and tying the Bay cap to the coast-wide total allowable catch... currently 186,840 metric tons for 2026, already down 20% from last year.

There is a single plant in Reedville, Virginia that is the sole consumer for the harvest, the last menhaden reduction operation left on the coast. Purse seiners work with spotter planes that find the schools from the air and guide the catch boats. Ocean Harvesters owns the vessels, Omega Protein buys the fish, and Cooke Inc. of Saint John, New Brunswick in Canada has owned Omega since 2017.

Coast-wide the fish is reported to be in decent shape. The 2025 assessment has menhaden neither overfished nor experiencing overfishing, under the single species reference points and under the ecological ones that try to account for what the predators need. The argument is about the local fishery, and ASMFC says straight out that it doesn't have the information to understand the local fishery.

"As the stock assessment model is designed to be coast-wide, it cannot provide information on the abundance of menhaden solely in Chesapeake Bay or what is a 'sufficient' level."

The birds have been filling in that data point. The Center for Conservation Biology published its 2024 Bay-wide osprey work in July, 571 pairs across 12 study areas. Down in the salty main stem about a third of pairs raised a brood. Up in the fresher water it was two thirds, and the authors put thin menhaden availability forward as the main driver. Osprey eat what is in their local hunting and foraging range and come back to the same pole every year, which makes them a decent gauge of what a hyper local stretch of water actually has available to predators.

There are no large harvests in the Delaware river or Delaware bay... it's specifically concerns about the lower Chesapeake and its tributaries that are driving these hearings. The coast-wide assessment builds its young-of-year index out of 16 surveys and two of them are in the Delaware system. The striped bass seine New Jersey, running 1986 through 2023 with 2020 missing, and Delaware's inner bays survey going back to 1986. Delaware's adult trawl feeds the northern adult index on top of that. So when those nets come up on this river the bunker in them are part of the data the board uses to guide its votes on in November, and NJ and Delaware hold allocation in the coast-wide quota, which is the whole reason the two of them are running a hearing. The quota setting and coast-wide nature of the harvest control give everyone who is concerned about the natural life of the Chesapeake, Delaware, and Atlantic Coast systems an interest in commenting in these hearings. Please consider learning about menhaden below and commenting before the deadline at the link or email above.

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/species/atlantic-menhaden/overview https://asmfc.org/actions/atlantic-menhaden-draft-addendum-ii/ https://news.delaware.gov/2026/09/09/dnrec-to-co-host-atlantic-states-marine-fisheries-commission-meeting-on-menhaden-management-plan/

09/14/2026

The Delaware Memorial Bridge now has eight 80 ft dolphin cells in the water, set a minimum of 443 ft off the channel edge

The Delaware River and Bay Authority marked the completion of the Delaware Memorial Bridge ship collision protection system on August 12, 2026, at a ceremony that doubled as the bridge's 75th anniversary. The structures went in well before the ceremony did, with substantial completion in late 2025, so anyone who has run down past New Castle in the last year has already gone by them. Eight solid-fill dolphin cells now stand around the piers that carry the towers, each one 80 ft in diameter. The system came to $89 million, with $22.25 million of that from a federal BUILD grant.

The DRBA's project page describes the placement:

> "Four cells will be installed at the piers supporting both eastern and western towers and be located a minimum of 443 feet from the edge of the Delaware River's 800' wide channel."

Eight cells in all, with four cells at each pair of towers. The contractor's project page adds that each cell is built from 115 ft long steel sheet piling and filled with sand and stone, and puts the design case at a neo-Panamax class ship of up to 120,000 DWT.

443 ft is worth keeping in mind when transiting under the bridge in low visibility. The 800 ft channel through there gives a small boat plenty of room to stay outside the main channel, and the water just outside the channel is where a good many of us run when there is a container ship nearby. These dolphins are obvious in good visibility but anyone coming back from the C&D late in the day is going to have to recognize them with the lights of the bridge and the shore backing them. I know personally that can get really confusing... still, so long as you're keeping a proper lookout you should be able to see them in time to avoid an allision given a few hundred feet of visiblity.

One detail from the construction that I found interesting: pile driving was barred from March 1 through June 30 every year for fishery management, avoiding disturbing spawns and migrations, which is part of why this job took the seasons it did.

Completion release: https://www.drba.net/press-release/drba-celebrates-completion-ship-collision-protection-system-and-75th-anniversary-first-span

Project page with the placement figures: https://www.drba.net/drba-proceeds-new-bridge-ship-collision-protection-system

Contractor page with the construction specs: https://www.repierson.com/projects/drba-ship-collision-and-protection-system/

09/14/2026

Friday, Sept. 18 8:30p to 9:30p - Coast Guard will enforce a 500 ft safety zone off Penn's Landing
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The Coast Guard published its notification of enforcement for the
Cooper Foundation fireworks display at Penn's Landing. The zone is all waters of the Delaware River within a 500 ft radius of the barge at 39° 56' 53.65" N, 75° 08' 03.43" W, enforced Friday, September 18, 2026, from 8:30 PM to 9:30 PM. The governing rule is 33 CFR 165.506, where this display appears as entry 10 in table 1 to paragraph (h)(1). The notice says the Coast Guard plans to announce the enforcement period through the Local Notice to Mariners and Broadcast Notice to Mariners.

"vessels may not enter, remain in, or transit through the safety zone unless authorized by the Captain of the Port or designated Coast Guard patrol personnel on-scene."

The barge will be located off the RCA Pier, largely leaving the channel open to traffic but expect that during the enforcement period the on site vessels will need to be hailed and if you're seeking to transit they'll ask you to stay as close to the PA side as possible.

This is one of the better evenings of the year to be on the water in Philadelphia, but take care to be clear of the safety area and be on the side of it you want to be on before the show starts.

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2026/08/27/2026-17481/safety-zones-fireworks-displays-in-the-uscg-east-district-philadelphia-pa

08/31/2026

First-time developers are progressing on their planned $80M marina and entertainment complex in Northeast Philadelphia, which they say would include four restaurants >> See the full article below ⬇️

08/26/2026

John Morales, a meteorologist and hurricane specialist with NBC6 in South Florida, was reporting on an upcoming storm when he suddenly shifted gears, right in the middle of the broadcast.

Morales explains that in his 34 years of presenting the weather, he’s always been able to confidently tell his viewers when a hurricane might hit, or when it might turn away. He’s always been able to stand behind his data, modeling, and forecast in order to help protect the people of South Florida.

“I am here to tell you that I am not sure I can do that this year.”

Why? “Because of the cuts, the gutting, the sledgehammer attack on science in general.”

Morales then pulled up a graphic instead of his usual weather map. It laid out some stark realities about severe understaffing of the National Weather Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Between brutal layoffs, employees accepting the recent DOGE buyout, and straight-up resignations, the agencies responsible for collecting weather data have lost hundreds and hundreds of valuable experts.

He also explained that due to federal government budget cuts, there’s been a sizable decrease in weather balloon launches across the country. Weather balloons are instruments that take crucial measurements of the upper atmosphere and send data that helps with forecasting. With less data available and lower-quality data, Morales says that “the quality of forecasts is becoming degraded.”

08/22/2026

Chief Justice John Roberts keeps a low profile while vacationing on his private island off Port Clyde, but that peace was interrupted last weekend by progressive activists who arrived by kayak, canoe and rowboat to protest the nation's top jurist.

Story link in the comments.

08/11/2026

24/7 Closures Coming To Historic Philly Bridge In 'Poor Condition'

The 34th St / University Avenue drawbridge is deteriorating and has "long been targeted by vandals," officials say. Months-long construction begins next week.

Local advocates have been campaigning to save the 1929 landmark. Nearby construction created a blind spot in patrol coverage, allowing squatters to take residence in the towers and vandals to strip the interior.

While federal Coast Guard rules technically still list it as an active drawbridge, the machinery hasn't worked in years—it last lifted in 2018. Mechanical failures and copper theft left the draw mechanism completely seized.

PennDOT’s upcoming 4-month project will perform critical steel repairs under the deck and finally seal, clean, and fortify the operator towers to stop the break-ins. Expect 24/7 single-lane traffic in both directions through December.

These repairs will not return the lift mechanism to functioning as that's an estimated $50 million dollar job.

PennDOT will work on the nearly 100-year structure as part of a $16.2 million project to refurbish 14 bridges in the area.

07/22/2026

07/14/2026

Sailboat racing was once a thriving weekend tradition for middle-class families across America — so what happened? This article takes an honest, unflinching look at why participation has cratered since the sport's 1970s and 80s heyday, from sky-high boat and marina costs to an aging fleet of sailors with no young people stepping up to replace them, plus a racing culture that can feel downright unwelcoming to newcomers. But it doesn't stop at the problem — it digs into what it might actually take to save the sport before it disappears entirely. Click the link in the comments to find out if sailboat racing can be rescued — and what you can do about it!