Keeping Up With Spongy Political Correctness; Turbines Make a Sudden Move Offshore – The SandPaper

Im required to pass on a series of late-breaking political correctnesses. Hey, you come up with a better word to cover more than one example of political correctness.

Of imminent local PC import is a name change aligned with the resurgence of a chewy critter, one we have long known speaking of the no-longer-called gypsy caterpillar and moth.

This invasive European species, famed as a ruiner of oak trees, is well tracked, right down to when, where and why it arrived. As a bonus, the insects importer is also known.

In 1869, tienne Trouvelot imported gypsy moths to his residence in Medford, Mass. His oddish plan was to breed the fecund foreigners with equally foreign but slow-breeding silkworms, all in hopes of growing a New England silk industry. It never flew. However, a few of the moths did. The rest is invasive species history, still playing out to this day, as N.J. prepares for an insurgence of the insatiable tree leaf eaters.

But, if you vaguely recall, this is ostensibly a segment about political correctness. So

Not long ago, the Entomological Society of America evoked a name change after independently sensing the name gypsy moth was seen as a slur toward Romani people, long dubbed gypsies. It judged gypsy as a derogatory, disparaging term directed at the Indo-Aryan ethnic Roma culture. The Romani people originated in India, quickly becoming nomadic, pretty much world travelers.

The origin of the word gypsy is steeped in mistaken identity, adopted long ago after it was erroneously thought this group originated in Egypt. In reality, they hail from northern India, but the term Indian was being held in abeyance.

And what is the new PC term for the you-know-what caterpillar and moth? I was afraid youd ask that since the new term for whats eating your foliage is the spongy moth and caterpillar. Why so? I imagine the Entomological Society knows but isnt quite telling, though it is grateful for all the work that went into changing a word of the world, gypsy now being dropped from many languages.

We are grateful to the diverse community of people and organizations who have been involved in this renaming process and have committed to adopting spongy moth as well, Jessica Ware, the societys president, told CNN.

She also said public preparedness is critical in slowing the spread of the spongy moth in America. This has me a-ponder. If public preparedness is key, couldnt the society have come up with a more foreboding name than spongy moth?

LBI Sidebar: I wax sympathetic toward Romanis, having befriended a slew of them in Beach Haven, many decades back.

Some Islanders might recall when an extended family of these fine folks occupied a corner residential home on Bay Avenue in downtown Queen City. Yes, everyone called them you-know-what. Truth be told, they never showed much aversion to the term, at least not in front of me.

As best I recall, they offered walk-in fortune telling, a cultural aspect of Romani culture, not just a touristy money-making gimmick.When their teen kids and I hit the beach to hang out, they were very freewheeling. Quite cool folks.

One thing that jumped out is how the Roma women loved their gold, which is how I met them, having been in the gold jewelry trade at the time. The downside was their insane haggling over prices. I ended up giving them profitless prices just to shut them up!

Returning to the renamed spongy caterpillars, it should be interesting to see where the Entomological Society goes with Japanese beetles, German cockroaches or Mexican mealy bugs.

On the fishing side of PC, there has already been an understandable renaming of jewfish. These huge fish, able to reach over 600 pounds, are now mandatorily called goliath grouper.

Personally, I see PC umbrage potential in hagfish. Of course, its hard to say whos going to speak up as a representative of all the worlds hags. Did I just cross a line?

Another out-there PC name change arrives from the avian realm. Duck hunters and bird watchers are familiar with the oldsquaw, a type of diving duck.

Per empaths, it is feared the name might be offensive to Native Americans. Not that Native Americans think any such thing. Squaw is merely an Algonquin tribal term for woman. Should an Algonquin woman get older?

Regardless, oldsquaws must now go by the name long-tailed ducks even if they walk, swim and quack like an oldsquaw. Holding to that PC theme, what might it mean for the proverbial old wives tales? Might it become long-tailed wives tales? Lets see how that flies.

I must admit to making a glaring PC faux pas last week when, in a public forum, I yelled out to a buddy, You da man! I could hear the neck vertebrae of nearby ladies angrily swinging in my direction. Red-faced, I sheepishly said, Sorry, I meant You da person.

TURBINE TALK: While its decidedly unadvisable to say things cant get worse, Im realizing its equally follyiferous to say things cant get more complicated. Take, for instance, the offshore wind power turmoil.

I have slogged through literally volumes of technical turbine permitting and building data while simultaneously monitoring the complex coastal uprisings against wind farms being placed within seeing distance of LBI.

At some point, I might have inadvertently thought things couldnt get more complicated. I now pay the price, speaking of last weeks NJDEP announcement of the newest wind farm solicitation and biddings, headlined by AP as New Jersey OKs two new offshore wind farms that would be farther from shore and beachgoers view.

The newbie turbine pushers are Leading Light Wind and Attentive Energy.

Just that quickly, things complexify, as newly proposed wind farms take a more offshore tack.

At first blush, it might seem such an eastward movement of turbines is just what the farther-out doctor prescribed, a seeming concession to the many who undertook preventing turbines within LBIs viewshed. But that would be far too simple.

Within the State House statement, there is nary a mention of eliminating or pushing eastward the continuing closer-in efforts. Atlantic Shores remains dedicatedly rooted to its nearshore farm-building.

Note: My preferred term of nearshore wind might soon have its day in the sun, allowing a differentiation between the closer-in builds (nearshore) from those farther out, more accurately named offshore builds.

Any mollifying aspects of placing new arrays out of viewshed view might imply a pivotal protest point has been pacified. Nope. Along with the ongoing nearshore anti-turbine orneriness, it is quickly becoming clear that an updated anti emphasis is being placed on the fishing and marine/wildlife aspects of turbines being placed anywhere a-sea. For many, nearshore/offshore wind builds seemingly have no permissible place off N.J.

As to the federal forces energetically backing the builds, speaking ostensibly of BOEM and NOAA, they are taking something of a blame dilution route for 2024, going bigger than ever on global warming being the overriding concern. That makes strategic sense. Many of the groups supporting ocean wind power are huge on climate change considerations.

Heres a snippet from a just-released report titled BOEM and NOAA Announce Final North Atlantic Right Whale and Offshore Wind Strategy. (See boem.gov/newsroom/press-releases/boem-and-noaa-announce-final-north-atlantic-right-whale-and-offshore-wind.)

Right whales are endangered and climate change is impacting every aspect of their survival from changing ocean habitat, prey availability and affecting migratory patterns making the transition to cleaner, renewable energy critically important, said NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit. Working together on this strategy leverages the best available scientific information to inform offshore wind management decisions while conserving and recovering the species.

The North Atlantic Right Whale and Offshore Wind Strategy provides guidance for a coordinated effort across the federal government and with agency partners to protect and promote the recovery of North Atlantic right whales and other marine life while responsibly developing offshore wind energy to address the climate crisis.

In fairness, the above is a mere morsel of all that is included in this report, including what Ill call worthy efforts to make whale things right in advance of whale-threatening wind farms. Ill even cast some sympathy toward both BOEM and NOAA personnel since their persuasions must align with the mandates of national leaders, i.e., their paycheck signers.

The Biden-Harris administration is committed to ensuring offshore wind energy development is done in a responsible manner, saidBOEM Director Elizabeth Klein. Thats why we have increased our efforts to develop a strategy based on the best available science that will allow us to protect the North Atlantic right whale while meeting our offshore wind goals that are necessary to curb climate change and protect the environment.

RUNDOWN: Regrettably, I must begin with a correction.

I got a not-quite-correct read regarding the very telling March 7 meeting of the N.J. Marine Fisheries Council, being held in the Stafford Township Administration Building, 260 East Bay Ave. in Manahawkin, at 5 p.m. The meeting will allow public involvement prior to the council members making a decision on fluke regs for this year. I had erroneously said it would be held in the old town hall area. Nope. It will be held in the modern town hall.

As to the regulatory routes the council will be considering for 2024, the options are now etched in granite. This comes after an ASMFC meeting last weekend in Virginia.

Garden State options have been passed onto the state council for perusal. Everything is fermenting right now, offered one council member.

The fluke options are a little too involved for me to adequately detail in here. Please check with local tackle shops, The Fisherman Magazineor the JCAA website for a read.

BTW, Ive been alerted to the bag limit option of three fish at 18 inches (or larger) with a four-day loss of season length compared to 2023.

Please keep in mind the NJMFC is also deciding the 2024 regulatory direction for black seabass and scup/porgies.

FLUKE THOUGHTS: Fluke is the most sought-after fish in N.J. with striped bass being the most targeted gamefish. Explanation forthcoming.

Numbers-wise, bass seekers cant match the number of anglers who converge on flatties during just the short summer season. Those anglers are powered by a state with one of the highest per capita boat ownership rates in the nation.

Summer flounder is the ultimate bulls eye species, though it is almost exclusively a meat fish, targeted purely for take-home potential. It is not a gamefish in the strictest sense of the word. If a moratorium were placed on the keeping of fluke, making it catch and release only, virtually nobody would go after them and bait shops would undergo a devastating summer swoon.

Relatedly, the keeper rate for legal-sized fluke is easily over 90%. In fact, the only releasing of legal-length fish comes with culling, exchanging smaller keeper fish in the tank for larger models a practice that might enhance the survivability of caught fluke, providing the live well is adequately aerated. A fluke exhausted from just being reeled in and quickly released is fodder for the likes of sharks below. A flattie rejuvenated in a tank is ready to skedaddle, damn the sharks.

In overall fishing pressure terms, striped bass is a fairly close second to fluke, being heavily sought as a gamefish in spring and more voraciously in fall. Even then, the total number of fluking rods in summer waters outdistances the rod count aimed at stripers during a lengthy spring-to-fall season. As to dedication to the catching cause, striper seekers have a lock on that. No anglers are more dogged than N.J. striperites.

jaymann@thesandpaper.net

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Keeping Up With Spongy Political Correctness; Turbines Make a Sudden Move Offshore - The SandPaper