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FREEPORT MEMORIAL LIBRARY
School news
pages 3-9
i
74th Year, No. 34 Freeport, N.Y. 11520
The Community Newspaper
Thursday, August 20, 2009
IF I HAD A HAMMER: Roofers hard at work repairing the Atkinson School roof in preparation for a new school year.
to school
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DA: polluted clams were sold by shellfish operation
A fishing operation out of a rented dock in Freeport was shut down and chaiges have been brought against Ocean Fresh Sea'Clam, Ltd. of Islip Terrace as well as the arrest of. William Smith, a captain of one of its fishing vessels for overfishing a seaside area of the Atlantic Oceari and attempting to sell polluted oceanic surf clams to food wholesalers in Delaware and New Jersey, announced Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice.
The arrest of Mr. Smith, 29 of East Patchogue, was made on Friday, August 14. Mr. Smith was arraigned in First District Court in Hempstead.
DA Rice said that a nine-month investigation by her Environmental Crimes Unit and New York's Department of . Environmental Conservation led to the arrest and the filing of corporate charges against
Interview with Dr. Kuncham page 3
Ocean Fresh Sea Clam.Ltd.
Ms. Rice said that undercover surveillance has established that from September 2007 to January 2008, Ocean Fresh Sea Clam, Ltd. operated a clamming vessel out of a rented dock in Freeport. William Smith, who is the son of the company;s owners, captained the vessel.
• Investigators examining surveillance footage, wholesaler invoices, state licenses and permits, and records from the Loop Parkway drawbridge have confirmed that, on at least three occasions. Ocean Fresh harvested more than double the weekly DEC-established limit for commercial fishing.
The DEC sets the weekly limit at either 21 or 14 cages (32 bushels in a cage). DA Rice said that harvesters can sell a bushel of surf clams for $8-10 to whole-
New Baldwin
administrator
page 5
sale distributors, meaning that if the operation was consistently doubling their state-imposed limit, the overfishing might net them an extra $7,000 each week (21 cages at $320 per cage).
A review of DEC records indicates that to cover their tracks. Ocean Fresh submitted false weekly reports to the agency, claims the-district attorney's office,
The state Department of Environmental Conservation enforces the state's recreational and commercial fishing regulations. Surf clams are clams found in the ocean buried in the sands of shallow water.
The DEC requires a special permit for the commercial harvesting of surf clams from the Atlantic Ocean. The regulations estabhsh the quantity of clams that can be harvested to safegiiard against the depletion of an area's clam population.. The DEC certifies areas of water where clams •
Freeport eliminates
Parks Board
page 11
can be harvested and sold for human consumption. The DEC also identifies "polluted" areas of ocean that require clammers to sell the shellfish harvested in these waters for bait only.
This distinction is designed to protect the public health by requiring that clams sold as food are harvested from certified unpolluted areas only. The DEC • also requires weekly reports from commercial harvesters indicating the location and quantity of their most recent harvests.
"Rogue fishing operations believe making a profit is more important than protecting our natural resources and it's time that law enforcement took this threat seriously," said DA Rice, in a press release. "It's a threat to our habitat, to the honest small business, and to everyone who enjoys Long Island's natural beauty and unique ecosystem." • (oonUnued on page 7)
Baldwin house
boarded up page 19
I
Object Description
| Rating | |
| Title | The-Leader_2009-08-20 |
| Subject | Newspaper |
| Description | This is a Newspaper distributed locally within the Village of Freeport and Baldwin. |
| Creator | Linda Toscano |
| Publisher | L&M Publications, Inc. |
| Contributors | Scanned by Imaging & Microfilm Access, Inc. (Bohemia, NY 11716) |
| Date | 2009 |
| Type | Periodical |
| Format | PDF; TIFF |
| Source | Freeport Memorial Library |
| Language | English |
| Coverage | United States |
| Rights | This digital image may be freely used for educational uses, as long as it is not altered in any way. No commercial reproduction or distribution of this image is permitted without written permission of the Freeport Memorial Library, 144 W. Merrick Road, Freeport, NY 11520 or email: frreference@freeportlibrary.info |
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