One of many targeted at DEC
Budget cuts could sink shellfish industry
BySHERRYHALBROOK theDECtobooststaffingoftheSGACU
Areyouashellfishlover? and,in1987,DECbroughtthestaffing
Ifyoulikescallops,clamsandoysters, uptofourbiologistsandfourtechnicians,
yourenjoymentdependsonthembeing whowereoverseenbyaseniorbiologist.
safeandplentiful.That’swhereyour Butthehugebacklogofworkstillforced
culinarytastescollidewiththestate thetemporaryclosingof56,000acresof
budget. shellfishbedsoffofLongIsland.
LongIslandandStatenIslandproduce Accordingtothe2008FDAreport,that
approximately160,000bushelsofhard- area“waseventuallyreopenedinthemid-
shellclamseachyear.Andthat’sjusta 1990sandtheprogramhasremainedin
partofNewYork’sshellfishindustry.In complianceuntil2007,when..a12-year
fact,it’sa$22.8millioncatch,anumber surveywasoverdue....”TheDEC
that’smagnifiedseveraltimesbeforeit completedthatsurveylastyear,but“due
getstoyourplate. tothelossofprogramstaffinrecent
Unfortunately,therelentlesspressure monthsandyears,theSGACUstaffis
onstategovernmentto“domorewith findingitincreasinglydifficulttomaintain
less”threatenstosinkthatharvestbefore sanitarysurveysandtakeonadditional
youcangetasinglebite. programsnecessarytoprotectshellfish
“Thisisjustoneofmanyexamplesof consumers.”
howstatecostcuttingmaysaveafew
hundredthousanddollarsupfront,but Dangers, duties growing
endupcostingthestate’seconomy Staffingisnowbacktothelevelthat
millions,”saidPEFPresidentKenBrynien. COLLECTINGSAMPLES—PEF causedtheFDAtoblowthewhistlein
“What’sworse,thisexamplealsocould memberLisaTettelbach,abiologistfor the’80s,butnowtheworkloadhas
costpeopletheirlives.” thestateDept.ofEnvironmental dramaticallyincreasedbecauseavery
Conservation,collectsandstoreswater dangerousbiotoxinhasenteredtheNY
Small unit, big responsibility samplesoffofLongIsland. shellfishbeds.
It’suptolessthanadozenpeople Thetoxin,whichiscausedbya
includingPEFmembersintheShellfish
notdoneontimethelawrequiresthe
naturallyoccurringplankton,migrated
GrowingAreaClassificationUnit(SGACU)
affectedareabeclosed.
downthecoasttoLongIsland.In2004,
withinthestateDepartmentof
Thesurveysidentifyandmeasure
theSGACUestablishedanewmonitoring
EnvironmentalConservation’sDivisionof
pollutionthreatstotheshellfishbeds.The
programforit.In2006andin2008,they
FishandWildlifetosurveyandmonitor
SGACUalsomonitorsthelevelofmarine
foundlethallevelsofthetoxinthat
75separateshellfishgrowingareas,
biotoxinsinshellfish.
requiredtemporarilyclosinglargeareas
mostlyoffLongIslandtokeepthemsafe
Eatingtoxicshellfishcancauseawide
oftheNewYorkbeds.
andproductive.
varietyofdangeroussymptomsthatcan
Theseareverytechnical,labor-and
Unfortunately,accordingtotheU.S.
leadtoacomaandevendeath.
time-intensiveprograms.Thesurveys
FoodandDrugAdministration, requirefrequenttripsoffshoretogather
understaffingoftheDECunitmayforce
Back where they started
samplesanddata,whilemonitoringfor
thestatetoshutdownshellfishingina
Thisisn’tthefirsttimetheFDAhas
toxinsrequirestherepeatedcollectionof
millionacresofbedsalong700milesof
soundedthealarmforunderstaffingof
shellfishmeats,andthenpreserving,
shoreline.
theSGACU.
transportingandtestingthem.
Fouroftheunit’s10positionsare
A“staffingshortfallintheearly1980s
TheFDAalsowantsthestatetotrain
vacant.Itwouldcostabout$260,000
resultedinhundredsofmilesofshoreline
andequipitsSGACUstaffto
(includingbenefits)forthestatetofill
notbeingadequatelysurveyedtolocate
computerizemapsoftheshellfishbeds
thosevacancies.Currentvacancies
andevaluateallactualandpotential
andpollutionsources.
includetheleadbiologist.
pollutionsourcesthatcouldadversely
Thissmallbutcrucialunitwas
InanannualreportissuedNovember
affectthesanitaryconditionof
alreadyrunningonlow,when
17,2008,theFDAstated:
theshellfishharvestingareas.
thestateimposedahiring
“DEC’sSGACUisnowstaffedatthe
Additionally,thousandsof
freezelastsummer.Now,
lowestlevelithasbeensince1986.These
acresofproductive
theagencyispressedto
staffreductionshavelefttheunitina
shellfishingareaswere
makestilldeepercuts.
positionthatwilljeopardize(its)capacity
notbeingsampledatthe
“Thisistragedy
tomeetthesanitarysurvey
frequencyrequired...to
waitingtohappen,”
requirements...andadequatelyprotect
assurethewaterquality
Bryniensaid,“andit
publichealth.”
inthoseareaswas
makesnoeconomic
Accordingtothereport,“completeand
meeting...standards..,
sense.Wearehighlighting
up-to-datesurveysareessentialto
thus,placingpublichealth
itinourbudgettalkswith
protectingthehealthofshellfish
atrisk.”
statelawmakers.”
consumers,”andwhensurveyreportsare
In1986,theFDAcalledon
www.pef.org TheCommunicatorFebruary2009—Page9
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