Science

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) December 2, 2013 — The Massachusetts Marine Fisheries Institute (MFI) has released a summary of its Reference Points & Buffers Workshop which was held in New Bedford on November 6-8, 2013. This workshop is part of the MFI's end-to-end review of groundfish stock assessments.

MFI identified overfishing and rebuilding reference points and uncertainty buffers as topics that have major implications for the management of New England groundfish and deserved attention in the MFI's end-to-end review of groundfish stock assessments. Workshop participants reviewed several alternative approaches to estimating maximum sustainable yield reference points and concluded that multiple perspectives should be considered by scientists and communicated to fishery managers. They also offered recommendations for considering a broader set of ecological, social, and economic factors for risk-based approaches to uncertainty buffers and management procedures. Findings from the reference points workshop will be included with complementary findings from the MFI workshop on environmental change and the upcoming workshop on monitoring to form a set of recommendations that are intended to improve groundfish science and management.

Read the complete report here 

 

November 27, 2013 — GERMANY — During the 7th International Algae Congress in Hamburg, Germany, many developments in the agricultural and aquacultural field will be shown. During two days thirty international speakers will update the attendees on the many application possibilities of algae.

Microalgae contain high amounts of lipids, proteins and carbohydrates, which all can be used for different markets. Worldwide basic research, pilot and demonstration projects are developed. The industry is working on the basic aspects to make commercial production of microalgae possible.

Bernard Kudla, Manager Strategy & Innovation at ECO-SOLUTION in France will explain the Optimized Natural Evolution (ONE) process. Today, improvement of micro-organism characteristicsimportant for biotechnology processes efficiency can be obtained mainly by three complementary approaches: screening of biodiversity, use of Genetic Engineering and Mutation/Selection methods among which Optimized Natural Evolution (ONE) is a novel opportunity.

ONE is a micro-organism improvement process based on continuous selective cultures at constant volume of cellular populations growing within automated culture devices. These culture devices allow the selection, the amplification and the isolation of novel mutant micro-organisms whose novel properties can impact different aspects of biotechnological processes. Productivity, applicability, robustness can be improved and new processes can be developed.

The Institute of Biology at the University of Leipzig in Germany recently developed a method based on FTIR spectroscopy, which allows simultaneous registration of growth rate, growth potential and on biomass composition with respect to the percentage contribution of lipids, proteins and  carbohydrates. 

Read the full story at The Fish Site

 

November 25, 2013 — A young steelhead salmon has about a 30 percent chance of being eaten by Western gulls during its transit to sea through creek mouths in San Mateo and Santa Cruz counties, according to a new study by California Sea Grant-funded researchers.

Gauntlets of gulls lining narrow streams may consume anywhere from 7-83 percent of young steelhead in the Waddell, Scott and Gazos watershed mouths, according to the study found here. “We have thought of the ocean as this big dangerous place,” said Sean Hayes, a co-investigator on the Sea Grant project and a salmon ecologist at NOAA Southwest Fisheries Science Center. “But, it may be that the last 200 or 300 meters of a river and estuary are the most dangerous. These fish are literally being scooped out right before they enter the ocean.”

Read the full story at Capitola-Soquel Patch

November 25, 2013 — The microscopic creatures that make up a critical link in the ocean food chain in the North Atlantic declined dramatically the first half of this year as water temperatures remained among the warmest on record, federal scientists say.

Springtime plankton blooms off northern New England were well below average this year, leading to the lowest levels ever seen for the tiny organisms that are essential to maintaining balance in the ocean food chain, said Kevin Friedland, a marine scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The absence of the normal surge of plankton in the spring is a concern because that’s when cod and haddock and many other species produce offspring, Friedland said. The spring surge also provides the foundation for normally abundant zooplankton levels that have made waters from the Middle Atlantic to New England productive for centuries.

“The first six months of 2013 can be characterized by new extremes in the physical and biological environment,” Friedland said. The findings come after temperatures off the Northeast coast hit an all-time high in 2012.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Boston Globe

WOODS HOLE, Mass. — November 25, 2013 — A marine ecosystem expert is warning that the effect of changes in water temperature and plankton blooms may have ripple effects up the food chain.

"We believe that the changes in the timing of warming events have affected plant and animal reproduction," wrote oceanographer Kevin Friedland of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole in an ecosystem advisory released last week.

Friedland's research shows that, for the first six months of 2013, ocean temperatures from Cape Hatteras to the Canadian border — the area known as the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem — did not reach the record highs of 2012, which had the highest ocean water temperatures recorded in 150 years. But it was still pretty warm in the Northeast, with sea temperatures the third-warmest on record.

But the Northeast shelf saw an even more ominous record this year, with scientists observing the lowest-ever spring plankton bloom. Phytoplankton is the base of the food chain. It converts the sun's energy and the nutrients stirred up by ocean storms and currents over the winter into a rich bloom of microscopic plant life as the days lengthen in the spring. The phytoplankton are eaten, in turn, by microscopic animals known as zooplankton that are food for everything from fish larvae to whales.

Read the full story from the Cape Cod Times

PORTLAND, Maine — November 25, 2013 — The following was released by SeaWeb and Diversified Comminications:

Diversified Communications announced today that it has entered into a partnership with SeaWeb to produce the International Seafood Summit, the world’s premier conference on sustainable seafood. The solution driven event is aimed at advancing sustainability by integrating science, policy and market forces in decision-making.

Under this partnership, SeaWeb, a non-profit organization dedicated to using the science of communications to advance ocean conservation, will collaborate with Diversified on conference content development and strategy. Diversified Communications, the leader in worldwide seafood trade events, will manage and produce Seafood Summit on an annual basis.

“Partnering with SeaWeb on the Seafood Summit is a natural segue for Diversified to be closely involved with the global sustainability movement. Providing a forum for education and discussion aligns with our mission of supporting our customers in their objective to promote sustainable seafood,” says Mary Larkin, Vice President of Diversified Communications.  “We are very excited about this new opportunity as it enables Diversified to further our commitment in taking a leadership role in advocacy for sustainability within the seafood industry.”

“For the past 10 years, the Summit has provided a platform for pioneers, newcomers and innovators to develop and engage the sustainable seafood movement. As the Summit continues to grow in size and influence, Diversified’s strong relationships and expertise in producing the world’s largest seafood events makes them a perfect partner,” says Dawn M. Martin, President of SeaWeb. “They have been a leading voice in the seafood industry for the last four decades and this new alliance will catapult the issue of sustainability into the next decade and beyond.”

The International Seafood Summit brings together global representatives from the seafood industry with leaders from the conservation community, academia, government and the media for in-depth discussions, presentations and networking around the issue of sustainable seafood. The goal of the Summit is to foster dialogue and partnerships that lead to a seafood marketplace that is environmentally, socially and economically sustainable.  Diversified and SeaWeb will also collaborate on the development of an advisory board that will help guide the direction of future Summits.

Recent editions of the conference were held in Paris in 2010, Vancouver in 2011, and the 10th Anniversary was held in Hong Kong in 2012. The next event is scheduled to be held in the United States in New Orleans, Louisiana.  Dates will be released in January 2014.

Diversified Communications’ online publication, SeafoodSource.com, will be the official industry media for the Summit. SeafoodSource.com, the leading seafood news resource and seafood supplier directory in the industry, will be the international online business tool to keep seafood industry professionals informed and connected on the conference’s topics and events.

About SeaWeb

SeaWeb transforms knowledge into action by shining a spotlight on workable, science-based solutions to the most serious threats facing the ocean, such as climate change, pollution and depletion of marine life. To accomplish this important goal, SeaWeb convenes forums where economic, policy, social and environmental interests converge to improve ocean health and sustainability. SeaWeb works collaboratively with targeted sectors to encourage market solutions, policies and behaviors that result in a healthy, thriving ocean. By using the science of communications to inform and empower diverse ocean voices and conservation champions, SeaWeb is creating a culture of ocean conservation. For more information, visit: www.seaweb.org.

About Diversified Communications

Based in Portland, Maine, USA, Diversified Communications provides information and market access through face-to-face events, magazine publishing, and online resources on four continents. Diversified Communications serves several industries, including seafood, food service, natural and organic, commercial marine, healthcare, and business management. The company’s global seafood portfolio of expositions and media includes Seafood Expo North America/ Seafood Processing North America (formerly International Boston Seafood Show/Seafood Processing America), Seafood Expo Global/ Seafood Processing Global (formerly European Seafood Exposition/Seafood Processing Europe), Seafood Expo Asia (formerly Asian Seafood Exposition), Seafood Expo Southern Europe (formerly Seafood Barcelona), SeaFood Business magazine, and SeafoodSource.com. The company operates divisions in Australia, Hong Kong, India, the UK, and Canada. www.divcom.com

 

November 25, 2013 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As survey flights resume for the 2013-2014 North Atlantic right whale season, members of the aerial survey team at the Woods Hole Laboratory of NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) wonder what this survey season will bring. More right whale sightings than last year, or fewer? And where?

"Something has definitely changed," said Tim Cole, a member of the aerial team. "There has been a dramatic shift in the numbers of right whales we are seeing. This has happened before, about 15 years ago, but the recent change is still striking. Everyone is asking "Where did the right whales go?"

A look at the sightings data from the past two seasons shows the rollercoaster of right whale sightings Cole is referring to. With nearly the same number of surveys and area covered in the same time frame, it is hard to explain what is going on.

Using one of NOAA's DHC-6 Twin Otter turboprop aircraft, the team conducted aerial surveys for North Atlantic right whales from November 2012 through July 2013. Only 50 right whale sightings were made, including repeated sightings of individual animals. The maximum number of whales sighted in a group or aggregation was 6. Just a year earlier, between November 2011 and July 2012, the survey team recorded 419 right whale sightings, including repeats of individuals, with a maximum aggregation size of 36.

The number of surveys and overall survey effort between the past two years were nearly identical, so the difference in sightings between one year and the next is significant, said Cole. "We cover a broad region, over 70,000 square nautical miles, but we focus on specific areas where right whales are most likely to be found. In November, December, and early January, sightings often occur in the central Gulf of Maine. During April through July, we find many right whales in the Great South Channel and in the southern Gulf of Maine."

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries 

 

November 21, 2013 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Office’s Protected Species Division has developed a new mapping tool. This tool is designed to help federal agencies and others better determine if a proposed activity authorized, funded, or carried out by a federal agency could potentially affect a species listed by NOAA Fisheries under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA).  These listed species include: marine mammals, sea turtles, anadromous fish (spend time in fresh and marine waters), and other living marine resources.

Read more from NOAA Fisheries

November 20, 2013 — Author Rowan Jacobsen recently volunteered on one of the research expeditions that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration runs to count cod and other fish off the Northeast coast, to determine if fishing cod is as sustainable as fishermen say it is.

They didn’t find much cod, but they did find several other types of fish, including the intimidating monkfish, one of the “trash fish” species that sustainable fisheries advocates say consumers should be eating more of now that cod is depleted.

Rowan Jacobsen speaks with Here & Now’s Jeremy Hobson about his expedition out to sea.

Read the full story and listen to the audio at NPR affiliate WBUR