Science

December 3, 2013 — In recent years, North Carolina estuaries have been experiencing large fish kills often associated with rains and moderate temperatures. Most of the dead fish have exhibited large, open skin ulcers.

Scientists at NCCOS analyzed the ulcerated fish collected by the North Carolina Department of Environment and Natural Resources (NCDENR) and the Neuse Riverkeeper Foundation using molecular assays and provided a definitive diagnosis of ulcerative mycosis.

Read the full story from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science

December 3, 2013 — The following was released by the University of California:

In the first global assessment of its kind, a science team led by researchers at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego has produced a landmark report on the impact of fishing on a group of fish known to protect the health of coral reefs. The report, published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B (Biological Sciences), offers key data for setting management and conservation targets to protect and preserve fragile coral reefs.

Beyond their natural beauty and tourist-attraction qualities, coral reefs offer economic value estimated at billions of dollars for societies around the world. Scripps Master’s student Clinton Edwards, his advisor Jennifer Smith, and their colleagues at the Center for Marine Biodiversity and Conservation at Scripps, along with scientists from several international institutions, have pieced together the first global synthesis on the state of plant-eating fish at coral reef sites around the world. These herbivorous fish populations are vital to coral reef health due to their role in consuming seaweed, making them known informally as the “lawnmowers” of the reef. Without the lawnmowers, seaweeds can overgrow and out-compete corals, drastically affecting the reef ecosystem.

“One of the most significant findings from this study is that we show compelling evidence that fishing is impacting some of the most important species on coral reefs,” said Smith. “We generally tend to think of fishing impacting larger pelagic fishes such as tuna but here we see big impacts on smaller reef fish as well and particularly the herbivores. This is particularly important because corals and algae are always actively competing against one another for space and the herbivores actively remove algae and allow the corals to be competitively dominant. Without herbivores, weedy algae can take over the reef landscape. We need to focus more on protecting this key group of fishes around the globe if we hope to have healthy and productive reefs in the future.”

Read the full press release at the University of California website 

December 2, 2013 — The following was released by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF):

The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation (CFRF) has completed a video documenting the story of the Lobster Research Fleet Pilot Project that was launched this past summer.

View the short video here

Read more from about the Lobster Research Fleet Pilot Project from the CFRF

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