Saving Seafood

  • Home
  • News
    • Alerts
    • Conservation & Environment
    • Council Actions
    • Economic Impact
    • Enforcement
    • International & Trade
    • Law
    • Management & Regulation
    • Regulations
    • Nutrition
    • Opinion
    • Other News
    • Safety
    • Science
    • State and Local
  • News by Region
    • New England
    • Mid-Atlantic
    • South Atlantic
    • Gulf of Mexico
    • Pacific
    • North Pacific
    • Western Pacific
  • About
    • Contact Us
    • Fishing Terms Glossary

Acid threatens almighty cod

November 30, 2018 —Climate change could devastate a major northern hemisphere fishing industry, modelling finds.

For cod facing the effects of climate change, it’s not the heat but the acid that threatens.

Ocean acidification – caused by atmospheric carbon dioxide entering the water and lowering its pH value – means there’s a narrower thermal window for the success of two species of northern cod, meaning that one of the world’s largest fisheries will be threatened if global temperature increases are not limited to 1.5 degrees Celsius, a new study finds.

The researchers, led by Flemming Dahlke of the Alfred Wegener Institute in Germany, find that embryos of cod are able to survive only within a limited temperature range, and that the range lessens in more acidic conditions.

The researchers predict that Atlantic cod (Gadus morhuai) would be unable to spawn below the Arctic Circle by 2100 under a “business as usual” emissions scenario. The polar cod (Boreogadus saida) faces an even more perilous future, since it not only needs colder water, but also depends on ocean ice for its habitat.

Read the full story at Cosmos Magazine

Appeals court blocks another US gov’t effort to overcome Mexico gillnet import ban

November 30, 2018 — The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit on Wednesday shot down an effort by the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) and other federal agencies to end a four-month-old ban on the import of Mexican shrimp and other seafood caught in the country with the use of gillnets.

The decision to reject a “stay of the order” request backs a US Court of International Trade (CIT) ruling, issued in July, that was sought by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), Center for Biological Diversity and Animal Welfare Institute as part of an effort to protect the endangered vaquita porpoise in the northern Gulf of California from being driven into extinction by pressuring the Mexican government.

Widely decimated by the use of gillnets in pursuit of the totoaba — another endangered fish sought for its swim bladder due to black market demand in China — there are believed to be a little more than a dozen vaquita remaining.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

NOAA Fisheries Accepts Petition to List Thorny Skate under ESA

October 26, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In response to a petition from Defenders of Wildlife and Animal Welfare Institute (AWI) to list thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) under the Endangered Species Act, we have prepared a 90-day finding. We accept the petition and are initiating a review of the status of the species.

The petition, which we received in May 2015, requested that we list a “Northwest Atlantic Distinct Population Segment” or a “United States Distinct Population Segment” of thorny skate as threatened or endangered. The petition also requested a designation of critical habitat for thorny skate. 

The petitioners claim that the species numbers have been declining since the 1970s, and that the species is threatened by illegal landings, bycatch and discard mortality, inadequacy of existing regulatory mechanisms (related to fishing), global climate change and hypoxia, and natural stochastic events. 

We will now start a review of the status of the species to determine if listing the species or any potential distinct population segments is warranted. We are asking for public input through the Federal Register notice published today. 

You may submit information or data on this document by either any of the following methods: 

  • Online: Submit information and data via the Federal eRulemaking Portal. Click the “Comment Now” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments. 
  • Mail: Submit information and data to Julie Crocker, NMFS Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, Protected Resources Division, 55 Great Republic Drive, Gloucester, MA 01930, USA.

The deadline for submissions is December 28.

Our determination will be published as a notice in the Federal Register within 12 months.

Questions? Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, at 978-281-9175 or Jennifer.Goebel@noaa.gov.

Thorny skate. Credit: NOAA/Tobey Curtis

Recent Headlines

  • Trump reinstating commercial fishing in northeast marine monument
  • Natural toxin in ocean results in restrictions on Pacific sardine fishing off South Coast
  • MAINE: Maine lobstermen remain mighty political force despite shrinking numbers
  • HAWAII: Ahi labeling bill waiting on governor’s signature
  • Trump administration strikes hard at offshore wind
  • USDA awards USD 2.3 million in pollock contracts, seeks more bids on pollock, salmon
  • Trump to reopen Northeast Canyons to commercial fishing
  • US, China agree to 90-day pause on high tariffs

Most Popular Topics

Alaska Aquaculture ASMFC Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission BOEM California China Climate change Coronavirus COVID-19 Donald Trump groundfish Gulf of Maine Gulf of Mexico Hawaii Illegal fishing IUU fishing Lobster Maine Massachusetts Mid-Atlantic National Marine Fisheries Service National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration NEFMC New Bedford New England New England Fishery Management Council New Jersey New York NMFS NOAA NOAA Fisheries North Atlantic right whales North Carolina North Pacific offshore energy Offshore wind Pacific right whales Salmon South Atlantic Western Pacific Whales wind energy Wind Farms

Daily Updates & Alerts

Enter your email address to receive daily updates and alerts:
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.
Tweets by @savingseafood

Copyright © 2025 Saving Seafood · WordPress Web Design by Jessee Productions