Saving Seafood

As removal of dams frees Klamath River, California tribes see hope of saving salmon

August 29, 2024 — Excavators clawed at the remnants of Iron Gate Dam, clattering loudly as they unloaded tons of earth and rock into dump trucks.

Nine miles upriver, machinery tore into the foundation of a second dam, Copco No. 1, carving away some of the last fragments of the sloping concrete barrier that once towered above the Klamath River.

Over the last few weeks, crews have nearly finished removing the last of the four dams that once held back the Klamath River near the California-Oregon border.

On Wednesday, workers carved channels to breach the remaining cofferdams at the last two sites, allowing water to flow freely along more than 40 miles of the Klamath for the first time in more than a century.

Read the full article at LA Times

A rarely seen deep sea fish is found in California, and scientists want to know why

August 16, 2024 — A rarely seen deep sea fish resembling a serpent was found floating dead on the ocean surface off the San Diego coast and was brought ashore for study, marine experts said.

The silvery, 12-foot-long (3.6-meter) oarfish was found last weekend by a group of snorkelers and kayakers in La Jolla Cove, north of downtown San Diego, the Scripps Institution of Oceanography said in a statement.

It’s only the 20th time an oarfish is known to have washed up in California since 1901, according to institution fish expert Ben Frable.

Read the full article at the Associated Press 

CALIFORNIA: Hueneme gets millions from California Port Data Partnership

July 23, 2024 — Port of Hueneme officials have announcement a $3.9 million award from the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz).

The investment, known as the California Port Data Partnership, is designed to revolutionize direct cloud-based data management and sharing among California’s five containerized ports to accelerate climate adaptation and resiliency, workforce development, zero-emission vehicle deployment, and increased grid support and reliability.

California ports are responsible for handling 40% of all containerized imports and 30% of all containerized exports in the U.S.

“California’s ports are critical to the stability of our national and global supply chains, as well as the health of our worldwide economy,” GO-Biz director and senior advisor to Gov. Gavin Newsom, Dee Dee Myers, said in a statement announcing the award. “These historic, first-of-their-kind awards will allow us to use data to improve the functionality of our supply chain, and we look forward to working with our ports to further the momentum that these projects will generate across the state.”

Read the full article at WorkBoat

CALIFRONIA: California Invests $27 Million in Port Data System Development

July 15, 2024 — The California Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development (GO-Biz) today announced the award of $27 million to support data system development and interoperability across California’s five containerized ports, the first-ever state-level funding in the country focused on improving data functionality across a statewide network of ports.

As the nation’s premier gateway for international trade, California and its ports are essential to the smooth functioning of the global economy. The state’s containerized ports, which include the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, Oakland, San Diego, and Hueneme, handle a staggering 40% of all U.S. containerized imports, supporting millions of jobs and generating billions in economic activity.

“California’s ports are critical to the stability of our national and global supply chains, as well as the health of our worldwide economy,” said GO-Biz Director and Senior Advisor to Governor Gavin Newsom, Dee Dee Myers. “These historic, first-of-their-kind awards will allow us to use data to improve the functionality of our supply chain, and we look forward to working with our ports to further the momentum that these projects will generate across the state.”

The awards will fund ten innovative projects across the five ports that address key challenges in port operations and foster long-term statewide freight resilience. These projects encompass a wide range of solutions including optimization of cargo-routing, deployment of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence, implementation of climate resiliency and emissions reductions measures, adoption of trucking appointment systems, and the development of new data standards for cargo.

The funds follow the signing of a first-of-its-kind Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) last spring that formed the California Port Data Partnership between the five ports. Both the MOU and the awards are expected to yield significant economic, environmental, and transportation benefits for the State.

What the Ports Are Saying

“This unprecedented level of funding is crucial for California’s containerized ports as it will enhance the sharing of supply chain data to improve information flow. With the state’s investment, the Port of Hueneme will support collaborative efforts to bridge data gaps in the regional, state, and national supply chain. The funding will also accelerate the Port’s data strategy enhancing commercial, operational, and financial data sharing systems. We appreciate the State’s commitment to resiliency and its significant investment in goods movement.” – Port of Hueneme CEO & Port Director Kristin Decas

Read the full article at the The Maritime Executive

Impacts of ocean heat wave found off SF Bay Area coast

July 12, 2024 — The ocean is no place to escape a heat wave. According to a recent condition report from the Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries, the effects of a 2014 to 2016 marine heat wave had a cascading effect with impacts that echoed from deep sea krill to shoreline restaurants.

The domino effect began with the tiny shrimp-like critters that feed the biggest animals on earth, blue whales. Looking at data collected between 2010 and 2022, scientists with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration found that the heat wave caused a notable decline in nutritious krill, and a proportional increase in less nutritious, gelatinous zooplankton in the sanctuaries off the Northern California coast.

Read the full article at Chesapeake Bay Magazine 

Climate change is causing low-oxygen levels in Pacific Northwest ocean, report says

June 17, 2024 — A recent report out of Oregon State University paints a picture of how ocean oxygen levels have decreased in the Pacific Northwest over the years.

The report found near-bottom levels of dissolved oxygen in the waters off of Washington, Oregon and Northern California in 2021. JPR’s Roman Battaglia talked to Jack Barth, professor of oceanography at OSU, about his report and what these low oxygen levels mean for marine life.

Roman Battaglia: One thing I noticed in this study was that the levels seem pretty different in different parts of the coast. For example, in northern California and the southern Oregon coast, the oxygen levels seem much higher than they are in southern Washington and the northern Oregon coast. But why is there so much variability?

Jack Barth: That was the second big outcome of the paper, is that there really are regional differences. And importantly, we can explain them by oceanographic processes. So that higher oxygen level off southern Oregon, that’s because the continental shelf is relatively narrow. So it can flush water on and off pretty effectively from the deep ocean and flush out that low oxygen water so it stays high. And it looks like a pretty good area for fisheries. As you get into the wider continental shelves off central Oregon and Washington, the water sticks around longer; it doesn’t get flushed off as effectively. So that keeps those low oxygen waters near the bottom on those wider shelves.

Read the full transcript at OPB

Commercial salmon fishermen eye Klamath dam removal with cautious hope

June 17, 2024 — Dave Bitts can bring in over 100 salmon by himself.

“That’s an exceptionally good day. If I catch 20 fish it’s worth the trip,” says Bitts.

At 76, he still fishes for salmon alone. Standing in the cockpit on the stern deck of his wooden trawler, Elmarue, he can keep an eye on all six wires; when one of the lines starts to dance, he brings the fish in, stunning it with his gaff while it’s still in the water. Then he uses the tool to hook the salmon behind the gills and swings it onto the deck.

“By the way, I want that fish cleaned and chilling in a single water flush within half an hour; that’s the standard,” says Bitts. “I want you to enjoy eating it as much as I enjoyed catching it.”

Bitts has commercial permits for both crab and salmon. Normally, in late May, he’d be out salmon fishing; instead, he’s just returned from a late crab run and tucked Elmarue into her slip at Woodley Island, a tidy marina in Humboldt Bay right across the waterfront near Eureka’s Old Town.

In April, for the second year in a row, the Pacific Fishery Management Council voted unanimously to close California’s commercial and recreational ocean salmon fishery. The closure was based on woefully low numbers of adult salmon expected to return to several California rivers.

The east end of the marina is stocked with sailboats and pleasure craft, but on the west end you can spot several commercial boats — Inua, Joy Ann, and My Lady, her deck piled high with crab pots.

“There’s not that many anymore, because there’s not much salmon season anymore,” says Bitts.

Read the full article at OPB

CALIFORNIA: Port of Hueneme makes historic announcement during World Ocean Day celebration

June 12, 2024 — Holly Lohuis has made it her mission to tell students the importance of protecting the ocean for future generations.

Part of that conservation conversation includes protecting endangered whales.

The Port of Hueneme and Oxnard Harbor District vowed to make all operations at the Port Of Hueneme zero emissions within the next 6 years— a change that will not only help save marine life and preserve ecosystems, but will also improve public health.

“We want clean air for our community. We want the workers working at the docks to breathe clean air. We want them to have quiet equipment to ensure the best public safety for the workforce on the waterfront,” said Port of Hueneme CEO and Port Director Kristin Decas.

Read the full article at KEYT