Saving Seafood

RHODE ISLAND: NOAA Updates Recreational Fishing Policy to Reflect Climate Crisis, Increase Diversity

November 6, 2023 — Recreational fishing is an important economic driver for the Ocean State, bringing in as much as $160 million annually when you include hotel stays and restaurant, bait shop, and marina spending by visitors.

More than 80,000 Rhode Islanders fish recreationally, with an equal number of out-of-staters coming here to fish, according to the Rhode Island Environmental Monitoring Collaborative.

Warming seas, habitat loss, and changes in the movement of bait fish are impacting the state’s recreational and commercial fisheries. Atlantic bluefin tuna, a popular species commonly fished off the Ocean State coast, is one of the Northwest Atlantic Ocean species projected to be impacted by warmer waters and habitat loss.

Other iconic Rhode Island species, such as cod and lobster, have been moving north for a while. Once-abundant winter flounder is now difficult to find.

Read the full article at EcoRi News

Global blue food production at risk from human-caused environmental changes, study finds

November 3, 2023 — Over 90 percent of global blue food production faces substantial risks from environmental changes, with leading seafood-producing countries – including China, Norway, and the U.S. – running the highest risks, according to a new study.

Published in the scientific journal Nature Sustainability, the study, “Vulnerability of blue foods to human-induced environmental change,” included a global analysis assessing the vulnerability of countries’ fisheries and aquaculture production in the face of anthropogenic impacts, or environmental changes directly caused by human activities. Specifically, anthropogenic threats can reduce the amount of high-quality blue food countries can produce by altering water quality and habitats, causing shifts or declines in stocks, and compromising food safety by contaminating fish with pathogens or pollutants that are toxic for human consumption.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Alaska’s snow crabs suddenly vanished. Will history repeat itself as waters warm?

October 31, 2023 — Garrett Kavanaugh grabs a fistful of freshly cooked crab and stuffs it into his mouth, a giant smile on his face, as his feet brace against the rolling sea beneath the deck of his boat.

“Oh yeah,” he says. “That’s what it’s all about.”

As the deck of his 58-foot-long boat rolls on the swells of the Gulf of Alaska, Kavanaugh, 24, cracks another crab leg between his tattooed fingers.

Long months of preparation and anticipation have led to this moment, as Kavanaugh and his three-man crew celebrate the first taste of the Dungeness crabs they’ve hauled up about 50 feet from the sandy ocean bottom off Kodiak Island.

In Alaska, last fall’s shocking collapse of the snow crab fishery shows that conditions for sea life can and are rapidly changing, even in ecosystems that have fed Indigenous people for thousands of years.

So far, this Alaska Dungeness crabbing season is off to a good start. But nothing is certain in these warming waters, where a new study concluded the snow crabs died out because the unusually warm water made their metabolisms run faster, causing them to starve. The study also found that many cod, which traditionally prey on young crabs, had left the area for the colder waters of the northern Bering Sea, “which rarely occurs.”

Read the full article at USA Today

A ‘whole way of life’ at risk as warming waters change Maine’s lobster fishing

October 30, 2023 — Lobsterwoman Krista Tripp doesn’t need a scientist to tell her the normally cold waters off the coast of Maine are warming. The submersible thermometer she takes on every fishing trip proves that.

But it’s not just the warmer water that’s changing fishing here on the rocky coast of northern New England. Heavy rains are lowering the ocean’s salinity. And warm-water fish that don’t belong keep showing up.

“You can tell the water’s changing, and we’re getting new species,” says Tripp, 38. “People are posting fish they catch on Facebook and asking ‘What’s this?’ And they’re tropical fish.'”

Tripp started lobstering at her grandfather’s knee, where she learned to bait traps. She still tries to fish some of his old favorite spots near to shore, but increasingly she’s plumbing the waters right at the edge of where her permit allows, three miles offshore.

Her grandfather trapped lobster his whole life, and now Tripp, like her father before her, carries on that legacy. For generations, lobstering has helped define this slice of northern New England, where the cold Atlantic waters have been home to the species that helped build a young United States: cod, whales, lobster.

But what Tripp sees from the Shearwater’s wheelhouse is just one part of a larger problem facing the United States, as climate change warms the world’s oceans and transforms the creatures that live in them. As the oceans get hotter, sea life adapts, and many species that used to be easily fished close to land are fleeing to colder, deeper waters.

Read the full article at USA Today

Atlantic Sturgeon and Climate Change: Warming Water Impacts Spawning and Development

October 28, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Atlantic sturgeon inhabit rivers and coastal waters from Canada to Florida and can live for 30-60 years. The sturgeon family is the most primitive of all bony fish, with ancestors dating back to the Cretaceous period more than 120 million years ago. Atlantic sturgeon are particularly sensitive to high water temperatures, especially their eggs and juveniles. This sensitivity makes them vulnerable to warming water temperatures associated with climate change.

Beginning in the late 1800s, commercial fisheries began to harvest valuable caviar from Atlantic sturgeon. By the early 1900s, their populations had declined drastically. Recovering Atlantic sturgeon is challenged by their long generational cycles and late age of sexual maturity for reproduction. In response to historic and current challenges, NOAA Fisheries listed four distinct population segments of Atlantic sturgeon as endangered and one as threatened under the Endangered Species Act in 2012.

In 2023, NOAA Fisheries celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act. Since it was enacted, no listed marine or anadromous species have gone extinct. However, as climate change intensifies, the recovery of listed species, like the Atlantic sturgeon and its relatives, may become more challenging. Through climate-focused research and management, NOAA Fisheries aims to mitigate the potential impacts of climate change on listed species to foster their continued recovery.

Impacts of Warming Water Temperatures

Atlantic sturgeon migrate from freshwater rivers and estuaries to the ocean as sub-adults, then return to spawn in the same rivers where they were born. Spring spawning adults move inland when temperatures warm and days are longer. Fall spawning adults move upriver in the heat of the summer to spawn as water temperatures cool in the fall. Due to climate change, the rivers and bays of the U.S. East Coast are warming earlier in the spring, and experiencing hotter peaks during the summer.

Juvenile Atlantic sturgeon prefer water temperatures between 65–72°F to develop, and they will be healthiest during years with that temperature range. Inland waters that warm faster and stay warm for longer due to climate change may limit successful spawning and threaten the survival of eggs and juveniles.

Biden-Harris Administration announces $60 million for Columbia River Basin hatcheries as part of Investing in America agenda

October 28, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Biden-Harris Administration is investing $60 million for NOAA Fisheries to address tribal priorities and tackle the impacts of climate change on Pacific salmon, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. Made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act — the largest climate investment in history — these funds are available for upgrades identified as tribal priorities for Columbia River Basin hatchery facilities that produce Pacific salmon through the Mitchell Act. 

These funds are part of the historic $3.3 billion provided to NOAA under the Inflation Reduction Act to focus on ensuring America’s communities and economies are ready for and resilient to climate change, and build on President Biden’s Presidential Memorandum to prioritize the restoration of healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead and other native fish populations to the Columbia River Basin.

“This historic investment by the Biden-Harris Administration furthers NOAA’s efforts to help Americans — including tribes and vulnerable populations — prepare, adapt and build resilience to weather and climate events,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This new funding that was made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, a key pillar of Bidenomics, is critically important because it will update hatchery facilities to continue to provide the fishing opportunities guaranteed by treaties.”

Investments will be responsive to tribal priorities, which were identified in an Inflation Reduction Act-focused tribal consultation conducted by NOAA. Since 2019, NOAA Fisheries has been working with hatchery operators in the Columbia River Basin to develop a comprehensive list of deferred maintenance and needed upgrades. The investments to advance President Biden’s ambitious conservation agenda outlined in the America the Beautiful initiative, which calls for a decade-long effort to support locally led and voluntary conservation and restoration efforts across public, private and Tribal lands and waters in order to create jobs and strengthen local economies while tackling the climate crises. 

The funding will focus on shovel-ready and high-priority hatcheries that are funded with Mitchell Act grants — which include the Yakama Nation, the Nez Perce Tribe, and the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho — are eligible. NOAA Fisheries will distribute these hatchery funds to operators in the Columbia River Basin for deferred maintenance and repairs of hatchery facilities.

The Mitchell Act was passed by Congress in 1938 for the conservation of salmon and steelhead fishery resources in the Columbia River Basin in light of hydroelectric, irrigation and flood control development projects. It supported the establishment, operation and maintenance of hatchery facilities in the states of Oregon, Washington and Idaho, as well as other fishery conservation activities. Since 1946, Congress has continued to appropriate Mitchell Act funds on an annual basis, and NOAA Fisheries has administered the Mitchell Act since 1970. 

Please visit the Inflation Reduction Act website to learn about current and future funding opportunities.

ALASKA: Alaska Salmon Research Task Force issues progress report, seeks public input

October 26, 2023 — Beset by changing climate, population swings and declining salmon returns in some regions, Alaska salmon are under unprecedented pressures.

The Alaska Salmon Research Task Force is now seeking public comment on an early version of their draft report to help build its work plan.

In an announcement through the National Marine Fisheries Service, task force members said they need advice on “existing knowledge, research gaps, and applied research that is needed to better understand the increased variability and declining salmon returns in some regions of Alaska.”

The task force is especially interested in hearing comments about Indigenous and traditional knowledge that can be applied to the Pacific salmon life cycle framework now under development by the task force.

Comments can be submitted online with this form. People can also comment in person during the November 14-15, 2023 Alaska Salmon Research Task Force meeting in Anchorage. The session will be held at the William A. Egan Civic & Convention Center, Summit Hall (Lower Level), 555 W 5th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Scientists say right whale decline may have slowed

October 24, 2023 —  The endangered North Atlantic right whale population may have grown slightly with new calves born in 2021-2023. But human activities in the ocean could still be killing as many whales as are born, scientists say in their latest assessment.

In a report released for its annual meeting this week, the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium updated its estimate for the 2022 whale population at 356 animals, based on 18 calves born in 2021, according to a summary from the New England Aquarium.

“While certainly more encouraging than a continued decline, the ‘flattening’ of the population estimate indicates that human activities are killing as many whales as are being born into the population, creating an untenable burden on the species,” said Heather Pettis, a research scientist in the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium and executive administrator of the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium.

The aquarium and science partners at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration work together on coordinating surveys of the right whale population – one of the most endangered species on Earth – and NOAA published a detailed technical memo on the latest assessment Oct. 23.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

A warming Gulf Stream is edging ever closer to shore

October 23, 2023 — Over the last 20 years, the Gulf Stream has warmed faster than the global oceans and shifted closer to the shore, increasing the likelihood that the tropical ocean current could suddenly impact U.S. coastal fisheries, according to a new study published this month.

Physical oceanographers Robert Todd and Alice Ren from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution found the Gulf Stream has warmed 2 degrees Fahrenheit and moved 6 miles closer to the eastern continental shelf since 2001, according to findings published in Nature Climate Change.

The Gulf of Maine is most influenced by the Labrador Current, which brings colder water from the north. The oscillating Gulf Stream generally passes 100 miles south of the Gulf of Maine’s southern border, but warm-water breakaways from it can still increase Gulf of Maine temperatures for months at a time.

Scientists say it is too early to know for sure, but increasingly warm core rings that break away closer to shore could have a significant impact on environmental conditions, and marine wildlife, within the Gulf of Maine, according to Todd, the study’s lead author.

“These rings have a very sharp temperature contrast,” Todd said. “They come in and very suddenly you have very warm water in the spot where you had cold water before. It’s temporary, for the life of the ring, but it’s a long enough period of time that the fish, the shellfish, they care.”

This study focused on the general Gulf Stream that hugs the U.S. coast from Florida up to Cape Cod, before it flows east toward Europe, but Todd notes that other researchers have found the number of warm core rings formed by the Gulf Stream has roughly doubled since 2000.

Read the full article at Portland Press Herald

In search of 10 billion missing snow crabs, scientists eye marine heat waves

October 23, 2023 — About 10 billion snow crabs disappeared from Bering Sea waters between 2018 and 2021, forcing fisheries to shutter in Alaska last winter and threatening the state’s economy. Now, scientists think they know what happened to them.

A study published Thursday in the journal Science suggests that the crabs likely suffered a mass starvation event touched off by seasons of extreme ocean heat.

The population crash — from its highest-recorded level in 2018 — shows how marine heat waves, which are made more likely by climate change, can scramble ecosystems and threaten human livelihoods that rely on ocean life.

Read the full article at NBC News