Saving Seafood

UN Plastic Pledge Is Bright Spot for Global Climate Diplomacy

March 8, 2022 — As countries buffeted by high energy prices and political infighting at home backslide on climate promises made at the COP26 summit in November, a glimmer of hope for green progress came out of Kenya last week.

At the fifth biennial session of the United Nations Environment Assembly, which met in Nairobi, 175 countries agreed to establish an intergovernmental committee to negotiate a legally binding treaty to tackle the proliferation of plastics.

Plastic is, of course, a global scourge. About 11 million metric tons of plastic waste end up in bodies of water each year, and the UN expects that volume to nearly triple by 2040. Not only do plastics clog oceans with waste, they break down into tiny pieces — microplastics — that threaten human and animal health.

Delegates in Nairobi resolved to cut plastic waste through recycling, sustainable package design, and limiting production of virgin plastics in the first place. Further, they pledged to have a treaty in place by the end of 2024. That’s an extremely fast timeline: Most global treaties take five to 10 years.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

Paper finds hotter, drier conditions negatively impact salmon spawns

March 2, 2022 — A new paper published 15 February in Fisheries Magazine confirms that salmon spawns fared worse in hotter, drier conditions.

The new paper, “Premature Mortality Observations among Alaska’s Pacific Salmon During Record Heat and Drought in 2019,” found salmon had higher spawning success in glacier and snow-fed streams than in rain-fed streams in hot, dry conditions.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

U.S. offshore wind auction bids top $1.5 bln, with more to come

February 24, 2022 — The largest ever U.S. sale of offshore wind development rights – for areas off the coasts of New York and New Jersey – attracted a record $1.5 billion in bids on Wednesday, supporting President Joe Biden’s plan to create a new domestic industry.

The auction, which will continue on Thursday, is the first offshore wind lease sale under Biden, who has made expansion of offshore wind a cornerstone of his plans to tackle global warming and decarbonize the U.S. electricity grid by 2035, while creating tens of thousands of jobs.

After 21 rounds of bidding, combined live bids for the six leases stood at nearly $1.54 billion, according to updates posted on the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s (BOEM) web site.

That easily topped the U.S. offshore wind auction record of $405 million set in 2018. It was also far more than recent oil and gas auctions in U.S. federal waters. A sale of drilling rights in the Gulf of Mexico late last year, for instance, attracted $191.7 million in high bids.

Read the full story at Reuters

Resilient Woods Hole releases new, interactive tools to engage community in planning for climate change

February 22, 2022 — ResilientWoodsHole (RWH), a public-private initiative led by local science institutions, today released new, interactive website tools to further engage the local community in its collective goal of securing a climate-resilient future for the coastal village of Woods Hole.  An updated website, ResilientWoodsHole.org, provides status updates, news coverage and reports on these efforts.  A new stakeholder survey, for individuals to learn more about how they can offer input, is now on the website.

Also new are three interactive maps for public engagement. Each map highlights a different aspect of Woods Hole:  Important Features, Adaptation and Vision, and Flooding Risk. People can click on any of these three maps and input comments and suggestions in each of these key areas.

Links to both the survey and interactive maps can be found on the RWH website.

A recent public workshop held by RWH engaged more than 100 local community members in a dialogue about coastal flooding risks, identified village flood pathways and vulnerabilities, and discussed long-term adaptation strategies.

“Building on the success of our first visioning workshop, it is clear that the future of Woods Hole as a seaside community, blue economy driver, and home to world renowned ocean research organizations, lies collectively in our hands,” said Leslie-Anne McGee, manager of ResilientWoodsHole and a project manager at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. “Working with the community, it is our goal to prepare for sea-level rise and increasing extreme weather events, and jointly develop solutions.”

This effort is funded through the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management (CZM),’s Coastal Resilience Grant Program and matching funds from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Marine Biological Laboratory, and NOAA Fisheries.

Read the release from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

 

Glaciers’ retreat could open new Alaska salmon habitat

February 22, 2022 — Melting glaciers in the U.S. state of Alaska and the Canadian province of British Columbia could open up new habitat for Pacific salmon – conceivably almost equal to the length of the Mississippi River – by 2100, under one scenario of “moderate” climate change.

But, on balance, a warming climate will continue to take a negative toll on salmon populations on the U.S. Pacific coast.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

From Fishermen To Rugby Players, Climate Change Has Become A Fact Of Life In Fiji

February 17, 2022 — When Shahadat Ali was learning how to fish, he was taught to put the smaller fish back into the ocean. But the quality, size and amount of fish have decreased so dramatically that he now has to keep every fish that swims into his net.

“Times are hard — it’s a struggle,” said Ali, who lives on the outskirts of Nasinu, the most populous town on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji.

Ali’s 72-year-old uncle, Iqbal Shah, has been fishing since he was a teenager and has seen the ocean he loves change drastically over his lifetime.

“In one week we used to catch 300 to 400 kilograms, sometimes 500 kilograms, but now if you fish one week, you can’t hardly get about 100 kilograms (220 pounds),” Shah said. “It is very hard.”

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

 

‘The future in our hands’: Scientists call for urgent action to curb sea level rise in Hawaii

February 17, 2022 –America’s coasts will be dealing with about a foot of sea level rise on average by the year 2050, a new federal study shows.

The biggest impacts are forecast for the East Coast, where sea level rise estimates are between 14 and 18 inches. Hawaii, meanwhile, is projected to see between 6 and 8 inches in three decades.

NOAA, which is one of seven agencies responsible for the report, says that much sea level rise will cause tide and storm surge heights to increase and reach further inland.

By the year 2050, “moderate” flooding ― the kind that causes damage ― is expected to occur on average more than 10 times as often as it does today.

“The impacts will will depend upon what we do to mitigate against those,” said William Sweet, a NOAA oceanographer. “With less heating under less emissions, the risk of higher sea level rise of mountains is much less. The future is in our hands, and that future does not need to be one of doom and gloom.”

Read the full story at Hawaii News Now

 

U.S. coastline to see up to a foot of sea level rise by 2050

February 15, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA:

The United States is expected to experience as much sea level rise by the year 2050 as it witnessed in the previous hundred years. That’s according to a NOAA-led report updating sea level rise decision-support information for the U.S. released today in partnership with half a dozen other federal agencies.

The Sea Level Rise Technical Report provides the most up-to-date sea level rise projections for all U.S. states and territories by decade for the next 100 years and beyond, based on a combination of tide gauge and satellite observations and all the model ensembles from the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The report projects sea levels along the coastline will rise an additional 10-12 inches by 2050 with specific amounts varying regionally, mainly due to land height changes. 

The report updates the federal government’s 2017 sea level rise projections, and provides additional information on tide, wind, and storm-driven extreme water levels affecting current and future coastal flood risk. A suite of federal tools are using this data, including the NOAA Sea Level Rise Viewer, which are critical to the Administration’s commitment to tackle the climate crisis by making actionable climate data accessible to those who need it.

“For businesses along the coast, knowing what to expect and how to plan for the future is critical,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “These updated projections will help businesses, and the communities they support, understand risks and make smart investments in the years ahead.”

“This new data on sea rise is the latest reconfirmation that our climate crisis – as the President has said – is blinking ‘code red,’” said Gina McCarthy, National Climate Advisor. “We must redouble our efforts to cut the greenhouse gases that cause climate change while, at the same time, help our coastal communities become more resilient in the face of rising seas.”

“This is a global wake-up call and gives Americans the information needed to act now to best position ourselves for the future,” said Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA Administrator. “As we build a Climate Ready Nation, these updated data can inform coastal communities and others about current and future vulnerabilities in the face of climate change and help them make smart decisions to keep people and property safe over the long run.”
 
The report also finds that the sea level rise expected by 2050 will create a profound increase in the frequency of coastal flooding, even in the absence of storms or heavy rainfall. 

“By 2050, moderate flooding–which is typically disruptive and damaging by today’s weather, sea level and infrastructure standards–is expected to occur more than 10 times as often as it does today,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, NOAA’s National Ocean Service Director. “These numbers mean a change from a single event every 2-5 years to multiple events each year, in some places.” 

“This report supports previous studies and confirms what we have long known: Sea levels are continuing to rise at an alarming rate, endangering communities around the world. Science is indisputable and urgent action is required to mitigate a climate crisis that is well underway,” said Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator. “NASA is steadfast in our commitment to protecting our home planet by expanding our monitoring capabilities and continuing to ensure our climate data is not only accessible but understandable.”

This multi-agency effort is a product of the Interagency Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Hazard and Tool Task Force, composed of NOAA, NASA, EPA, USGS, DoD, FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as several academic institutes. The report leverages methods and insights from both the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) 6th Assessment Report and supporting research for the U.S. DoD Defense Regional Sea Level database.

Read the Sea Level Rise Technical Report.

NOAA, partners to issue long-term sea level projections

February 11, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On February 15, NOAA’s National Ocean Service and interagency partners will release a report updating long-term sea level projections for the United States.

The Sea Level Rise Technical Report delivers projections by decade for the next 100 years and beyond. The report updates the federal government’s 2017 sea level rise projections, with additional information on tide, wind, and storm-driven extreme water levels to support decision-making for a Climate Ready Nation.

The report is a product of the Interagency Sea Level Rise and Coastal Flood Hazard and Tool Task Force, composed of NOAA, NASA, EPA, USGS, DoD, FEMA and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, as well as several academic institutes.

When

Tuesday, February 15, at 1:00p.m. Eastern

What

Virtual media briefing on the interagency Sea Level Rise report

Who

Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA Administrator

Bill Nelson, NASA Administrator

Nicole LeBoeuf, Director, NOAA National Ocean Service

William Sweet, Ph.D., Oceanographer, NOAA’s National Ocean Service

Ben Hamlington, Ph.D., Sea Level Change Team Lead, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory

How

GoToWebinar: The briefing will be followed by a Q&A session. An accompanying news release will be issued at the start of the webinar. 

NOTE: For credentialed reporters only. 

Interested reporters must register here: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/579382575564147468

To participate in the Q&A portion of the media briefing, please be sure to register using your full name and media affiliation. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar. Please do not share your invite link with anyone, it is unique to you.

 

Fishermen not feeling the effects of ‘marked decrease’ in Atlantic cod population

February 11, 2022 — What started as a research presentation on rising ocean temperatures and decreasing cod supply by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration quickly turned into a revealing conversation about how scientists and their data often do not reflect fishermen’s experiences.

NOAA held a virtual meeting Wednesday focused on the status of Atlantic cod, attended by over 70 fishermen and researchers based in the Gulf of Maine and George’s Bank, which extends from Newfoundland to southern New England.

Findings by a working group of researchers indicated that the lifecycle of the species is being influenced by the environment, specifically rising ocean temperatures, which have changed the fish’s spawning behavior and their predator-prey relationships.

“We are at the point where we are seeing the impact of the temperature increase over the years,” said Lisa Kerr, a researcher at the Gulf of Maine Research Institute. Deep-water temperatures in the Northeast have increased two degrees since the 1980s. The biomass of Atlantic cod is trending downwards year-over-year, meaning the population is on the decline.

Fishermen in the audience did not dispute these findings. What they did question is whether these facts are having the same implications that the researchers believe.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times