Climate change Archives - Page 66 of 139

One Of Biden’s Biggest Climate Change Challenges? The Oceans

March 19, 2021 — A few years ago, marine biologist Kyle Van Houtan spotted an online video that he couldn’t quite believe. It showed a young great white shark, about five-feet long, swimming just off a pier in Central California.

“Our initial reaction was that it can’t be true,” Van Houtan says. “We know that they’re in Southern California and Mexico, not in Monterey.”

When they’re young, white sharks typically live in the warm waters of Southern California, hundreds of miles from the cold, rough surf up north off Monterey.

Still, the shark in the video wouldn’t be the only one to appear. Since 2014, young white sharks have been arriving off Monterey in greater numbers.

The sharks were simply following the water temperatures they’re adapted to. The ocean was warmer, shifting the sharks’ habitat from where it’s normally found. Similar shifts are being seen around the world, just one of the ways that climate change is hitting the oceans hard.

Ocean scientists say the Biden Administration is taking office at a critical time. Sea levels are rising, fish are migrating away from where they’re normally caught, and the water itself is becoming more acidic as it absorbs carbon dioxide that humans emit.

While the administration has appointed climate change advisors throughout the federal government, a key role remains unfilled: the head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency that oversees everything from fisheries policy to marine sanctuaries.

Read the full story at NPR

Most Recent Data Shows Gulf of Alaska Marine Ecosystem Slow to Return to Pre-Heatwave State

March 19, 2021 — The eastern Pacific marine heatwave, which occurred from California to Alaska in 2014–2016, was the longest lasting heatwave globally over the past decade. A new study led by NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners looked at its effects. They found that the heatwave affected various components of the Gulf of Alaska marine food web from plankton to whales to humans. There have been various impacts, some positive and some negative. Some of these impacts persisted through 2019, when this study was completed.

“As of 2019, the Gulf of Alaska ecosystem had yet to recover from the effects of this major heatwave,” said Rob Suryan, from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center who is lead author on the study. “What also is remarkable is how rapidly conditions changed and that species from all trophic levels and age classes responded. The community composition, or proportion of species that make up the ecosystem, are distinct from what we observed prior to the heatwave.”

Since 2012, the percent of global ocean experiencing strong or severe heatwaves has increased from 30 percent to nearly 70 percent in 2016. There has also been an increase in documentation of disturbance to marine ecosystems, biodiversity, and ecosystem services associated with marine heatwaves.

In the Gulf of Alaska, the marine heatwave was particularly strong in the spatial extent, duration, and magnitude of ocean warming. It was also unique in that it extended down to the seafloor and affected a broad diversity of habitats. Its effects were seen in offshore oceanic to intertidal waters in glacial fjords.

Scientists looked at 187 biological data sets from different sampling programs in the Gulf of Alaska. They also examined long-term monitoring and synthesis efforts led by the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council’s Gulf Watch Alaska and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

From these data, scientists determined how the biological community responded as a whole and which species exhibited negative, positive, or neutral responses. They also looked at whether species showed continued, multi-year response or signs of recovery for up to five years after the onset of the Pacific marine heatwave.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

NOAA to Host Listening Sessions on Section 216(C) of the Executive Order on Tackling the Climate Crisis

March 18, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA is seeking public input in response to an Executive Order issued on January 27, 2021, titled Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.

Section 216(c) of the Executive Order Directs NOAA to collect recommendations on how to make fisheries—including aquaculture—and protected resources more resilient to climate change, including changes in management and conservation measures, and improvements in science, monitoring, and cooperative research.

NOAA requests written input on 216(c) from interested parties on how best to achieve the objectives of the as described in the Executive Order. Interested persons are invited to submit comments by email by April 2, 2021 to OceanResources.Climate@noaa.gov.

National Stakeholder Calls

We are also hosting three national stakeholder calls—two are open to all stakeholders and one is specifically for state and tribal governments.

March 23, 2021: Conference call open to all stakeholders nationally
Time: 12:00 to 2:00p.m. EST
Dial in: (888) 769-8793 (toll-free); or (212) 547-0306
Passcode: 4379815#
Time limit: 3 minutes per person; additional rounds as time allows
This call will be recorded

March 25, 2021: Conference call open to all state and tribal governments
Time: 1:30 to 3:00 p.m. EST
Dial in: (877) 716-4288 (toll-free); or (312) 470-7386
Passcode: 6268962#
This call will be recorded

April 1, 2021: Conference call open to all stakeholders nationally
Time: 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. EST
Dial in: (800) 857-9693 (toll-free); or (630) 395-0354
Passcode: 5473603#
Time limit: 3 minutes per person; additional rounds as time allows
This call will be recorded

Read the notice as filed in the Federal Register.

For further information:

Heather Sagar, heather.sagar@noaa.gov, 301-427-8019.

SAFMC: South Atlantic Bite – Newsworthy Notes

March 17, 2021 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

Gut Check: What is DNA Barcoding Telling Us about What Red Snapper Are Really Eating?
Tuesday, March 30, 2021
2 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. via webinar

Join in as the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council hosts a presentation from Kevin Spanik with the S.C. Department of Natural Resources on recent diet analysis of Red Snapper conducted in the South Atlantic region. This seminar is open to the public. Register now.

Sea Change: Using Citizen Science to Inform Fisheries Management

A new article published in BioScience highlights the development of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Citizen Science Program and the use of citizen science in marine fisheries. Check out the article and see the amazing work done by a variety of teams and advisors from across the world! The article shares best practices, support resources, and recommendations compiled to create this unique Citizen Science Program. Learn more

USDA Seeks Comments, Will Host Listening Sessions on Support for Seafood Producers

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is soliciting input from seafood producers and processors impacted by COVID-19. A Listening Session for those impacted in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico will be held March 18, 2021from 2 p.m. until 5 p.m. Registration is required the day before the session to provide oral comments. Written comments are being accepted until March 31, 2021 at AMSCOVIDStimulus@usda.gov. Questions should also be sent to the same email address.

Executive Order on Tackling Climate Change

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public input on how to make fisheries and protected resources more resilient to climate change. The agency is taking this step in response to Section 216(c) of President Biden’s Executive Order issued on January 27, 2021 titled Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad. Stakeholders nationwide are invited to join conference calls on March 23 and April 1 to provide suggestions. March 25 is for state and tribal governments. Comment deadline is April 2, 2021.

Northwest’s Iconic Salmon Face Tough Conditions During Ocean Journey

March 16, 2021 — Ocean conditions can be integral to salmon survival. And in 2021, the Pacific Northwest’s iconic fish will face a mixed bag: some good and some bad conditions while out at sea.

Salmon survive best when the water is cooler along the coast and warmer farther out. Colder La Niña conditions have also led to higher salmon counts. Right now, that’s exactly what’s happening. But things will likely change over the summer.

“The next few months look pretty good. However, things are expected to change. A lot of the warm water we’ve seen the past couple of years is not gone completely. It’s just not at the surface,” says Brian Burke, a research fisheries biologist with NOAA Fisheries.

The mixed messages the ocean is sending for salmon survival could be frustrating for fisheries managers, who are trying to figure out how many fish will return to fresh waters.

Warm water may come close to the coastline this July through September, which spells trouble for salmon in the ocean.

Read the full story at KLCC

Changes to Earth’s ‘twilight zone’ could cripple the Ocean’s future

March 15, 2021 –Welcome to the Twilight Zone It’s a real place — but under the sea.

The mesopelagic zone, also known as the “twilight zone,” is a mysterious region of the ocean between 200 and 1,000 meters in depth. It’s sandwiched between the sunlit surface and pitch-dark deep ocean.

A new study shines a light on its formation over geologic time scales, revealing the process is intimately linked with global temperature.

Currently, this is a boon to the creatures that live there. But, as anthropogenic climate change heats up the ocean, this finding suggests the twilight zone and its integral role in the carbon cycle may be negatively affected.

This is bad news not just for the animals that live there, but for people too — a twilight zone in balance is essential for keeping billions of tons of carbon out of our planet’s atmosphere.

Read the full story at Inverse

How sea-level rise could affect Pacific nations’ fishing rights

March 12, 2021 — Small island states in the Pacific are opening a new front in the fight against rising seas, to secure rights to an ocean area bigger than the moon and home to billion-dollar fish stocks.

States from Kiribati to Tuvalu are mapping their most remote islands, scattered across the ocean, in a bid to claim permanent exclusive economic zones (EEZs), stretching 200 nautical miles offshore, irrespective of future sea level rise.

As global warming pushes waters higher, Pacific nations fear some of their islands could be swamped, shrinking their EEZs and rights to fishing and mining within their boundaries – so they are trying to lock in existing zones now.

Read the full story at the Christian Science Monitor

Fishers at risk in ‘perfect storm’

March 12, 2021 — Stormier weather will increasingly force fishers to choose between their safety and income, researchers say.

Climate change is causing more extreme weather in many locations. Storms will likely increase around the UK in the future, while many fishers in the UK also face economic insecurity.

The new study—led by the University of Exeter—worked with fishers in Cornwall to understand how they balance the risks and rewards of fishing in varying conditions.

Factors that made skippers more likely to risk fishing in high wind or waves included: being the main earner in their household, poor recent fishing success, and having a crew to support.

“Climate change and economic insecurity create a ‘perfect storm’, putting ever-increasing pressure on skippers,” said lead author Dr. Nigel Sainsbury.

“Fishing is already the most dangerous peacetime profession in the UK, and the combination of more extreme weather and financial challenges will only make this worse.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

NATIONAL LAW REVIEW: Expectations for Offshore Wind Under the Biden Administration

March 11, 2021 — President Joe Biden’s arrival at the White House in January was, as customary for any new executive branch leader, met by outsized expectations on the part of supporters and detractors alike. Among the countless areas of public policy set to be affected by the new administration, perhaps no one issue is more anticipated to be in play than energy and environmental policy.

The heightened set of expectations around energy policy began with the campaign, when Team Biden consistently placed climate change issues among its leading priorities — a trend that noticeably continued with Cabinet picks, as nominees for agencies from Defense to Transportation to Treasury cited climate considerations as key factors affecting their respective portfolios. On January 27, 2021, shortly after taking office, the Biden administration released a series of executive actions that included a stated goal of reaching a “carbon pollution-free power sector by 2035.”

Perhaps no single industry would be more critical to the realization of this far-reaching carbon-free goal than offshore wind, which has emerged in the United States over the past several years as a potentially game-changing source of clean energy generation, based on its earlier-moving success in Europe and elsewhere. In fact, along the country’s populous coastal areas, where fifty three percent of US residents reside, offshore wind presents the most viable option to build up renewable energy resources in the foreseeable future.

Read the full story at the National Law Review

OREGON: Crab fishery adapts following climate shock event

March 10, 2021 — An unprecedented marine heat wave that led to a massive harmful algal bloom and a lengthy closure of the West Coast Dungeness crab fishery significantly altered the use of ocean resources across seven California crab-fishing communities.

The delayed opening of the 2015-16 crab-fishing season followed the 2014-16 North Pacific marine heat wave and subsequent algal bloom. The bloom produced high levels of the biotoxin domoic acid, which can accumulate in crabs and render them hazardous for human consumption.

That event, which is considered a “climate shock” because of its severity and impact, tested the resilience of California’s fishing communities, researchers from Oregon State University, the University of Washington, and National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center found.

The study is the first to examine impacts from such delays across fisheries, providing insight into the response by the affected fishing communities, said James Watson, one of the study’s co-authors and an assistant professor in OSU’s College of Earth, Ocean, and Atmospheric Sciences.

Read the full story at the Newport News Times