Saving Seafood

Reminder: Habitat Committee Webinar on Scenario Deepening, June 5

June 3, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

As part of its Climate and Communities Initiative (CCI) the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is sponsoring a series of webinars with its advisory bodies, which are open to the public.

The webinar with focus on Habitat concerns will be held on the following date and times:

  • Habitat Committee: Friday, June 5, 9:00 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

Please see the CCI “Scenario Deepening” webinar notice on the Council’s website for materials and public participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Dr. Kit Dahl at 503-820-2422; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Reminder: Salmon Advisory Subpanel and Management Team Webinar on Scenario Deepening, June 2

May 29, 2020 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

As part of its Climate and Communities Initiative (CCI) the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is sponsoring a series of webinars with its advisory bodies, which are open to the public.

The webinar with focus on salmon fishery management will be held on the following date and time:

  • Salmon Advisory Subpanel and Technical Team: Tuesday, June 2, 1:30-4:30 p.m.

Please see the CCI “Scenario Deepening” webinar notice on the Council’s website for materials and public participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Dr. Kit Dahl at 503-820-2422; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

THE SEATTLE TIMES: New UW consortium will lead to a broader, deeper study of ocean health

May 28, 2020 — The University of Washington’s selection to host a new research consortium is a testament to the school’s well-earned reputation. It will help advance understanding of climate, ocean dynamics and marine ecosystems, building on the school’s track record of excellence in the field.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that the UW will lead a new Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, which includes Oregon State University and University of Alaska Fairbanks. The designation comes with up to $300 million in funding for research into areas such as climate and ocean variability, the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, aquaculture and polar studies, in conjunction with the NOAA labs.

The selection is a testament to the UW’s research prowess: The commitment is nearly triple the last NOAA Cooperative Institute award to UW and formalizes longstanding collaborations among researchers along the West Coast.

Read the full opinion piece at The Seattle Times

Maine to collect ocean acidification data with new sensors

May 26, 2020 — Maine marine officials said three new sensors installed in a coastal community will help scientists get a better understanding of ocean acidifcation.

The growing acid levels in the ocean are a hazard for some kinds of sea life, including some of those sought by Maine fishermen. Scientists have linked acidification to factors that also drive climate change.

The Maine Department of Marine Resources said it has installed the three sensors in Boothbay Harbor. The department said the sensors will help researchers get a better understanding of how ocean acidification and dissolved oxygen levels can change the health of the state’s marine life and ecosystems.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Protecting Fish Habitat Helps Put Food on Your Table

May 22, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Healthy habitats are productive habitats. They provide food and shelter for fish and help to maintain sustainable fish populations and fisheries that produce the seafood that we all love and depend on. Everyone benefits when marine habitats are protected from the effects of fishing.

Fish Rely on Healthy Habitats for Growth and Survival

Fish that live on or near the bottom of the ocean need food and places to hide from predators in order to survive and grow large enough to reproduce. Rocky habitats, especially those with lots of attached plants and animals like sponges, mussels, and anemones, are ideal habitats for many species of fish. These habitats are also the most vulnerable to impacts from commercial fishing gear. Nets and dredges that are towed over the bottom of the ocean can disturb bottom habitats, removing and damaging plants and animals that live there. Disturbed habitats provide fish with less food and less shelter from predators. Some habitat organisms grow and form very slowly. Once they are removed or damaged, it can take years for them to be replaced. As a result, if these vulnerable bottom habitats are fished too heavily they may never fully recover from the effects of fishing and are no longer healthy habitats for fish.

Types of Towed Fishing Gear

In New England and the Mid-Atlantic, fishermen use three primary types of towed commercial fishing gear: bottom trawls, scallop dredges, and clam dredges. Other gears such as lobster traps remain in place while fishing and have very little effect on bottom habitats.

Read the full release here

NOAA selects Univ. of Washington to host regional institute for climate and ocean research

May 22, 2020 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has selected the University of Washington to host a Pacific Northwest research institute focusing on climate, ocean and coastal challenges, supported by a five-year award worth up to $300 million.

  • The Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean and Ecosystem Studies, or CICOES, will be a collaboration involving UW as well as the University of Alaska at Fairbanks and Oregon State University. It’ll build on the 42-year history of UW’s Joint Institute for the Study of the Atmosphere and Ocean, under the continued directorship of UW marine biologist John Horne.

Read the full story at Geek Wire

Reminder: Scientific and Statistical Committee Webinar on Scenario Deepening, May 26

May 22, 2020 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

As part of its Climate and Communities Initiative (CCI) the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) is sponsoring a series of webinars with its advisory bodies, which are open to the public.

The May 26 webinar (SSC) will be held on the following date:

  • Scientific and Statistical Committee: Tuesday, May 26, 1:30-4:30 p.m.

Please see the CCI “Scenario Deepening” SSC webinar notice on the Council’s website for materials and public participation details.

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Dr. Kit Dahl at 503-820-2422; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

Warming Oceans Choke Fish as Habitats Get Less ‘Breathable’

May 20, 2020 — The cool, nutrient-rich water of the California Current supports a variety of marine life, including invisible phytoplankton, economically important salmon, rockfish, and Dungeness crab, and majestic orcas.

For the study in Science Advances, researchers used recent understanding of water breathability and historical data to explain population cycles of the northern anchovy. The findings for this key species could apply to other species in the current.

“If you’re worried about marine life off the west coast of North America, you’re worried about anchovies and other forage fish in the California Current. Ultimately it’s what underpins the food web,” says lead author Evan Howard, a postdoctoral researcher in oceanography at the University of Washington.

Read the full story at Futurity

FAO report analyzes climate patterns’ impact on the seafood industry

May 15, 2020 — Climate patterns across various ocean regions have impacted the production, survival, and performance of fish, fisheries, and aquaculture – which in turn directly impacts the populations that rely on the resource for a living.

A new report published by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), in partnership with French National Research Institute for Sustainable Development (IRD France), says the events of El Niño and La Niña – which are recurring climate patterns made of warm and cool phases across the tropical Pacific, popularly known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) – “generally worsen the effects of climate change on fish, fisheries, and aquaculture.”

Read the full story at Seafood Source

‘A risk for the future’: How warming oceans are disrupting America’s seafood supply

May 13, 2020 — Recorded temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean are increasing at an “alarming” rate, according to one scientist, and forcing fisherman to confront a seafood industry primed for disruption.

Scientists at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in Massachusetts recorded 2017 as the warmest year on record for water temperatures in the Northeast. Glen Gawarkiewicz, a senior scientist at the institution, said 2019 was equally “disturbing,” adding that over the past seven years, water temperatures off southern New England have increased by nine degrees Fahrenheit, faster than any region outside of the Arctic.

“The ocean is changing pretty rapidly,” Gawarkiewicz said. “Typically temperature variations might be two degrees Fahrenheit there, and fish are probably sensitive at about one degree Fahrenheit there. So it’s almost an order of magnitude more that you normally need to get some kind of change.”

Read the full story at Yahoo Finance