Saving Seafood

Crab larvae off Oregon and Washington suffering shell damage from ocean acidification, new research shows

January 27, 2020 — Ocean acidification is damaging the shells of young Dungeness crab in the Northwest, an impact that scientists did not expect until much later this century, according to new research.

A study released this week in the journal Science of the Total Environment is based on a 2016 survey of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia coastal waters that examined larval Dungeness. The findings add to the concerns about the future of the Dungeness as atmospheric carbon dioxide — on the rise due to fossil-fuel combustion — is absorbed by the Pacific Ocean and increases acidification.

“If the crabs are affected already, we really need to make sure we start to pay attention to various components of the food chain before it is too late,” said Nina Bednarsek, the lead author among 13 contributing scientists. The study was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).

Read the full story at The Seattle Times

Warmer ocean means changing fish populations in Narragansett Bay

January 27, 2020 — It will come as no surprise to local anglers that different fish species are now found in Rhode Island waters. In some cases, these fish are displacing ones traditionally found here, and scientists are trying to understand which species pose the greatest threat to the native marine populations of Narragansett Bay.

Students presented some of the findings Thursday at the University of Rhode Island Graduate School of Oceanography. The talks on the bay’s marine food web were part of the monthly Bay Informed series sponsored by Rhode Island Sea Grant and open to the public.

“It gets more complicated when you start realizing that there’s a lot of different predators for any given species,” said Maggie Heinichen, a master’s degree candidate. They’re not just eaten by one thing. And it gets even more complicated when you look at an entire ecosystem.”

Scientists have looked at changes at both the bottom and the top of the food web, analyzing fluctuations in populations of organisms at the bottom, like plankton, and of fish at the top level such as striped bass.

Read the full story at The Westerly Sun

Alaska pollock fish sticks, surimi processing generates “significant” greenhouse gas emissions

January 24, 2020 — The processing of Alaskan pollock into products such as fish sticks, surimi and fish fillets generates “significant greenhouse gas emissions,” researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz have found.

According to a study released by the university, the processing of the products post-catch results in almost twice as many emissions as the fishing itself. Typically, climate impact analysis of fishing ends once the catch is brought on-board.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Science Center for Marine Fisheries Takes On Climate Change, Bycatch, and Menhaden in 2020

January 24, 2020 — Three of the thorniest issues in the seafood industry will be looked at by the industry-academic group Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) this year. SCeMFiS researchers will have over $191,000 in funding for three projects involving climate change, bycatch, and Atlantic menhaden.

SCeMFiS is part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers (IUCRC) program which brings academia and industry together to find solutions to urgent problems. Funding and research priorities are determined by both SCeMFiS scientists and industry members.

Read the full story at Seafood News

After Years Of Slow Action On Climate Change, What Sets Offshore Wind Apart For N.H.?

January 22, 2020 — Most New England states have been investing in alternative energy sources for years. But New Hampshire has been slower to act in response to climate change.

Now, the Granite State is looking to be a leader in a major new source of renewable energy: offshore wind.

Turnout exceeded all expectations at the first meeting, last month, of a federal task force on wind development in the Gulf of Maine. One state legislator was heard saying the line to get in rivaled the line for the women’s bathroom at Fenway Park.

Governor Chris Sununu welcomed hundreds of people who filled up a huge meeting hall and overflow rooms at UNH.

“Good morning,” he said, to a mild response, then: “Come on! Look what we’re kicking off, this is exciting!”

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio

West Coast waters acidifying two times faster than global average

January 17, 2020 — New data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association shows waters off the coast of California are acidifying at twice the rate of the global average.

NOAA researchers studied sediment from the Santa Barbara Channel and using 100 years worth of microscopic shells were able to show the acidification rate was two times that of other oceans around the world.

Shellfish are the species most immediately impacted by ocean acidification. More acidic waters make it difficult for animals like, starfish, mussels, and scallops to build their shells.

Ocean acidification is simple chemical process, seawater absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and becomes more acidic. Humans have sped up the rate of ocean acidification thanks to global carbon emissions. Since the industrial revolution ocean acidity has increased by 25%, which is greater than at any other time in the last two million years.

Read the full story at KSBW

More than just temperature change at work as climate change hits salmon, research shows

January 17, 2020 — The four-year EU research project ClimeFish has established that there will be more factors than just water temperature at play as the full effects of climate change hit Norwegian salmon over the next five decades.

According to Elisabeth Ytteborg, a scientist at the research group Nofima, who collaborated with the UK’s University of Stirling on the project, local factors play a much bigger role than previously assumed on fish health as marine temperatures rise.

Although it has previously been determined that salmon die when water temperature hits 23°C, there has reportedly been a case that saw salmon died at a significantly lower temperature, 20°C.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Rising sea temperatures could threaten Atlantic salmon production

January 16, 2020 — In 2017, aquaculture production in the EU reached a decade high thanks to increased production of high-value species like salmon and seabass, according to a report by the European Market Observatory for Fisheries and Aquaculture Products (EUMOFA). The same report also shows that in 2015, per capita world consumption of fish was 8 percent higher than in 2005, with Asia registering the highest growth, followed by Europe.

With the consumption of fish and shellfish expected to rise further, and  change rapidly affecting fisheries and habitats, it’s crucial to analyze the dynamics of fisheries and aquaculture production. The EU-funded ClimeFish project has been tackling this issue to help regulators, fish producers and aquaculture operators to predict, prepare and adapt to climate change.

Partially supported by ClimeFish, a team of researchers found that since the 1980s,  off the Norwegian coast have risen by 1 °C on average, as noted in a news item by project partner Nofima. The researchers predict further increases over the next decades, likely causing problems for . Salmon is the third most consumed farmed fish in the EU, according to EUMOFA.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

A blob of hot water in the Pacific Ocean killed a million seabirds, scientists say

January 16, 2020 — As many as one million seabirds died at sea in less than 12 months in one of the largest mass die-offs in recorded history — and researchers say warm ocean waters are to blame.

The birds, a fish-eating species called the common murre, were severely emaciated and appeared to have died of starvation between the summer of 2015 and the spring of 2016, washing up along North America’s west coast, from California to Alaska.

Now, scientists say they know what caused it: a huge section of warm ocean water in the northeast Pacific Ocean dubbed “the Blob.”

A years-long severe marine heat wave first began in 2013, and intensified during the summer of 2015 due to a powerful weather phenomenon called El Nino, which lasted through 2016.

The heat wave created the Blob — a 1,000-mile (1,600 km) stretch of ocean that was warmed by 3 to 6 degrees Celsius (5.4 to 10.8 Fahrenheit). A high-pressure ridge calmed the ocean waters — meaning heat stays in the water, without storms to help cool it down.

Read the full story at CNN

Investigating the Effects of Ocean Acidification on Atlantic Sea Scallops

January 16, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On a gray December day, students, faculty, and NOAA scientists packed Massachusetts Maritime Academy’s aquaculture lab. They worked shoulder to shoulder to answer high-stakes questions. The eight-week experiment, led by NOAA research chemist Shannon Meseck, was the first to directly measure the response of juvenile Atlantic sea scallops to ocean acidification.

Modeling studies have projected the effects of ocean acidification on the sea scallop fishery, but these analyses depended on data collected from other shellfish species. “Research is beginning to show that shellfish have species-dependent responses to ocean acidification. This experiment will give more definitive results that can be used to determine the effects on the fishery,” explained research chemist Matt Poach.

Partnering with the Massachusetts Maritime Academy

The project required coordination between NOAA’s Milford Lab and the Academy, including many trips shuttling people, samples, and algal cultures between Cape Cod and Connecticut. Students at the Academy—called cadets—cared for the animals, grew algae to supplement their diet, and took frequent water samples.

While the research team conducted similar experiments on surfclams and oysters at the Milford Lab, raising sea scallops requires cooler temperatures and oceanic, rather than estuarine, conditions.

“The location of the Academy on Buzzards Bay was ideal for sea scallop experiments because of the availability of pumped, unfiltered seawater in the right temperature and salinity range,” noted Milford Lab Director Gary Wikfors.

Research chemist George Sennefelder and technician Dylan Redman built two ocean acidification exposure systems at the Milford Lab. They also designed and built a smaller system to fit the Academy’s aquaculture lab.

The lab sits by the dock, in the shadow of the training vessel TS Kennedy. “The Aquaculture and Marine Sciences Laboratory is a surprisingly adaptable space for hard science,” observed Professor William Hubbard, who headed up the partnership for the Academy. “Seawater, electricity, aging pipes, and New England weather challenge the lab, but NOAA easily installed their customized system and it runs well.”

Read the full release here