Saving Seafood

NOAA Awards Funding for Research Projects to Study Climate Impacts on Fish and Fisheries

December 15, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Seven projects to increase understanding and response to climate-related impacts on living marine resources

Following release of the  NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy, today the agency announced $5 million in new research funding to study the impacts of climate change on fish and fisheries of the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem. The funds, which will be distributed over the next two to three years, will support seven new projects designed to increase our understanding of how climate change can affect fish stocks, fisheries, and the communities that depend on them for their livelihood.

“Warmer coastal and ocean waters and ocean acidification are already affecting our nation’s fisheries,” said NOAA Fisheries chief science advisor Richard Merrick, Ph.D. “NOAA is working to ensure the resilience of healthy, productive fisheries that are essential to U.S. coastal communities. Sustainable fisheries create jobs, stabilize coastal economies, enhance commerce, and help to meet the growing demand for seafood.” 

NOAA Research’s Climate Program Office and NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology funded the projects through a competitive process and include collaborations between NOAA and academic scientists. In addition, these projects support the Administration’s Priority Agenda for Enhancing the Climate Resiliency of America’s Natural Resources.

Six projects support research to understand and respond to climate impacts on fish and fisheries in the Northeast Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem and the seventh will support a workshop focused on ecosystem tipping points in the North Pacific.

More details on the listed projects can be found on the following web pages:

NOAA Fisheries Office of Science and Technology

NOAA Research Climate Program Office

 

NOAA Fisheries unveils climate science strategy

September 4, 2015 — As ocean conditions continue to change, putting ocean ecosystems and the communities that rely upon them at risk, NOAA took a first step in providing regional fisheries managers and stakeholders with information they need to reduce the effects of climate change and build resilience.

“NOAA just announced that for the globe the month of July — and actually, the entire year so far — was the warmest ever recorded, driven largely by record warm ocean temperatures,” said Eileen Sobeck, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries.

“Those warmer waters – along with rising seas, coastal droughts and ocean acidification – are already putting people, businesses, and communities at risk. With this strategy, we’re taking a proactive approach in providing information on current and future conditions to try and reduce impacts and increase our resilience,” pointed out Sobeck.

The NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy identifies seven key steps to increase production, delivery, and use of climate-related information to support the management of fish stocks, fisheries, and protected species. The steps focus on how a changing climate affects living marine resources, ecosystems, and the communities that depend on them, and how to respond to those changes.

Read the full story at IFFO