Saving Seafood

California crab fishermen are testing “ropeless” gear to save whales—and themselves

September 4, 2019 — After decades of whaling decimated their population, humpback whale populations off the West Coast are finally recovering. Hundreds of them now make their way up and down the coast each year, migrating from tropical breeding grounds in Mexico and Central America to feeding areas further north. For the most part, humpback whales—known for their melodic songs, athletic leaps through the air, and altruistic behavior towards other marine mammals—make this journey unhindered, as they did for centuries of their evolutionary history.

But in recent years, a new threat has emerged along the West Coast: From November through mid-July, tens of thousands of deadly ropes hang in the water column, connecting buoys at the surface with crab traps on the seafloor, designed to harvest Metacarcinus magister, aka Dungeness crab.

A curious humpback might become entangled while playing around with fishing gear or rolling around in it, as the mammals are known to do with kelp. Probably more often, they may become entangled while feeding, which they do by making underwater, open-mouthed lunges to collect krill or small fish. Fishing line can get caught up in the cetaceans’ baleen teeth and restrict their ability to feed. Ropes can gradually saw through tissue, causing lacerations and ultimately death by infection. Whales that don’t manage to break free on their own or get cut free by professional disentanglers immediately may drown or die slowly through exhaustion or starvation.

Read the full story at The New Food Economy

Federal officials urge boaters to be cautious about right, humpback whales

August 9th, 2019 — Watch out for the whales.

The fisheries division of the NOAA for the New England region on Friday tweeted out that “Humpback #whales are showing up all along our coasts! Please keep everyone safe and follow the law by giving them space to behave naturally.”

The regulators urged boaters to keep their vessels at least 100 feet from the whales, or 600 feet “if other boats are around. Space prevents accidental collisions and helps you adhere to the law.”

North Atlantic right whales need even more room. “Please note: North Atlantic right whales require 500 yards of space,” the NOAA tweeted.

Read the full story at The Boston Globe

MASSACHUSETTS: Young humpback whale sighted in Boston shipping lanes

August 7, 2019 — A young humpback whale has been reported swimming for the past three days in the shipping channel in Boston Harbor, according to a statement issued Tuesday by New England Aquarium.

The 30- to 33-foot whale was born in 2018 to the well-known humpback Whirlygig and would likely have been weaned by its mother last fall, the statement says. It has probably been on its own since early this year. The young whale has been seen feeding alongside one of the dredge barges that is deepening the channel.

“It actually isn’t a calf, but rather a yearling, meaning it was born last year and no longer with a mom,” humpback expert Jooke Robbins, with the Center for Coastal Studies in Provincetown, said. “We just haven’t named it yet and so we are still referring to it as Whirlygig 18 calf. It really isn’t unusual for young whales to wander into nearshore habitats.”

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

As Whales Feed Near Shore, Fishing Nets Pose Risk

July 18, 2019 — After several beachgoers attempted to free a humpback whale entangled in a fishing net off Town Line Beach in Sagaponack on Monday, the whale, which had been trapped for hours 75 feet from shore, ultimately freed itself as the Coast Guard and Southampton bay constables looked on.

The Atlantic Marine Conservation Society said late Monday that the whale was no longer sighted in the area. Rachel Bosworth, a spokeswoman, expressed concern that it might still have been entangled in gear, but on Tuesday, the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation said it had concluded it might still have been the whale was no longer encumbered by remnants of the net.

“Once the whale was able to free itself, the gear was evaluated to determine if any portions of the net or line was missing, and if the whale was possibly still entangled,” said Stephanie Rekemeyer of the D.E.C.’s division of marine resources. “After review of the gear, it was determined the weak link of the gear broke away as designed, and the whale was free of any remaining entanglement.”

The whale was one of many seen off the coast in recent weeks. “There have been an abundance of whales cruising our beaches, feeding on bunker, giving nice picture ops, and this one was swimming along approaching this set of gill nets and it got stuck,” said Matt Heckman, who was at the beach, a regular fishing spot for him, when he saw the whale. He alerted the Southampton Town police, and the Coast Guard, he said.

Read the full story at The East Hampton Star

In a settlement over whale entanglement, California’s Dungeness crab fishermen lose the spring season

June 3, 2019 — The worst-case scenario has been averted — no multiyear closure of California’s Dungeness crab fishery. But fishermen will feel the sting for years to come after a settlement in a lawsuit over whale and sea turtle entanglements has closed spring crabbing in the state for the foreseeable future. And the fishermen are not happy.

“The settlement is going to be extremely painful and extremely difficult to deal with,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, noting that millions of dollars in product will be left in the water this year. “But this was the best possible deal that was acceptable to all parties.”

At issue is a 2017 lawsuit in federal court by the Oakland, Calif.-based Center for Biological Diversity that argued the state of California was in violation of the Endangered Species Act after a three-year spike in whale entanglements in Dungeness crab fishing gear from 2014 to 2017.

The lawsuit sought to force the state of California to obtain a federal incidental take permit for whales and turtles — a process that takes around three years to implement. It would have been possible for the fishery to remain closed during the intervening years, although the CBD says it never sought an indefinite closure through litigation.

In 2015, 50 whales, including humpback, gray and blue whales, were confirmed to have become entangled in fishing gear, up from an average of less than 10 annual entanglements in the 15 years prior. In 2016, the number of entanglements remained high at 48 confirmed whale entanglements. Numbers in 2017 were down, but still above historical norms, with 31 confirmed entanglements on the West Coast.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Whale sightings and ship strike danger surge off New York

May 31, 2019 — Humpback whales are seen much more often around the approaches to New York Harbor, and with them comes the potential for more deadly encounters with vessels, according to a new study.

“Whales feed in close proximity to the entrance of the Port of New York and New Jersey, creating potentially dangerous situations for both vessels and whales. Documenting humpback whale presence and identifying the risks are crucial for both short- and long-term management,” wrote researchers at George Mason University in Virginia and Gotham Whale, a nonprofit group in New York City.

Published in the journal Marine Policy, authors Danielle M. Brown, Paul L. Sieswerda and E.C.M. Parsons report humpback whale sightings – along with strandings of dead whales – have substantially increased around the apex of the New York Bight since 2011. The team makes a case for stepping up whale monitoring in the Bight, for both conservation and the safety of mariners and whales.

A humpback whale and vessels near New York. Tugs and tows travel at lower speeds but can still be at risk of collision with whales feeding close to shore, according to a new study.

Read the full story at WorkBoat

More Humpback Whale Deaths Under Investigation

May 15, 2019 — The concerning trend of humpback whales washing up dead in the Bay region continues— with two more whale carcasses found in Virginia in the past month.

The first humpback washed up in Oyster, a barrier island on the Eastern Shore of Virginia. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), it was a partly-decomposed male more than 41 feet long, and had landed on a state-leased clam bed. With the help of a local fisherman, the Virginia Aquarium was able to get to the carcass to take tissue samples for analysis. R&C Seafood in Oyster posted photos of the whale on Facebook.

Then on May 2, the Coast Guard advised the Virginia Aquarium about a dead humpback whale that was struck by a container ship about 60 miles off the coast of Virginia Beach. That whale had been decomposed and scavenged, so officials didn’t respond, NOAA explains.

The very same day, NOAA received reports of a whale caught in a commercial fishing net in Ocean City, Maryland. According to the reports, Good samaritans and Natural Resources officers worked to free the large mammal. The next day, the National Aquarium and police worked together to look for the whale. Jennifer Goebel, NOAA spokesperson, tells Bay Bulletin, “It was spotted swimming on the ocean side of Ocean City on May 4, and appeared to be gear-free, though we were not able to confirm that with photographs.”

Read the full story at the Chesapeake Bay Magazine

Explaining California’s sudden humpback entanglement surge

April 22, 2019 — Every year, humpback whales make their annual trek from tropical calving grounds to feed in the cold, nutrient-rich waters off the coast of California. Historically, they arrived to feast in June just as the Dungeness crab fishery was closing and gear was being pulled in for the season. But in 2012, they arrived a few weeks earlier than normal. In 2014, they were a month early. By 2015, the humpbacks arrived in April, a full two months earlier than the norm.

That shift has been dangerous for the whales. In March, it was the subject of a lawsuit settlement that prompted an early end to the Dungeness crab season. Some of our own research has determined the cause: climate change.

Humpback sightings from the Golden Gate Bridge are a hallmark of summer in San Francisco. The whales come to feed where the narrow straits of the Bay meet the ocean. Marine life abounds here, where nutrient-dense water feeds blooms of phytoplankton. They are then eaten by zooplankton, including krill, tiny reddish shrimp-like crustaceans which are a favored food for whales. Seasonal blooms of these tiny animals support the ecosystem bottom-up, producing a massive marine buffet for fish, birds and other marine mammals. Predators gorge themselves in the summer and fall when this area supports the most amount of food.

Where there are high concentrations of fish, there are people catching them, and the whales’ earlier arrival has driven more interactions with West Coast fisheries. Since 2014, the number of whales entangled in Dungeness crab pots has escalated dramatically, with 129 cases reported between 2015 and 2017, compared to around 10 each year in previous decades.

Read the full story at the San Francisco Examiner 

NOAA: Team to Focus on Right Whale Survival This Week

April 22, 2019 — The following was published by NOAA Fisheries:

On April 23, a group of approximately 60 fishermen, scientists, conservationists, and state and federal officials will come together to discuss ways to further reduce serious injury and mortality of endangered North Atlantic right whales caused by trap/pot fishing gear. The group will meet in Providence, Rhode Island for four days. At the end of the meeting, they hope to agree on a suite of measures that will reduce right whale serious injuries and deaths in fishing gear in U.S. waters from Maine to Florida to less than one whale per year, the level prescribed by the Marine Mammal Protection Act.

“Tackling entanglements is critical to the recovery of the North Atlantic right whale population, and we can’t do it without the assistance and cooperation of those who know best how the fishing industry interacts with large whales,” says Mike Pentony, regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Region. “The continued participation and dedication of our industry, science, NGO, and agency partners is absolutely necessary to future success.”

About Right Whales

These whales, which got their name from being the “right” whales to hunt because they floated when they were killed, have never recovered to pre-whaling numbers. Due in part to conservation measures put in place to protect these whales from incidental entanglements in fishing gear and vessel strikes, we saw steady population growth from about 270 right whales in 1990 to about 480 in 2010. But in 2010, another downward trajectory began. This downward trend, exacerbated by an unprecedented 17 mortalities (particularly in the Gulf of St. Lawrence snow crab fishery) in 2017, brought a new urgency to modify the existing Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.

That Plan, developed by the team of stakeholders meeting next week, identifies a number of conservation measures from area closures to gear modifications that U.S. fixed gear fishermen have already implemented. Despite these efforts, today the population is estimated to be fewer than 411 whales. Only twelve births have been observed in the three calving seasons since the winter of 2016/2017, less than one third the previous average annual birth rate for right whales. This accelerates the trend that began around 2010, with deaths outpacing births in this population.

Take Reduction Planning

The Marine Mammal Protection Act requires that if serious injuries and mortalities to a population of marine mammals due to U.S. commercial fisheries is above a level that the stock can sustain, NOAA Fisheries convene Take Reduction Team to develop consensus recommendations on how to reduce this threat.

The immediate goal of a Take Reduction Team is to develop a to reduce incidental mortality and serious injury to a level, known as the “potential biological removal” level, that allows the stock to stabilize or grow, rather than decline. Although it’s been in existence since 1997, the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan has not been able to consistently reduce serious injuries and mortalities to below the potential biological removal level.

Cost of Entanglement

Entanglements are currently the leading cause of known right whale mortality. More than 80 percent of right whales carry scars that indicate that they have been entangled in fishing lines, and nearly 60 percent of those are entangled more than once. Not all entanglements drown whales.  Some prevent a whale from feeding, increase the energy a whale needs to swim and feed and cause pain and stress to the animal, which weakens it. Biologists believe that the additional stress of entanglement is one of the reasons that females are calving less often; females used to have calves every 3-5 years, and now are having calves every 6-10 years.

In recent years, most documented fishing gear entanglements of large whales (like right and humpback whales) that result in serious injury and mortality come from trap/pot gear. The traps lie on the ocean floor and are connected to buoys at the surface by long vertical buoy lines.

Many whales that are entangled are discovered after the event, with no gear attached. In some instances, gear is retrieved, analyzed, and stored for future analysis; much of this retrieved rope is consistent with buoy lines. That said, 71 percent of all recovered/observed gear (2009-2018) from right whales cannot be matched to a specific fishery or site.

Strategies for Reducing Risk

In Providence next week, the Team will be developing and discussing potential measures to modify the Take Reduction Plan, including updates to the current gear marking strategy, seasonal area closures, and reducing the risk of vertical lines through the use of weak rope. Many of these measures were proposed by Team members during an October 2018 meeting to discuss possible options to discuss at the April 2019 meeting. In advance of this meeting, the team particularly requested two things: 1. Clarification of a target percent reduction in serious injury and mortality, and 2. An ability to evaluate and compare different risk reduction elements from Team proposals.

A Target Reduction Level

Based on the 2016 population estimate, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s North Atlantic right whale stock assessment establishes a potential biological removal level of 0.9 whales per year — i.e. slightly less than one whale suffering human-caused mortality or serious injury from any source in a given year.

Currently, NOAA Fisheries estimates that U.S. fisheries are responsible for 2.5 to 2.6 observed serious injuries and mortalities each year. Scientists estimate that we only observe 60 percent of the serious injuries and mortalities, which would bring the U.S. total to about 4.3. To get to 0.9 will require a reduction of 60-80 percent of serious injuries and mortalities.

A Risk Analysis Decision Tool

Determining how to judge the expected conservation value of any particular measure is a complicated task. To create a model to assess risk reduction, the model needs to first identify the current risk landscape, overlaying information on the density of trap/pot vertical lines, the distribution of whales, and the relative risk of the gear configuration associated with the lines (strengths/diameters of lines, lengths of trawls). Working collaboratively, the model combines Industrial Economics Inc.’s improved trap/pot vertical line model and the Duke Marine Spatial Ecology Lab’s marine mammal density model, as well as risk assessment weights provided by Take Reduction Team members, Agency large whale scientists and managers, and permitted whale disentanglers. With these data sets, scientists at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center developed a risk assessment tool that will be used at next week’s meeting.  This tool represents a substantial leap forward and provides the Team with the best available information to determine risk and support their deliberations.

Next Steps

After this meeting, we will use recommendations from the Team to begin rulemaking in May. At various points during rulemaking there will be a continued opportunity for public comment.

“I’m confident we have the right people around the table to tackle this problem,” says Mike Asaro, Acting Protected Resources Assistant Regional Administrator. “This is a complex issue but with the cooperation and active engagement from the people who know this issue best, I have hope that following the meeting, we will have a solid set of conservation measures to proceed to rulemaking that will allow the fishing industry and whales to coexist and thrive.”

Whales are facing a big, deadly threat along West Coast: Massive container ships

March 18, 2019 — One day last May, a container ship entered the San Francisco Bay with extra cargo.

A 45-foot-long dead female fin whale was draped across the ship’s bow. The impact with the ship had broken her back, ruptured her organs and caused severe internal bleeding.

Ten whale deaths were attributed to ship strikes in 2018 — the highest number on record in California since NOAA Fisheries began tracking in 1982. The mortality rate represents an enormous increase from the average 3.4 ship strike victims recorded annually in the five previous years.

Five of the 10 whales that died with boat collision injuries in 2018 were endangered or threatened fin, blue and humpback whales. Despite the prevalence of whale mortalities linked to ship strikes, few rules are in place on the West Coast to mitigate collisions.

Read the full story at The Washington Post