July 22, 2021 — The Vineyard Wind project, an 800-megawatt offshore wind energy installation slated to be built off the coast of the U.S. state of Massachusetts, is now facing a federal lawsuit.
The suit is challenging the permit for the Vineyard Wind offshore energy. It was filed by a solar energy generation company, but the potential impact on the commercial fishing industry is a cornerstone of the suit’s argument against the project.
July 22, 2021 — Ask any bayman, and all would agree that the bay scallop fishery in the Peconic Bay estuary system in the past two years was a total calamity. As such, it was no surprise to learn that the United States Department of Commerce recently declared the events of 2019-20 a fishery disaster.
The declaration makes the fishery eligible for disaster assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Baymen may also qualify for disaster assistance from the Small Business Administration, according to the Department of Commerce. The department has balances remaining from previously appropriated fishery disaster assistance and will determine the appropriate allocation for the Peconic Bay fishery, which can also include funding of habitat restoration and additional research efforts.
“Fisheries are essential to our communities and economy, and we want to ensure America is in a position to remain competitive on the global stage,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement. “These determinations allow us to lend a helping hand to the fishing families and communities that have experienced very real and difficult setbacks in the last few years.”
But there is also some good news, for now, regarding the popular bivalve. While it’s still early, there have been no signs of a die-off this summer among scallops that were spawned last year, according to Stephen Tettelbach, a Long Island University ecology professor who heads Cornell Cooperative Extension’s Peconic Bay Scallop Restoration Program. Dr. Tettelbach’s team conducts periodic dives of the bottomland in several locations during the year to check on the status of the growing scallops.
Dr. Tettelbach was equally enthused about the number of larval scallops in local waters. “We did the first sampling of our larval spat collectors last Monday and saw the largest scallop set in the last 17 years,” he said. “There are small bugs all over the bays.” Small or newly-hatched scallops are commonly called “bugs.”
July 22, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
We are announcing the 2021 cost recovery per-tag fees for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog individual transferable quota (ITQ) program.
2021 Cost Recovery Cage Tag Fees
Atlantic Surfclam: $0.88 per tag
Ocean Quahog: $0.70 per tag
The fee for each cage tag is calculated based on the number of ITQ cage tags that were used to land surfclams or ocean quahogs during the 2020 fishing year, and the costs associated with operating the program in 2020. The fees are then multiplied by the number of tags used during the 2021 fishing year to determine the final bill amount. These cost recovery fees are separate from, and in addition to, the price ITQ permit holders currently pay to the tag vendor to obtain cage tags each year.
In early 2022, we will issue bills to quota shareholders based on these tag fees and the number of their 2021 cage tags that were used to land surfclams or ocean quahogs. The initial quota shareholder who first received the allocation of cage tags is responsible for the fee even if the tag is leased, sold, or otherwise used by someone else.
For more information read our bulletin.
July 21, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
In summer 2013, the number of juvenile Alaska pollock in the Gulf of Alaska was the largest on record by far. A year later, those fish were mostly gone.
A new NOAA Fisheries study explores what happened to the pollock born in 2013, focusing on the interaction between juvenile fish and their prey. Results suggest that a diet high in low-fat food may have kept fish from gaining the weight they needed to survive over winter.
“Our results point to poor diet as a contributing factor,” said NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center biologist Jesse Lamb, who led the study with colleague David Kimmel. “But there is probably not just one answer. Cannibalism and wind-driven transport to inferior habitat likely also played a role. With that combination, the 2013 year class had the deck stacked against them.”
July 21, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries just announced $6.3 million in funding for 9 new projects and the continuation of 19 multi-year projects under the 2021 Species Recovery Grant Program. From these funds:
The Species Recovery Grants Program is a long-standing, successful grant program that supports high-priority recovery actions for listed species. The funding provided this year will support our state and tribal partners in a range of activities, such as removing barriers to spawning and rearing habitat, assessing and monitoring species presence and status, and collecting genetic information to improve understanding of population distribution, habitat use, vital rates, and impacts of anthropogenic threats, developing new aging techniques for use in population models, engaging stakeholders in conservation of ESA-listed species, and evaluating the effectiveness of regulations to inform adaptive management of these threatened and endangered species.
We identified projects that would benefit the species identified in our “Species in the Spotlight” initiative as a priority in our funding decisions. Four “Species in the Spotlight” – Cook Inlet beluga whale distinct population segment (DPS), southern resident killer whales, white abalone, and Atlantic salmon Gulf of Maine DPS – will be addressed through new and ongoing projects supported this year.
Read the full release here
Newly Funded Awards in the Greater Atlantic Region
To learn more about these and all awardees read our web story.
July 21, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Key Message:
When Will the Rule Take Effect:
What This Means:
FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER: 86 FR 38418, published July 21, 2021.
This bulletin serves as a Small Entity Compliance Guide, complying with section 212 of the Small Business Regulatory Enforcement Fairness Act of 1996.
Where can I find more information on the rule?
By Mail: Rich Malinowski
NOAA Fisheries, Southeast Regional Office
Sustainable Fisheries Division
263 13th Avenue South
St. Petersburg, Florida 33701-5505
By FAX: (727) 824-5308
By Phone: (727) 824-5305
July 21, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries is finalizing the Atlantic mackerel, squid, and butterfish quotas for the 2021-2023 fishing year and reaffirms 2021 chub mackerel specifications as recommended by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
This action:
For more information, read the final rule as filed today in the Federal Register and our bulletin.
July 20, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
On June 17, 2021, NOAA Fisheries along with partners, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Massachusetts Division of Fish and Wildlife, the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department, released the Merrimack River Watershed Comprehensive Plan for Diadromous Fishes.
Prior to pervasive dam construction in the late 18th and early 19th century, diadromous fish were abundant in the Merrimack River watershed including American shad, river herring (alewife and blueback herring), sturgeon (Atlantic and shortnose), American eel, striped bass, Atlantic salmon, and sea lamprey. The present day abundance of diadromous species remains a small percentage of historical levels. Restoration efforts during the past 40 years have improved the habitat and connectivity conditions resulting in a modest increase in diadromous fish abundance.
The purpose of the Merrimack River Watershed Comprehensive Plan for Diadromous Fishes is to create a framework to balance diadromous fish restoration efforts with other water resource uses and ecosystem services in the Merrimack River watershed.
To read the complete plan visit the website and search for Merrimack River Watershed Comprehensive Plan for Diadromous Fishes.
Questions?
Ben German, NOAA Fisheries, 978-281-9353
Ben Gahagan, MA Division of Marine Fisheries, 978-282-03038 ext 140
Marion Larson, MA Division of Fish and Game, 857-303-0239
Matt Carpenter, NH Fish and Game Department, 603-271-2612
Laurie Munroe, US Fish and Wildlife Service, 413-588-1005
July 19, 2021 — Kids are getting down and dirty with hands-on activities through Sea Lab’s summer program.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration from Woods Hole Laboratory arrived at the school in the South End with a truck load of fish for advanced levels to dissect. Ranging from flounder to mackerel to butterfish, students learned to look at both the external and internal characteristics to determine its diet based on stomach contents.
“Based on how big the mouth is, and how sharp the teeth is, the bigger the diet,” said Mia Colangelo, a rising ninth-grader.
Simone Bourgeois, Sea Lab facilitator, was thrilled to include NOAA in the curriculum.
“To offer Sea Lab opportunities to measure, weight and analyze contents, it’s a pathway for the future, to have our students participate in the analysis of fish on Buzzards Bay,” Bourgeois said.
Two biological science technicians, Christine Kircun and Josh Dayton, were helping students identify difference between fish. Kircun said NOAA is a large part of the fishing industry, and New Bedford a large fishing port.
July 19, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Scientists from NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center recently completed the first leg of a mission to survey marine mammals and other protected species in waters off the southeast coast of the United States. They are locating, identifying, and counting marine mammals from both the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter and a NOAA Twin Otter aircraft.
The data they collect will be used to assess the abundance, distribution, ecology, and behavior of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds throughout the U.S. Atlantic. These data are also critical for updating the Atlantic stock assessment reports required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA).
Usually, we conduct these marine mammal surveys annually but were not able to collect data in 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The beginning of this trip has also had some challenges—two tropical storms have made for rough seas and grounded flights.
In spite of these challenges, the ship-board team has logged 325 marine mammal sightings—a single leg record for the team—since departing Newport, Rhode Island on June 12 and arriving in Charleston, South Carolina on July 3. Notable sightings included two large Clymene dolphin (Stenella clymene) sightings, a Gervais’ beaked whale (Mesoplodon europaeus) sighting, and multiple false killer whale (Pseudorca crassidens) sightings. Scientists were also towing a hydrophone array to collect passive acoustic data—underwater sounds from whales and dolphins. They collected 76 recordings, 16 of which were from sperm whale groups.