October 22, 2019 — Harmful algae blooms that shut down fisheries and sicken people are the target of new research funding from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) across the nation.
California Vintner Steps Forward to Protect Endangered Salmon
October 22, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
A vintner in Northern California is upgrading a concrete fish barrier to return native salmon and steelhead to valuable spawning habitat that has been blocked for nearly a century. A cooperative “Safe Harbor” agreement between the landowner Barbara Banke, Chairman and proprietor of Jackson Family Wines, and NOAA Fisheries and other state and local agencies has fostered the improvements. These agreements provide incentives to private landowners who help recover threatened and endangered species.
The story begins in the late 1800s, when two real estate speculators, F.E. Kellogg and W.A. Stuart, bought part of a Spanish land grant in Sonoma County and built a post office, general store, school, cottages, a hotel, and a diversion structure on a nearby stream to provide water for residents and visitors to the town.
Bypassed by the railroads, however, the little town of Kellogg eventually faded away, its remains razed by a wildfire in the 1960s that left only a handful of homes, agricultural buildings, and the water diversion structure and associated water system. Like many such remnant barriers, the concrete barrier reduced stream flow and blocked native fish, such as Central California Coast (CCC) steelhead and CCC coho salmon, a critically endangered species, from reaching their spawning habitat.
Oregon Receives Authorization to Remove California Sea Lions Preying on Imperiled Fish at Willamette Falls
October 22, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
California sea lions documented as repeatedly preying on threatened salmon and steelhead near Willamette Falls on the Willamette River can be removed and euthanized, under authorization NOAA Fisheries granted to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) yesterday.
The authorization is one element of ongoing efforts by ODFW, NOAA Fisheries, tribes, and many local and watershed groups to protect and recover threatened upper Willamette River steelhead and upper Willamette River Chinook salmon, which are also affected by a variety of factors, including dams, habitat loss, and other predators.
“This is an action we believe is urgently necessary to protect these highly vulnerable fish populations. It is a choice we wish we did not have to make, but at this point it is a necessary step to improve survival of these fish that we all want to see recover,” said Chris Yates, Assistant Regional Administrator for Protected Resources in NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region. “The science tells us that the sooner we act to reduce predation, the better we will protect the fish and the fewer sea lions that would have to be removed in the long run.”
ODFW applied to NOAA Fisheries in October 2017 for authorization to remove individually identifiable California sea lions that are having a significant negative impact on salmon and steelhead that migrate up the Willamette River past Willamette Falls. Under the provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOAA Fisheries convened a task force of representatives from federal and state agencies, tribes, and conservation and fishing organizations to review the application.
2019 Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program Awards Announced: 7 out of 16 for Regional Projects
October 22, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries has awarded more than $2.3 million to 16 projects under the Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program. We are pleased to announce that seven of the awards are for projects in our region, and total about half of the overall funding.
These awards support key partners in the research and development of innovative approaches and strategies for reducing bycatch, bycatch mortality, and post-release mortality in our nation’s fisheries.
2019 Projects in NE/MA Region
University of Missouri – $195,000
- Project: Quantifying and reducing post-release mortality of shortfin mako sharks (Isurus oxyrinchus) captured as bycatch in the Atlantic coast pelagic long-line fisheries.
Gulf of Maine Research Institute – $127,329
- Project: Improving the selectivity of the ultra-low opening trawl (ULOT) to reduce bycatch of Atlantic cod.
Wicker aims to bolster U.S. seafood production
October 21, 2019 — U.S. Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), chairman of the U.S. Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, said he intends to reintroduce a bill that would improve domestic seafood production.
“America imports over 90 percent of the seafood we consume. Simply put, there is not enough fresh, healthy, and local seafood produced in the United States to meet consumer demand,” Sen. Wicker said in his opening statement to the committee during an Oct. 16 hearing on the state of the nation’s offshore aquaculture industry.
Sen. Wicker said he will reintroduce the bipartisan, bicameral Advancing the Quality and Understanding of American Aquaculture (AQUAA) Act, which would direct the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to streamline the federal permitting process for aquaculture.
During the 115th Congress, Sen. Wicker sponsored S. 3138 to direct the U.S. Commerce Department to establish an Office of Marine Aquaculture within the NOAA to coordinate regulatory, scientific, outreach, and international issues related to aquaculture.
NMFS Seeks to Streamline Aquaculture Permitting While a Washington Federal Court Interjects Caution
October 21, 2019 — In October 2019, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published its Draft Outline for a Work Plan for a Federal Aquaculture Regulatory Task Force (Draft Outline) in the Federal Register Notice. The Draft Outline identifies three goals that NMFS intends to use to improve regulatory efficiency for freshwater and marine aquaculture, as well as streamline regulations and management decisions.
- “Improve the efficiency and predictability of aquaculture permitting in state and federal waters.” Some of the objectives identified to achieve this goal include expanding the categories of use for the Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) Nationwide Permit 48 (NWP 48), and NPDES general permits or developing new general permits, creating regional interagency groups and regional permit processes, and establishing federal processes for testing and certifying the human health requirements of aquaculture in federal waters.
- “Implement a national approach to aquatic animal health management of aquaculture.” Identified objectives for attaining this goal include collaboration among partners and stakeholders to establish standards or guidelines for aquatic animal and aquaculture health, as well as further clarifying and defining federal agency roles in the import and export of aquatic animals
Tension thaws over whale plan between lobstermen, feds
October 21, 2019 — A group representing Maine’s lobstermen says it’s now willing to work with the federal government on a plan to protect right whales after withdrawing its support for the plan this summer.
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association is one of the key stakeholders in an effort to better protect the North Atlantic right whales, which number only about 400 and are vulnerable to entanglement in fishing gear. A federal plan that’s being developed to help save the whales would remove miles of lobster trap rope from the waters off Maine.
The lobstermen’s association issued a public statement on Oct. 11 saying it appreciates that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service has offered a “constructive response” to its concerns about whale protection.
A New Marine Heat Wave Threatens Hawaii’s Reefs
October 21, 2019 — Parts of the Pacific Ocean are simmering, threatening coral reefs and livelihoods around Hawaii, and causing many to worry of worse to come.
“The ocean is very important to us,” said Ka’imi Kaupiko, who lives in Milolii, a community often called the last Hawaiian fishing village, on the Big Island. The way of life there depends on the fish provided by the reefs, reefs which are now becoming sick in the warming waters.
“It affects a lot of how we are going to survive,” Mr. Kaupiko said.
Researchers said the heat wave was reminiscent of 2014, when a hot spot that became known as the blob began forming in the Pacific. It expanded and lingered over much of the Pacific Coast from Mexico to Alaska for years.
Both marine heat waves are “super unusual,” according to Andrew Leising, a research oceanographer with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Nearly every other marine heat wave NOAA has recorded in 40 years of satellite monitoring shrinks in comparison.
“The event in ’14-15 was maybe eight to 10 times the size of Alaska. And the current event we’re having is nearly that big,” Dr. Leising said. “And then, everything else is sort of an even further distant third or fourth.”
Fishermen Use Electronic Reporting in Real Time to Help Understand Ocean Ecosystem
October 18, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — It’s been almost 15 years since New England groundfish fishermen began monitoring data from their hauls, bottom temperatures from gauges connected to their gear, numbers and types of discards, and other fishing observations to the Northeast Fisheries Science Center biologists.
The Study Fleet, a pilot project of the Cooperative Research Program at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), began by assembling commercial New England groundfish vessels willing to provide high resolution or haul-by-haul self-reported data on catch, effort and environmental conditions while conducting normal fishing operations.
“If we are going to manage the ocean, we need to understand it, and participating in programs like this helps me as a fisherman to understand what is going on,” David Goethel, captain of the F/V Ellen Diane said in an interview in 2008. “It also helps the scientists learn how fishermen do things, what knowledge and skills they have. Everybody learns.”
Seven years ago, New Bedford fisherman Tony Borges joined the group and began to get useful real-time information from monitoring.
The software both fishermen use is called Fisheries Logbook Data Recording Software (FLDRS or “Flounders”). Study Fleet vessels may also collect biological data from their catch when additional data needs are identified by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center scientists.
“We verify what is being reported by the captain and crew both at sea and through statistical data quality checks. Vessel owners are financially compensated for their participation in the Study Fleet,” said Bill Duffy, Port Agent, Greater Atlantic Region.
Borges, who fishes groundfish, fluke and squid, get useful real-time information from monitoring.
“It helps me as a fisherman, since the water temperature at the bottom tells me when I am on fish, and if I move away a couple of degrees, it makes a big difference to what I catch,” said Borges.
“When he sells the fish, NOAA Fisheries can check his data against the dealer report. We can get information on where the fish was caught, the water temperature data for that tow, and the reported catch for that tow,” said Duffy.
“This provides valuable information to fisheries scientists and managers who evaluate the health of the stocks. They can incorporate data like these into their research and assessments. For fishermen, participating in Study Fleet allows them to contribute quantitative information to scientific research and improve understanding of the northeast’s complex ocean ecosystem.”
Duffy and the fleet are working to develop an app called Graphic Offshore Fishing Information System Homepage (GOFISH) that will allow commercial fishing captains and vessel owners to map, graph, and analyze the data they have entered through FLDRS. The GOFISH app produces temperature-depth plots, bycatch analysis graphics, and other visualizations that can assist in fishing operations. The data remain the property of the vessel owner, but can also be used in research to improve our understanding of marine ecosystems.
Electronic monitoring is not an easy sell to fishermen who have learned through years of experiencing the ocean, the weather, and the vagaries of stock movements. They trust their instincts.
“Nobody likes it, let’s be honest, nobody likes to be monitored, nobody likes observers,” says Borges. Instead, Borges suggests, “Let us do our stuff out there and monitor us at the dock, make it so you can’t unload without a monitor.”
But the value of the information is worth any inconvenience, and Borges knows how important it is to manage the resource sustainably.
“Imagine if we had this data 40 years ago,” Borges said.
In 2008, when the system had been running for only a few years, Bill Lee expressed the same sentiment about the importance of data from the fishermen. Lee was captain and owner of the F/V Ocean Reporter from Rockport, Mass., and been involved in NOAA’s Cooperative Research Program and the Study Fleet project from the beginning.
“It is very important to have fishermen involved in the research about their industry,” he said. “The only way we are going to get things to improve is to participate in the process. I get frustrated at times that things haven’t moved further forward, but at least they are moving in the right direction.
“It is all about cooperation. Scientists need and want data about the ocean, and fishermen can help provide that,” Lee said.
In January 2008, the Study Fleet project expanded into two data-poor fisheries, hagfish and tilefish. Mike Palmer, a NEFSC fisheries biologist, said the study fleets have the highest chance of improving stock assessments in data-poor fisheries where there is limited observer coverage and species are not sampled well by NEFSC surveys.
The Cooperative Research Program, of which the Study Fleet project is a part, was established in 1999 by NOAA Fisheries to involve the fishing industry directly in planning and conducting studies that provide useful information for managing fisheries.
When the electronic logbook system was field-tested nearly twenty years ago (between November 2002 and August 2005) about 1,100 trips were reported by 33 vessels using the system in the Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank and Mid-Atlantic Bight.
Data were more accurate and precise than that provided by fishing vessel trip reports in terms of identifying the area of fishing and the duration of effort, and more timely because of the electronic collection and at-sea transmission.
“Sometimes fishermen are surprised by the results from a cooperative research project, but they know they are accurate because they were there,” Goethel said. “The results speak for themselves. We need more efforts like this. There is a lot to be gained for everyone.”
This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It was reprinted with permission.
Rep. Huffman files bill to protect, bolster salmon rivers
October 18, 2019 — A California congressman on Thursday, 17 October filed a bill in Congress that he claims would restore and protect the country’s salmon rivers and watersheds.
By drafting H.R. 4723, dubbed the Salmon Focused Investments in Sustainable Habitats (Salmon FISH) Act, U.S. Representative Jared Huffman in a statement said he wants to make the rivers that support salmon populations more resilient. The Democrat’s bill would call on NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to designate core abundance areas as “Salmon Conservation Areas” and the purest ones as “Salmon Strongholds.”
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