Saving Seafood

NEFMC Discusses Scallops, Habitat, Climate Change, NTAP, Congressional Updates, and Ecosystem at April 2021 Meeting

April 16, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council met April 13-15, 2021 by webinar. Here are some highlights.

CLIMATE SCIENCE: The Council received a climate science presentation from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center that covered: observed changes on the Northeast Continental Shelf related to temperature, currents, and pH; NOAA’s Climate Science Strategy; the Northeast Regional Action Plan; and more.

NRCC CLIMATE CHANGE PLANNING: The Northeast Region Coordinating Council (NRCC) is moving forward with an East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Initiative. The NRCC consists of leadership from the Shown above, the U.S. Northeast Continental Shelf. A list of upcoming webinars in the NOAA Fisheries U.S. Northeast Climate-Fisheries Seminar Series is posted here. – NOAA Fisheries graphic New England and Mid-Atlantic Councils, the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission. The South Atlantic Council, although not an NRCC member, is participating in the climate change scenario planning initiative.

Read the full release here

Biden wants 25 percent funding increase for NOAA

April 15, 2021 — U.S. President Joe Biden has called on Congress to give the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration a more than 25 percent increase in funding for the 2022 fiscal year.

In a letter to Senate Appropriations Chairman Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont) on 9 April, Acting Director for the Office of Management and Budget Shalanda Young requested USD 6.9 billion (EUR 5.8 billion) for the agency. That’s USD 1.4 billion (EUR 1.2 billion) more than the agency received for this current budget year.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Study of US tuna fisheries explores nexus of climate change, sustainable seafood

April 14, 2021 — A new study published in Elementa by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz and NOAA examines traditional aspects of seafood sustainability alongside greenhouse gas emissions to better understand the ‘carbon footprint’ of U.S. tuna fisheries.

Fisheries in the United States are among the best managed in the world, thanks to ongoing efforts to  selectively, end overfishing, and rebuild fish stocks. But  could bring dramatic changes in the marine environment that threaten  productivity and sustainability. That’s one reason why researchers set out to broaden the conversation about sustainability in seafood by comparing the carbon emissions of different  fishing practices.

The paper also puts those emissions in context relative to other sources of protein, like tofu, chicken, pork, or beef. In particular, the study examined how the carbon footprint of tuna was affected by how far from shore fishing fleets operated, or what type of fishing gear they used.

“This can be an opportunity to look at fisheries from different angles, all of which may be important,” said Brandi McKuin, the study’s lead author and a postdoctoral researcher in  at UC Santa Cruz.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

For-hire Vessels and Tilefish Anglers: Reporting Requirements Reminder

April 14, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As the recreational fishing season gets going, we remind all GARFO permitted vessel operators about the current reporting requirements:

  • For-hire (party and charter) vessels that hold federal permits for species managed by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council must submit their Vessel Trip Reports (VTR) electronically.

  • Vessels issued only a Northeast multispecies (groundfish) charter/party permit may report on paper or electronic VTRs, until later this fall when e-VTRs will be required. You are encouraged to start reporting electronically as soon as possible.

  • Tilefish anglers on private vessels must submit their VTRs electronically for trips targeting or catching golden and blueline tilefish.

All fishermen can choose from several smart devices and web-based apps to report electronically.

Read the full release here

New study estimates three times more Red Snapper in Gulf of Mexico

April 13, 2021 — Red Snapper thrives in Gulf waters. In a first-of-its-kind study, scientists across the Gulf Coasts found an estimated 110 million Red Snapper in the Gulf of Mexico, compared to previous federal estimates of 36 million.

“We can use some sophisticated management approaches that hopefully will give everyone more access to those fish,” said Dr. Greg Stunz, who led the study on the Great Red Snapper Count out of Texas A&M at Corpus Christi and the Harte Research Institute.

Dr. Stunz said his team of researchers worked countless hours over the course of three years counting the Gulf’s snapper population.

The $12.5 million study was a collaborative effort across the Gulf of Mexico. About $9.5 million was provided by congressional appropriations through a NOAA Sea Grant, while the rest was funded through individual institutes involved.

Read the full story at KLTV

Pacific heat wave had lasting impacts on Gulf of Alaska marine species

April 13, 2021 — When a heat wave swept through the northeast Pacific Ocean between 2014 and 2016, it changed the marine makeup of the Gulf of Alaska. The warm water decimated some commercial fish populations.

Some species bounced back right away. But a recent study from NOAA finds others are rebounding more slowly.

NOAA’s study charted the impacts of the heat wave — also known as “the blob” —  on gulf marine species over time, through 2019.

Some of the blob’s impacts on local marine life were immediate. Rob Suryan is a program manager for NOAA in Juneau and the lead author on the study. He said in 2015 and 2016, thousands of common murres were found dead.

“Especially noticeable in the Prince William Sound, near Whittier, actually, a beach was just littered with thousands of carcasses,” he said.

NOAA focused on longer-term trends in this study using data from Gulf Watch Alaska, a group that monitors species recovery in Alaska waters and is funded by the Exxon-Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council.

Read the full story at KTOO

NOAA to reimburse monitoring costs

April 13, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries has set its electronic monitoring reimbursement policy for Northeast groundfish sector vessels in the 2021 fishing season and is urging fishermen to purchase and install the systems now while federal funds are available.

“For fishing year 2021, groundfish sector vessels may use either electronic monitoring or human at-sea monitors to meet the monitoring requirements, provided the sector has a corresponding monitoring program as part of its approved operations plan,” the agency stated. “Vessels that choose to use electronic monitoring will be eligible for reimbursement, while government funding is available.”

The agency said sector vessels employing electronic monitoring should submit receipts for reimbursable costs to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, using the same process they use for human at-sea monitoring reimbursements.

It said costs eligible for reimbursement largely fall within six areas: equipment, technical support, video review, operational costs, training and COVID-19 protocols.

The equipment category covers the purchase and installation of equipment necessary “to outfit a vessel with one fully functioning electronic monitoring system.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Biden administration proposes record $6.9 billion budget for NOAA

April 13, 2021 — President Biden’s administration has proposed a budget increase for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that would be the biggest in the agency’s history if approved by Congress.

The proposed budget would provide $6.9 billion in funding for the agency, a $1.4 billion increase from the budget enacted for 2021 and nearly $2.3 billion above the amount proposed by Donald Trump’s administration, or roughly 50 percent more.

The increase would infuse a massive amount of resources to support the agency, whose responsibilities include weather forecasting, climate research and services, ocean research, the health of the nation’s fisheries and protection of endangered marine species.

“These additional funds would allow NOAA to expand its climate observation and forecasting work and provide better data and information to decision-makers, support coastal resilience programs that would help protect communities from the economic and environmental impacts of climate change, and invest in modern infrastructure to enable these critical efforts,” according to the Biden administration’s budget document, released Friday.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Biden’s Big Bet On Offshore Wind

April 12, 2021 — The Biden administration recently announced a plan to substantially expand the use of offshore wind power along the East Coast, aiming to tap a huge new source of clean energy that is likely to gain widespread acceptance in the United States.

The bold bet would result in the generation of 30 gigawatts (GW) of wind power by 2030, enough to power over 10 million homes and cut 78 million metrics tons of CO2 emissions. Currently, the United States has only one offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island generating 30 megawatts (MW) — 1,000 MW are in one GW.

Offshore wind farming represents a significant opportunity for the creation of “green-collar” jobs, with maintenance and day-to-day operations requiring regular support. Yet, the more labor-intensive an energy-generating operation is, the more expensive the kilowatt of energy becomes. Offshore wind is currently the most expensive form of mainstream power generation available – more than 3x the cost of a combined cycle natural gas plant on a $/MWh basis – when all factors are considered (see chart below). The so called “levelized cost of electricity” or LCOE for offshore wind is climate and labor-market dependent, but the Energy Information Agency sees the regional weighted average LCOE of new offshore wind projects in 2040 dropping t0 65% of 2020 costs in ideal cases.

Read the full story at Forbes

Recruitment Announcement – SAFMC Quantitative Fisheries Scientist

April 12, 2021 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) is seeking a Quantitative Fisheries Scientist to provide data and analytical support to the Council’s Science and Statistics and Fisheries Management Programs. The Council is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit along the Atlantic coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and east Florida to Key West.

This position is responsible for providing data summaries, assessment summaries, and analyses of management actions and alternatives for Fishery Management Plan (FMP) amendments; staffing the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC); and participating in Southeast Data Assessment and Review (SEDAR) workshops. Completing these tasks requires working with a wide range of partners and participants including industry participants (recreational and commercial), NOAA Fisheries, non-governmental organizations, researchers, resource managers, state marine fisheries agencies, and universities.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide staff support to the SSC. This includes scheduling, organizing, and facilitating meetings of the SSC and SSC workgroups, compiling briefing materials, and producing summary reports.

Compile, analyze, and interpret biological, ecosystem, stock assessment, citizen science, and other technical data to support the Council and its advisors.

Serve on Interdisciplinary Plan Teams for preparing FMPs and amendments. Contribute data summaries, assessment summaries, and evaluations of management alternatives as needed and conduct technical review of analyses conducted by NMFS staff.

Attend SEDAR assessment project activities related to Council managed species.

Communicate and interpret results of stock assessments and other related analyses to Council members, other staff, Advisory Panel and SSC members, and the public.

Interact with the public, state and federal agencies, and other scientists on a wide variety of fisheries science and data and assessment issues.

Perform other duties as assigned.

See the complete recruitment announcement available from the Council’s website for additional information and application instructions. Closing date is April 26, 2021.