Saving Seafood

Meet the 2020 Women of Color in STEM awardees from NOAA

November 23, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA:

Four NOAA employees were recognized at the annual Women of Color in STEM conference, which was held virtually October 8-10, 2020. These awards highlight significant achievements in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM).

“Congratulations to NOAA’s inspiring award recipients,” said Louisa Koch, Director of NOAA Education. “These women were recognized for their outstanding accomplishments in their NOAA careers. As a woman in STEM myself, I am proud to work for an organization that is committed to building a talented, diverse, and inclusive workforce. These experts work tirelessly to support NOAA’s mission of science, service, and stewardship.”

Get to know these NOAA employees as they share their paths to a career at NOAA and their advice for future STEM leaders.

Dr. Jeanette Davis, Technology Rising Star Award
Policy Advisor
Deputy Under Secretary for Operations

1. How did you get your start at NOAA?

I started my career at NOAA as a 2015 John A. Knauss Marine Policy Fellow. I am a marine microbiologist by training and was interested in using my knowledge as a scientist to help manage ocean resources. I’ve learned that scientists are not limited to a laboratory or fieldwork but should actively be involved with decision-making. It’s important to bridge the gap between science and policy.

2. Do you have any advice for early-career STEM professionals or students who are interested in STEM?

My advice to those interested in a career in STEM is to ensure that your work or research is aligned with your personal vision. This will make your work meaningful and enjoyable. I would also add that you are not restricted by people’s limited perceptions. You are the most creative and produce the best work when you are authentic.

Read the full release here

Temporary Rule for Emergency Action to Extend Portions of the Fishing Year 2019 Carryover Provisions in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan

November 23, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective November 29, 2020

NOAA Fisheries announces the renewal of a temporary rule to extend portions of the fishing year 2019 carryover provisions in the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan into fishing year 2020.  On June 1, 2020, at the request of the New England Fishery Management Council, NOAA Fisheries published an emergency action to implement these measures.

The June 1, 2020 action:

  • Allowed limited access general category individual fishing quota vessels to carryover all fishing year 2019 unharvested quota into fishing year 2020.
  • Allowed any access area carryover pounds and unharvested research set-aside compensation pounds from fishing year 2019 to be available for harvest through August 31, 2020.
  • Closed the Nantucket Lightship-West to scallop fishing beginning on September 1, 2020.

Although access area carryover pounds and unharvested research set-aside compensation pounds from fishing year 2019 expired on August 31, 2020, extending the previous action:

  • Provides additional time for Limited Access General Category Individual Fishery Quota vessels to land the 2019 carryover allocation granted by the original emergency action.
  • Provides the New England Fishery Management Council additional time to develop a plan for the management of the Nantucket Lightship-West Access Area while it remains closed.

Read the temporary rule as filed in the Federal Register, and the permit holder bulletin.

Read the full release here

U.S. investing $500,000 to help reduce threats to North Atlantic right whales

November 23, 2020 — There has been a recent spray of positive news for the beleaguered right whale.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) in the United States announced nearly $500,000 in investments to help reduce threats to the North Atlantic right whales and other marine life off the coast of New England.

NFWF said in a release that it is working in partnership with the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and Shell to provide funding to support gear advancement and to improve the region’s ability to transition to on-call gear that does not require a buoy-line.

Marine animals such as right whales often become entangled in lines used to mark the location of fishing nets or traps in the ocean.

Innovative technology can offer a viable alternative to track gear while reducing risks to whales.

Read the full story at SaltWire

NOAA awards $850,000 for tracking, reporting lobster harvests

November 20, 2020 — Grant funds continue to flow into the Maine commercial lobster fishery on the heels of $2 million research grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Sea Grant American Lobster Initiative announced in September. NOAA is also behind these awards directed at monitoring the fishery: 

  • A grant of$250,000 to further test and develop vessel monitoring systems for lobster vessels. According to the Maine Department of Research, the funds will purchase 20 monitoring devices, cover staff verifying data generated by the trackers and fund integration of monitoring data with the new DMR harvester reporting application currently being created. 
  • A grant of$600,000 to meet the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASFMC) requirement to have 100 percent lobster harvest reporting in place by January 2024. The DMR plans to use the funds to support yearly maintenance on a new harvester reporting application, and to hire more staff. 

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

A New Generation of Autonomous Vessels Is Looking to Catch Illegal Fishers

November 20, 2020 — The first time engineers from Open Ocean Robotics pushed Scooby, a three-meter robotic boat, onto a lake near their office in Victoria, British Columbia, the small craft drove straight into the bushes. Clearly, the team had more work to do on the vessel’s autopilot.

Since that early mission last year, the start-up has won innovation awards, secured seed funding, and “spent tons of time on the water” ironing out the kinks in their autonomous vessels, says Julie Angus, the company’s CEO and cofounder. The 12-person team is now up against Connecticut-based tech company ThayerMahan and Marine Advanced Robotics from Silicon Valley in a cutting-edge design challenge to build a robot that can police illegal fishing in marine protected areas (MPAs). Scooby‘s successor (named after another character) completed the first stage in the multiyear project: a three-day field demonstration using surveillance technology to track boats, detect fishing activity, and collect evidence.

To protect marine wildlife and ecosystems and sustain fisheries, the United Nations, governments, and NGOs are pushing for more and bigger MPAs. But without a clear means of enforcing the regulations that govern them, these areas often draw criticism for being little more than paper parks. In partnership with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), these three robotics companies are racing to prove that uncrewed vessels are up to the task.

Originally, the trial was planned for the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary off Santa Barbara, California, but pandemic restrictions meant the participants tested their prototypes separately from around North America and presented the results to the judges remotely. Justin Manley, founder of Just Innovation, the Massachusetts-based marine robotics consultancy coordinating the project, says the upside of the disparate testing is that it let them see how effectively the robots detected different types of fishing boats.

Read the full story at Smithsonian Magazine

Pacific cod in Marine Stewardship Council limbo: Gulf of Alaska fishery meets standard, but eco-label still suspended

November 20, 2020 — The Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Pacific cod fishery will be recertified to the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) standard after a 15-day review period starting Thursday, but the area’s actual MSC status remains in limbo while regulators determine the health of the stock.

Certifier MRAG released a draft final report on Thursday recertifying a slew of Alaska whitefish fisheries, including Alaska pollock, and among the areas that received recertification was the GOA Pacific cod fishery.

However, the group’s certification remains in “suspension” pending a decision to allow directed fishing on the stock, MRAG Americas Director of Fisheries Certification Amanda Stern-Pirlot, confirmed with IntraFish.

The MSC suspended the Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod fishery certificate in April after National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries researchers made the decision in 2019 to close the area to harvesting after research found the available biomass would not likely be able to handle fishing pressure.

Read the full story at IntraFish

Slow Speed Zone Southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey to Protect Right Whales

November 20, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect Through December 5

NOAA Fisheries is triggering a Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone), southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey.

This Slow Zone was triggered on November 20, 2020, when the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute acoustic monitoring buoy detected right whales in the area.

Mariners, please go around this areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

Southeast of Atlantic City, New Jersey

39 25 N
38 44 N
073 44 W
074 36 W

Other Slow Speed Zones

Southeast of New York City Slow Zone is in effect through December 2

40 41 N
40 01 N
073 03 W
073 55 W

South of Nantucket, MA DMA  is in effect through November 30

40 59 N
40 23 N
069 05 W
069 52 W

Active Seasonal Management Areas November 1- April 30

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

  • Block Island Sound
  • Ports of New York/New Jersey
  • Entrance to the Delaware Bay
    (Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington)
  • Entrance to the Chesapeake Bay
    (Ports of Hampton Roads and Baltimore)
  • Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC
  • Within a continuous area 20-nm from shore between Wilmington, North Carolina, to Brunswick, Georgia.

Read the full release here

2020 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Field Season Highlights: Celebrating Partners

November 20, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Typically, the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center deploys field teams during the spring and summer to the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. There, they conduct research and rescue activities for threatened green sea turtles and endangered Hawaiian monk seals at five key breeding sites: French Frigate Shoals, Laysan and Lisianski Islands, Pearl and Hermes Reef, and Kure Atoll. The teams also conduct surveys during short visits at the Nihoa and Mokumanamana (Necker) Islands and Midway Atoll. Due to the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic, NOAA Fisheries decided to cancel this survey and field effort for 2020. Fortunately for the conservation of these species, our partners were able to step up and  salvage part of the 2020 field season. Data are also coming in from satellite tags on a handful of monk seals and a green turtle.

We have conducted field studies in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands for 47 years for sea turtles and 36 years for monk seals. These islands and atolls are nesting habitat for more than 90 percent of Hawaiian green sea turtles and 75 percent of the Hawaiian monk seal population (about 1,100 seals). These invaluable long-term datasets provide current population statuses and trends and insight on how climate change is affecting these animals and their habitat. Combined, this information guides management and recovery actions.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Commercial Blueline Tilefish Fishery Closure

November 19, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is closing the commercial blueline tilefish fishery through the end of the fishing year, December 31, 2020.

Effective at 0001 hour on November 21, 2020 no vessel may retain or land blueline tilefish in or from the Tilefish Management Unit through December 31, 2020.

Landings information analyzed by NOAA Fisheries projects the commercial blueline tilefish fishery will meet 100 percent of the total allowable landings for the 2020 fishing year on November 21, 2020.

For more information, please read the notice as filed in the Federal Register, and the permit holder bulletin.

Read the full release here

Slow Speed Zone Southeast of New York City to Protect Right Whales

November 18, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect Through December 2

NOAA Fisheries is triggering a Slow Zone (voluntary vessel speed restriction zone), southeast of New York City.

This Slow Zone was triggered on November 17, 2020, when the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute acoustic monitoring buoy detected right whales in the New York Bight, New York.

Mariners, please go around this areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where right whales have been detected.

Southeast of New York City Slow Zone is in effect through December 2.

40 41 N
40 01 N
073 03 W
073 55 W

Active Seasonal Management Areas November 1- April 30

Mandatory speed restrictions of 10 knots or less (50 CFR 224.105) are in effect in the following areas:

Block Island Sound 

Ports of New York/New Jersey

Entrance to the Delaware Bay
(Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington)

Entrance to the Chesapeake Bay 
(Ports of Hampton Roads and Baltimore)

Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC

Within a continuous area 20-nm from shore between Wilmington, North Carolina, to Brunswick, Georgia.

Find out more and get the coordinates for each mandatory slow speed zone.

Give Right Whales Room

North Atlantic right whales are on the move along the Atlantic coast of the U.S. NOAA is cautioning boaters and fishermen to give these endangered whales plenty of room. We are also asking all fishermen to be vigilant when maneuvering to avoid accidental collisions with whales and remove unused gear from the ocean to help avoid entanglements. Commercial fishermen should use vertical lines with required markings, weak links, and breaking strengths.

Right Whales in Trouble

North Atlantic right whales are protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. Scientists estimate there are only about 400 remaining, making them one of the rarest marine mammals in the world.

North Atlantic right whales are NOAA Fisheries’ newest Species in the Spotlight. This initiative is a concerted, agency-wide effort to spotlight and save marine species that are among the most at risk of extinction in the near future. 

In August 2017, NOAA Fisheries declared the increase in right whale mortalities an “Unusual Mortality Event,” which helps the agency direct additional scientific and financial resources to investigating, understanding, and reducing the mortalities in partnership with the Marine Mammal Stranding Network, Canada’s Department of Fisheries and Oceans, and outside experts from the scientific research community.

More Information

Recent right whale sightings

Find out more about our right whale conservation efforts and the researchers behind those efforts.

Download the Whale Alert app for iPad and iPhone

Acoustic detections in Cape Cod Bay and the Boston TSS, as well as other regions along the eastern seaboard.

Details and graphics of all vessel strike management zones currently in effect.

Reminder: Approaching a right whale closer than 500 yards is a violation of federal and state law.

Spread the Word!

All boaters, or interested parties, can sign up for email notifications  and selecting “Right Whale Slow Zones” under the Regional New England/Mid-Atlantic subscription topics. You can also follow us on Facebook (@NOAAFisheriesNEMA) and Twitter (@NOAAFish_GARFO)  for announcements.

Watch our video on Right Whale Slow Zones.

Read the full release here