Saving Seafood

Accepting Applications for Industry-Funded Monitoring (IFM) Providers for Herring Vessels in IFM Year 2021

October 30, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

If you would like to provide IFM services (observing, at-sea monitoring, and/or portside sampling) to Atlantic herring vessels in IFM year 2021 (April 1, 2021 – March 31, 2022), you must submit an application to be an approved provider by December 1, 2020. Companies already approved to provide IFM services in IFM years 2020 and 2021 do not need to apply again in order to provide services in 2021.

Refer to the bulletin for more information on what to include in an application.

Approvals will cover IFM year 2021. If we receive any applications under this announcement, we will notify service providers of our preliminary determination as soon as we have completed our reviews. Final decisions will be published in the Federal Register.

Read the full release here

Reminder: Seasonal Management Areas in Effect November 1 to Protect Right Whales

October 29, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

All vessels 65 feet (19.8 meters) or longer must travel at 10 knots or less in certain locations (called Seasonal Management Areas or SMAs) along the U.S. east coast at certain times of the year to reduce the threat of vessel collisions with endangered North Atlantic right whales. The purpose of this mandatory regulation is to reduce the likelihood of deaths and serious injuries to these endangered whales that result from collisions with vessel.Because vessels of all sizes can strike a whale, NOAA Fisheries also encourages vessels less than 65 feet in length to help protect right whales by slowing to 10 knots of less within active SMAs as well.

Migratory Route and Calving Grounds, November 1 – April 30

Block Island Sound waters bounded by:

40º51’53.7″ N 070º36’44.9″ W

41º20’14.1″ N 070º49’44.1″ W

41º04’16.7″ N 071º51’21.0″ W

40º35’56.5″ N 071º38’25.1″ W then back to starting point.

Within a 20-nm (37 km) radius of the following (as measured seaward from the COLREGS lines):

-Ports of New York/New Jersey:

40º29’42.2″N 073º55’57.6″W

-Entrance to the Delaware Bay

(Ports of Philadelphia and Wilmington):

38º52’27.4″N 075º01’32.1″W

-Entrance to the Chesapeake Bay

(Ports of Hampton Roads and Baltimore):

37º00’36.9″N 075º57’50.5″W

-Ports of Morehead City and Beaufort, NC: 34º41’32.0″N 076°40’08.3″W

Within a continuous area 20-nm from shore between Wilmington, North Carolina, to Brunswick, Georgia, bounded by the following:

A- 34º10’30″N, 077º49’12″W

B- 33º56’42″N, 077º31’30″W

C- 33º36’30″N, 077º47’06″W

D- 33º28’24″N, 078º32’30″W

E- 32º59’06″N, 078º50’18″W

F- 31º50’00″N, 080º33’12″W

G- 31º27’00″N, 080º51’36″W

and west back to the shore.

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.

Read the full release here

Reminder: USDA Now Accepting Applications for Seafood Trade Relief Program

October 29, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The U.S. Department of Agriculture is making approximately $530 million available to assist U.S. fishermen through the Seafood Trade Relief Program. This program is funded by the Commodity Credit Corporation and administered by the Farm Service Agency.

The program will provide direct support to U.S. commercial fishermen impacted by retaliatory tariffs. To qualify, they must hold a valid federal or state license or permit. Additionally, their catch must be sold or transferred to a permitted or licensed seafood dealer or by a permitted dealer if the catch is processed at sea. Seafood products grown in a controlled environment are not eligible for the program (except geoducks and salmon).

Payments are based on 2019 landings of:

  • Atka Mackerel

  • Dungeness Crab

  • King Crab

  • Snow Crab

  • Southern Tanner Crab

  • Flounder

  • Geoduck

  • Goosefish

  • Herring

  • Lobster

  • Pacific Cod

  • Pacific Ocean Perch

  • Pollock

  • Sablefish

  • Salmon

  • Sole

  • Squid

  • Tuna

  • Turbot

Fishermen can sign up for relief through the program from September 14, 2020 to December 14, 2020.  Sign up for the Program.

Only 366 Endangered Right Whales Are Alive: New NOAA Report

October 29, 2020 — The population of extremely endangered North Atlantic right whales has fallen even further in the last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said Monday.

The agency said that there were only 366 of the whales as of January 2019, down from 412 in January of 2018, The Associated Press reported. But their numbers are likely even lower than that. NOAA Fisheries has documented the deaths or likely fatal injuries of a further 15 whales since, the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF) pointed out.

“These population estimates are devastating,” CLF senior attorney Erica Fuller said in response to the news. “The outlook is grim if we do not act today. We know human activities are decimating this population, what will it take for federal fishery managers to finally take action to protect these magnificent animals?”

Read the full story at EcoWatch

Pathway to Paperless Data Collection

October 28, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The information collected by observers and at-sea monitors is essential to successful science-based fisheries management. Gathering and recording accurate data while aboard a vessel is challenging work. It’s the first step in a much longer process of validating and integrating the data for use by scientists and managers.

Historically, observers have collected data on paper forms for manual processing, but many programs are moving the entire data collection process to a paperless system. This improves cost and timing efficiencies while reducing potential errors in the data itself. Our Northwest Fisheries Science Center has put a new paperless system to the test, and the lessons learned can inform other projects across the country.

The program has traditionally used paper-based data collection and documentation of fishery catch weights (e.g., groundfish, shrimp, midwater species) for trawl and fixed-gear, rod and reel, longline, and other gear types.

In the paper-based process, the information is calculated, entered into an offline database while at sea, and then synced to an online database once on land. Then, observer program staff review the data, consider edits or corrections, and if necessary, require resubmissions before the data becomes available to end-users.

To address their goals to streamline the traditional workflow, the observer program has been developing a system that includes data entry into a handheld device. This eliminates error-prone processes like transcription and calculation, and enables electronic data archiving.

“Improvements to our data collection process resulted in faster data turnaround and catch quota updates for vessels that participated in our program,” says Jason Eibner, a former observer who has worked for 12 years at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, Oregon, part of our Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

“We realized that a paperless electronic data collection system would help us work even more efficiently by removing the most tedious and time-consuming steps. At the same time, we’re increasing data accuracy and providing our observers with some deserved down time in the field,” added Eibner.

Read the full release here

Long-running plankton survey to resume this winter

October 28, 2020 — Scientists this winter will revive a long-running survey of plankton in the Gulf of Maine. Plankton, drifting microscopic sea organisms, are food for endangered North American right whales and other marine species. 

The Gulf of Maine plankton survey was originally performed from 1961–2017. It is returning under a new agreement between the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center, the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth, England, and the Massachusetts-based Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.  

“Many marine species are shifting their distributions as ocean waters warm,” said Chris Melrose, a research oceanographer at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s laboratory in Narragansett, R.I. “Because plankton are an important food source for many species, including the endangered North Atlantic right whale, knowing about changes in the plankton helps us to understand other changes we see in the ecosystem.” 

Melrose, who is NOAA representative on the agreement, said continuing the survey “is essential to understanding the impact of climate change to marine ecosystems.”  

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

MAINE: Zone C lobster council OK’s trawl limit plan

October 27, 2020 — With the National Oceanic Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) under a fast approaching, court-imposed deadline to develop new whale protection rules, the Zone C Lobster Management Council held a special meeting on the internet in late September to get an update on the situation from Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher and consider a zone-specific plan for gear modifications that will likely be required by NMFS.

On Aug. 19, U.S. District Court Judge James Boasberg gave NMFS nine months to craft new rules to protect endangered right whales from entanglement in lobster fishing gear. In April, Boasberg had ruled that NMFS violated the federal Endangered Species Act in 2014 when it adopted new rules governing the lobster fishery by failing to adequately consider the risk right whales might face if they become entangled in the vertical lines that connect lobster traps on the sea floor to marker buoys on the surface.

The judge vacated the NMFS “biological opinion” required by the ESA, which allowed continuation of the lobster fishery as it is currently practiced.

In August, the judge gave NMFS and the lobster industry until May 31, 2020, to come up with a new biological opinion and new lobster fishing regulations. He ordered NMFS to submit progress reports to the court every 60 days beginning Sept. 30.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American

Black Sea Bass Sensitive to Ocean Noise in Wind Energy Development Areas

October 27, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Scientists looking at the effects of underwater pile driving and construction noise on sea life have found that black sea bass can hear these sounds. The noise may interfere with their natural behavior.

Their study is the first to look at the impact of ocean noise on this fish species. It found that younger fish were more sensitive to sounds than older fish. The frequencies at which the fish are most sensitive to sound directly overlap with frequencies of human-produced noise pollution. This noise comes from activities like shipping and the underwater construction required for offshore wind farms.

“No one knew for sure how much black sea bass can hear and how that changes as they age,” said Beth Phelan, a fishery biologist at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s laboratory at Sandy Hook, New Jersey and a co-author of the study. “We do know that black sea bass are attracted to underwater structures, and have anecdotal information that they move away from noise. We had to first determine the range of sounds they can hear by giving them a type of hearing test, much like we do to humans.”

Black sea bass are a commercially and recreationally important fish in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, the coastal region from Cape Hatteras, North Carolina to southern New England. Wind farms planned in the region overlap with current black sea bass habitat, exposing fish to construction and operational noises. Pile driving, for example, produces sounds that might stress fish, impacting their choice of habitat, feeding, social interaction and reproduction.

Read the full release here

Understanding the Impacts of Climate Change on Economically Important Fish Species

October 26, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Researchers at NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center and Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory are teaming up. They want to understand how changing ocean conditions might be influencing commercially important fish stocks. The project will identify key physical processes that affect the biology and chemistry of waters used by coastal migratory species. They will pool their modeling capacities to investigate factors influencing fish stocks in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Bight. These stocks are managed by NOAA Fisheries and the regional Fishery Management Councils.

Building on previous research collaborations, the scientists will continue advancing these modeling efforts to support marine resources management and conservation. “We have configured several high-resolution models for the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean Sea, and South Atlantic Bight,” said Laboratory scientist Dr. Sang-Ki Lee. “Using these models, we have built close collaborations between our laboratory and the science center addressing key scientific questions, including the impacts of increasing ocean temperatures on coral bleaching and spawning of Atlantic bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea, impacts of El Niño and increased rainfall on plankton patterns in the Texas-Louisiana shelf, and seasonal variability in ocean carbon chemistry in the Gulf of Mexico.”

Coastal migratory species, such as king mackerel, greater amberjack, red porgy, and red grouper, are key commercial and recreational species that support a billion-dollar economy. The most recent stock assessments for these species indicated that the stocks began declining in the late 2000s. This indicates either reduced population reproductivity, migration out of the management area, or both.

A stock assessment is the process of collecting, analyzing, and reporting demographic information to determine changes in the abundance of fishery stocks in response to fishing. They are also used to predict future trends of stock abundance. The stock assessments track the age structure of the adult population to determine how many new fish are expected in the future. When the actual number does not match the expected number, it reflects that something other than stock abundance is affecting the population, such as the environment or a predator species.

Read the full release here

Path to extinction continues for North Atlantic right whales

October 26, 2020 — Scientists say to avoid species extinction and rebuild their population, fewer than one North Atlantic right whale per year can be lost to human-caused mortality or serious injury. Entanglement in fishing lines or being struck by a vessel are the two main causes of human-induced death in the world’s most endangered great whale species.

After years of progress and cooperation with the shipping industry, vessel strikes again appear to be on the rise, with vessels ignoring speed restrictions imposed where right whales have been spotted. The number of whale entanglements also are headed in the wrong direction, with four confirmed entanglements in U.S. waters this year, including three recent sightings in New Jersey and Massachusetts. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has said that a 60-80% drop in the number of whale mortalities is needed, but combined with stalled progress on a plan to reduce fishing impacts, the future for this whale again appears bleak.

If trends continue, the North Atlantic right whale could be the first great whale in modern history to go extinct, and those in the animal rights and conservation communities say the time to act is now.

“We’ve done the research, we have the evidence. The time is now to implement it,” said Amy Knowlton, a senior scientist at the New England Aquarium. Her specialty is assessing human impacts on whales and ways to address those threats. But there is frustration over a process led by NOAA that seems to only respond to litigation.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times