Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries Announces Modifications to South Atlantic Red Snapper Fishing Seasons

October 13, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

KEY MESSAGE:

NOAA Fisheries announces the final rule for Regulatory Amendment 33 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Regulatory Amendment 33).  This final rule allows the South Atlantic red snapper fishing season to be less than four days.

WHEN RULE WILL TAKE EFFECT:

Regulations will be effective November 13, 2020.

SUMMARY OF CHANGES FOR RED SNAPPER:

The final rule removes the minimum season length requirement, and red snapper harvest could be open for either commercial or recreational harvest for three days or less.  The removal of this requirement improves access to the red snapper resource.

Read the full release here

Scallop RSA Surveys Gather Essential Data During COVID-19

October 13, 2020 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The industry-funded Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program earned its weight in gold this year by providing the sole source of 2020 scallop survey data during the coronavirus pandemic.

NOAA Fisheries typically conducts an annual survey for Atlantic sea scallops on the R/V Hugh R. Sharp, a research vessel owned and operated by the University of Delaware. This year, however, the federal survey was canceled due to COVID-19 precautions. The cancellation of this important federal survey meant that essential information related to the current status of the resource would be missing for 2020.

Read the full release here

What Happened to the Pollock Born in 2015?

October 9, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

n 2015, NOAA Fisheries scientists saw the lowest number of pollock larvae in the 30-year history of their Gulf of Alaska spring survey. They also observed the lowest number of juveniles in their late-summer survey, which has occurred since 2000. The low abundance in both surveys coincided with a marine heatwave of record ocean temperatures. Scientist Lauren Rogers and colleagues attribute the absence of larval and juvenile fish to environmental conditions that were not ideal for pollock growth and development during the heatwave.

“Marine ecosystems are complex with lots of connections,” said Rogers. “When you are trying to identify what might be behind a decline in abundance of fish at a particular age, it is often a series of factors that are at play.”

That is exactly what scientists found when looking at young pollock survival in 2015. Their survival was affected by:

  • Low-salinity conditions, which affected egg buoyancy and survival
  • Low abundance of prey for larval fish
  • Poor body condition of young-of-the-year (age-0) juveniles

Read the full release here

GMRI awarded $1.27M to help Maine fisheries overcome climate challenges

October 9, 2020 — The Gulf of Maine Research Institute has been awarded $1.27 million in federal funding to help Maine fisheries and coastal communities in the fight against climate change.

Funding for the Portland-based nonprofit comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Climate Program Office. The new project is one of 79 to receive a total of $48.7 million in competitive awards, announced on Oct. 6.

“Every day, communities and businesses grapple with challenges due to climate variability and change,” said Wayne Higgins, director of the Climate Program Office, in a news release.

“From using machine learning to develop critical atmospheric datasets to creating an experimental system for rapidly assessing causes of extreme events, these new awards will expedite climate science discoveries and build the library of resilience solutions needed to protect all sectors of our economy and environment.”

Read the full story at MaineBiz

Senators Collins, King Join Bipartisan Call to Ensure NOAA Fisheries Surveys Proceed in 2021

October 9, 2020 — The following was released by the The Office of Senator Angus King (I-ME):

In May 2020, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries started canceling research surveys to protect the health of its crews and personnel at sea on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In support of coastal communities across the country who rely on these surveys as a basis for their livelihoods, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) joined their colleagues in calling on NOAA to identify and resolve any challenges created by COVID-19 that prevented surveys from occurring in 2020 in order to ensure surveys can be safely conducted in 2021.

“Fishery and ecosystem research surveys are essential to support the U.S. blue economy and provide valuable fishery-independent data needed to carry out provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).  Data collected from NOAA’s research surveys are used to manage commercial and recreational fisheries that contributed 1.74 million jobs, over $240 billion in sales, and $111 billion in gross domestic product to the U.S. economy in 2017,” the Senators wrote.  “The economic output of U.S. fisheries is maximized by setting accurate quotas and catch limits, which depend on the long-term, fishery-independent datasets collected by NOAA’s research surveys.”

The Senators acknowledged NOAA’s initial response and actions to compensate for lost survey data; however, they reiterated that the methods used are not sufficient replacements for the typical large-scale, long-term research surveys required to sustainably manage fisheries under the MSA.  In closing, the Senators requested a clear, written plan for FY2021 surveys before December 15, 2020.

Read the full release here

New Electronic Monitoring Outreach Materials Available for Groundfish Sectors

October 9, 2020 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries:

On September 30, 2020, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to approve Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, including two options for sectors to use electronic monitoring, instead of human at-sea monitors, to meet their third-party sector monitoring requirements.

Under an electronic monitoring program, cameras and gear sensors are placed on your vessel to monitor catch and discards, and collect catch information. There are two different kinds of electronic monitoring programs for sectors in Amendment 23: Audit and Maximized Retention. We created a fact sheet and an infographic in order to help groundfish sectors understand the similarities and differences between these two programs as they consider which monitoring tools they would like to use in future fishing years. The fact sheet and infographic are now available on our northeast groundfish monitoring program webpage.

Questions?

Electronic Monitoring: Contact Claire Fitz-Gerald, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9255

Amendment 23: Contact Mark Grant, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9145

Media Inquiries: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Meet the Fishermen Involved in Cooperative Research

October 8, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s works with our region’s commercial fishing community to collect data that help us better understand ocean ecosystems and improve fisheries management. Their partnership is critical to the future of sustainable fisheries in our region. It helps us feed data-hungry climate models, estimate fishing effort and catch, and understand potential conflicts with wind energy areas. Here are just a few of our commercial fishing partners helping to make that happen.

As a bonus, we asked our commercial fishing partners to share their best seafood tips. Cooking seafood at home can be tricky, but with their tips, you’ll find it a lot easier and stress free!

Read the full release here

WHOI receives NOAA awards to study, predict harmful algal blooms

October 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:

Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) were recently named in a list of 17 new research projects funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve the nation’s collective response to the growing problem of harmful algal blooms (HABs). The four projects led, co-led, or supported by WHOI researchers total nearly $2.5 million over the coming year and $7.9 million over the course of the projects. A full list of the new grant awards is available online and includes projects funded under NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and the  U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOSⓇ) Office.

“NOAA is funding the latest scientific research to support managers trying to cope with increasing and recurring toxic algae that continue to affect environmental and human health of coastal communities,” said David Kidwell, director of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Competitive Research Program. “These projects will address the largely unknown socioeconomic impact of blooms in various regions, improve local managers’ ability to keep drinking water safe, aid monitoring for algal toxins in seafood and advance a potentially valuable control method for Florida red tide and other blooms, enhancing our nation’s collective response to these events.”

Marine and fresh waters teem with life, much of it microscopic, and most of it harmless. Although most of these phytoplankton and cyanobacteria are harmless, there are some that create potent toxins and, under the right conditions, both toxic and non-toxic species can form blooms that threaten the health of humans and ecosystems, and cause significant societal and economic problems.

These impacts include human illness and death following consumption of or indirect exposure to HAB toxins, economic losses to coastal communities and commercial fisheries, and HAB-associated wildlife deaths. Freshwater HABs can also affect drinking water supplies far from the ocean and are a growing problem as water temperatures rise, precipitation patterns change, and the use of agricultural fertilizers becomes more widespread.

Read the full release here

Seafood Stories: Celebrate Seafood Month in the Pacific Islands Region

October 7, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

October is National Seafood Month. In the Pacific Islands region, our connection to seafood is deeply rooted in our diverse island cultures. Seafood continues to be a regular part of our lives, and it will remain an important part of our food-secure future.

But what does sustainable seafood look like in the Pacific? And how can we really know if what we bought—or caught—is sustainable?

Join us for an interactive webinar series that looks into these and other questions, and help us build a picture of sustainable seafood choices all month long through a crowdsourced StoryMap!

Read the full release here

Call for Butterfish & Squid Working Group Members

October 6, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are currently soliciting working group members for both the butterfish and Illex squid research track stock assessments.  The research track peer review meeting will occur in November 2021.

If you are interested in being a member of either working group, please fill out the online questionnaire (a Google form) by October 16, 2020.

The specific tasking for the butterfish and Illex squid working groups is detailed in the questionnaire.

The Role of Working Groups in Northeast Fishery Stock Assessment

Working groups carry out the analytical work required for the stock assessment or topic, including developing and implementing the research plan and terms of reference that are provided by the Northeast Region Coordinating Council.

Questions?

Contact Michele Traver, Northeast Fisheries Science Center