April 2, 2020 — The Alaska sablefish and halibut season got off to a successful start in terms of volume, but less so in terms of sales price, according to a Homer News report.
The commercial halibut season began on 15 March and the sablefish season in the state got underway the day before.
February 27, 2020 — Blue whales have been spotted in the Atlantic Ocean east of the Connecticut shoreline.
This month, researchers from the New England Aquarium surveyed the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument about 130 miles southeast of Cape Cod, according to a release from the aquarium
Within six hours, the researchers had counted 322 whales and dolphins, including two blue whales.
“As marine mammal researchers, it’s such a thrill to fly in this area and see such a great diversity of animals,” researcher Orla O’Brien said in a release.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association lists blue whales as endangered. The exact population size is not known, but there were only 440 confirmed sightings in the Atlantic Ocean between 1979 and 2009.
January 27, 2020 — Ocean acidification is damaging the shells of young Dungeness crab in the Northwest, an impact that scientists did not expect until much later this century, according to new research.
A study released this week in the journal Science of the Total Environment is based on a 2016 survey of Oregon, Washington and British Columbia coastal waters that examined larval Dungeness. The findings add to the concerns about the future of the Dungeness as atmospheric carbon dioxide — on the rise due to fossil-fuel combustion — is absorbed by the Pacific Ocean and increases acidification.
“If the crabs are affected already, we really need to make sure we start to pay attention to various components of the food chain before it is too late,” said Nina Bednarsek, the lead author among 13 contributing scientists. The study was funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).
January 17, 2020 — New data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association shows waters off the coast of California are acidifying at twice the rate of the global average.
NOAA researchers studied sediment from the Santa Barbara Channel and using 100 years worth of microscopic shells were able to show the acidification rate was two times that of other oceans around the world.
Shellfish are the species most immediately impacted by ocean acidification. More acidic waters make it difficult for animals like, starfish, mussels, and scallops to build their shells.
Ocean acidification is simple chemical process, seawater absorbs carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and becomes more acidic. Humans have sped up the rate of ocean acidification thanks to global carbon emissions. Since the industrial revolution ocean acidity has increased by 25%, which is greater than at any other time in the last two million years.
October 31, 2019 — A lobster industry group in the US state of Maine has re-engaged with a federal government process to reduce risks to endangered right whales, The Center Square reported.
The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) said that it was encouraged by recent actions by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service to address the group’s concerns regarding the agency’s Take Reduction Team (TRT) process to protect right whales.
“MLA is pleased that NOAA has taken our concerns seriously,” the group said. “MLA continues to work diligently with our members and in close collaboration with Maine’s Department of Marine Resources to identify management approaches that are both effective in minimizing risk to whales and proportionate to the risk from Maine fishery gear,” the MLA said.
September 9, 2019 — An opinion piece by former Gov. Paul LePage published in the Wall Street Journal criticizes federal officials for proposing restrictions on the lobstering industry that fishermen say would put them out of business.
LePage writes that the restrictions required by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association would not actually reduce the number of right whale deaths in the Gulf of Maine because, he says, “No whale deaths due to entanglements or ship strikes have been recorded in Maine waters since 1998.”
However, in September 2016, the Portland Press Herald reported that NOAA officials concluded the death of a 43-foot right whale found floating off Boothbay Harbor was most likely caused by entanglement in fishing gear ropes.
April 12, 2019 — Representing large net-fishing vessels in the Pacific Ocean, the American Tunaboat Association filed a lawsuit Wednesday claiming government fishery regulators left industry experts in the dark about a forthcoming biological opinion that could limit commercial tuna operations.
The complaint, filed by Baker Botts attorney Megan Berge in Washington, D.C., federal court, names as defendants Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association and the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS.
According to the lawsuit, NMFS is preparing a biological opinion that could impose new permit requirements and limits on tuna fishery operations in the western and central Pacific Ocean, and the American Tunaboat Association says it was denied the ability to provide input during an informal phase of the assessment process.
The fishing advocacy group claims the NMFS violated the Administrative Procedure Act by not allowing it to review any drafts or provide first-hand, expert recommendations for the developing opinion that could directly impact its members.
March 28, 2019 — Across the U.S., policymakers are scrambling to protect their communities from the effects of climate change.
In January, Massachusetts Governor Charlie Baker proposed real-estate tax increases to fund dam and drainage system upgrades, which would help residents cope with future floods and storms. Meanwhile, a few months earlier, officials from several Florida counties agreed to work together to minimize the damage caused by rising sea levels.
Adaptation efforts like these are crucial. Four in 10 Americans live in coastal areas. and this population will surge in the coming years. Sustained flooding can cripple homes and infrastructure like roads, bridges, subways and wastewater treatment plants.
Policymakers have limited time and resources, so they should rely on the latest computer modeling and other technologies to identify and implement the most efficient adaptation strategies.
Rising water levels have already wrought havoc across the country. From 2000 to 2015, coastal “sunny day flooding,” or flooding caused by high tides rather than storms, more than doubled on the Southeast’s Atlantic coast, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association. And it increased 75 percent on the Northeast’s coast.
Climate change is also making storms more destructive and frequent by heating up ocean waters, increasing flooding. The United States experienced its most expensive hurricane season in history in 2017; storms caused more than $300 billion in damages. Flooding and other damage from Hurricane Harvey alone forced 37,000 Texans into shelters in September 2017. Last year, Hurricane Michael caused at least 45 deaths and more than $12 billion in losses.
June 30, 2017 — Regulations surrounding red snapper are the subject of a lot of chatter on fishing docks throughout the panhandle.
The three day red snapper season in federal waters was recently expanded to cover most of the summer, but there was a trade-off in a reduced number of red snapper days in state waters.
So, are the current fishing regulations helpful? Or harmful? It depends on who you ask.
Behind a local marina in Panama City sits a third generation charter captain who makes a living off of fishing.
“Our limits have gotten smaller, the amount of days that we get are definitely smaller. I make my full living charter fishing here in Panama City, been doing it my whole life, it supports me and my family, I’ve actually got twins on the way, they’re going to be here later in the year,” Hook ’em Charters Captain BJ Burkett said.
Captain BJ tell us the current red snapper fishing regulations in federal waters, which start nine nautical miles out, hinder his ability to profit as much as he used too.
“We started out, I’d say about 10 years ago we used to have 190 day red snapper season and we’re down to a, this year we got 49 days for the federal charter for hire industry. We have had as few as 9 days in a year a couple years back, but the seasons have definitely changed. It’s kinda sad in our eyes,” Burkett said.
Representatives from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission tell us those regulations are enforced for a reason.
“Conservation laws are in place, you know, to ensure the natural resource is abundant and there for future generations to use,” Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission representative Rebekah Nelson.
We also reached out to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, who responded with a statement saying in part, NOAA Fisheries regulate fishing to help foster healthy fish populations. It continues to say fish populations can be depleted if they’re caught faster than they can reproduce.
May 5, 2017 — To say the least, local anglers are unhappy about the three-day federal red snapper season this year.
“A federal season is a joke,” said Chris Nixon of Wewahitchka. “A three-day federal season is an insult.”
Other words used by anglers to describe the three-day season included “ridiculous,” “shenanigans,” “a travesty,” “a sick joke,” “corruption at its finest” and a handful of curse words.
For years now, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) has been steadily shrinking the length of the red snapper season for private anglers. Twenty years ago, the red snapper fishery was open to recreational anglers year round. Then the Sustainable Fishery Act of 1996 passed, and the season started shrinking to combat overfishing and rebuild stocks.
From 2000 to 2007, the season was open from April 21 through Oct. 21, but then NOAA changed the management plan to try to rebuild the stock faster. In 2008, it dropped to 66 days. In 2010, it was 53 days. In 2012, it was 40 days. In 2014, it was nine days.
In 2014, private anglers and for-hire boats still were operating under the same rules, but a nine-day season was devastating to for-hire boats, who depend on customers. So, in 2015 a new rule, Amendment 45, was put in place by NOAA, dividing the two groups. Private anglers received 10 days; for-hire boats had a 44-day season.
Now, private anglers have a historically short three-day season — that doesn’t fully align with a weekend — and they are crying foul. And for-hire vessels have a 49-day federal season.