Saving Seafood

Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ larger than normal, NOAA says

August 4, 2021 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is warning that the Gulf of Mexico’s “dead zone” is larger than average, with about 4 million acres of water potentially uninhabitable to fish and other marine life.

The agency said in a Tuesday report that for the past five years, the average hypoxic zone, or area with little to no oxygen where marine life easily dies, has been 5,380 square miles.

In 2021, this area is about 6,334 square miles, about 2.8 times larger than the 2035 target set by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Nutrient Task Force, better known as the Hypoxia Task Force.

Read the full story at The Hill

Marine economy in 2019 outpaced U.S. economy overall

June 8, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA:

America’s marine economy contributed about $397 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product in 2019 and grew faster than the nation’s economy as a whole, according to the most current results of the first official Marine Economy Satellite Account released today by two Department of Commerce agencies.

“America’s strong marine economy is absolutely vital for building back better,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo. “President Biden sees the immense value and potential of strengthening America’s blue economy, and this administration will continue to take actions to combat the climate crisis, conserve our oceans, and protect our coastal communities.”

“These statistics show how powerful America’s blue economy is as a driver of jobs, innovation and economic growth,” said Ben Friedman, acting NOAA administrator. “This information will assist our nation’s economic recovery by helping policymakers, industry advocates, and organizations track and accelerate investments in target markets.”

For these statistics, experts from NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) described 10 sectors representing businesses dependent on the nation’s oceans, coasts and Great Lakes between the years 2014 and 2019. Marine-related gross domestic product grew 4.2% from 2018 to 2019, faster than the 2.2% growth of the total U.S. gross domestic product as measured in inflation-adjusted dollars. Businesses included in the report also generated a total of $665.7 billion in sales and supported 2.4 million jobs in 2019.

The 10 sectors ranked by their sales are:

  • Tourism and recreation, including recreational fishing ($235 billion)
  • National defense and public administration ($180 billion)
  • Offshore minerals ($93 billion)
  • Transportation and warehousing ($64 billion)
  • Commercial Ship and boat building ($31 billion)
  • Living resources, including commercial fishing and aquaculture ($27 billion)
  • Utilities ($12 billion)
  • Research and education ($10.4 billion)
  • Construction ($7.0 billion)
  • Professional and technical services ($6.3 billion)

“These statistics are further proof that our waters are vital for America’s economy,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. “It is nearly impossible to go a single day without eating, wearing, or using items that come from or through our ports and coastal communities.”

Last year, NOAA and BEA released the Ocean Economy Prototype statistics which covered 2014-2018 and were the most comprehensive measurement of the marine economy at the time. This year’s statistics offer improved national estimates for ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes-related economic activity by major sector, accounting for inflation. The data, report and other materials are available at Marine Economy | US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and on NOAA’s Digital Coast website. Send any comments or questions to MarineEconomy@noaa.gov.

NOAA forecasts slightly smaller than average Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” this summer

June 3, 2021 — The “dead zone” that appears in the Gulf of Mexico every summer is expected to be smaller than normal this year, according to an announcement Thursday, 3 June from NOAA scientists.

This year’s hypoxic area – which features little or no oxygen to sustain marine life – is forecasted to be about 4,880 square miles, or roughly twice the size of Delaware. The five-year average for the “dead zone” is about 5,400 square miles, slightly smaller than Connecticut.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

NOAA launches two coastal models for mariner safety on West Coast, Gulf of Mexico

March 31, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today, NOAA announced two new coastal condition forecast models that will enhance critical decision making for mariners along the West Coast and Northern Gulf of Mexico. The models provide continuous quality-controlled data on water levels, currents, water temperature and salinity out to 72 hours.

Forecasts from both models are used by commercial and recreational mariners, fisherman, emergency managers, search and rescue responders, and National Weather Service marine weather forecasters.

“The West Coast model will help the Coast Guard with search and rescue and has implications for other stakeholder groups, such as navigation, shipping, and fisheries,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. “The Gulf model improves the safety of marine navigation in an area vital to the safe movement of energy resources and other shipping.”

These two new models join a network that now totals 15 such models in coastal waters around the United States. The models–located in critical ports, harbors, estuaries, Great Lakes, and coastal waters–are part of a larger national backbone of real-time data, tidal predictions, tide and lakes datums, and operational modeling that enables users to make the best decisions for their needs.

NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service supports a key role in developing the West Coast Operational Forecast System, providing near-real-time satellite observations, including temperature, sea-surface height and coastal currents.

“The West Coast operational system is the latest example of NOAA’s commitment to bringing its expertise and data resources together to improve the way Americans live, work and do business,” said Steve Volz, director of NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service.

The Northern Gulf of Mexico model combines three models into one and extends the model to include coverage up the Mississippi River to Baton Rouge, Lake Pontchartrain and Bartaria Bay in Louisiana, and along the Corpus Christi waterways of Texas, as well as south to the Mexico border. The seaports covered by this model are some of the busiest in the nation in terms of tonnage, energy, value and other measures.

Reviving the Gulf Dead Zone Is Worth it: Our New Report Shows the Benefits of Action

June 30, 2020 — Earlier this month, NOAA forecast that this summer in the Gulf of Mexico an area the size of Delaware and Connecticut combined would have so little oxygen that marine life flees from it or dies in it. In 2017, this “dead zone” was the size of New Jersey, the largest one ever recorded.

On the heels of this year’s forecast, acting director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service, Nicole LeBoeuf, noted that the Gulf dead zone doesn’t just hurt marine life—it “puts a strain on the region’s living resources and coastal economies.”

The annual dead zone has shown no signs of significant shrinking over the last three decades, despite years of research and investments in analyzing the problem and identifying solutions. Yet, a winning and achievable solution has been staring us in the face all along: farming practices that are good for the soil, good for our waterways, and quite possibly better for addressing the climate crisis.

Our team decided to tackle the dead zone problem head-on in our new report “Reviving the Dead Zone: Solutions to Benefit Both Gulf Fishers and Midwest Farmers”. Our analysis in the report reveals that shrinking the Gulf of Mexico dead zone, by providing Midwest farmers with more support to use science-based healthy-soil practices, could yield large economic, environmental, and social returns for the Gulf. Our analysis starts to put a dollar value on these returns.

Read the full story at the Union of Concerned Scientists

As NOAA predicts larger than average Gulf dead zone, study reveals billions in damage to fish stocks

June 5, 2020 — NOAA scientists announced on 3 June that the forecast for the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic area, more commonly referred to as the “dead zone,” will be larger than average in 2020.

The current forecast of the dead zone – an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life – predicts an area of roughly 6,700 square miles, which is larger than the recent average measured size of the dead zone of 5,387 square miles. For comparison, 6,700 square miles is roughly the size of the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

As NOAA predicts larger than average Gulf dead zone, study reveals billions in damage to fish stocks

June 4, 2020 — NOAA scientists announced on 3 June that the forecast for the Gulf of Mexico hypoxic area, more commonly referred to as the “dead zone,” will be larger than average in 2020.

The current forecast of the dead zone – an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and other marine life – predicts an area of roughly 6,700 square miles, which is larger than the recent average measured size of the dead zone of 5,387 square miles. For comparison, 6,700 square miles is roughly the size of the U.S. states of Rhode Island and Connecticut combined.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Marine economy in 2018 grew faster than U.S. overall

June 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA:

America’s marine economy, including goods and services, contributed about $373 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product in 2018 and grew faster than the nation’s economy as a whole, according to the marine economy statistics released today by two Department of Commerce agencies.

“These statistics are the first-of-its-kind estimate of the U.S. marine economy, a primary driver of jobs, innovation and economic growth,” said retired Navy Rear Admiral Tim Gallaudet, Ph.D., assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator. “Data such as these provide a critical baseline to inform, track progress and accelerate America’s economic recovery.”

For these statistics, experts from NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis considered 10 sectors representing businesses dependent on the nation’s oceans, coasts and Great Lakes between the years 2014 and 2018. Marine-related gross domestic product grew 5.8% from 2017 to 2018, faster than the 5.4% growth of the total U.S. gross domestic product as measured in current dollars. Businesses included in the report also supported 2.3 million jobs in 2018.

“The marine economy statistics clarify just how dependent America is on our waters,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. “It is nearly impossible for most Americans to go a single day without eating, wearing or using products that come from or through our coastal communities.”

“For the first time, the United States has ocean data that can be compared with our official statistics on other U.S. industries and with the ocean economies of other nations,” said Mary Bohman, BEA’s acting director. “These prototype statistics offer a baseline for understanding the importance of the ocean economy, including recreation, seafood, transportation and ship building. Businesses, policymakers, and coastal communities can use these economic data as a compass as they chart the way forward.”

The sectors making the largest contributions to the nation’s gross domestic product, not adjusted for inflation, are:

  • Tourism and recreation, including recreational fishing ($143 billion)
  • National defense and public administration ($124 billion)
  • Offshore minerals ($49 billion)
  • Transportation and warehousing ($25 billion)
  • Living resources, including commercial fishing and aquaculture ($13 billion)
  • Ship and boat building ($9 billion)
  • Power generation ($4 billion)
  • Research and education ($3 billion)
  • Construction ($2.5 billion)
  • Professional and technical services ($31 million)

These prototype statistics are the most comprehensive and accurate produced to date, thanks to the addition of newer, more inclusive data sets. The economic statistics validate previous estimates of the value of the marine economy. The data, report and other materials are available at https://www.bea.gov/data/special-topics/ocean-economy Send any comments or questions to OceanEconomy@noaa.gov.

NOAA hosts virtual meeting to discuss offshore mapping progress in Alaska

May 19, 2020 — Last week, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) held a virtual meeting of the Hydrographic Services Review Panel (HSRP) to discuss progress made in the offshore mapping of Alaska, among other topics.

The HSRP is a federal advisory committee comprised of stakeholders who assists in advising NOAA on navigation-related products, data, and services.

Read the full story at Seafood Source