Saving Seafood

New advisors for NOAA marine fisheries

April 13, 2022 — Seven new members from fisheries and environmental groups were recently appointed to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee.

The new appointments by Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo brings the panel up to its full complement of 21 members, who advise the Department of Commerce and NOAA on living marine resources.

The seven new members are:

• Natasha Hayden, Kodiak, Alaska: Vice President of Lands & Natural Resources, Afognak Native Corporation

• Meredith Moore, Washington, D.C.: Director, Fish Conservation Program, Ocean Conservancy

• Linda O’Dierno, Somers, N.Y.: Fish and seafood development specialist

• Jocelyn Runnebaum, Ph.D., Bath, Maine: Fisheries Project Manager, Nature Conservancy

• Sarah Schumann, Warren, R.I.: Owner/principal, Shining Sea Fisheries Consulting, LLC

• Clayward Tam, Kailua, Hawaii: Cooperative Fisheries Research Coordinator, Pacific Islands Fisheries Group

• Brett Veerhusen, Seattle, Wash.: Principal, Ocean Strategies, Inc.

“These new members have such a rich and diverse background working across a wide range of fisheries, seafood, and marine resource issues,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NMFS pushing observer safety as it steps up Northeast coverage

April 8, 2022 — Federal fisheries law enforcement officials say they are intent on ensuring the safety of observers and at-sea monitors in the Northeast, as the National Marine Fisheries Service increases coverage of the groundfish fleet.

In May 2022, a new rule will go into effect that requires a major increase in observer coverage for the groundfish sector vessels in the Northeast. In addition, NMFS will implement new observer requirements for herring and some scallop vessels.

“We take observer and monitor safety seriously and we want vessel owners, captains, and crew to take it seriously, too,” said Jeffrey Ray, the Assistant Director of the Northeast Division for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of Law Enforcement, in a statement issued in March. “It is illegal to interfere with or harass federal fisheries observers in any way while they are near or aboard your vessel. No exceptions.”

OLE agents will conduct more operations “focused on observer safety and preventing harassment and interference,” according to the agency.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Vessel tracking to start in 2023

April 7, 2022 — All lobster and Jonah crab fishermen in federal waters will soon need electronic tracking devices on their vessels while fishing there.

On March 31, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission (ASMFC) approved addendums to the Interstate Fishery Management Plan for American Lobster and the Jonah Crab, to take effect in 2023.

First, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries must implement the new requirement through the federal rulemaking process.

The new requirement, in Addendum XXIX to the American Lobster Management Plan and Addendum IV to the Jonah Crab Management Plan, is aimed at collecting high-resolution, spatial and temporal data to help manage the fisheries, by tracking the location of vessels minute by minute for up to 90 percent of the vessel’s time in the water.

Read the full story at The Ellsworth American 

Trawler critics aim to appeal court’s herring decision

April 6, 2022 — Gulf of Maine fishermen are looking to appeal a federal judge’s reversal of an exclusion zone that keeps herring mid-water trawlers 12 miles offshore.

The March 4 ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Leo Sorokin in Boston could reopen some Northeast waters to mid-water herring trawlers, reversing the 2019 rule change that shut them out of a broad swath of the nearshore Atlantic from Long Island to the Canadian border.

In November 2019 the National Marine Fisheries Service approved a measure by the New England Fishery Management Council to create an exclusion zone for mid-water trawling 12 miles offshore – with a bump out to 20 miles east of Cape Cod.

The Sustainable Fisheries Coalition, representing trawl operators, brought their appeal soon after to the federal court, arguing the New England council’s science advisors could not identify adverse impacts, and that trawling critics brought more influence to bear on the council and NMFS.

In his opinion Judge Sorokin wrote that the “localized depletion” concept put forth by those in opposition to the mid-water trawlers has not been adequately defined by NMFS, leading him to decide the exclusion zone decision violated National Standard 4 of the Magnuson-Steven Fishery Management and Conservation Act.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

East Coast fisheries ‘climate scenario’ workshop planned

April 5, 2022 — East Coast fisheries managers will host a June 21-23 workshop with fishermen and other stakeholders to develop possible scenarios for how management could adapt to shifting fishing stocks and biological and economic changes coming with climate change.

Since late 2020 the East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Initiative, fishery scientists and managers have been “working collaboratively and engaging diverse fishery stakeholders to explore jurisdictional and governance issues related to climate change and shifting fishery stocks,” according to the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

The initiative is a joint project of the Mid-Atlantic, New England and South Atlantic fishery management councils, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and NMFS.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Working with West Coast Tribes to Protect Endangered Species

April 5, 2022 — In late 2019, the National Science Foundation proposed to fund a high-energy seismic research survey in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. It would take place off the coasts of Oregon, Washington, and Vancouver Island in the summer of 2021. These surveys inform earthquake and tsunami hazards in the highly populated Pacific Northwest. The surveys deploy airguns, which create sound waves that transmit through the water. Any marine life in the area could be affected by the sound, including salmon and Southern resident killer whales, which are culturally important to many Pacific Northwest Tribes.

Through an academic study, the National Science Foundation  proposed a marine geophysical survey to collect geological data from Cascadia Subduction Zone. To collect the survey data, the National Science Foundation Research Vessel Marcus G. Langserh would tow airguns that send out sound waves into the water.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

 

Are the whales leaving? Gulf of Maine research raises questions about new lobstering rules

April 1, 2022 — As the Gulf of Maine’s waters warm, recent studies show the main food source of the endangered North Atlantic right whale is moving north, out of Maine waters. And the whales appear to be following them.

Such findings haven’t escaped the notice of the Maine lobster industry, which has been referencing them in its legal arguments as to why impending new federal restrictions on lobstering gear won’t help save the whales. Its members have pointed to recent studies that suggest the relocation of copepods – small aquatic crustaceans that make up the whales’ preferred diet – is not just a temporary phenomenon but a long-term trend.

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service arguing that its 10-year conservation plan to protect right whales, primarily by requiring commercial fishing gear modifications such as using breakaway rope and deploying more traps per line, is not based on the best available science. The new gear restrictions are set to take effect May 1 despite ongoing legal challenges by the lobster industry and repeated protests by government officials.

“(The association is) asking the court to require the agency to develop a new plan based on sound science that would protect both the whale and the lobster industry,” said Patrice McCarron, the group’s executive director.

Read the full story at the Sun Journal

DNA in water samples can help document Alaska fish communities

April 1, 2022 — Scientists with the National Marine Fisheries Service and University of Alaska have shown how an innovative DNA technology can be used to document the fish species that use Southeast Alaska’s nearshore waters.

For all its rich fisheries, Alaska’s geography, diverse coastal habitats and dynamic sea conditions make it challenging to study them using traditional sampling gear.

The scientists recently demonstrated that environmental DNA (eDNA) metabarcoding can characterize nearshore fish communities in different marine habitats and tidal conditions in Southeast Alaska. The researchers’ organizations included the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Auke Bay Laboratories; University of Alaska Fairbanks’ College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences; and the NMFS Alaska Regional Office’s Habitat Conservation Division.

“Environmental or eDNA can revolutionize how we assess nearshore fish communities in Alaska,” said Wes Larson, manager of the NMFS Alaska science center’s genetics program, in a narrative of the project released this week by NMFS.

“Traditionally, the only way to sample nearshore fish communities is by using beach seines or similar gear types set from either shore or small boats,” said Larson. “Now we have another technique for generating similar data sets analyzing a simple water sample with eDNA metabarcoding.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

NOAA Fisheries Designates Critical Habitat for Ringed and Bearded Seals in U.S. Arctic

April 1, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries is designating critical habitat in U.S. waters off the coast of Alaska for Arctic ringed seals and the Beringia distinct population segment (DPS) of bearded seals. Both species are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA).

The ESA requires that NOAA Fisheries designate critical habitat for listed species in areas within the jurisdiction of the United States.

Critical habitat identifies geographic areas that contain features essential to the conservation of a listed species.

For each species, the critical habitat area includes marine waters of the northern Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort seas. The critical habitat boundaries differ between the two species, reflecting differences in where the essential habitat features for each species are found. For each of the designations, the geographic extent of the critical habitat is discussed in detail in the final rule and is depicted on a map.

The final rule to designate critical habitat for Arctic ringed seals excludes an area of the Beaufort Sea used by the Navy for training and testing activities, based on national security impacts.

NOAA Fisheries considered public comments on the proposed designation, and used the best scientific data available, including independent peer review. Before designating critical habitat, we gave careful consideration to potential economic, national security, and other relevant factors.

Read the full story from NOAA Fisheries

Meet Janet Coit, NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator

March 30, 2022 — To wrap up Women’s History Month, we sat down with Janet Coit, NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator, to find out more about her career path, passions, and perspective on leading NOAA Fisheries. Explore her answers below.

Tell us a little about yourself. What are a few words that describe you?

I am a mom, wife, daughter, and sister. A reader. A conservationist, who has always loved nature and learning. I am an extrovert, drawing energy from people. But I need time to myself and like to restore my soul in nature. The older I get, the more I realize the importance of spending time with friends and loved ones. I am also super passionate about making a difference in the world.

Where did you grow up?

Little known fact: I did not grow up on the coast! I grew up in Syracuse, New York, the hub of New York State. I fell in love with nature at my family’s very rustic camp—or cabin—in the Adirondacks. We have a place you can get to by boat with no electricity and no plumbing! Yes, that means an outhouse. But this place was a North Star in my life. It’s still “off the grid,” and helped me appreciate wild places. That connection to a natural place seems to be at the heart of many careers in conservation and environmental policy. For those in the fisheries world, maybe that’s out on an estuary or on the open ocean. I still visit the cabin and feel every cell expand when I’m there. My children have grown up there, too.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries