Saving Seafood

NOAA awards education grants of $30 million each to two HBCUs to increase diversity in STEM Workforce

September 23, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As part of NOAA’s continuing long-term commitment to ensuring a future NOAA workforce that is representative of the nation’s population, the agency has awarded grants of up to $30 million, over a five-year period, to two Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Florida A&M University and the University of Maryland Eastern Shore.

“Our nation’s HBCU’s are a precious resource that foster growth, opportunity, and ingenuity, serving as vital incubators for Black innovation and excellence,” said U.S. Department of Commerce Deputy Secretary Don Graves. “Earlier this month, President Biden issued a proclamation to honor and celebrate these critical institutions and these grants further that charge by supporting the next generation of HBCU scientists, researchers and engineers. I am hopeful that these bright minds will eventually find their way towards federal service and help ensure that agencies like NOAA continue to benefit from diversity and inclusion.”

“These grants will strengthen the federal workforce by promoting and advancing diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility,” said Rick Spinrad, Ph.D., NOAA administrator. “This funding will directly benefit students at minority serving institutions who we hope will join the future NOAA workforce and who will contribute to U.S. global economic competitiveness.”

NOAA’s ongoing partnership with Minority Serving Institutions (MSIs) is part of the efforts to provide opportunities for students from traditionally underserved communities. These awards provide NOAA the opportunity to train and recruit MSI graduates, who are an underutilized resource to advance America’s competitiveness in science and technology innovation.

These awards, delivered through NOAA’s Educational Partnership Program with Minority Serving Institutions (EPP/MSI) Cooperative Science Centers at the two universities, will train and graduate students in coastal and marine ecosystems and in living marine resources science and management, which are core science fields for NOAA.

The award to the Cooperative Science Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems at Florida A&M University will increase the number of graduates with the skills and competencies necessary to support resilient coastal communities and economies.

“I must state first how much we welcome this opportunity to expand our ability to contribute to the well-being of coastal communities and ecosystems around the nation,” said Larry Robinson, Ph.D., president, Florida A&M University and principal investigator of the Center for Coastal and Marine Ecosystems. “Our deliberate engagement of underrepresented minorities in education, research and outreach will not only enhance diversity in the NOAA-related coastal and marine science and policy workforce, but also ensure that we stay attuned to the needs of our most vulnerable populations as solutions are developed.”

The award to the Cooperative Science Center for Living Marine Resources at the University of Maryland Eastern Shore will provide education, research, and training to students in areas relevant to the NOAA Fisheries mission as well as to NOAA’s healthy oceans research and management priorities.

“We are absolutely excited about this new Center award, and are deeply grateful to NOAA for its continued confidence in this endeavor,” said UMES President Heidi Anderson, Ph.D. “This investment will be invaluable in enabling the University of Maryland Eastern Shore together with its partner institutions to build on its excellent record of training and graduating a diverse future STEM workforce, particularly in marine and fisheries science.”

Since 2001, NOAA’s EPP/MSI Cooperative Science Centers have awarded 2,135 post-secondary degrees to students in NOAA mission-related STEM, natural resource management, and policy fields with funding support from the agency. An additional 258 students are currently pursuing degrees through these programs. Upon graduation, EPP/MSI-supported students are qualified to join the STEM workforce at NOAA, other natural resources and environment agencies, academia, the private sector, and non-governmental organizations.

These awards have also supported capacity building in NOAA-mission sciences at EPP/MSI centers. Since 2003, EPP center institutions have supported 35% of the PhDs earned by African American graduates in marine science and 30% of the PhDs earned by African American graduates in environmental sciences, as well as 39% of the PhDs earned by Latino graduates in marine science, and 19% of the PhDs earned by Latino graduates in environmental science.

The goal of NOAA’s EPP/MSI is to increase the number of students, particularly from traditionally underrepresented and historically excluded communities, who are educated and graduate in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, natural resource management and policy fields that directly support NOAA’s mission. These awards also provide NOAA’s subject matter experts as student mentors. Additionally, NOAA employees engage in substantial collaboration and engagement in research and professional development to ensure EPP/MSI graduates are ready to join and contribute to the future workforce in career paths aligned with the NOAA mission.

 

What Fish Fat Can Tell About the Value of Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Habitat

September 22, 2021 — Rockfish have an affinity for structure, whether it is created by rocks, corals, or sponges. But do deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems offer benefits beyond structure? Are fish in these habitats more productive?

A new NOAA Fisheries study is the first to look at the relationship between fish condition and reproductive success in a variety of habitats, focusing on deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems. As part of the study, scientists are developing methods to accurately assess rockfish condition by measuring fat content. For rockfish in Alaska, fat means healthy.

The study looked at the most commercially important rockfish in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleutian Islands: northern rockfish and Pacific ocean perch. Samples are being collected during 2021–2022 Alaska Fisheries Science Center bottom trawl surveys.

The research addresses a priority of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council: understanding the importance of deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems to commercially valuable fish.

“Developing a feasible method to accurately measure fish condition across  Alaska waters during annual surveys will provide a wealth of data to help us understand how habitat influences fish productivity. That knowledge will also help us track how climate change is affecting the ecosystem,” said study leader Christina Conrath, NOAA Fisheries biologist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

The new project is part of NOAA’s Alaska Deep-Sea Coral and Sponge Initiative, which is supported by the Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program. The initiative was established to provide the scientific data needed to inform management and protection of deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems in Alaska. Discoveries made previously and under this initiative have greatly advanced our knowledge of corals and sponges and their role in Alaska marine ecosystems.

Rockfish in Alaska waters are frequently found in coral and sponge habitat. Previous Alaska Fisheries Science Center research found that rockfish densities were highest in structurally complex habitat. But that research showed no evidence that structure created by corals and sponges was more important than that formed by rocks.

“We know that rockfish get value from structure. But we don’t really have evidence yet that coral and sponge habitat offers benefits beyond structure,” Conrath said. “We’re exploring that.”

Read the full story from NOAA

 

Maine’s Next Generation Of Lobstermen Brace For Unprecedented Change

September 20, 2021 — The latest federal rule, announced on Aug. 31 by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is part of a plan to stop endangered North Atlantic right whales from getting caught in fishing gear by 2030.

The agency estimates that the population’s decline has accelerated in recent years, with 368 right whales remaining. NOAA has documented 34 right whale deaths since 2017, with at least nine of those mortalities confirmed to have been caused by entanglements in fishing gear, including gear used by commercial gillnet or lobster and crab fisheries on the East Coast.

NOAA’s new rule requires lobstermen to use gear with state-specific markings that can be traced if a whale gets caught, among other modifications such as weak points in fishing lines that allow entangled whales to break free. The rule will also allow lobstermen to use so-called ropeless gear — a costly and controversial new technology that’s still in the early stages of development — in fishing areas that will be closed in certain seasons.

“The beauty of the lobster industry is that there’s been a place for everybody,” says Patrice McCarron, executive director of the Maine Lobstermen’s Association. “We’re at risk of putting too many barriers in that are really going to create winners and losers, so it’s scary.”

McCarron says fishermen want to do their part to protect whales, but she says no Maine lobster gear has ever been confirmed to have caused the serious injury or death of a right whale. A NOAA spokesperson counters that its scientists are unable to determine the source of most entanglements and nearly half of mortalities go unobserved.

Read the full story at NPR

 

NMFS funding $2.2 million for bycatch reduction projects

September 17, 2021 — NMFS funding $2.2 million for bycatch reduction projects. Federal officials announced $2.2 million in funding is being awarded to partners around the U.S. to support innovative research through the NMFS Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program.

Incidental bycatch of non-target fish, protected marine mammals and sea turtles “can have significant biological, economic, and social impacts,” NMFS said in announcing the awards.

“Preventing and reducing bycatch is a shared goal of fisheries managers, the fishing industry, and the environmental community. Working side-by-side with fishermen on their boats we’ve developed solutions to some of the top bycatch challenges facing our nation’s fisheries.”

At the top of this year’s list are projects to develop so-called ropeless gear for the Northeast lobster and other fixed-gear fisheries, to reduce entanglement incidents with the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale population, recently estimated to number less than 400 animals.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Scientists to Evaluate Impacts of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument Expansion

September 16, 2021 — The following was released by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council:

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) suggested developing a working group to evaluate the impacts of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument (PMNM) expansion on Hawai‘i-based fisheries. Several recently published peer-review scientific papers show differing impacts and are unclear on this contentious issue.

In 2016, President Obama issued a proclamation to expand the existing monument from 50 to 200 nautical miles around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI). Council and Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center (PIFSC) staffs and the SSC would work jointly to examine the expansion’s potential local economic and other impacts, and determine whether the area is achieving its stated management objectives. The working group would share its results with the eight Regional Fishery Management Councils that are providing feedback on President Biden’s 30×30 area-based management initiative.

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries is in the initial stages of responding to the president’s request to initiate a new designation process for a NWHI sanctuary. As part of this process, the Council is afforded the opportunity to provide input on any potential fishing regulations. The National Marine Sanctuaries Act designation process requires compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act, the Magnuson-Stevens Act and other applicable laws. This was circumvented by the presidential proclamations to create the PMNM in 2006 and the expanded area in 2016, which effectively cut out the local community’s engagement and input on the matter.

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PIFSC presented a research plan to the SSC on investigating the impact of imports on the Hawai‘i fish market. Recently, the price of bigeye ahi exceeded $20 per pound at the market—several times more than what buyers usually pay. Prices then stayed around $11–12 per pound and cooled off to $7–8 per pound during the second week in August.

The Hawai‘i market had an extreme shortage of foreign-sourced pelagic fish products and an overall decreased supply in the local market—mainly from local Hawaiian fisheries. The supply shortage, coupled with the increase in tourism after COVID-19 restrictions were partially lifted, created a “perfect storm” for the consumer.

The SSC suggested that consumer choice and fish substitution be incorporated into PIFSC’s model to attempt to discern the true value difference between fish species. Fish originating from different locations outside of Hawai‘i are not equivalent in terms of quality or type of fish. PIFSC anticipates the final report will be available for review in August 2022.

The SSC meeting continues through tomorrow, Sept. 16, 2021. Instructions on connecting to the web conference, agenda and briefing documents are posted at www.wpcouncil.org/event/141st-scientific-and-statistical-committee-virtual-meeting.

 

Potential Groundfish Sector Monitoring Providers

September 15, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

If your company is not currently an approved at-sea monitoring (ASM) and/or electronic monitoring (EM) provider and you would like to provide monitoring services to groundfish sectors in fishing year 2022 (May 1, 2022, through April 30, 2023), you must submit an application by October 15, 2021.  Companies already approved to provide ASM or EM services in fishing years 2021 and 2022 do not need to apply again in order to provide those services in 2022.  Companies not already approved to provide either ASM or EM services in fishing years 2021 and 2022 need to apply for approval for the respective service in 2022.

Applications must include a cover letter and the information and statements identified in the regulations at 50 CFR 648.87(b)(4).  In your cover letter, please specify whether you are interested in providing ASM services, EM services, or both.  Companies interested in providing both ASM and EM services must develop separate ASM and EM deployment plans to meet the service provider performance standards (§ 648.87(b)(4)(ii)(A)).

We will review your application in accordance with the third-party monitoring provider standards (§ 648.87(b)(4) and (5)).  Please review the regulations describing ASM and EM provider and operational standards carefully, including the requirements for signed statements.  Approvals will cover fishing year 2022, and final decisions will be published in the Federal Register.  There will be a future opportunity to apply for a two-year approval for fishing years 2023 and 2024.

Please use Kiteworks, a secure file-sharing service, to submit the requested documents by October 15, 2021, to Claire Fitz-Gerald and Kyle Molton.  If you need help creating a Kiteworks account, please contact Claire Fitz-Gerald for assistance. The bulletin announcement can be found here.

 

NOAA Fisheries Will Announce Over $3.7 Million of Grants Awarded Through the FY 2021 Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grants Program

September 15, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

These Prescott Grants support a core mission of NOAA Fisheries— the conservation and recovery of protected marine species—by helping to improve our national marine mammal stranding response capabilities. Through this program, we have provided $67.5 million over the past two decades, and our stranding network partners have provided, at minimum, an additional $28.3 million in matching funds, to build a strong network of over 100 trained, professional partners. These trained professionals and volunteers provide valuable environmental intelligence as they respond to marine mammals in distress, helping NOAA establish links among the health of marine mammals, coastal ecosystems, and coastal communities.

For FY 2021, NOAA Fisheries awarded 55 grants to 50 recipients in 19 states and one tribe, representing marine mammal stranding network partners from every NOAA Fisheries Region. Additional information about this successful program can be found here.

Regional breakdown of the FY 2021 Prescott Grant awards (detailed table below):

  • Greater Atlantic Region: 11 awards (total $913,262)
  • Southeast Region: 10 awards (total $675,124)
  • West Coast Region: 21 awards (total $1,223,913)
  • Alaska Region: 4 awards (total $243,070)
  • Pacific Islands Region: 2 awards (total $195,000)
  • National: 7 awards (total $465,102) are for projects that meet national research or services needs (diagnostics, tagging, etc.) across regions.

Additionally, NOAA is announcing that the application deadline for FY 2022 Prescott grants is October 13, 2021.

 

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rule to Implement the Bluefish Allocation and Rebuilding Amendment

September 13, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries proposes measures for Amendment 7 to the Atlantic Bluefish Fishery Management Plan (FMP), as adopted by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The purpose of this comprehensive amendment is to update the FMP with the best scientific information available and to respond to changes in the fishery over time. Specifically, this action proposes to:

  • Update the Bluefish FMP goals and objectives from those that were initially established in 1991, to better reflect the current fishery.
  • Re-allocate bluefish quota between fishery sectors; allocating 14 percent to the commercial fishery and 86 percent to the recreational fishery.
  • Re-allocate bluefish commercial quota to the states from Maine to Florida based on recent 10 years of landings data including a 0.1-percent minimum default allocation. This change in commercial allocation to the states would be phased in equally over a period of seven years, so each state would only experience 1/7th percent of the change in allocation until 2028.
  • Implement a 7-year rebuilding plan.
  • Revise the sector quota transfer measures to allow quota to be transferred in either direction (from commercial to recreational sector or vice versa), with a revised maximum transfer cap of 10-percent of the acceptable biological catch.
  • Revise how management uncertainty is accounted for in the specifications process. Currently, the fishery-level annual catch limit may be reduced by a buffer to account for sources of management uncertainty before quota is allocated to the fishery sectors. This amendment proposes that management uncertainty to be applied separately within each sector, after the sector split.

For more information, read the proposed rule as published in the Federal Register, and submit your comments through the online portal. 

The comment period is open through October 13, 2021.

 

Commercial Closure for Red Snapper in South Atlantic Federal Waters on September 14, 2021

September 9, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

What/When:

  • The commercial harvest of red snapper in federal waters of the South Atlantic will close at 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 14, 2021. During the commercial closure, all sale or purchase of red snapper is prohibited.
  • All harvest or possession of red snapper in or from South Atlantic federal waters is now prohibited, as the recreational fishing season is also closed for 2021.

Why This Closure is Happening:

  • The commercial catch limit is 124,815 pounds whole weight. Commercial landings are projected to reach the commercial catch limit. According to the accountability measure, harvest must close to prevent the commercial catch limit from being exceeded.

After the Closure:

  • The closure applies in both state and federal waters for vessels that have a federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper, regardless of where such fish are harvested or possessed, i.e.,in state or federal waters.
  • The prohibition on sale or purchase during a closure for red snapper does not apply to fish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, on September 14, 2021, and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
  • Unless specified otherwise, commercial harvest will open on July 11, 2022, for the 2022 commercial fishing season.

This bulletin provides only a summary of the existing regulations. Full regulations can be found in the Federal Register or at https://www.ecfr.gov/cgi-bin/text-idx?SID=383bc195ccbeab4fd6bec1c24905df34&node=sp50.12.622.i&rgn=div6#se50.12.622_1193.

 

Winter red king crab fishery in Alaska’s Bering Sea canceled

September 9, 2021 — Low stocks have prompted the U.S. state of Alaska to cancel the red king crab fishery in Alaska’s Bering Sea for winter 2021-2022 season.

After a review of the final bottom-trawl survey by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) ADFG made the announcement Friday, 3 September, saying the stock was “below the regulatory threshold for opening a fishery.” ADFG said more details about the closure will be provided during the TAC meeting in early October.

Read the full story at Seafood Source