Saving Seafood

2022 Fall Bottom Trawl Survey Completed in Northeast

December 3, 2022 — On November 16, Northeast Fisheries Science Center staff finished the 2022 fall bottom trawl survey aboard the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow. Those aboard conducted resource survey tows and temperature and salinity sampling at 308 of 377 planned stations (82 percent completion). They sampled for plankton at 95 of 116 planned stations (82 percent completion).

This year’s fall survey occurred in three legs, moving from south to north. The survey got underway on September 10 and concluded on November 15. Multiple cases of COVID-19 resulted in the loss of 14 sea days during the first two legs of the survey.

The Henry B. Bigelow supports a variety of marine research. However, this multispecies bottom-trawl survey is the most important of its missions for monitoring the region’s fishery resources.

Temperature and salinity profiles collected during the survey help link fish distribution to physical oceanographic conditions. Ichthyoplankton (larval fish and eggs) collected help with understanding spawning distributions and with estimating changes in fish abundance. Zooplankton (tiny animals and immature stages of some larger ones) collected tell researchers about the ocean food web. They are used to construct models that support ecosystem-based fisheries management.

This long-running survey monitors fishery stock abundance and distribution on the Northwest Atlantic continental shelf from Cape Lookout, North Carolina, to the Scotian Shelf. Data collected include fish age, length, weight, sex, maturity and food habits information. These are critical inputs to regional fish stock assessments helping to inform fishery management decisions by the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils as well as Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

The bottom of the Bering and Chukchi seas could become too warm for some important species

December 1, 2022 — There is danger lurking on the floor of the Bering and Chukchi seas for mussels, snails, clams, worms and other cold-water invertebrates, according to a new study led by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists.

If climate change continues its current trajectory, the Bering and Chukchi seafloor areas will be too warm for those creatures by the end of the century.

In turn, that means trouble for walruses and other marine species. Snails and mussels are particularly important to commercially harvested fish like halibut and yellowfin sole, along with being prey for the Pacific walruses that gather in the summer in the northern Bering and southern Chukchi seas. The Bering Sea is part of the North Pacific Ocean south of the Bering Strait that separates Alaska from Russia, while the Chukchi Sea is part of the Arctic Ocean just north of the strait.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

FLORIDA: FWC not on board with NOAA’s proposed right whale-related vessel speed restrictions

December 1, 2022 — Scientists believe there are fewer than 340 total North Atlantic right whales remaining.

New rules drawn up to protect North Atlantic right whales in their southern calving grounds picked up opposition from charter boat captains, port operations and now the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC).

A 10-knot vessel speed rule was in effect for areas where right whales transit, but it was for vessels 65 feet or longer. The new rule drops the length to 35 feet, with the speed zone in effect Nov. 15-April 15 each calving season.

“The issues here are strikes from boats killing the right whales, and fishing entanglements,” FWC Executive Director Eric Sutton said during the Commission’s meetings in Panama City. “There’s no doubt that the right whales are critically endangered, and there’s no doubt that boat strikes are one of the leading causes.”

Read the full article at Florida Politics

How ORCA can help NOAA Fisheries observers

December 1, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries observers  face a daunting task on commercial fishing vessels to do their job and record key data as the crew hauls in catch. Project ORCA may change this soon… and ORCA 2 is coming next.

The killer whale, also known as orca, is the ocean’s top predator. There is another ORCA, though, the Onboard Record Collection Application project – or ORCA for short – that will reign supreme by making paper forms obsolete for observers on commercial fishing vessels, as they transition to a tablet for instantly and accurately enter the vital data they collect .

The project is an initiative of the West Coast Region Observer Program (WCROP) which also has the support of the Pacific Islands Region Observer Program ((PIROP)), and the Pacific Fisheries Information Network to Develop Electronic Reporting for Pelagic HMS Fisheries Observers.

The joint project goal to develop electronic reporting (ER) for HMS fisheries observers (e.g., drift gillnet, setnet, deep-set buoy, and longline) is a focus area of the HMS PSG. The WCROP and PIROP place NOAA Fisheries-trained observers aboard fishing vessels with the primary focus of monitoring the incidental take of protected species, and additionally to record details on fishing activity, gear configuration, as well as the catch and disposition of target and non-target fish.

Recording key data on commercial fishing vessels is often a daunting task for NOAA Fisheries observers, who need to do their job as the boat rocks and the wind blows hard, while shuffling through different waterproof paper forms, to register different details. That’s about to change, though, as observers on the West Coast are transitioning from paper forms to a more efficient and accurate tablet-based system.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA, NFWF to award $136 million for coastal resilience

November 30, 2022 — NOAA and The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) will award a record amount to support natural infrastructure projects in 29 states and U.S. territories. This investment in coastal resilience will fund projects that will help communities prepare for increasing coastal flooding and more intense storms, while improving thousands of acres of coastal habitats.

WHO

NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. NFWF Chief Conservation Officer Holly Bamford, Ph.D. Shell USA Chelsey Martin, Washington State Dept of Transportation  Cassidy Lejeune, Ducks Unlimited  Eric Sparks, Mississippi State University    WHEN 

Tuesday, Dec. 6 at 12:00 p.m. CST   

WHERE 

In-person: Hilton New Orleans, River Room (Two Poydras Street, New Orleans, LA, 70130)  Virtual option: click here to register – https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5axFsbohQl67d-DzqLgHOw   The press conference will take place during the 2022 Coastal and Estuarine Summitoffsite link hosted by Restore America’s Estuaries.   

BACKGROUND 

The National Coastal Resilience Fundoffsite link invests in conservation projects that restore or expand natural features such as coastal marshes and wetlands, dune and beach systems, oyster and coral reefs, forests, coastal rivers and floodplains, and barrier islands that minimize the impacts of storms and other naturally occurring events on nearby communities. The National Coastal Resilience Fund is a partnership between NFWF, NOAA, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), Shell USA, TransRe and Oxy, with additional funding this year from the Bezos Earth Fund. NFWF launched the National Coastal Resilience Fund in 2018, in partnership with NOAA and joined initially by Shell USA and TransRe

NOAA scientists propose more protection for right whales in offshore wind area

November 30, 2022 — The following is an excerpt from an article published by the New Bedford Light:

As America’s offshore wind industry gets ready to launch new clean energy projects off the coast of Martha’s Vineyard, conservationists and federal scientists have communicated worries over how the installations could harm the endangered North Atlantic right whale, now numbering an estimated 340.

In light of these potential threats, a federal scientist proposed a “conservation buffer” zone — or area of no wind turbines — of about 10 nautical miles adjacent to the Nantucket shoals and seemingly overlapping with offshore wind development planned in southern New England.

Sean Hayes, chief of the protected species branch at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and the letter’s signatory, proposed the buffer zone in a letter this spring to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) — the lead regulator for offshore wind development. According to maps of the wind lease areas, the proposed 20-kilometer buffer beginning at an area called the “30-meter isobath” in the shoals appears to overlap with an eastern portion of the Massachusetts-Rhode Island wind energy area.

Scientists in a 2022 New England Aquarium-led study found an increasing trend of right whales in the waters off of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket during all seasons (instead of just in the winter and spring) and cited climate change as a possible driver with a warming ocean shifting the whales’ feeding and migration patterns.

NOAA Fisheries submitted a public comment to BOEM for the Mayflower Wind project several months before Hayes’ letter (sent in May of this year) that included a similar proposal. While not explicitly mentioning a conservation buffer zone, it recommended BOEM in its environmental impact statement (EIS) include a project alternative of no turbines in a portion of the lease.

“We recommend BOEM evaluate in the EIS an alternative that limits the portion of the lease where [wind turbine generators] can be installed, which would result in no [wind turbine generators] in the northern portion of the lease area,” said the comment letter. “This alternative would reduce project overlap with some of the highest documented densities of North Atlantic right whale aggregations in the lease area…”

The 800-megawatt Mayflower Wind project is currently under review by BOEM. Asked if the company is planning to establish turbine-free areas in the lease as a potential mitigating measure for the right whales, Daniel Hubbard, director of external affairs and general counsel for Mayflower Wind, said by email that they are reviewing information and that “as the permitting process progresses, as with all material presented, we will take it into consideration.”

Research has found turbines will likely affect tidal currents and the water column in which zooplankton (right whales’ food) are found. Whales require dense collections of zooplankton, and any disruptions to that could have “significant energetic and population consequences,” Hayes wrote, particularly for their winter feeding area.

“It’s like the perfect storm of what could go wrong,” said Erica Fuller, a senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation (CLF).

Fuller said the area in and around the New England waters where wind development is set to take place was poorly surveyed for right whales before the federal government identified it for multiple energy leases. In recent years, aerial surveys have shown it’s become a year-round foraging habitat for the whales.

Through federal authorizations, the government limits how many individuals of a given species can be incidentally (not intentionally) harassed, disturbed or injured by an activity. Commercial fishing is an existing industry that has operated with such authorizations, which are now being reviewed and given to wind developers.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Light

Forcing fishermen to pay for the privilege of being monitored

November 30, 2022 — Imagine you live somewhere in small-town America where residents routinely exceed the posted speed limits. To address this problem, the town council votes to require a police officer to ride along with each member of the community every time they venture out in an automobile.

The purpose of the new program is to make sure the speed limits are obeyed. Anyone caught speeding is fined to pay for the program. It sounds like a win-win for everyone, but there’s a problem: The people who designed the program underestimated how much it would cost — there being a fair number of people in the town who go places by car — but overestimated the amount of money it would bring in from fines assessed on people caught driving above the posted limits.

Read the full article at The Washington Times

NOAA Fisheries Announces Revised 2022 At-Sea Monitoring Coverage Target for Groundfish Sector Fishery

November 29, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries announces that for the remainder of fishing year 2022 (through April 30, 2023), sectors will be required to have human at-sea monitors on 80 percent of all vessel trips subject to the groundfish sector monitoring program (referred to as at-sea monitoring), a reduction from the 99-percent target implemented May 1, 2022. The coverage rate changed based on the specific direction in how the funds enacted in FY22 could be spent. This does not change the review rates for electronic monitoring video footage.

We will continue to reimburse 100 percent of sector at-sea monitoring costs, including electronic monitoring. The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission will continue to administer the reimbursement program for fishing year 2022.

For more information, please read our bulletin online. 

Greater Atlantic Regional Dealer Permits Are Going Paperless This Fall

November 29, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Apply Online

Greater Atlantic Region dealer permits for the 2022 permit year expire on December 31, 2022.

As of October 17, 2022, the Greater Atlantic Region switched over to using Fish Online for all dealer permit renewals. We are no longer mailing or accepting paper applications.

Fish Online is our secure online system that allows dealers a way to login using their own username and password, which is associated with their email address. Fish Online also allows owners to give access, or “entitlements,” to their office managers and other trusted people so they can submit and manage a dealer’s information through their own account.

  • Seafood dealers need to apply for and print their 2023 dealer permits from their secure Fish Online user account. This includes all permit holders, without exception.
  • We are no longer mailing issued permits, but they can be printed from the dealer’s Fish Online account.
  • A valid paper dealer permit is still required to be present and maintained at the dealer’s premises at all times. 

How NOAA Prepares for Entanglements During Whale Season in Hawaiʻi

November 25, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The team stands at the ready, each member with a specific role: grappling hook tosser, line and buoy handler, and experienced helmsperson. The grappler takes their first shot—and misses the target line. They pull the grapple back, with the line handler taking and giving slack as necessary. The grapple flies through the air once more, and this time it snags the line. In their excitement, the team members drop their gear and cheer.

“No, don’t drop the rope!” shouts Chad Yoshinaga, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands safety program manager. “That’s exactly what you don’t want to do.”

On this day in October, Yoshinaga is co-leading an on-land large whale disentanglement training for NOAA staff in Honolulu. A line of rope stands in for the fishing gear that would otherwise be tangling around and trailing a humpback whale. If this was a real-world event, the dropped grappling hook rope could have dragged someone off the boat as the whale pulled away.

When disentangling a large whale, a simple mistake is all it takes for a potentially fatal accident to occur—and NOAA is taking no chances. From now through April, thousands of kolohā (humpback whales) will be using Hawaiian waters to mate, give birth, and raise their young. If one of these whales is entangled in fishing gear, NOAA and partners will be ready to try to free the whale—safely—thanks to comprehensive training.

“Large whale disentanglement is a high-risk, low-occurrence activity,” Yoshinaga said. “We have to train each year so that when we do respond to an entanglement, we’re familiar with the gear and processes and have the muscle memory to do the work.”

A Team Effort

The community-based Hawaiian Islands Large Whale Entanglement Response Network is responsible for whale disentanglement efforts in Hawaiʻi. Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary leads the network in partnership with NOAA Fisheries. The effort is part of a larger NOAA marine mammal health program.

The network relies on the help of many partners, including:

  • State of Hawaiʻi Department of Land and Natural Resources
  • NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
  • U.S. Coast Guard
  • Marine mammal researchers
  • Fishermen and other members of the on-water community

Like any emergency response effort, whale entanglement response requires a number of roles. These partners fill the various roles, and are organized into different levels, depending on their training and experience. For example, first responders are considered Level 1. They are the first people on the scene, focusing on documenting the situation and helping other responders understand the entanglement before they arrive.

“The on-water community has and continues to perform this valuable role that is the foundation of our effort,” said Ed Lyman, Regional Large Whale Entanglement Response Coordinator. Members of the public can become first responders by completing an online training. This course teaches about whale identification and anatomy. It also instructs how to properly, safely, and legally assess, document (including with photos and videos), and report whale entanglements. They then share this information with highly trained and experienced disentanglement experts authorized to respond.

More advanced levels of responders, including NOAA staff and U.S. Coast Guard service members, go through years of training.

“The Large Whale Entanglement Response Program is standardized across the United States,” said Diana Kramer, NOAA Pacific Islands regional stranding coordinator. “There are some variations in techniques depending on the species and the behavior of the whales. But the underlying process, format of the training, response authorizations, the key concepts, and, most importantly, the safety and the gear are the same across the nation.”

Thorough Training

In the Pacific Islands region, NOAA holds training on Oʻahu, Hawaiʻi Island, Maui, and Kauaʻi.

“Freeing a 40-ton, free-swimming whale, which likely does not realize you are there to help it, poses risks to whales and responders alike,” Lyman said. “Getting the appropriate experience, conducting training, and having the right tools can reduce those risks. In doing so, we may not only save some whales, but also gain valuable information towards reducing the risk associated with large whale entanglements.”

It all begins with classroom instruction. This includes an introduction to the network and the distinct roles, responsibilities, and authorization levels of responders. Case studies illustrate the various ways in which whales may be entangled and what can occur during entanglement efforts.

Next comes on-land training, during which participants learn how to use whale disentanglement tools. Working in small teams used in actual entanglement efforts, the trainees practice tossing grappling hooks and snagging a taut rope with hooks attached to long poles. They also learn how to set up and use satellite receivers that track entangled whales over several days, weeks, or months (and over large geographic areas). They also learn to use  important communication and monitoring technology.

“We have specialized tools and very specific procedures,” Yoshinaga said. “Our processes and tools are constantly evolving as technology evolves and in response to the gear and debris we’re seeing on the whales.”

There are no companies that make equipment for large whale entanglement response. NOAA modifies existing tools and purchases custom-made tools to fit disentanglement needs.  “Because of that, there’s a lot of innovation that goes on in the program,” Kramer said. Trainees are also encouraged to suggest novel techniques to improve on existing procedures. NOAA puts all new tools and techniques through rigorous vetting before sharing them with entanglement response programs across the nation. The safety of the disentanglement crew always comes first.

During the final part of the training, participants apply their knowledge and skills to a moving target—a buoy being dragged behind a small boat. Trainees must be able to catch the buoy’s rope with specialized tools and assist in supportive roles from both NOAA and U.S. Coast Guard boats.

“Our station crews are skilled in operating boats, but may not be familiar with whale behavior, operating around whales, and the latest entanglement response technology,” said Maile Norman, living marine resources specialist with the U.S. Coast Guard District Fourteen. “The annual training spearheaded by the Hawaiian Islands Large Whale Entanglement Response Network is absolutely critical to preparing our crews for the inherent risks associated with entanglement response so that it can be done safely.”

How You Can Help

Approaching a large, entangled whale is extremely dangerous for both people and the animals. The whales are unpredictable, and they’re also protected by law.  “Adaptability is key here, as is patience,” Yoshinaga said, explaining that disentanglement efforts can take days, if not weeks. Successful entanglement responses would not be possible without all of the partners in the network. This includes on-water members of the public, who should never attempt to approach or free an entangled whale.

“The most important thing that people can do if they’re out on the water and they see an entangled large whale—or any entangled marine mammal—is report it,” Kramer said. Those who have taken the online first responder training will know what to do. Call (888) 256-9840, or report to the U.S. Coast Guard on VHF CH-16, and provide as much information as you can to the operator, including:

  • Date and time you observed the whale
  • Type of gear (netting, rope, etc.) on the animal, including the color of the lines and buoys and any other identifying features
  • Condition of the animal, such as the color and texture of its skin and whether it looks emaciated
  • Relative size of the whale
  • Location of the animal—coordinates are ideal but a general area and distance from shore are also very helpful
  • Direction and speed the animal is moving
  • Behavior of the animal

Photos and videos from different angles—taken from a safe, legal distance of 100 yards or more—help responders determine if the entanglement is life threatening or not. “Sometimes the entanglements can actually come off the whale on their own,” Kramer explained. “We don’t want to put stress on the whale and risk the safety of responders if the entanglement can potentially come off without our help.”

If the Network responds, stay with the entangled whale (again from a safe, legal distance) as long as possible. This will make it easier for NOAA and partners to locate the whale. “If you do have to leave and there’s nobody else on the scene, let us know again the whale’s location and its direction and speed,” Yoshinaga said.

With your help, this whale season will be as safe and successful as possible—for both the whales and everyone who loves them.

Read the full release at NOAA