Saving Seafood

New Hampshire fishermen worried about new guidelines to protect right whales

October 10, 2022 — New Hampshire fishermen are raising concerns about additional restrictions they’ll be facing in order to protect the critically endangered right whale.

The president of the New Hampshire Fish Council said guidelines are being worked out between the industry and National Marine Fisheries Service, but he said there has never been a recorded incident between a right whale and a New Hampshire fisherman.

Fewer than 350 endangered North Atlantic right whales remain in existence. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has documented 54 incidents of deaths or serious injuries of right whales due to unusual circumstances from 2017-2022. Eleven deaths were confirmed to be from vessel strikes, and nine were entanglements, though none were documented in New Hampshire waters.

Read the full article at WBUR

Right rules should be based on science to protect whales and lobstermen

October 10, 2022 — In recent weeks, Maine’s lobster industry has faced a series of unexpected challenges. Lobstermen, along with Gov. Janet Mills and the state’s congressional delegation, were outraged about a warning from an environmental group that urged consumers not to buy lobsters from Maine because of the risk the fishery poses to endangered North Atlantic right whales.

This red-listing was followed by news from federal regulators that they planned to place further restrictions on lobster harvesting much sooner than expected. They planned to do so with no meetings in Maine, which is home to the vast majority of the nation’s lobster fishermen. Mills and the state’s congressional delegation successfully lobbied for a meeting here, which was held Wednesday night in Portland. They are now asking for another meeting in Downeast Maine.

That anger was apparent at the session held by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which oversees the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

Woods Hole Partnership Examines Possible Sea-Level Rise

October 10, 2022 — A local partnership presented their plans for helping Woods Hole adapt to rising sea levels at a recent meeting of the Falmouth Select Board.

Resilient Woods Hole is a private-public collaboration to prepare the village for sea-level rise, flooding, and shoreline loss.

The initiative is led by a partnership between Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), Marine Biological Laboratory (MBL) and NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

Project Manager Leslie-Ann McGee said local businesses, community groups, and other stakeholders are all part of Resilient Woods Hole’s steering committee.

The group received a grant from the Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management for recent community outreach including adaptation workshops and stakeholder surveys.

The surveys involved presenting residents with different options for adaptations like constructing hard structures or taking a more natural approach. The forms also asked if people wanted to retreat or live with water.

Read the full article at CapeCod.com

NOAA Sea Grant announces $2.1M to support aquaculture research and extension in Maine

October 10, 2022 — NOAA Sea Grant has announced $2.1 million to fund four projects that advance aquaculture research and extension to support sustainable aquaculture in Maine. The projects are part of a larger $14 million NOAA Sea Grant investment to strengthen aquaculture across the United States.

Investigators from the University of Maine Aquaculture Research Institute, Maine Aquaculture Innovation Center, UMaine Center for Cooperative Aquaculture Research, and Maine Sea Grant will lead projects to develop feed for finfish, improve Atlantic sea scallop hatchery techniques, diversify lumpfish broodstock, and advance the work of the Maine Aquaculture Hub, respectively.

“Innovation and diversification in Maine’s aquaculture industry have created new jobs and economic opportunities in our state. We welcome this investment from NOAA, which will support the ongoing, cutting-edge research by UMaine scientists and students. These projects will help to increase the sustainability and economic viability of aquaculture in coastal communities here in Maine and across the country,” said U.S. Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King in a joint statement.

“Year after year, the Sea Grant program protects thousands of acres of coastal ecosystems, generates hundreds of millions of dollars in economic development, and creates thousands of jobs across the country,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree in a press release. “As a longtime supporter of the Sea Grant program and an advocate for it through my role on the House Appropriations Committee, I’m thrilled aquaculture projects in Maine are being invested in. This funding is yet another example of how Sea Grant is fostering innovation and entrepreneurship to support Maine’s working waterfront and coastal communities.”

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

Boat 10-knot speed limit? NOAA says it saves right whales, critics say it kills industry

October 7, 2022 — A proposed stricter speed limit to protect the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale is finding opposition from boaters who say it will cripple the recreational boating and fishing industry while providing little protection to right whales.

The new vessel strike reduction rule, which is in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s public comment period that ends Oct. 31, would include smaller 35- to 65-foot vessels and stretch from the coast out to 100 miles in some areas. The zones cover almost the entire length of the Atlantic seaboard, from Massachusetts to Florida.

After Oct. 31, NOAA will then consider drafting the measure, which could go into effect next year.

Previously these smaller boats were exempt from the speed rules, first established in 2008, and the zones were kept to 10 seasonal management areas on the coast, primarily near ports where boat traffic is heaviest.

Boats would be restricted to 10-knot speeds in the new zones from Nov. 1 to to May 30. That is when the whales are know to migrate from their summer foraging grounds in the Gulf of Maine to their winter calving grounds in the South Atlantic Bight, from North Carolina to Florida. That is the only known calving place for the whales, NOAA reports.

While party boats, the large 65- to 125-foot vessels that carry crowds of people, typically travel between 10 to 20 knots, charter and private sport boats can hit top speeds of 60 knots.

Read the full article at Asbury Park Press

MAINE: Local fishermen voice frustration in public meeting with NOAA

October 7, 2022 — Mainers had a chance to voice their opinion on how the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) should modify its plan to protect whales. Many from the coastal and fishing community traveled for this meeting.

Gov. Janet Mills, Sen. Susan Collins, Sen. Angus King, Rep. Jared Golden, Rep. Chellie Pingree, and former Gov. Paul LePage spoke or had someone speak on their behalf.

Read the full article at WMTW

Federal officials confronted by Maine lobstermen, leaders over rules to protect whales

October 7, 2022 — Frustration and anger from Maine lobstermen and elected leaders is being directed at federal regulators.

It happened at the only in-person meeting with federal officials about proposed rules to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale.

More than 500 people packed into a USM auditorium as they hoped to tell NOAA exactly how they feel about these rules.

“This is about wiping us off the map,” said one person early into the public comment section of the meeting.

Read the full article at Fox 23

MAINE: ‘You have failed us’: Maine lobstermen face federal regulators over new rules

October 7, 2022 — There were some tense moments during a public hearing with Maine lobstermen and federal regulators Wednesday night at the University of Southern Maine in Portland.

The meeting comes after Gov. Janet Mills (D-Maine) and members of Maine’s congressional delegation requested the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) visit the state to discuss tougher rules on the lobster industry.

“Our goal is to implement the approaches under the law to comply with the law in ways that have the least effect on fishing communities,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit said.

The new regulations include increasing zone closures and limits on traps and vertical lines.

They are all part of an increased effort to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale from getting entangled in fishing gear.

Read the full article News Center Maine

Ensuring a Future for Seafood in a Changing Ocean: Part 2

October 7, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

NOAA scientists have created a number of cutting-edge tools to help seafood decision-makers adapt to climate change. These tools can inform managers, municipalities, and seafood businesses as they make decisions in the coming years. Across the country, regional fisheries councils and coastal communities are leading the way.

Adapting Our Management

Observations, forecasts, and predictive models can help explain what is happening to our seafood species now and what might happen in the future. But they do not tell us what to do about it. Instead, those actions must be decided by managers representing the community of seafood stakeholders.

Exploring the Future of Fisheries through Scenario Planning

In recent years, regional U.S. fishery management councils have oriented their decision-making toward climate adaptation. To do so in an inclusive way, several councils have turned to scenario planning, a tool for thinking through possible courses of action for an uncertain future. Scenario planning exercises guide participants to imagine a suite of possibilities for future conditions. They examine not just the most likely outcomes, but also futures disrupted by unexpected or anomalous events, such as the “Blob” heat wave. Together, participants distill these possibilities into a portfolio of scenarios. Talking through these shared stories about the future can help managers and stakeholders identify robust adaptation actions that make sense for multiple scenarios.

Prompted by the shifts of many key seafood species across management boundaries, the three councils along the East Coast, along with the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, teamed up to launch a joint East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning project. On the West Coast, the Pacific Fishery Management Council partnered with the Nature Conservancy to use scenario planning to explore changing fish stock availability and productivity in the California Current ecosystem. Both initiatives involve multiple stages of consulting with stakeholders, reviewing the latest science, drafting and workshopping scenarios, and assessing their implications. These efforts help the regions develop shared narratives as they consider possible responses to the challenges that lie ahead.

Read the full release here

Ensuring a Future for Seafood in a Changing Ocean: Part 1

October 7, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

This October, we’re celebrating National Seafood Month by featuring (and feasting on) the bounties of our nation’s seafood industry. But we are also mindful of the challenges a changing ocean poses to the future of these harvests and all the people that bring them to us. Warming ocean temperatures, altered circulation patterns, and increasing acidity are already shifting and stressing the species we love to eat. In recent months, these climate change impacts have been especially dramatic in Alaska, leading to catastrophic declines in snow crab and Yukon River Chinook and chum salmon.

Rather than despair, people who care about the future of American seafood must be clear-eyed about the challenges we face. The inevitable changes to ocean ecosystems will require adapting our science, management, and communities to a new seafood future. The good news is that we are already taking a proactive approach to climate adaptation by working together to identify innovative solutions and equitable responses.

People across the nation are applying their talents, on-the-water experiences, and imaginations to tackle this challenge from different angles. Here’s a look at just some of the ways NOAA Fisheries and our partners are laying the groundwork for adapting our fisheries and aquaculture to a changing climate through the decades ahead.

Read the full release here