Saving Seafood

NOAA lays out plans for expanded testing of ropeless fishing technology

August 11, 2022 — In their latest effort to protect endangered right whales, federal regulators have released a plan to increase the use of on-demand – or ropeless – fishing gear, an initiative that includes expanded testing of the new technology.

In an effort to address the two main causes of human-induced whale mortality – vessel strikes and entanglement in fishing gear – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently released rules to reduce ship speeds and its “Ropeless Roadmap” to prepare for widespread adoption of ropeless fishing.

The vertical lines that connect strings of traps on the ocean floor to buoys on the surface can get caught on a whale’s fins or in its mouth as it swims, leading to death in some cases. There are fewer than 350 North Atlantic right whales, according to NOAA.

On-demand fishing gear would eliminate the need for the vertical lines in the water until the lobster trap, pot or gillnet is being hauled. Different technologies are under development now. Some include floatation devices that are triggered by an acoustic signal to return the gear or rope end to the surface when the fishing boat returns to collect it. Others use timers to release the rope and buoy to the surface, reducing the amount of time the rope is in the water column. And in a lower-tech option available in some cases, the traps or other gear can simply be removed by a grappling hook. The location of the gear can be communicated to boats above by acoustic signal.

Read the full article at the Press Herald

Examining Marine Life Vulnerability to Climate Change

August 10, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Pacific Islands Vulnerability Assessment project evaluated the susceptibility of 83 marine species in the Pacific Islands region to the impacts of climate change. We identified key attributes and factors that drive this vulnerability, as well as critical data gaps in understanding climate change impacts on marine life.

The most vulnerable to climate change were the invertebrate group; the least vulnerable were pelagic and coastal groups not associated with coral reefs. Sea surface temperature, ocean acidification, and oxygen concentration are the main drivers of vulnerability among all of the environmental stressors we examined.

The goal of the assessment was to answer key questions:

  • Which species are most vulnerable to climate change?
  • Are there aspects of their life cycle that should be of concern?
  • What are the critical stressors involved?
  • Where should science and management focus efforts to reduce these risks?

Dr. Don Kobayashi, assessment lead, shares, “The project is critically important to the NOAA mission because there are still too many unknowns about the impacts of climate change to our marine fisheries and ecosystems. This work gives us broad insights across many species and across many ecosystems spanning the entire Pacific Islands region. We simply do not have the time to answer pressing questions about climate change by the usual approach of exhaustively studying one or a few species in a single location at a single point in time and moving on. We need more work like this that provides a synoptic bigger picture view of climate change impacts across the board.”

Read the full release here

NOAA Calls for Applications for American Fisheries Advisory Committee

August 10, 2022 — The Following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is calling for applications for the new American Fisheries Advisory Committee. The Committee was established by the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act in May 2022 to make recommendations for Saltonstall-Kennedy priorities and grant award funding.

The Act requires the establishment of a 22-member committee with three representatives from each of six regions. Members will represent seafood sectors, including processors, recreational and commercial fishermen and seafood farmers, fisheries scientists, and regional fishery management council members. Additionally, there will be four at-large members, including one representative each from the retail and marketing sector, commercial fisheries, recreational fisheries, and NOAA Fisheries.

“The new American Fisheries Advisory Committee will bring together a wide breadth of industry and stakeholder representatives from around the country to thoughtfully consider program priorities and make recommendations for the awarding of funds for Saltonstall-Kennedy grants,” said NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator, Janet Coit. “NOAA Fisheries is pleased to assist Secretary Gina Raimondo with the process of identifying candidates, and I encourage anyone who is interested in providing input on priority fisheries research and development projects to please apply.”

Read the full release here

National seafood marketing effort in US takes step closer to government funding

August 10, 2022 — The effort to create a national seafood marketing board in the United States has gained traction with a funding nod by the U.S. government.

The U.S. Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies recently released an explanatory statement on a bill heading to the U.S. Senate that includes a specific order to begin pursuing a National Seafood Council. A specific order in the 222-page document directs NOAA to begin detailing how it facilitate such a council.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

New federal red snapper regulations could allow bigger limits for some states, smaller for others

August 5, 2022 — Dozens of congressmen in Southern states are pushing back against proposed federal regulations for red snapper, though the new rules could result in more opportunity for Louisiana anglers.

Nearly 40 members of Congress, including Louisiana’s delegation, penned a letter to U.S. Department of Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo last week urging her to direct the National Marine Fisheries Service to improve the science behind how the agency sets limits on red snapper harvest.

The letter alleges proposed rules from NOAA Fisheries that concluded public comment on July 28 decreases the percentage of Gulf of Mexico red snapper that anglers can catch relative to the sustainable limit.

Gulf coast states estimate angler harvest each year throughout the season, and states’ annual fishing limit was typically set just below the total overfishing limit to ensure a sustainable fishery. A Great Red Snapper Count — an independent study required by Congress — resulted in a proposed increase in the federal overfishing limit because it showed more fish than federal regulators previously realized through the NMFS’ Marine Recreational Information Program, but the proposed acceptable biological catch hardly increased.

The proposed rule changes would also implement a “data calibration framework” designed to create a single currency among the various ways states monitor landings for the “state annual catch limit,” resulting in a reduction for some states and increases for others.

Read the full article at The Center Square

Sharing the Tools of Sustainable Fishery Management

August 5, 2022 — The following was released by NOAA:

They say it takes a village. But sometimes it takes a multi-agency, Pacific-wide collaboration.

With help from NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force, and local partners, the U.S. territories of Guam and American Samoa are on their way to developing their first sustainable coral reef fishery management plans. Once completed, these plans will chart a path forward to ensure the islands’ marine resources are around for future generations to enjoy.

“The territories are taking a proactive approach in leading their efforts for sustainable coral reef fisheries management,” said Fatima Sauafea-Le’au, American Samoa coral reef fisheries liaison with NOAA Fisheries’ Pacific Islands Regional Office.

Importantly, added fisheries liaison Jonathan Brown, NOAA will have no ownership of the plans. “The resources that will be managed are within the local jurisdictions,” he said. “We are just in a support role, providing tools to help them develop the plans and helping them form partnerships with entities like The Nature Conservancy.”

One such tool is called FishPath. FishPath provides a suite of potential management options for a species based on answers to a lengthy questionnaire about the fishery. And it can be used in data-limited fisheries, like the coral reef fisheries in the Pacific Islands.

Brown and agency partners held a workshop for Guam’s management agencies in June 2022 to teach them how to use the tool to develop management options. These measures could then be incorporated into their sustainable fishery management plans.

Read the full release here

Below-average Gulf of Mexico ‘dead zone’ measured

August 5, 2022 — Today, NOAA-supported scientists announced that this year’s Gulf of Mexico “dead zone”— an area of low to no oxygen that can kill fish and marine life — is approximately 3,275 square miles. That’s more than 2 million acres of habitat potentially unavailable to fish and bottom species — larger than the land area of Rhode Island and Delaware combined.

The five-year average dead zone size (also known as the hypoxic zone) is now 4,280 square miles, which is over two times larger than management targets. Since records began in 1985, the largest hypoxic zone measured was 8,776 square miles in 2017.

The measurement was made during an annual survey cruise, led by a team of scientists from Louisiana State University and the Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium (LUMCON) aboard the R/V Pelican during the last week of July. The information gathered is a key metric used by the Mississippi River/Gulf of Mexico Watershed Hypoxia Task Force to measure progress toward achieving their five-year average target of 1,900 square miles or smaller by 2035. The cruise provides a one-time snapshot of the dead zone; the five-year average captures the dynamic and changing nature of the zone over time.

“Yearly measurements enable us to help decision-makers fine tune strategies to reduce the size of the hypoxic zone in these waters and mitigate harmful impacts to our coastal resources and economy,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. “While some hypoxia is natural, the size and scale of what we’ve seen here in the last several decades is unusually large and detrimental. Our measurements and analyses can empower communities to take action to protect their coasts and contribute to the region’s economic sustainability.”

In June, NOAA forecasted an average-sized hypoxic zone of 5,364 square miles, based primarily on Mississippi River discharge and nutrient runoff data from the U.S. Geological Survey. The measured size fell within the uncertainty range for the models which factors in some of the inherent environmental variability of the system such as the below average river discharge over the summer. This demonstrates the overall accuracy of the models and their ability to be applied as tools for nutrient reduction strategies.

“This summer was an unusual year for Gulf hypoxia,” said Nancy Rabalais, Ph.D. professor at Louisiana State University and LUMCON, who is the principal investigator. “The Mississippi River discharge was below the summer average. The lower flow is unable to support the normal layering of the water column, allowing dissolved oxygen from the surface waters to diffuse more easily to the seabed. The ecosystem subject to hypoxia was characterized by lower turbidity, lower algal biomass, lower nutrients and higher salinity in the surface waters.”

Read the full release here

Proposed federal speed rule for vessels could further protect endangered right whales

August 5, 2022 — More ships will have to slow down when crossing the ocean to protect critically endangered North Atlantic right whales if a proposed federal rule change passes.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries division announced last week a proposal to expand current seasonal speed restrictions of about 12 mph or less to all vessels that are at least 35 feet in length.

In addition, the proposal includes a draft “roadmap” outlining possible ways to increase the use of ropeless fishing gear.

The suggested changes are part of a larger strategy to conserve and rebuild the right whale population, said NOAA Assistant Administrator Janet Coit. Collisions with vessels and entanglements in fishing gear are among the leading causes of injury and death for the species.

It is believed that fewer than 350 North Atlantic right whales remain, and under 100 of those are reproductively active females.

Read the full article at The Post and Courier

Annual fisheries meeting tackles lobster lawsuits, whale protections

August 3, 2022 — On Tuesday in Washington D.C., key players from Maine’s lobster fishery tackled what it considers its most pressing issues.

Lawsuits, protections for Atlantic right whales, and new sizing limits for lobsters were some of the issues discussed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and lobster fishers.

The first issue was an update regarding Judge James Boasberg’s July ruling in the U.S. District Court case involving the Center for Biological Diversity versus Secretary Raimondo and the Maine Lobstermen’s Association.

This case made the news in early July after Boasberg ruled regulators aren’t doing enough to protect the right whale.

Just days after, he sided with environmental groups in another lawsuit to allow Area 1 to close again to fishermen this coming fall and winter.

Read the full article at News Center Maine

NOAA Fisheries’ new proposal: a ‘roadmap’ for use of ropeless gear

August 2, 2022 — NOAA Fisheries released its draft Ropeless Roadmap: A Strategy to Develop On-Demand Fishing, as it also announced proposed changes to vessel speed regulations to protect North Atlantic right whales.

The Roadmap now released is an important step in a series of actions NOAA Fisheries is taking to protect and conserve North Atlantic right whales. NOAA Fisheries and its partners are dedicated to conserving and rebuilding the North Atlantic right whale population and those efforts can be followed through the North Atlantic Right Whale Road to Recovery plan, which describes NOAA Fisheries’ actions to halt the current population decline and recover the species.

NOAA is now seeking input on the draft on ropeless roadmap to help protect the North Atlantic right whales.

According to NOAA Fisheries, “endangered North Atlantic right whales are approaching extinction. The latest preliminary estimate indicates there are fewer than 350 individuals remaining and less than 100 breeding females. Primary threats to the species are entanglement in fishing gear and vessel strikes.

“Climate change is also affecting every aspect of their survival—changing their ocean habitat, their migratory patterns, the location and availability of their prey, and even their risk of becoming entangled in fishing gear or struck by vessels.”

The proposed changes announced by NOAA Fisheries will introduce, as National Fisherman reported, new vessel speed regulations to further protect North Atlantic right whales from death and serious injuries resulting from collisions — part of a multifaceted approach to stabilize and recover this endangered population. The changes would expand the current mandatory seasonal speed restrictions of 10 knots or less and broaden the spatial boundaries and timing of the seasonal speed restriction areas along the East Coast of the United States, incorporating most vessels measuring 35 to 65 feet in length.

Read the full article at The National Fisherman