Saving Seafood

NOAA awards $7.3 million for marine debris removal, prevention, and research

September 9, 2021 — Today, NOAA announced $7.3 million in fiscal year 2021 grants supporting 25 projects to address the harmful effects of marine debris on wildlife, navigation safety, ecosystem health, and the economy. With the addition of non-federal matching contributions, the total investment in these marine debris projects is approximately $14.7 million. The grants, selected after a rigorous and competitive review process, are spread across 14 states and territories, as well as 8 international regions.

“Marine debris harms our coastal communities every day,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. “These grants fund critical clean-up, while also working to prevent the problem at the source and better understand the movement of marine debris. These types of projects will help us remove the most harmful types of marine debris and mitigate the most harmful effects.”

Among the projects selected are the removal of up to 17 abandoned and derelict vessels from the Hudson River Estuary, representing all known abandoned and derelict vessels in the estuary; the removal of more than 100 metric tons of debris, including derelict fishing gear, from Hawaiʻi, Kauaʻi, and Maui Islands; an assessment of how marine debris moves from the upstream areas of the Guánica Watershed to the nearshore coastal waters of southwest Puerto Rico; reduction of the amount of marine debris entering the Tijuana River from the Los Laureles Canyon tributary in Mexico; and the launch of the North American Net Collection Initiative to collect and transform end-of-life fishing nets into high-value consumer goods.

Approximately $1.8 million will support 10 removal projects in Alaska, California, Hawaiʻi, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, New Jersey, Puerto Rico, South Carolina, and Washington. The grantees will implement locally developed and cost-effective activities to remove marine debris, including derelict fishing gear and other medium- and large-scale debris. Projects will benefit coastal habitats, waterways, wildlife, and surrounding communities.

Approximately $1.4 million will support 5 marine debris research projects in California, Delaware, Maryland, New York, and Puerto Rico. The grantees will investigate and identify the critical input pathways for marine debris introduction into the coastal zone.

Approximately $4.1 million will support 10 marine debris prevention and removal projects in the Great Lakes, Gulf of Alaska, Gulf of Maine, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, Mexican Caribbean, North America Pacific Ocean, Salish Sea, and Tijuana River estuary. The grantees will address common marine debris issues in Mexico and the U.S.-Mexico and U.S.-Canada border areas that impact the U.S. marine environment, including preventing or reducing the occurrence of marine debris, or removing marine debris from the environment.

Marine debris is not only a threat to wildlife in our ocean, Great Lakes, and waterways, but can adversely affect navigation safety and the economy. To address this growing challenge, the NOAA Marine Debris Program is dedicated to identifying, determining sources of, assessing, preventing, reducing and removing marine debris and addressing the adverse impacts of marine debris in our nation’s marine environment and Great Lakes. The Marine Debris Act authorized the NOAA Marine Debris Program in 2006 as the lead federal program for addressing the problem. This program was reauthorized in 2018 through the Save Our Seas Act, and recently amended by the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act of 2020.

The NOAA Marine Debris Program is currently accepting Letters of Intent for its Fiscal Year 2022 Marine Debris Removal funding opportunity. In mid-September, the NOAA Marine Debris Program will announce its Fiscal Year 2022 Marine Debris Prevention notice of funding opportunity. For more information, visit the NOAA Marine Debris Program’s website.

 

Maine groups receive $900K to help restore Atlantic salmon populations

September 8, 2021 — Continuing efforts to help restore Atlantic salmon populations in Maine are receiving a boost thanks to $900,000 in funding awarded through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King announced Tuesday that four organizations in Maine have been selected to receive money from the distribution to assist their efforts.

“Atlantic salmon are a critical part of our state’s marine ecosystem, but they are endangered and at risk of extinction,” Collins and King said in a joint statement. “These fish help to ensure the health of our rivers and oceans that Mainers and wildlife depend on. We welcome this funding, which will help to conserve and restore wild Atlantic salmon and their ecosystems across the state.”

The Atlantic salmon, specifically the Gulf of Maine distinct population that has been protected since 2000 under the Endangered Species Act, is one of the most at-risk endangered species, NOAA reported. Only approximately 1,200 fish return each year, although as of Aug. 30 only 522 salmon have been counted so far this year at the Milford and Orono dams.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

 

NOAA looks at other fisheries in effort to help whales 

September 7, 2021 — With new rules for the lobster fishery issued last week, federal regulators are now looking at potential changes to other fisheries on the east coast to cut down on the risk of injuries to several types of whales.   

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration plans to hold two scoping sessions this fall to get input on their efforts to cut down potential entanglements and whale mortalities.   

Officials at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration are considering changes to other trap and pot fisheries other than lobster and Jonah crab in Maine and other New England states, as well as amendments to the east coast gillnet fishery.   

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

 

2021 Northeast Summer Ecosystem Monitoring Cruise Completed

September 7, 2021 — Researchers returned to sea for the second ecosystem monitoring (EcoMon) cruise of 2021. Scientists and crew aboard the NOAA Ship Pisces sampled at 149 stations. They achieved near-complete coverage of the survey area,  from north of Delaware Bay through the Gulf of Maine.

Fewer days were available for the cruise than originally planned. The scientific crew dropped all stations south of Delaware Bay at the beginning of the cruise to allow for full coverage in the north. Favorable weather and sea conditions during the entire survey allowed for supplemental stations to be added on the end of the cruise. Sample stations were added adjacent to Nantucket Shoals, near foraging North Atlantic right whales and in and around wind energy lease areas.

Zooplankton are tiny animals and very young stages of some animals that will grow larger. Samples of zooplankton provide information about the food chain supporting fisheries and marine mammals. Scientists use larval fish and egg samples to learn more about fish stock spawning and help estimate stock abundance. Measurements of physical and chemical conditions like temperature and salinity help us describe ecosystem productivity, spawning, larval recruitment, fish condition, and species distributions.

Together, the core measurements conducted by our EcoMon cruises help researchers understand and predict changes in the Northeast shelf ecosystem and its fisheries. Researchers are scheduled to sail on the next EcoMon survey in October aboard the Pisces.

Read the full story from NOAA

 

Maine lobstermen fear lasting impacts on industry from new regulations

September 3, 2021 — Mainers that make their living fishing for lobster in the Gulf of Maine are coming to terms with new federal regulations this week. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued new guidance for the fishery this week in an effort to protect the endangered North Atlantic right whale, but those in Maine’s lobster fishing community say the new rules go too far.

“We knew a lot of this was coming,” said Maine Department of Marine Resources Commissioner Patrick Keliher. “But when it finally happens, it’s still a gut punch.”

Leaders in Maine’s fishing community have been working with NOAA for more than a decade to protect right whales. Fishermen told NEWS CENTER Maine that while they were not surprised to see the regulations, they were more extreme than expected.

“I see these regulations as having the potential of injuring fisherman, creating more ghost gear and debris on the ocean flood and costing us a lot more money to rig over for it, for something we’re not doing already. We’re not entangling these whales,” said Casco Bay-based lobsterman Steve Train.

The regulations will close a roughly 950-square-mile area in the Gulf of Maine to traditional lobster fishing from October to January. Rope-less fishing can continue there, but that technology has not been widely adopted in Maine.

Read the full story at News Center Maine

 

MAINE: New federal lobstering restrictions spark backlash from industry and elected officials

September 2, 2021 — After long hours hauling traps off the coast of South Thomaston on Wednesday, Barry Baudanza hadn’t had the chance to fully absorb all the changes headed his way after federal officials announced new rules governing the lobster industry the day before, but he knew one thing right off the bat: “This was the worst-case scenario.”

Among other changes, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s newly released Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan will put more than 950 square miles of the Gulf of Maine off-limits to traditional lobstering from October through January – the area’s most lucrative season. The goal is to reduce risk to endangered North Atlantic right whales by at least 60 percent.

But lobstermen, the fishing industry and elected officials are pushing back. They say the new rules will be expensive, dangerous, burdensome and impractical, and won’t reduce the risk to whales.

And despite lobstermen’s concerns and protestations that they aren’t even seeing right whales in Maine waters, conservationists argue that the plan does not go far enough to protect the critically endangered animals.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald

ALASKA: NOAA breaks ground on upgraded port facility in Ketchikan to host research vessel Fairweather

September 2, 2021 — A long-sought revitalization of a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration facility in Ketchikan is officially underway. The project aims to give the NOAA ship Fairweather a permanent home.

Local, state and federal officials plunged gold-painted shovels into two long, narrow wooden boxes filled with dirt Tuesday morning.

The ceremonial groundbreaking marks the beginning of work on an $18.7 million project. There’ll be a new office building, utility upgrades and, most importantly, a floating pier to accommodate the NOAA research vessel Fairweather and its 50-plus crew.

NOAA Rear Admiral Nancy Hann says the facility will support fisheries research, hydrographic surveys — and the local economy.

Read the full story at KTOO

Reps. Bonamici, Young Lead Bipartisan Call for $10B Coastal Community Investment in Build Back Better Plan

September 2, 2021 — Today Representatives Suzanne Bonamici (D-OR) and Don Young (R-AK) led 35 bipartisan Members of Congress in calling for a $10 billion investment in coastal communities with the inclusion of restoration and resilience projects in the Build Back Better Plan.

“We are encouraged that President Biden’s American Jobs Plan outlines the importance of protecting and restoring coastal ecosystems,” the Members wrote.“These investments will reinvigorate our coastal communities, protect and restore critical ecosystems, and create thousands of high-quality, good-paying jobs.”

The Members also requested robust funding to scale up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) ocean observations efforts. They noted NOAA’s finding that coastal communities contribute at least $7.6 trillion to the U.S. economy annually.

Read the full release at Rep. Bonamici’s House site

NOAA proposes National Estuarine Research Reserve in Connecticut

September 2, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA: 

NOAA and the State of Connecticut are asking for public comment on a proposal to designate a national estuarine research reserve in Long Island Sound. Estuarine reserves protect a section of an estuary and provide a living laboratory to explore and understand important areas where rivers meet the sea, thus promoting understanding and informed management of coastal habitats. If designated, this estuarine reserve in the southeastern part of the Constitution State would become the 30th such reserve in the national estuarine reserve system and the first in Connecticut.

“This proposal for an estuarine reserve in Connecticut demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to conservation and addressing the impacts of climate change,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “Protecting our special places and making them accessible for future generations improves our planet, our people, and our economy.”

Within the boundaries of an estuarine reserve, communities and scientists work together to address natural resource management issues, such as nonpoint source pollution, habitat restoration, and invasive species, on a local scale. Estuarine reserves contribute to the national effort to make the coasts more resilient to natural and human-made changes. Our nation gained its most recent estuarine reserve in January 2017, when the state of Hawaii designated the only reserve in the Pacific Islands.

“Partnerships are what make the estuarine reserve system successful,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. “Each reserve brings together local stakeholders, scientists, land management professionals, and educators to understand coastal management issues and generate local, integrated solutions, while leveraging nation-wide programs.”

NOAA and the State of Connecticut will jointly hold two public hearings via webinar on October 7 to solicit public input on the draft environmental impact statement and draft management plan for the Connecticut estuarine reserve. Additionally, the comment period remains open through October 18, 2021. Connecticut, in collaboration with NOAA, then plans to prepare the final environmental impact statement and final management plan. Thereafter, NOAA plans to prepare designation findings and a record of decision. If the designation process follows its anticipated timeline, the estuarine reserve could be designated as early as January 2022.

 

Right Whale Conservation Groups ‘Disappointed’ By Long-Awaited Lobster Fishing Rules

September 2, 2021 — Federal officials have issued new regulations for the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries that are designed to protect North Atlantic right whales from entanglements in gear. But conservationists say the long-awaited rules don’t go far enough to save the critically endangered species.

The new regulations from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) require lobstermen to add more traps per buoy line to reduce the number of vertical ropes in the water. They also restrict buoy lines in certain areas during seasonal whale migration south of Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket and in the Gulf of Maine.

In addition, they require fishermen to make two significant changes to the ropes themselves: adding breakaway sections so that entangled whales can more easily break free, and markings to buoy lines to enable federal officials to differentiate gear by state.

Federal officials say the rules, which are four years in the making, will reduce the whales’ risk of death and serious injury by 69% — and more protections will be phased in over the next decade as part of a conservation framework.

But conservation groups say they wanted more aggressive measures, given the current status of the critically endangered whales. The population of North Atlantic right whales has declined sharply over the last few decades, and today an estimated 360 remain.

The Maine Lobstermen’s Association (MLA) was also critical of the new rules, saying that, in fact, the federal government has placed an “unwarranted burden” on the fishery.

“[The National Marine Fisheries Service] has mandated that Maine lobstermen reduce risk to right whales by an additional 98% over the next 10 years based on the worst-case scenario instead of using best available data and realistic assumptions,” said Maine Lobstermen’s Association executive director Patrice McCarron, “The final rule is just the first round of economic impacts to us, and future restrictions will likely destroy Maine’s iconic lobster fishery.”

The MLA takes issue with the size of the seasonal restricted area in the Gulf of Maine, a lack of “flexibility” for lobstermen to “innovate and propose equally protective yet less costly approaches,” and “last minute changes” to the gear marking requirements that they say could require lobstermen to purchase a second set of buoy lines.

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio