Saving Seafood

Years After the Pacific Marine Heat Wave, Ecosystem Shifts Persist

May 10, 2021 — From 2014 to 2016, the Gulf of Alaska experienced the worst marine heat wave of the decade. From single-celled organisms to top predators, practically no level of the ecosystem was left unscathed. During the Pacific marine heat wave, tens of thousands of dead seabirds washed up on beaches, unusually low numbers of humpback whales arrived in their summer habitats, and toxic algal blooms spread along the West Coast of North America.

Now, a new study in Scientific Reports casts doubt on whether Gulf ecosystems will be able to return to their pre–heat wave conditions. This study—a collaborative effort between researchers at NOAA and several other government and research organizations—combined dozens of data sets to build a detailed picture of how many heat wave–induced changes have persisted. Thanks in part to long-term monitoring efforts by Gulf Watch Alaska, a program established in 2012 to assess the ongoing effects from the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, scientists were able to compare pre–heat wave and present conditions in several different sections of the ecosystem.

“We were able to show these impacts—from the intertidal out to the pelagic [open ocean] ecosystem, and from algae and phytoplankton on up to whales and commercial fisheries, and a lot of different species in between,” said Robert Suryan, a NOAA marine biologist and lead author of the study.

Read the full story at EcoWatch

Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area Closes For the Season

May 10, 2021 — The Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area closed on Thursday after NOAA determined that 100% of the 2021 default total allowable catch for the area will be taken. As of May 6, no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations is allowed to fish for, possess, or land scallops in the area until March 31, 2022.

According to NOAA, Framework Adjustment 33 is currently under review and will implement a 2021 NGOM LAGC TAC of 119,222 lbs. when finalized. The agency explained that because Framework Adjustment 32 default TAC will be harvested by May 6, the closure is required before Framework Adjustment 33 can be finalized.

Read the full story at Seafood News

New low-cost solutions could save sea turtles from a climate change-induced sex crisis

May 10, 2021 — Because of global warming, most newborn sea turtles are female, which could put their long-term survival at risk. New research reveals that in addition to more widely used techniques such as shading and irrigation, the splitting of the turtle nests, which has not been tried before, could even out the sex ratio of turtle hatchlings.

Scientists also argue that to increase the resilience of sea turtles, turtle conservation must address threats beyond climate change, including ocean pollution, unsustainable fishing and illegal wildlife trade.

Understanding turtle reproduction

While the sex of mammal offspring is determined genetically, certain reptile groups such as crocodilians, lizards and turtles rely on temperature-dependent sex determination, or TSD, meaning that the gender of the hatchling would depend on the egg’s incubation temperature.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), sea turtle eggs which incubate below 81.86 Fahrenheit – around 28 Celsius degrees – will typically hatch into a male baby, while incubation temperatures above 87.8 Fahrenheit – 31 Celsius degrees – would tend to produce female hatchlings.

Temperatures that fluctuate between the two would result in a mix of female and male baby turtles, while extreme temperatures beyond this range could lead to embryo malformation and higher mortality rates. The exact range might also vary slightly based on the type of sea turtle or the location of the nesting beach.

Read the full story at The Hill

NOAA Fisheries Offers Webinars to Assist Skimmer Trawl Fishermen with Turtle Excluder Device (TEDs) Installation

May 10, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

Fishing gear specialists with NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fishery Science Center’s Gear Monitoring Team will host question and answer webinar sessions and virtual workshops summarizing upcoming skimmer trawl Turtle Excluder Device (TED) requirements and assist participants with program information and compliance.

When:

  • The webinars are scheduled twice a month on Tuesday mornings starting at 9:00 AM through 10:30 AM CST. Webinars are scheduled for May 18, June 1, June 15, July 13, and July 27, 2021.
  • In addition, virtual workshops will be held one Friday a month starting at 9:00 AM through 10:30 AM CST. Virtual workshops are scheduled for May 14, June 25, and July 30, 2021. The full schedule and registration information are listed below.

TED Tuesday Webinars:

Read the full release here

MAINE: Years of tight herring quotas have lobstermen using new baits

May 10, 2021 — For decades, lobstermen have filled their bait bags with Atlantic herring, the small fish that plays a tremendous role in the food chain and is the preferred bait of Maine’s biggest fishery.   

“We’ve trained and raised our lobsters on it,” said James Hanscom, a Bar Harbor-based lobstermen who also sells bait. “It’s definitely the bait of choice.”  

But as quotas for Atlantic herring have tightened over the years, lobstermen and bait dealers have been forced to look elsewhere for other baits to lure in lobsters.  

Over the course of the last few years, the quotas on herring have been cut by 88 percent and the quota will drop again next year as the herring stock has been deemed overfished.   

“The demand is high, but the supply just isn’t there,” said Brittany Willis, a partner and general manager of JBR Maine, a wholesale bait and lobster company with locations in Gouldsboro and Winter Harbor.  

The problem is, while it’s considered overfished, Atlantic herring isn’t currently being overfished, leaving officials scratching their heads on what’s preventing the species from thriving.   

For the past seven or eight years, there’s been little to no “recruitment,” or new baby herring, in the fishery, said Emily Gilbert, who supervises the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s herring team.   

Without young herring being added to the mix, the stock hasn’t been able to recover.  

Herring are found on the Atlantic coast from Canada to Virginia. Catch in the U.S. peaked in 1986 around 1.05 billion pounds. By the 2000s, landings held stable at about 250 million pounds but since dropped to 39 million pounds in 2019.   

Read the full story at the Mount Desert Islander

NOAA Fisheries Announces Addition of Bullet Mackerel and Frigate Mackerel to the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery Management Plan of the Atlantic as Ecosystem Component Species

May 10, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

NOAA Fisheries announces the final rule for Amendment 12 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery of the Atlantic (Dolphin Wahoo Amendment 12). The final rule adds bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel to the Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery Management Plan and designates them as ecosystem component species. Ecosystem component species are those that do not require conservation and management, but are deemed important to include in a fishery management plan to achieve ecosystem management objectives. Bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel are documented as important prey species particularly for wahoo, dolphin (to a lesser extent), blue marlin, and yellowfin tuna in the Atlantic Region.

When Rule Will Take Effect:

Regulations become effective June 9, 2021.

Summary of Changes:

  • The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council wants to consider ecosystem management approaches to fisheries management and advance ecosystem management objectives in the Dolphin Wahoo Fishery Management Plan.
  • Dolphin Wahoo Amendment 12 and the final rule could result in potential indirect benefits such as increased awareness among the fishing constituents, fishing communities, and fishery management agencies.
  • If landings for bullet mackerel and frigate mackerel were to greatly increase in the future to unsustainable levels, fisheries managers could be made aware of the changing stock status before the stocks are depleted which may have subsequent beneficial effects on populations of several economically important predatory fish species, including dolphin, wahoo, blue marlin, and yellowfin tuna.

Read the full release here

Biden administration sets framework for 30×30

May 7, 2021 — On Thursday, May 6, the Biden administration submitted a preliminary report on a national conservation initiative, widely known as 30×30, to the National Climate Task Force.

The 24-page document, “Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful,” sets the stage for the conservation of “at least 30 percent of our lands and waters by 2030,” which was initiated by the president’s Jan. 27 executive order, “Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad.”

Since that EO was issued, the departments of Interior, Agriculture and Commerce, and the Council on Environmental Quality have collected stakeholder input to shape this report, which clearly attempts to expand the definition and application of the term “conservation” to include working lands and waters that may be used sustainably while still being allocated to the program’s 30 percent goal.

“Notably,” the report says, “the president’s challenge specifically emphasizes the notion of ‘conservation’ of the nation’s natural resources (rather than the related but different concept of ‘protection’ or ‘preservation’) recognizing that many uses of our lands and waters, including of working lands, can be consistent with the long-term health and sustainability of natural systems.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Atlantic Highly Migratory Species panel meets in May

May 7, 2021 — NOAA announced the next meeting dates for the Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel, including a one-day Recreational Roundtable/Large Pelagics Survey Workshop.

“This meeting is loaded with issues of primary importance to every fisherman,” said David Schalit, President of the American Bluefin Tuna Association and an Advisory Panel member. Schalit explained that discussion will focus on basic fishery operations and structure, from quota allocations to temporal and spatial dimensions to a pelagic long line review. These are dynamic topics still to be settled by regulators.

“I would encourage every fisherman,” Schalit added, “to review the upcoming agenda and decide how to best participate in the open, public comment periods that are scheduled at the end of each day.”

There is “a shark depredation issue from Maine to Texas and the U.S. Caribbean Territories for which NOAA/NMFS will be seeking solutions during the upcoming meeting,” said Russell Hudson, with Directed Sustainable Fisheries and a member of the Advisory Panel. Hudson added that NOAA faces challenges in modeling population numbers for certain sharks, particularly the “highly migratory species that we share with neighboring countries. Comments and other suggestions regarding shark populations will be our focus during the meeting.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Is That Steller Sea Lion in Distress? Waving? Or Is It …Thermoregulation?

May 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Imagine that you are enjoying a wonderful day along Alaska’s rocky shores when suddenly you see something strange in the water. Is that an orca? You look through your binoculars and realize it is a Steller sea lion. You see its flipper in the air, and it only surfaces its head to breathe once in a while. Is it sick or injured? Or is this normal behavior?

NOAA Fisheries often receives reports of Steller sea lions exhibiting this behavior from concerned citizens who think the sea lion may be in distress.

“When people get hot or cold, they can remove or add a layer of clothing,” explains Steller sea lion expert Kim Raum-Suryan of NOAA’s Alaska Regional Office. “Since Steller sea lions don’t have this option, they do something a little different. They instead have this amazing ability to use thermoregulation—in other words, to regulate their own body temperature. “

A Steller sea lion’s core body temperature is about 100°F. Heat loss in water is about 25 times faster than in air. Steller sea lions deposit most of their body fat into a thick layer of blubber just under the skin. This blubber layer insulates the sea lion’s body from the cold water and provides an excess energy reserve.

However, the flippers are poorly insulated, with the blood vessels close to the surface of the skin. Sea lions often regulate their own body temperature by lifting and exposing one or more flippers as they are floating on the surface of the water. The blood vessels just under the skin dilate and either absorb heat from, or release heat to, the environment. Absorbed heat is then circulated to the rest of the body.

If you ever see a stranded, injured, entangled, or dead Steller sea lion or other marine mammal, please call the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Statewide 24-hour Stranding Hotline at (877) 925-7773. But the next time you see a sea lion or a group of sea lions with their flippers extended out of the water, there’s no need to call. This is just normal sea lion behavior … but you can wave back if you want to!

Read the full release here

Federal Waters off Texas Close to Shrimping on May 15, 2021

May 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Key Message:

NOAA Fisheries announces federal waters from 9 to 200 nautical miles off Texas will close to shrimp trawling 30 minutes after official sunset, local time, on May 15, 2021, corresponding to the time Texas closes its state waters to shrimp trawling.

Federal waters off Texas are west of the line (from A to B) shown in the map below.  Fishermen should not use any other division between Texas and Louisiana federal waters, including lines on NOAA Chart 1116A, which is to be used for mineral rights and not for navigation.

Why This Closure Is Happening

The shrimp fishery is closed annually off Texas to allow brown shrimp to reach a larger and more valuable size prior to harvest, and to prevent waste of brown shrimp that might otherwise be discarded due to their small size.

The Texas closure ranges from 45 to 60 days.  The closing date is based on catch rates of brown shrimp collected with seine gear by the Coastal Fisheries Division of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, mean length of shrimp collected in April, percent of samples containing shrimp, and periods of maximum nocturnal ebb tidal flow.

Texas will re-open state waters to shrimp trawling based on sampling projections of when brown shrimp will reach a mean size of 112 mm, and when maximum duration ebb tides will occur.  NOAA Fisheries will re-open federal waters off Texas when Texas re-opens its state waters.  Historically, the re-opening has been on or about July 15.  If there is a need to adjust the July 15 date for the re-opening, notification of the revised date will be published in the Federal Register and announced in a subsequent fishery bulletin.

Read the full release here