Saving Seafood

Biden’s Big Bet On Offshore Wind

April 12, 2021 — The Biden administration recently announced a plan to substantially expand the use of offshore wind power along the East Coast, aiming to tap a huge new source of clean energy that is likely to gain widespread acceptance in the United States.

The bold bet would result in the generation of 30 gigawatts (GW) of wind power by 2030, enough to power over 10 million homes and cut 78 million metrics tons of CO2 emissions. Currently, the United States has only one offshore wind farm off the coast of Rhode Island generating 30 megawatts (MW) — 1,000 MW are in one GW.

Offshore wind farming represents a significant opportunity for the creation of “green-collar” jobs, with maintenance and day-to-day operations requiring regular support. Yet, the more labor-intensive an energy-generating operation is, the more expensive the kilowatt of energy becomes. Offshore wind is currently the most expensive form of mainstream power generation available – more than 3x the cost of a combined cycle natural gas plant on a $/MWh basis – when all factors are considered (see chart below). The so called “levelized cost of electricity” or LCOE for offshore wind is climate and labor-market dependent, but the Energy Information Agency sees the regional weighted average LCOE of new offshore wind projects in 2040 dropping t0 65% of 2020 costs in ideal cases.

Read the full story at Forbes

Recruitment Announcement – SAFMC Quantitative Fisheries Scientist

April 12, 2021 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) is seeking a Quantitative Fisheries Scientist to provide data and analytical support to the Council’s Science and Statistics and Fisheries Management Programs. The Council is responsible for the conservation and management of fish stocks within the federal 200-mile limit along the Atlantic coasts of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, and east Florida to Key West.

This position is responsible for providing data summaries, assessment summaries, and analyses of management actions and alternatives for Fishery Management Plan (FMP) amendments; staffing the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC); and participating in Southeast Data Assessment and Review (SEDAR) workshops. Completing these tasks requires working with a wide range of partners and participants including industry participants (recreational and commercial), NOAA Fisheries, non-governmental organizations, researchers, resource managers, state marine fisheries agencies, and universities.

Primary Duties and Responsibilities:

Provide staff support to the SSC. This includes scheduling, organizing, and facilitating meetings of the SSC and SSC workgroups, compiling briefing materials, and producing summary reports.

Compile, analyze, and interpret biological, ecosystem, stock assessment, citizen science, and other technical data to support the Council and its advisors.

Serve on Interdisciplinary Plan Teams for preparing FMPs and amendments. Contribute data summaries, assessment summaries, and evaluations of management alternatives as needed and conduct technical review of analyses conducted by NMFS staff.

Attend SEDAR assessment project activities related to Council managed species.

Communicate and interpret results of stock assessments and other related analyses to Council members, other staff, Advisory Panel and SSC members, and the public.

Interact with the public, state and federal agencies, and other scientists on a wide variety of fisheries science and data and assessment issues.

Perform other duties as assigned.

See the complete recruitment announcement available from the Council’s website for additional information and application instructions. Closing date is April 26, 2021.

Extended and New Slow Zones to Protect Right Whales

April 12, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces the extension of two Slow Zones set to expire south of Nantucket and establishes another Slow Zone southeast of Chatham, MA. On April 9, 2021 several aggregations of right whales were detected south of Nantucket, MA by the NOAA North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey and southeast of Chatham, MA by the Center for Coastal Studies survey team. These three right whale Slow Zones are in effect immediately through April 24, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around these areas or transit through them at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

Southeast of Chatham, MA, April 9 – April 24, 2021 *NEW*

41 56 N
41 15 N
069 23 W
070 16 W

South of Nantucket, MA, February 26 – April 24, 2021 *Extended*

41 23 N
40 40 N
069 39 W
070 35W

South of Nantucket, MA, March 30 – April 24, 2021 *Extended*

41 01 N
40 19  N
069 50 W
070 46 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office Shares Biennial Report to Congress

April 9, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office’s Biennial Report to Congress (pdf, 9 pages) includes a snapshot of work we accomplished during fiscal years 2019 and 2020. Highlights include:

  • Completing the restoration of 350 acres of oyster reef in the Little Choptank River in Maryland—the largest oyster restoration project in the world to date.
  • Maintaining a system of buoys that allow for near-real-time observations of the Bay’s changing water and weather conditions.
  • Providing $5.2 million in funding to support watershed education for 53,000 students and 1,700 teachers.
  • Funded fish and habitat science with a focus on state and federal fisheries management needs for striped bass, summer flounder, black sea bass, and invasive blue catfish.
  • Supporting the design of three nearshore habitat restoration projects in coastal Virginia, which will enhance coastal resiliency and provide habitat for commercially and recreationally important fish.

For more details and to learn about other aspects of our work in fisheries and habitat science, restoration, climate, education, and more, we invite you to read through the report.

Steep decline in giant sea turtles seen off US West Coast

April 9, 2021 — Scientists were documenting stranded sea turtles on California’s beaches nearly 40 years ago when they noticed that leatherbacks — massive sea turtles that date to the time of the dinosaurs — were among those washing up on shore. It was strange because the nearest known population of the giants was several thousand miles away in the waters of Central and South America.

Their mysterious presence led researchers to a startling discovery. A subset of leatherbacks that hatches on beaches in Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, Vanuatu and the Solomon Islands were migrating 7,000 miles across the Pacific Ocean to the cold waters off the U.S. West Coast, where they gorged on jellyfish before swimming back. The epic journey stunned scientists.

“There are birds that go farther, but they fly. There’s a whale shark that might swim a little further, but it doesn’t have to come up for air. This animal is actually pushing water all the way across the Pacific Ocean,” said Scott Benson, an ecologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s fisheries service in Monterey, who has studied the turtles for decades. “It’s just a majestic animal.”

But now, just as scientists are beginning to fully understand the amazing odyssey, the turtles are disappearing — and fast.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

Changes in Ocean Conditions and Human Activities Impacted the U.S. Northeast Shelf Marine Ecosystem in 2020

April 9, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Two new reports provide an updated picture of conditions supporting fisheries in the U.S. Northeast Shelf marine ecosystems. One report focuses on Georges Bank and the Gulf of Maine, two ocean regions off New England, and the other report focuses on the Mid-Atlantic Bight. These are the three major regions within the U.S. Northeast Continental Shelf Large Marine Ecosystem.

For the first time, the reports focus directly on how well we have achieved fishery management goals and the risks to achieving those goals posed by ecosystem changes and other human activities. Linkages between environmental conditions and managed species are also highlighted throughout the report. This focus ensures that scientists are providing ecosystem information in a form that the regional fishery management councils can use effectively.

Major findings in this year’s report include:

  • Seafood production trends downward
  • Recreational fishing effort is steady, but fewer anglers are taking for-hire trips
  • Waters continue to warm and marine heat waves continue
  • Less cold, fresh water is entering the Gulf of Maine
  • The Gulf Stream is further north
  • Chesapeake Bay’s warmer winter and cooler spring affected blue crab and striped bass<
  • More fish species are moving to the north and east of their historic distribution, some into deeper water

The reports also cover new and rising factors, including offshore wind energy development and COVID-19 effects on fishery harvests and scientific data collection. There are more than 20 offshore wind development projects proposed for construction over the next decade in the Northeast. They have the potential to impact many parts of the ecosystem. With sufficient data, subsequent reports will further address these factors.

Read the full release here

New Slow Zone East of Boston to Protect Right Whales

April 9, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries announces a Slow Zone east of Boston. On April 8, 2021 an aggregation of right whales was detected east of Boston, MA by the NOAA North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey. This right whale Slow Zone is in effect immediately through April 23, 2021.

Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit through it at 10 knots or less.

Slow Zone Coordinates:

East of Boston, MA, April 8 – April 23, 2021 

42 39 N
41 54 N
070 08 W
071 06 W

See the coordinates for all the slow zones currently in effect.

Read the full release here

Climate Change Raises Risk of Prey Mismatch for Young Cod in Alaska

April 9, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

For a young Pacific cod, first feeding is a life-or-death moment. Cod larva are nourished by a yolk sac after they hatch. Once the yolk sac is depleted, they must find food within days in order to survive. If there is no prey available during that critical window for first feeding, young fish face starvation.

Warming Alaska waters are increasing the risk of prey mismatch and starvation for cod larvae, a new study finds.

NOAA Fisheries scientists collaborated with our partners to look at how temperature shifts affected first feeding Pacific cod larvae in two large ecosystems: the southeast Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. The models made predictions for 1998–2019, a period that encompassed warm and cool years, including a series of extreme heatwave events beginning in 2014.

“Warming can increase the metabolic demands of fish and shift the timing of their food production. So you have temperature unravelling the system, moving food around. And you have fish needing food now. When mismatched prey timing and increased metabolic demand line up, it can be pretty disastrous,” said Ben Laurel, NOAA Fisheries scientist at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, who led the study. “The better we can understand and predict these effects, the more effectively we can manage them now and in the future.”

Read the full release here

Climate Change Concerns Play Key Role in Federal Fisheries Act Update

April 8, 2021 — Two U.S. congressmen are working on updating and reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the primary legislation governing fisheries management in federal waters extending 3 to 200 nautical miles off the coast.

At last week’s virtual ComFish, one of those congressmen, U.S. Rep. Jared Huffman (D-San Rafael), updated Alaskans on his efforts to draft a bill reauthorizing the act.

Read the full story at Seafood News