Saving Seafood

Senators Collins, King Join Bipartisan Call to Ensure NOAA Fisheries Surveys Proceed in 2021

October 9, 2020 — The following was released by the The Office of Senator Angus King (I-ME):

In May 2020, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries started canceling research surveys to protect the health of its crews and personnel at sea on account of the COVID-19 pandemic.  In support of coastal communities across the country who rely on these surveys as a basis for their livelihoods, U.S. Senators Susan Collins (R-ME) and Angus King (I-ME) joined their colleagues in calling on NOAA to identify and resolve any challenges created by COVID-19 that prevented surveys from occurring in 2020 in order to ensure surveys can be safely conducted in 2021.

“Fishery and ecosystem research surveys are essential to support the U.S. blue economy and provide valuable fishery-independent data needed to carry out provisions of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).  Data collected from NOAA’s research surveys are used to manage commercial and recreational fisheries that contributed 1.74 million jobs, over $240 billion in sales, and $111 billion in gross domestic product to the U.S. economy in 2017,” the Senators wrote.  “The economic output of U.S. fisheries is maximized by setting accurate quotas and catch limits, which depend on the long-term, fishery-independent datasets collected by NOAA’s research surveys.”

The Senators acknowledged NOAA’s initial response and actions to compensate for lost survey data; however, they reiterated that the methods used are not sufficient replacements for the typical large-scale, long-term research surveys required to sustainably manage fisheries under the MSA.  In closing, the Senators requested a clear, written plan for FY2021 surveys before December 15, 2020.

Read the full release here

New Electronic Monitoring Outreach Materials Available for Groundfish Sectors

October 9, 2020 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries:

On September 30, 2020, the New England Fishery Management Council voted to approve Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan, including two options for sectors to use electronic monitoring, instead of human at-sea monitors, to meet their third-party sector monitoring requirements.

Under an electronic monitoring program, cameras and gear sensors are placed on your vessel to monitor catch and discards, and collect catch information. There are two different kinds of electronic monitoring programs for sectors in Amendment 23: Audit and Maximized Retention. We created a fact sheet and an infographic in order to help groundfish sectors understand the similarities and differences between these two programs as they consider which monitoring tools they would like to use in future fishing years. The fact sheet and infographic are now available on our northeast groundfish monitoring program webpage.

Questions?

Electronic Monitoring: Contact Claire Fitz-Gerald, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9255

Amendment 23: Contact Mark Grant, Sustainable Fisheries, 978-281-9145

Media Inquiries: Contact Jennifer Goebel, Regional Office, 978-281-9175

Meet the Fishermen Involved in Cooperative Research

October 8, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s works with our region’s commercial fishing community to collect data that help us better understand ocean ecosystems and improve fisheries management. Their partnership is critical to the future of sustainable fisheries in our region. It helps us feed data-hungry climate models, estimate fishing effort and catch, and understand potential conflicts with wind energy areas. Here are just a few of our commercial fishing partners helping to make that happen.

As a bonus, we asked our commercial fishing partners to share their best seafood tips. Cooking seafood at home can be tricky, but with their tips, you’ll find it a lot easier and stress free!

Read the full release here

WHOI receives NOAA awards to study, predict harmful algal blooms

October 7, 2020 — The following was released by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution:

Researchers at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) were recently named in a list of 17 new research projects funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to improve the nation’s collective response to the growing problem of harmful algal blooms (HABs). The four projects led, co-led, or supported by WHOI researchers total nearly $2.5 million over the coming year and $7.9 million over the course of the projects. A full list of the new grant awards is available online and includes projects funded under NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) and the  U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOSⓇ) Office.

“NOAA is funding the latest scientific research to support managers trying to cope with increasing and recurring toxic algae that continue to affect environmental and human health of coastal communities,” said David Kidwell, director of NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Competitive Research Program. “These projects will address the largely unknown socioeconomic impact of blooms in various regions, improve local managers’ ability to keep drinking water safe, aid monitoring for algal toxins in seafood and advance a potentially valuable control method for Florida red tide and other blooms, enhancing our nation’s collective response to these events.”

Marine and fresh waters teem with life, much of it microscopic, and most of it harmless. Although most of these phytoplankton and cyanobacteria are harmless, there are some that create potent toxins and, under the right conditions, both toxic and non-toxic species can form blooms that threaten the health of humans and ecosystems, and cause significant societal and economic problems.

These impacts include human illness and death following consumption of or indirect exposure to HAB toxins, economic losses to coastal communities and commercial fisheries, and HAB-associated wildlife deaths. Freshwater HABs can also affect drinking water supplies far from the ocean and are a growing problem as water temperatures rise, precipitation patterns change, and the use of agricultural fertilizers becomes more widespread.

Read the full release here

Seafood Stories: Celebrate Seafood Month in the Pacific Islands Region

October 7, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

October is National Seafood Month. In the Pacific Islands region, our connection to seafood is deeply rooted in our diverse island cultures. Seafood continues to be a regular part of our lives, and it will remain an important part of our food-secure future.

But what does sustainable seafood look like in the Pacific? And how can we really know if what we bought—or caught—is sustainable?

Join us for an interactive webinar series that looks into these and other questions, and help us build a picture of sustainable seafood choices all month long through a crowdsourced StoryMap!

Read the full release here

Call for Butterfish & Squid Working Group Members

October 6, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are currently soliciting working group members for both the butterfish and Illex squid research track stock assessments.  The research track peer review meeting will occur in November 2021.

If you are interested in being a member of either working group, please fill out the online questionnaire (a Google form) by October 16, 2020.

The specific tasking for the butterfish and Illex squid working groups is detailed in the questionnaire.

The Role of Working Groups in Northeast Fishery Stock Assessment

Working groups carry out the analytical work required for the stock assessment or topic, including developing and implementing the research plan and terms of reference that are provided by the Northeast Region Coordinating Council.

Questions?

Contact Michele Traver, Northeast Fisheries Science Center

Extended: Slow Speed Zone South of Nantucket to Protect Right Whales

October 5, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In Effect to October 20

NOAA Fisheries announces an extension to the previously triggered voluntary vessel speed restriction zone (Dynamic Management Area  or DMA) south of Nantucket.

This DMA was originally triggered by an August 31, 2020, sighting of an aggregation of right whales and previously extended until October 9, 2020. A  New England Aquarium aerial survey observed an aggregation of whales in this area on October 4. Since the current DMA is set to expire in less than a week we are extending it until October 20, 2020.

Mariners, please go around this areas or go slow (10 knots or less) inside this area where groups of right whales have been sighted.

South of Nantucket DMA is in effect to October 20.

41 16 N
40 32 N
069 37 W
070 28 W

Read the full release here

MAINE: Conservation success or pests? Seals spark passionate debate

October 5, 2020 — Nick Muto has fished up and down the New England coast and there is nothing that gets his blood boiling more than the sight of a seal.

Muto, whose two boats fish for groundfish such as skate and monkfish as well as lobster, is among a growing group of anglers, beach goers and local officials who are quick to blame everything from disease to depleted fisheries to increased shark sightings on the exploding seal population.

“Areas that we used to traditionally fish that were as close to guarantees as you could get have been strip mined of fish, and the fish have been driven out of there by seals,” Muto said. “They have eaten fish out of our nets. They have been caught in our nets. They are everywhere.”

The debate over seals was reignited after the death in July of a swimmer killed by a great white off Harpswell, Maine. Seals are often shark prey, and experts believe Julie Dimperio Holowach may have been mistaken for a seal.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

New Videos Put Restitution to Work for Imperiled Coho Salmon

October 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Coho salmon once supported a wealth of tribal, commercial, and recreational fisheries along the West Coast. Today some populations of the swift silvery fish are nearing extinction. The good news? We can reverse that decline, as biologists and others demonstrate in a new video series that offers hope for California’s endangered fish and wildlife species.

The video series was produced in collaboration with state and federal fish and wildlife agencies with a community service payment made by a real estate development company. The company pleaded guilty in 2016 in a federal criminal case involving the endangered California tiger salamander. In a separate but related case, the owner of the development company agreed to protect a 107-acre ranch in Contra Costa County that provides habitat for endangered species.

The Saving Species Together video series and a supporting website highlight collaborative efforts to recover endangered species including:

  • California tiger salamander
  • San Joaquin kit fox
  • Western snowy plover
  • Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast coho salmon

“When we collaborate, we can make very real progress in protecting these species,” said Bob Pagliuco, a NOAA Fisheries habitat restoration specialist. He worked with Humboldt Redwood Company and Trout Unlimited to build an off-channel pond for juvenile coho in the Eel River Watershed. The coho salmon video tells how a supportive landowner helped return fish to their historic habitat. “The educational campaign launched by these videos is a way to help the public understand how habitat destruction affects species and how we can protect habitats to save these species.”

Read the full release here

Video Research Investigates Effects of Shellfish Farming on West Coast Nearshore Habitat

October 2, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The underwater video scene is full of life. A school of sinewy fish darts across the screen while a crab rummages along the seafloor. A flatfish, camouflaged like the sandy bottom, doesn’t seem to mind when the crab crawls over its back to approach an oyster.

Scientists from NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center are collecting this video and more like it. They want to assess how marine life uses, and may even benefit from, habitat in and around farms growing oysters and other shellfish. They are teaming up with Microsoft to use computers and artificial intelligence to scan hours of video within seconds for different species of interest.

This particular video reveals the underwater landscape of Hama Hama shellfish farm in Hood Canal, Washington, one of many partners assisting with the study. Other local shellfish growers and the Pacific Shellfish Institute are also taking part.

“We collected the video as one way to assess how fish and invertebrates use shellfish aquaculture habitats compared to areas of the nearshore that don’t have aquaculture,” said Beth Sanderson, a Northwest Fisheries Science Center research scientist. Researchers collected the video over the past several years to assess the way species use, and feed in, different habitat types.

Shellfish farming is one of the most valuable parts of the Northwest aquaculture industry. It generated close to $100 million annually for the regional economy and provides close to 1,500 jobs prior to the pandemic. Shellfish farms occupy more than 25,000 acres in the Northwest. Researchers and managers want to understand how farming practices affect marine life in the shallow and highly productive nearshore waters where oysters and other shellfish grow.

“We’ve seen basically all of the fish you’d expect in the nearshore—herring and other forage fish, varieties of perch and sculpin, juvenile salmon, along with diving ducks, harbor seals and more,” Sanderson said. “There’s an amazing variety of life in the shallows of the Pacific Northwest, and we are seeing for the first time how many of these species use habitats within and near shellfish farms.”

Read the full release here