Saving Seafood

Celebrating Aquaculture Week 2020

September 24, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

This week NOAA Fisheries and our partners will celebrate National Aquaculture Week. NOAA Fisheries and its predecessor agencies have been involved in aquaculture for more than 125 years, pioneering fish culture methods and stock enhancement techniques to replenish wild stocks. Many culture, hatching, and rearing techniques currently used by the industry worldwide were developed in NOAA labs, such as the Milford, Connecticut lab for mollusks; the Manchester, Washington, lab for salmon; and the Galveston, Texas lab for shrimp.

Marine aquaculture is an important part of the agency’s strategy for economic and environmental resiliency in coastal communities and supporting healthy oceans. In 2017, US aquaculture producers raised 32 million pounds of salmon, 36 million pounds of oysters, and 9 million pounds of clams along the nation’s coast. In total, farm-raised seafood accounted for 21 percent of the U.S. seafood production by value in 2017. Around the nation in many fishing and coastal communities, aquaculture is creating important economic opportunities and year-round employment.

Read the full release here

2020 NEFSC Fall Ecosystem Monitoring Cruise Cancelled

September 24, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is cancelling the Northeast Fisheries Science Center 2020 Fall Ecosystem Monitoring Survey. The survey would have been conducted by the NOAA Ship Henry Bigelow, which is scheduled to begin a required drydock maintenance period on November 23, 2020, in Galveston, Texas. It is an 11-day transit from the ship’s homeport in Newport, Rhode Island, to the maintenance facility in Texas.

The maintenance is scheduled to be completed by February 19, 2021, positioning the ship to start the Spring 2021 Bottom Trawl Survey, as scheduled. Completing the Spring Bottom Trawl Survey is one of the highest priority surveys for the NEFSC in 2021.

The Fall Ecosystem Monitoring Survey captures seasonal changes in the ocean environment, information used for multiple scientific inquiries. Over its 33-year history, some seasons have been missed and the number of annual surveys has varied. Analytical methods have been developed to bridge these data gaps. Assuming surveys occur as planned in 2021, researchers can bridge the gap in 2020 data using these methods.

Read the full release here

What Does NOAA’s Chief Scientist Do?

September 23, 2020 — There is a lot of buzz this week as various news outlets report on possible changes in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Chief Scientist position. I will defer to other sources on the hubbub around names being considered. It occurred to me that many people may not be familiar with NOAA’s senior leadership structure, and more specifically, what the Chief Scientist does. Here’s a quick “101” for you.

Before we delve into the roles of the Chief Scientist, let’s explore the way NOAA is organized. NOAA is arguably the leading federal agency for matters related to weather, oceans, fisheries, climate, and climate change. It is housed within the Department of Commerce. Why, you might ask? According to Jeffry Mervis at ScienceMag.org, the Obama administration explained why it ended up in that Department. Apparently it dates back to the Nixon administration. He writes, “Commerce secretaries have long bemoaned the presence of NOAA, a scientific and fisheries agency, in a cabinet department devoted to promoting U.S. trade and economic development….” According to Mervis, Nixon was angry with Interior secretary Wally Hickel because of his criticism of the Vietnam policy at the time so as Mervis writes, “Nixon punished him by not making the newly created NOAA part of the Interior Department, which already housed the U.S. Geological Survey.” You can find the original Obama administration wording on this curious piece of history in Mervis’ article.

Irrespective of that story, it is clear that weather, climate, and fisheries play an important role in economic activities but enough about the housing of the agency. The organization chart above reveals the leadership structure within NOAA. I once served on the NOAA Science Advisory Board so have a pretty good understanding of the puzzle. Dr. Neil Jacobs has a really long title of Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Environmental Observations and Prediction, Performing the duties of Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmospheres. Whew, let’s just call him the person in charge at NOAA. You can see that RDML Tim Gallaudet, PhD, Jacob’s Deputy, and the Chief Scientist (currently Craig McLean in an acting capacity) report directly to Jacobs. In the grey boxes, you will find the line offices which include the National Weather Service, National Marine Fisheries, National Ocean Services, National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services, Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (McLean’s original responsibility), and the Office of Marine and Aviation Operations/NOAA Corps.

Read the full story at Forbes

Warming conditions are making northern Bering Sea more friendly for pink salmon

September 22, 2020 — Pink salmon, the most plentiful and cheapest of Alaska’s five salmon species, are finding more hospitable habitat in the warming northern Bering Sea, a new study finds.

There is a clear link between warming temperatures at Nome and better juvenile salmon productivity in rivers that flow into the northern Bering Sea, said the study, published in the journal Deep Sea Research Part II: Topical Studies in Oceanography.

Pink salmon, a species more associated with waters off Alaska’s southern coast, appear to be among those boreal species working their way into more northern waters in response to climate change.

Pink salmon’s short life cycle makes their population more adaptable to these changes in environmental conditions, according to the study. Other salmon species spend up to seven years at sea before returning to freshwater to spawn, but pink salmon have a total life cycle of only two years — counting their time in both saltwater and freshwater — and that relatively quick turnaround gives more chances for succeeding generations to shift their migration patterns.

“Pink salmon are definitely good at straying,” said lead author Ed Farley of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. “They definitely want to go seek out other habitat.”

Read the full story at Arctic Today

Fishing groups applaud Pacific sardine rebuilding plan, Oceana calls it a failure to act

September 22, 2020 — The Pacific sardine fishery on the U.S. West Coast has officially been given a rebuilding plan by the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC), a move that fishermen applauded and environmental organization Oceana has decried as a “failure to act.”

The development is the latest in years of complications for the fishery, which was closed in 2015 after surveys showed a lack of acceptable biomass in the species. The most recent assessment by NOAA earlier this year looked as though the fishery was on track for yet another year of closures.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Open-ocean fish farm proposed off San Diego coast could be first in federal waters

September 21, 2020 — A prestigious San Diego research institute and a Long Beach social-benefit investment group are teaming to create what could be the first fish farm in federal waters.

The proposed Pacific Ocean AquaFarm would be about four miles offshore of San Diego and would generate 5,000 metric tons of sushi-grade yellowfish each year — enough for 11 million servings of the popular seafood.

A partnership between Hubbs-SeaWorld Research Institute and Pacific6 Enterprise, the project also would create a diversity of economic opportunities and provide a local source for a fish that is now mostly imported.

The institute submitted a federal permit application for the project Sept. 9. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will lead the environmental review of their proposal, which will take about 18 to 24 months. Construction would take about a year, and the first set of fish stocked there would be ready for market 18 to 22 months after that, Kent said.

Read the full story at the Los Angeles Times

McMurdo/Orolia OmniCom Vessel Monitoring System Approved for Use

September 21, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

On September 15, 2020, McMurdo/Orolia’s “OmniCom” vessel monitoring system (VMS) was approved for use by commercial fishing vessels with federal permits requiring the use of VMS in the Greater Atlantic Region (GAR).

The Omnicom VMS unit meets all NOAA VMS and GAR position and software reporting requirements and is available for installation from Orolia and their registered dealers. The unit operates on the Iridium satellite network. For more information, refer to the OmniCom datasheet or contact Orolia client care at 800-262-8722.

A complete list of approved VMS units in the Greater Atlantic Region is available online.

Questions?

Contact: the Northeast VMS Team at 978-281-9213

New Conservation Plan Benefits California Steelhead—And Irrigators, Too

September 18, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Improvements in fish passage and assurances of water in California’s Calaveras River will help promote recovery of threatened steelhead. These changes will be implemented under the first plan of its kind in the Central Valley of California.

The Calaveras River Habitat Conservation Plan finalized this week includes commitments by the Stockton East Water District to improve conditions in the Calaveras River for steelhead. In turn, the Water District gets assurances that it can continue distributing water to irrigators and others without violating the Endangered Species Act.

It is the first Habitat Conservation Plan that NOAA Fisheries has completed in the Central Valley. It reflects a partnership with the Water District to help recover a core population of threatened steelhead while also maintaining water supplies for agricultural and municipal use.

The Plan includes a commitment from the Water District to conserve threatened steelhead in ways that will benefit the population in the long-term. In turn, the District can carry out its usual operations and serve customers even if it might have limited incidental impacts on fish. The Plan also includes a forum for public discussion and input into river management.

Read the full release here

Maine lobstermen to harvest $50 million windfall

September 18, 2020 — A wave of government money is heading toward local fishermen hurt by trade wars and COVID-19, and officials say it will arrive sometime in November.

The Trump administration announced on September 9 that Maine lobstermen will receive $50 million because they’ve been hurt by the 25 percent tariffs China slapped on lobster in July 2018. The program pays 50 cents for every pound of lobster landed in 2019, up to $250,000 per person.

“I’m happy the boats got their relief, but the timing is suspect,” said Travis Fifield, Stonington lobster dealer, in an interview. Only fishermen, and no one else in the supply chain, will get part of that $50 million, Fifield said.

The announcement follows the European Union’s decision in late August to drop its tariff on U.S. lobsters for five years. Local seafood dealers have said that will help the lobster industry.

Another $20 million in federal money will be distributed to a broad swath of Maine’s fishing industry, including lobstermen, processors, aquaculturists and dealers. Maine Department of Marine Resources (DMR) Commissioner Patrick Kelliher said in a memo he hopes the checks are mailed in November. That money, which comes from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), was authorized by Congress under the CARES Act in the spring. To get the money, people have to show they’ve suffered a 35 percent drop in income because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read the full story at the Penobscot Bay Press