Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Joe Kennedy: NOAA Fisheries Should Move to New Bedford From Woods Hole

July 13, 2020 — Massachusetts congressman and U.S. Senate candidate Joseph P. Kennedy III said Friday that government scientists working for NOAA Fisheries should be headquartered in New Bedford instead of in Woods Hole, the scenic community on Cape Cod that hosts a half-dozen leading scientific institutions.

“We have the most important fishing port in the country here. And we have the scientists that have enormous influence about that port decide to be over there instead. Why would you do that?” Kennedy said during a campaign visit to New Bedford’s working waterfront.

The Democrat, who is challenging incumbent U.S. Senator Ed Markey in the Sept. 1 primary, said the concept would move 200 jobs to the city, provide an important investment in an anchor institution, and say to commercial fishermen “that we want your opinion, we need your opinion, and we want to get this right.”

The now-obsolete Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole was completed in 1961, and plans have been afoot to replace it. “It’s going to get rebuilt. The question is where,” said New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell.

Read the full story at WBSM

MASSACHUSETTS: Kennedy endorses moving NOAA science center to New Bedford

July 13, 2020 — Congressman Joe Kennedy III brought his senatorial campaign to the Whaling City Friday afternoon, touting a plan at the center of his campaign for post-COVID-19 economic recovery. The focus of the stop: The Blue Economy, and more specifically, bringing NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center from Woods Hole to New Bedford.

Speaking alongside Mayor Jon Mitchell at City Pier 3, Kennedy expressed his support for the move of the science center from it’s current location on Cape Cod. The first federal officeholder to endorse moving the center, Kennedy said when it comes to the interaction between NOAA and the fishing industry, “you put them in the same place.”

“That could be 200 more federal jobs here in New Bedford. That not only provides important investment in a federal agency, that’s an anchor institution, but it says to the fishermen, ‘we want your opinion, we need your opinion, and we want to get this right.’”

Kennedy’s vision for the Science Center and the SouthCoast’s Blue Economy come as part of the much larger Kennedy Jobs and Justice Initiative (JJI), the center of his senatorial campaign, which proposes to guide economic recovery efforts by “building a better, stronger, more resilient post-COVID America.” The congressman announced the plan outside of IBEW Local 103 headquarters in Dorchester on Wednesday.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

2020 Ambrose Jearld Lecture to Focus on Practices that Reduce Participation in STEM Fields

July 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Nigel Golden will present the 2020 Ambrose Jearld Jr. Lecture on Diversity and Inclusion. Golden is a doctoral candidate in environmental conservation and graduate fellow in the Northeast Climate Adaptation Science Center at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.

The event is sponsored by the Woods Hole Diversity Initiative and the Woods Hole Diversity Advisory Committee. Golden’s lecture, “Reducing Harm: A Politic to Address Institutional and Cultural Practices that Reduce Participation and Retention in STEM,” will take place online on July 23 at 2:00 p.m.(EDT) via Zoom. Registration is required.

A native of Milwaukee, Golden received his bachelor of science in wildlife ecology and biology from the University of Wisconsin – Stevens Point. At the university, he cultivated his passion for conducting research in environmental conservation, and the importance of doing this work in conjunction with social justice issues.

Read the full release here

The International Union for Conservation of Nature Updates Classification of the North Atlantic Right Whales from Endangered to Critically Endangered

July 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The International Union for Conservation of Nature recently changed its Red List Category for North Atlantic right whales from Endangered to Critically Endangered. The criteria used to evaluate this change are outlined in the IUCN Red List Categories and Criteria, Section V. Within the United States, North Atlantic right whales are already in the highest risk category possible under both the Marine Mammal Protection Act (Strategic and Depleted) and Endangered Species Act (Endangered).

In 2019, NOAA Fisheries also added North Atlantic right whales to our Species in the Spotlight initiative, which focuses resources on the most imperiled endangered species under NOAA Fisheries’ jurisdiction. While IUCN Red List categories have no direct relationship to categorizations under the MMPA or ESA, NOAA Fisheries shares the IUCN’s concern for North Atlantic right whales. We continue to use our authority under the MMPA and ESA to protect and recover the species.

Read the full release here

Gulf Shrimp Fishery to Re-Open Off Texas on July 15, 2020

July 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

WHAT/WHEN:

NOAA Fisheries announces federal waters from 9 to 200 nautical miles off Texas will open to shrimp trawling beginning 30 minutes after official sunset, local time, on July 15, 2020, corresponding to the time Texas opens its waters to shrimp trawling.

WHY THIS IS HAPPENING:

  • The waters off Texas are closed to shrimp fishing annually 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 because of their small size.
  • The fishery closed May 15, 2020.
  • The re-opening date for Texas waters is based on the results of biological sampling by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department.
  • In addition, Texas regulations only allow a 60-day closure; the 60 day period expires July 15, 2020.

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Cancels Three Research Surveys

July 10, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Due to the uncertainties created by the COVID-19 pandemic and the unique challenges those are creating for NOAA Fisheries, we are cancelling three research surveys off the Northeast United States. The cancelled surveys include those for sea scallop, Atlantic surfclam/ocean quahog, and an advanced technology survey investigating the ocean’s mesopelagic layer—the “twilight zone.”

These are difficult decisions for the agency as we strive to balance our need to maintain core mission responsibilities with the realities and impacts of the current health crisis.

Since March, we have been rigorously analyzing various options for conducting cruises this year and are taking a survey-by-survey, risk-based approach. After much deliberation, we determined that there was no way to move forward with these surveys while effectively minimizing risk and meeting core survey objectives.

Read the full release here

NOAA Seeks Input on Recommendations for a Comprehensive Interagency Seafood Trade Strategy

July 10, 2020 — The following was published in the Federal Register:

On May 7, 2020, the White House issued an Executive Order on Promoting American Seafood Competitiveness and Economic Growth. As part of this effort, the Department of Commerce and the United States Trade Representative (USTR) are co-chairing the Interagency Seafood Trade Task Force (Seafood Trade Task Force), which will develop recommendations to provide to USTR for the development of a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy. On behalf of the Seafood Trade Task Force co-chairs, NOAA requests written input from interested parties on how best to achieve the objectives of the Seafood Trade Task Force as described in the Executive Order, including improving access to foreign markets for U.S. seafood exports through trade policy and negotiations; resolving technical barriers to U.S. seafood exports; and otherwise supporting fair market access for U.S. seafood products. In addition, interested parties are requested to respond to the questions listed below in the SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION section as appropriate. The public input provided in response to this request for information (RFI) will inform the Seafood Trade Task Force as it works with Federal agencies and other stakeholders to develop recommendations to USTR in the preparation of a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before August 1, 2020.

ADDRESSES:

Responses should be submitted via email to SeafoodTrade.Strategy@noaa.gov. Include “RFI Response: Interagency Seafood Trade Task Force” in the subject line of the message.

Instructions: Response to this RFI is voluntary. Respondents need not comment on all listed objectives. For all submissions, clearly indicate which objective is being addressed. Email attachments will be accepted in plain text, Microsoft Word, or Adobe PDF formats only. Each individual or institution is requested to submit only one response. The Department of Commerce may post responses to this RFI, without change, on a Federal website. NOAA, therefore, requests that no business proprietary information, copyrighted information, or personally identifiable information be submitted in response to this RFI. Please note that the U.S. Government will not pay for response preparation, or for the use of any information contained in the response.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

Andrew Lawler, Andrew.Lawler@noaa.gov, 202-689-4590.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

On May 7, 2020, the President signed a new Executive Order promoting American seafood competitiveness and economic growth. Specifically, the Executive Order calls for the expansion of sustainable U.S. seafood production through: More efficient and predictable aquaculture permitting; cutting-edge research and development; regulatory reform to maximize commercial fishing; and enforcement of common-sense restrictions on seafood imports that do not meet American standards.

As outlined in Section 11 of the Executive Order, the Secretary of Commerce is establishing a Seafood Trade Task Force to be co-chaired by the Secretary of Commerce and the U.S. Trade Representative (Co-Chairs), or their designees. In addition to the Co-Chairs, the Seafood Trade Task Force will include the following members, or their designees: The Secretary of State; the Secretary of the Interior; the Secretary of Agriculture; the Secretary of Homeland Security; the Director of the Office of Management and Budget; the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy; the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy; the Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers; the Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade; the Commissioner of Food and Drugs; the Administrator of NOAA; and the heads of such other agencies and offices as the Co-Chairs may designate.

The Seafood Trade Task Force will provide recommendations to USTR in the preparation of a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy by identifying opportunities to improve access to foreign markets for U.S. seafood products through trade policy and negotiations, resolve technical barriers to U.S. seafood exports, and otherwise support fair market access for U.S. seafood products. USTR will then submit a comprehensive interagency seafood trade strategy to the President, through the Assistant to the President for Economic Policy and the Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy, within 90 days of the receiving the recommendations from the Seafood Trade Task Force.

Read the full notice here

Ocean Acidification Threatens Bivalve Industry

July 9, 2020 — Worldwide, ocean levels are rising at an accelerated pace. Cape May County is feeling the effects of exacerbated weather events, as a result.

Yet, there is another drastic change affecting the oceans – a decrease in the water’s pH levels. This is a change that industry leaders and scientists fear will drastically affect the county, namely its bivalve (aquatic invertebrates with a hinged shell) industry that is, as marine and coastal sustainability expert Dr. Daphne Munroe said, “At the heart of the economy in this region.”

As carbon is released into the atmosphere, it was once speculated that the ocean’s tendency to absorb emissions would be a net positive, as it spared the Earth’s atmosphere from the worst of the emissions. Dr. Feely, senior scientist at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), said, “[It’s] a huge service the oceans are doing that significantly reduces global temperature.”

However, scientists are coming to realize that the ocean’s absorption of carbon emissions comes at a great cost, and that the long-term effects of an ocean that has absorbed great amounts of carbon emissions mean that ecosystems will ultimately suffer.

Read the full story at the Cape May County Herald

Northern Right Whales Are on the Brink, and Trump Could Be Their Last Hope

July 9, 2020 — When boaters spotted a dead North Atlantic right whale off Elberon, N.J., on June 25, marine biologists quickly established the identity of the hulking gray carcass.

With only about 400 such whales left in the world, every individual is known to researchers and cataloged. This one, the six-month-old calf of whale No. 3560, had been struck several times on the head, suggesting one or possibly two vessel collisions.

On Thursday, such whales, which got their name because they float after being killed and thus were considered the “right whale” to hunt, were placed on the Red List of critically endangered species by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the last classification before they are gone from the wild. The task of responding will fall to an unlikely champion, President Trump, whose recent appeals for support from Maine lobstermen could clash with the task of saving the right whale.

Peter Corkeron, a senior scientist at the New England Aquarium who spent nearly a decade chronicling the gruesome deaths of right whales as the director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association’s research program for large whales, said he feared the listing would have little impact.

Read the full story at the New York Times

Near-Infrared Technology Identifies Fish Species from Otoliths

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

Aim a beam of near-infrared light at an otolith, and it reflects a literal spectrum of information on the biological and environmental history of a fish.

NOAA Fisheries scientists are developing ways to use near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) analysis of otoliths (fish ear stones) to provide accurate information for sustainable fisheries management faster. NIRS has already proven its value as a time- and cost-effective method to determine the age of fish.

Now, for the first time, scientists have used NIRS analysis of otoliths to identify fish species and populations. The new technique successfully differentiated 13 marine fish species from four large marine ecosystems around the country.

“Our study shows the potential of NIRS as a fast and reliable method of identifying fish species and populations,” said Irina Benson, Alaska Fisheries Science Center biologist. She led the study with Age and Growth Program colleague Thomas Helser and Beverly Barnett of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center. “This technology could provide information for stock assessment and management faster than traditional methods. It expands the possibilities for collecting data to support ecological studies. It is a big step forward for NOAA Fisheries’ strategic initiative to develop NIRS technology for fisheries science.” 

Read the full release here