Saving Seafood

US lawmakers move to block NOAA Fisheries from closing red snapper fishery

January 21, 2025 —  Federal lawmakers from the U.S. state of Florida have introduced legislation to block NOAA Fisheries from closing the recreational South Atlantic red snapper fishery for three months of the year.

“Florida’s fishing industry is a multi-billion dollar economic driver in our state, supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and attracting visitors to communities along our coast,” U.S. Senator Rick Scott (R-Florida) said in a statement. “We’ve made great strides in Florida to ensure our natural resources are preserved and protected for years to come, including rebuilding the Red Snapper population. I’m proud to work with [U.S. Representative John Rutherford (R-Florida)] on the Red Snapper Act to support our state’s commercial and recreational fishing industry and ensure their success isn’t limited by federal government’s outdated data and regulations.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Biden-Harris Administration, NOAA designate 18th national marine sanctuary

January 17, 2025 — NOAA is designating the marine portions of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, a 582,570 square-mile area in the Pacific Ocean, as America’s 18th national marine sanctuary. Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary will be the largest sanctuary in the National Marine Sanctuary System, and is one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world.

Located in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Papahānaumokuākea National Marine Sanctuary will provide additional ways to manage and protect the area’s nationally significant biological, cultural and historical resources.

Sanctuary designation will not change the area’s status as a marine national monument. The sanctuary designation advances President Biden’s ocean conservation legacy and his America the Beautiful initiative, which supports locally-led, collaborative conservation efforts across the country.

“National marine sanctuary designation will bring a stronger framework for marine conservation and protection to the waters of Papahānaumokuākea,” said NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad, Ph.D. “The Sanctuary will also facilitate scientific research, resource monitoring and coordinated efforts to ensure the long-term health of this natural, cultural and historically significant area.”

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries will co-manage the sanctuary with the State of Hawaiʻi and in partnership with NOAA Fisheries, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, consistent with the existing management of Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

NOAA dumps controversial boat speed limit at heart of debate over protecting right whales

January 17, 2025 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has withdrawn its proposal to expand boat speed limits to protect North Atlantic right whales after more than two years of debate and over 90,000 public comments.

The decision brought some relief to boat builders and fishermen who saw it as the biggest maritime regulation ever proposed on the recreational boating industry.

“It would have made it tough very tough on us. We fish wrecks 60 to 70 miles offshore in the winter and you can’t get anywhere going 10 knots,” said Howard Bogan Jr. owner of the Jamaica party fishing boat at Bogan’s Basin in Brielle.

Bogan and his family, which has been running party boats out of Brielle since 1931, opposed the speed restrictions, which compounded with tightening fisheries regulations would have made it even harder for their business to provide food, entertainment and enjoyment to thousands who visit the Jersey Shore each year.

Read the full article at Asbury Park Press

NOAA Helps Students and Educators Dive into Environmental Education

January 16, 2025 — NOAA has awarded 16 new projects nearly $1.4 million in Fiscal Year 2024 funding as part of the Chesapeake Bay-Watershed Education and Training (B-WET) program. These projects are located in Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Washington, D.C.; some will touch the entire region.

Students and teachers around the Chesapeake Bay watershed will benefit from these outstanding programs. This year’s new grants support projects to help school districts deliver Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences. MWEEs combine outdoor and classroom learning to help students investigate local environmental issues. They lead to students taking informed action, increase school districts’ capacity to deliver environmental education, and support statewide environmental literacy initiatives.

In addition, almost $1.3 million will support 15 continuing projects in Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., Delaware, New York, and Pennsylvania, enabling nonprofit organizations and universities to partner with school districts to implement Meaningful Watershed Educational Experiences that will reach more than 15,000 students and 300 teachers.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Optics Technology: At the Heart of Marine Research

January 15, 2025 — At NOAA Fisheries, optics technology plays a major role in gathering data to better understand our marine and coastal ecosystems. Optics uses tools such as advanced underwater cameras to generate video and images that scientists use to better understand biodiversity and track the behavior of species.

To collect data, many surveys have traditionally relied on securing time on a NOAA ship. Researchers typically sail to the area where the survey is taking place, but they are limited to collecting data in areas the ship can navigate. Ship time can be very costly, and researchers must plan their efforts around the time of year the ship is available.

Optics increases our capacity to help gather this same data by using video and image data instead of human observation. This is particularly helpful in the deepest parts of the ocean, which can be difficult to access due to a lack of light and extreme pressure. We are able to “see” the underwater ecosystems we protect while ensuring safer operations. Incorporating this information into our research provides a richer understanding of precious marine resources.

The findings have a direct impact on management decisions for habitat and species conservation. In warmer climates, we use optics to survey corals in the National Coral Reef Monitoring Program. In science centers across the country, we use remote underwater video cameras to identify marine resources.

In colder climates such as remote locations of Alaska, we identify marine mammals with drone footage and infrared optics. And in Antarctica, we attach cameras to autonomous underwater vehicles such as gliders to gather information on krill and plankton.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Technology Week: Launching into the Future with Advanced Technologies

January 14, 2025 — NOAA scientists use many technologies to collect and analyze the data needed to manage our ocean resources and habitats. These technologies help us explore remote ocean areas, study endangered species, and ensure we have the information needed to make informed decisions about management and conservation. This allows us to better manage fisheries and support our coastal communities.

Join us for Technology Week (January 13–17, 2025) as we examine some of these technologies, many of which operate with funding from the Inflation Reduction Act.

How NOAA Fisheries Uses Technology

We are a leader in the use of advanced technologies, but what exactly do we use them for?

Some ocean creatures are difficult to study because they live in remote habitats or have complex life cycles. And to study unique creatures, sometimes scientists need to use unique  tools. Our scientists use a range of advanced technologies to gather and analyze data and better understand the science behind healthy ecosystems and marine life. Get familiar with the technology we use to support our mission by reading the features below.

Discover the technologies used by our scientists to study marine species and the environment

Uncrewed Systems

Uncrewed systems allow us to access remote or difficult to reach places. They can be deployed aerially, on the ocean’s surface, and below the waves—supplementing traditional data collection methods and expanding our ability to conduct important research.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

NOAA model designed to help assess coastal flood risks

Janauary 13, 2025 — Coastal communities along the Atlantic, Caribbean and Gulf coasts can now better assess changing flood risks using a newly released model created by the National Ocean Service.

The service, which falls under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on Monday launched Coastal Ocean Reanalysis, or CORA, a dataset that includes more than four decades of modeled, historical water level and wave information roughly every quarter mile along the U.S. coastline.

CORA closes what have been in some areas of the coast huge gaps in water level data collection that left some coastal communities without such information. That’s because historical data was until today available at NOAA’s tide gauge locations, which can be hundreds of miles apart along some areas of the coast.

“Historical coastal water level information is necessary to assess changing flood risks to communities and to predict the likelihood of flooding,” National Ocean Service Director Nicole LeBoeuf said in a release. “This new dataset will improve NOAA’s current flood-risk assessment tools and help scientists develop new coastal flood products and services for the nation.”

Read the full article at the CostalReview.org

 

Alaska cities reach agreement on Bering Sea snow crab harvest

January 9, 2025 — The cities of Unalaska and St. Paul in the U.S. state of Alaska have reached an agreement to share revenue collected from the processing of 1.6 million pounds of Bering Sea snow crab.

After two years of closures, NOAA Fisheries announced in October 2024 that it would be opening up the Bering Sea crab fishery for a limited harvest with a 4.7 million pound total allowable catch (TAC). Around 1.6 million pounds of that TAC was designated for the North Region, which, according to a framework agreed to by harvesters and processors in September 2024, had to be processed in St. Paul.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Building Resource and Community Resilience to Rapidly Changing Oceans

January 8, 2025 — Climate change is driving rapid changes in U.S. marine and Great Lakes ecosystems. The impacts range from devastating marine heatwaves to shifts in the distribution and abundance of commercial and recreational fish stocks. These changes are already impacting these important resources and the people, businesses, and coastal communities that depend on them.

NOAA Fisheries is committed to helping resource managers, businesses and coastal communities build resilience and adapt to changing ocean environments. To be successful, we need up-to-date information on what’s coming, what’s at risk, and how best to prepare and respond.

NOAA’s Climate, Ecosystems, and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI) is designed to address these needs and transform how we approach and respond to changing ocean and Great Lakes conditions. CEFI is a cross-NOAA effort to build a nationwide decision support system to help reduce impacts and increase resilience. For the first time, NOAA will regularly provide robust forecasts of future ocean ecosystem conditions, information on what’s at risk, and advice on best strategies for resilience and adaptation.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

Genetic Diversity in Alaska Red King Crab May Provide Resilience to Climate Change

January 3, 2024 — Maintaining genetic diversity within and among populations is vital to ensure species are resilient to challenging conditions. Without it, a single disease or set of conditions—such as a prolonged change in ocean acidification—could drive a species to extinction. Fortunately, new research has revealed more genetic diversity across Alaska’s red king crab populations than originally documented. This suggests that the species will be more resilient in the face of changing conditions like ocean warming. However, any efforts to enhance red king crab populations need to be careful not to affect this genetic diversity.

King Crab in Alaska

Historically, the red king crab fishery was Alaska’s top shellfish fishery. It’s embedded in the culture of Alaska’s working waterfronts and king crabs have been the centerpiece of holiday feasts around the world. However, the red king crab fishery collapsed in the 1980s. Since 1983, most populations have been depressed statewide and the Gulf of Alaska fishery remains closed.

Wes Larson is co-author of the new research and the genetics program manager at the NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center. He reflects, “When it comes to understanding crab biomass declines and how to recover populations, we need to better understand population structure and local adaptation. There are a lot of concerned and invested fishermen, processors, and community members getting more engaged in these issues and it’s propelling new and innovative research.”

To dig into this need, Larson and a team of collaborators embarked on a study to generate whole genome sequencing data on red king crab in different locations across Alaska. The benefit of whole genome sequencing over previous methods is that it’s akin to reading the full story of an organism’s makeup instead of just a chapter or two. This holistic approach offers more robust analysis in order to tease apart similarities and differences between locations. Collaborators on the research included:

  • Cornell University
  • University of Alaska Fairbanks
  • Alaska Department of Fish and Game
  • NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries