Saving Seafood

Weird Science: NOAA lab in Beaufort celebrating 125th year of research in eastern North Carolina

October 24, 2024 — The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science lab in Beaufort is celebrating its 125th year in November.

Waves lap at the shoreline of the shallow, calm waters of the Pamlico Sound in Beaufort, where the NOAA lab has stood for more than 120 years. It began as a U.S. Commission of Fish and Fisheries field station in 1899 — originally on Front Street — and moved to its current location on Pivers Island in 1902.

It is the second oldest federal marine laboratory in the U.S., after Woods Hole.

Dr. Larisa Avens is a sea turtle research biologist at the lab. Part of her work involves necropsies – autopsies on animals, often sea turtles that have died along the eastern North Carolina coast.

There are no outward signs of how old a sea turtle may be, so Dr. Avens uses a saw to cut into the humerus – a bone in the front flipper.

“The bones have growth rings in them that are similar to tree rings that we can count to estimate how old they are, and then, of course, each of those rings is related to a calendar year,” Avens explained.

Read the full article at Public Radio Coast

New Calculator Helps Oyster Growers Measure the Water Quality Benefits of Farms

October 24, 2024 — When it comes to removing excess nutrients from waterways, shellfish are a powerhouse. The NOAA Milford Lab in Connecticut studies the environmental benefits—also called ecosystem services—that shellfish provide. Nutrient removal is a particularly valuable ecosystem service.

Nutrients like nitrogen are essential to life, but often excess nutrients end up in coastal waters from human sources including lawn fertilizer and agricultural runoff. When this goes unchecked, algae can grow out of control. This can cause environmental problems including low dissolved oxygen, fish kills, and dead zones. Oysters and other bivalves—shellfish with two shells— help keep nutrients in check by filter feeding on algae. While they feed, these mighty shellfish improve water quality. This effect has been well documented by scientists, although it is not typically considered within the aquaculture permit review process.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries

ALASKA: Alaska lost almost 7,000 fishing-related jobs over 2022-2023

October 23, 2024 — The fishing industry in Alaska has been hit hard in recent years, but a recent economic report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries agency (NOAA Fisheries), shows that Alaska has lost almost 7,000 jobs in the fishing industry.

The report comes after concerned seafood industry members saw a downturn in profit in 2023 and requested NOAA Fisheries to conduct an independent analysis.

NOAA Fisheries said they compiled data from fishing boats, processors, and international trade databases for both state and federal fisheries in Alaska.

The report estimates the Alaska seafood industry suffered a $1.8 billion loss between 2022 and 2023, and the industry saw a 50% decline in profitability between 2021 and 2023.

Read the full article at Alaska News Service

NOAA Fisheries drafting plan to end red snapper overfishing in the South Atlantic

October 23, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has taken the first steps towards implementing a plan to stop red snapper overfishing in the South Atlantic after years of alleged inaction by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. 

“NOAA Fisheries firmly believes that we must find ways to end overfishing and improve how the red snapper population in the South Atlantic is managed,” NOAA Fisheries said in a statement. “Currently, there are short commercial and recreational seasons, and low retention limits for red snapper.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Right whale population grows 4% but extinction remains a threat

October 22, 2024 — One of the rarest species of whale in the world has increased slightly in population, encouraging conservationists to call on the federal government and the shipping and fishing industries to do more to bring the giant animals back from the brink of extinction.

The North Atlantic right whale, which can weigh up to 150,000 pounds (68,039 kilograms) and lives off the East Coast, plummeted in population in the 2010s. The critically endangered whales, which are stressed by global warming and vulnerable to ship collisions and entanglement in fishing gear, fell to fewer than 360 individuals by the early 2020s.

A group of researchers that studies the whales said Tuesday that the population increased to an estimated 372 in 2023. That’s an increase of about 4% from 2020, and “heartening news” after the whale’s population fell by about 25% from 2010 to 2020, researchers said in a statement.

Read the full article at ABC News

Judge gives NOAA more time to study offshore drilling risks

October 22, 2024 — A federal judge has agreed to give NOAA Fisheries until next spring to complete its revised analysis of how offshore oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico could harm the critically endangered Rice’s whale.

The decision is a key reprieve for the fossil fuel industry and the Biden administration. NOAA Fisheries was originally slated to lose its existing analysis Dec. 20, which threatened to temporarily shut down new and existing offshore development in the region. A finalized analysis must be in place for companies to proceed with offshore oil and gas drilling.

NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) will now have until May 21, 2025, before the existing analysis — called a biological opinion or BiOp — will be tossed out by the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.

Read the full article at E&E News

NOAA Fisheries lays out research goals for US West Coast offshore wind plans

October 21, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has released its strategic plan for researching how offshore wind development on the U.S. West Coast could impact fisheries and protected marine life.

“Offshore wind is an important tool and technology to help reduce greenhouse emissions,” NOAA Fisheries West Coast Regional Administrator Jennifer Quan said. “We need to be prepared with sound science to help inform decisions affecting the marine species and the commercial and recreational fisheries that we manage, as well as other important uses of the marine ecosystem.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

RHODE ISLAND: As NOAA Evaluates Rhode Island’s CRMC, Advocates Push to Dissolve Agency’s Decision-Making Council

October 21, 2024 — Chris Powell knows the score when it comes to coastal regulations in Rhode Island.

A retired wildlife biologist who spent decades working for the Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management (DEM) in its marine fisheries program, Powell knows the ins and outs of environmental permitting and regulations. His stint as a state employee included a temporary assignment to the state Coastal Resources Management Council, during a time when the regulatory agency was particularly short-staffed.

Powell had nothing but praise for the agency’s staff, both when he was assigned to the agency and after, when he interacted with CRMC staff as a member of the public. But he has concerns about the 10-member, politically appointed council that makes final decisions for the agency.

“CRMC has always had good staff where they try to do the right thing,” said Powell. “I attended many meetings, however, where the council overrode the recommendation of staff.”

Lifelong Rhode Islander and chairman of Warren’s Harbor Commission, Woody Kemp, has similar concerns. Warren is one of the smaller towns in Rhode Island, and thanks to sea level rise and coastal flooding, the town is shrinking. Kemp offered praise for the work completed by agency staff, but, he said, the council moves too slowly when making decisions. “It took us maybe 10 years to get approval for our harbor management plan,” he said.

“I would like to see more staff for timelier reviews of agency applications,” added Kemp.

Powell and Kemp were part of more than a dozen members of the public testifying in a state Department of Administration conference room recently about their experiences — on both sides of the table — with CRMC. The testimony is part of the evaluation process conducted regularly by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) of all the state coastal programs for which it provides funding and oversight as part of the 1972 Coastal Zone Management Act.

The CRMC is charged with regulating, developing and conserving the state’s 400 miles of coastline and ocean waters. But the agency’s council has a long history of controversy, of ignoring the broader public and, at times, the recommendations of CRMC staff when it comes to permitting decisions and project approvals.

Advocates of reforming the agency are putting pressure on NOAA to advise a restructuring of CRMC into a shape that abolishes the executive authority of the council.

Read the full article at EcoRi News

Biden announces USD 2 million for red snapper recovery efforts

October 18, 2024 — U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration has announced USD 2 million (EUR 1.8 million) to help red snapper populations recover in the Gulf of Mexico.

“This USD 2 million investment, made possible thanks to President Biden’s historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), will boost NOAA’s ability to support red snapper populations by expanding scientific partnerships that improve data collection and help us understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change on fisheries in coastal regions nationwide,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

ALASKA: NOAA economists report plunging revenues for Alaska commercial fisheries

October 18, 2024 — The federal government published an “economic snapshot” in October that said Alaska’s commercial fishing industry in 2023 was about half as profitable as it was in 2021. Last year in particular marked one of the worst years for commercial fishermen in modern history.

Alaska Public Media’s Ava White talked with KMXT’s Brian Venua, who’s kept a close eye on commercial fishing, to break down the report.

This script has been lightly edited for clarity and length.

Ava White: So Brian, it’s not a secret that there has been a major crash in fisheries in the last few years. What’s new about this report in particular?

Brain Venua: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration economists estimated that industry-wide profits have plunged in the last few years. As a whole, commercial fisheries in Alaska were estimated to be worth $1.8 billion dollars less in 2023 than in 2022.

That’s split between wholesale values being down by about a quarter year over year – about $1.2 billion dollars. Vessel revenues were also down by over $600 million, according to the report.

NOAA is the government agency that manages a lot of Alaska’s fisheries. According to data linked in the report, people in the industry asked NOAA for a sort of independent snapshot.

I think the big thing is that it helps put numbers to things that a lot of people already know – that commercial fishing has had a really tough time.

Read the full article at Alaska Pubic Media