Saving Seafood

MASSACHUSETTS: Do hurricanes pose a danger to fish and other sea life?

November 11, 2024 — What happens to fish and other sea creatures during a hurricane? Do they flee the area or ride out the storm?

According to an article on the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association website, hurricanes generate high waves, rough undercurrents and shifting sands, and all three may harm sea life.

“Slow-moving fish and turtles and shellfish beds are often decimated by the rough undercurrents and rapid changes in water temperature and salinity wrought by a hurricane,” the article states.

According to NOAA, don’t worry too much about sharks, whales, and other large animals because they swiftly move to calmer waters and are not overly affected by hurricanes.

Read the full article at The Standard-Times

Southern Miss Student’s Passion for Fisheries Hopes to Bring Change to Coastal Communities

November 11, 2024 — The coastal lifestyle runs through the veins of Molly Spencer, a School of Ocean Science and Engineering (SOSE) student at The University of Southern Mississippi (USM). Her passion for fisheries has sparked her to create dynamic solutions for coastal communities and federal agencies, allowing her to land an internship at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Mass.

In October 2023, Spencer packed her bags for a six-month internship to survey the Atlantic Surfclam stock and climate change impact on its migrating population. Spencer explained that changes in water temperature greatly affect the surfclam population over time while also impacting commercial and governmental agencies. The shifting range of the Atlantic Surfclam is important information to the local fishers and the stock assessors that produce their yearly quotas.

“This research is important to me because it has a direct correlation to real problems occurring in our coastal oceans right now. This work has the potential to be put into the hands of policymakers and those of fisheries influence. I’m hoping my research will be able to make changes for the better. I’m hoping to bridge the science with coastal fishers,” said Spencer.

Spencer is excited to participate in a first-ever research manuscript detailing studies done on assessing a federal stock assessment on the future abundance of a commercially valuable species. The goal is to inform top U.S. shellfish fisheries on changes in stock sustainability resulting from climate change.

Read the full article at University of Southern Mississippi

Fishermen celebrate Trump: ‘Government has crucified this industry’

November 8, 2024 — Fishermen on the New Bedford waterfront met the news of a second Trump term with vengeful enthusiasm on Wednesday morning. There was hope that the president-elect would scale back regulation, stop offshore wind development and open new fishing grounds — breaking the slump of declining revenues and ushering in a period of relative prosperity for the industry.

Donald Trump gained significant support throughout the South Coast in the 2024 election, narrowing the margin of his 2020 loss to President Joe Biden in the region. Trump didn’t win New Bedford, where Vice President Kamala Harris held a margin of 2,688 votes. But the city’s fishermen have dug in with their support for President-elect Trump.

Read the full article at the New Bedford Light

NOAA Fisheries Issuing Final Biological Opinion on the SouthCoast Wind Energy Project Offshore of Massachusetts

November 8, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries issued a final Biological Opinion on the SouthCoast offshore wind energy project to the federal action agencies including Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). Pursuant to the Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Biological Opinion considers the effects on threatened and endangered species of the construction, operation, and eventual decommissioning of the project off the coast of Massachusetts. 

NOAA Fisheries concluded the proposed action is likely to adversely affect, but is not likely to jeopardize, the continued existence of any species of ESA-listed whales, sea turtles, or fish. It is not anticipated to adversely affect any designated critical habitat. NOAA Fisheries does not anticipate serious injuries to or mortalities of any ESA-listed whale including the North Atlantic right whale.

The proposed project includes a number of measures designed to minimize, monitor, and report effects to ESA-listed species. Additional measures are included through the Biological Opinion’s Incidental Take Statement. With the incorporation of the proposed mitigation measures, all effects to North Atlantic right whales will be limited to behavioral disturbance that constitutes “harassment” under the ESA, but not “harm.”

NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Protected Resources is also proposing to issue incidental take regulations pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which we evaluated in the Biological Opinion. A number of other federal permits and authorizations associated with the SouthCoast project are proposed and were analyzed in the Biological Opinion. 

NOAA Fisheries will continue working closely with BOEM and other federal agencies to ensure the effects from the SouthCoast offshore energy project to NOAA Fisheries’ trust resources are minimized and monitored.

The Biological Opinion will be available online upon publication in our libraryin approximately 10 days. 

Shipboard Technique Assesses the Base of the Marine Food Web in Near Real-Time

November 7, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

For decades, Alaska has been leading the way in gathering and using ecosystem information to inform fish and crab resource management decisions. Now, scientists at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center can rapidly provide managers with information about how changes in the marine environment affect the basis of the marine food web. Details about this new methodology were recently published in a paper describing this new Rapid Zooplankton Assessment (RZA).

The RZA can supply near real-time information about the abundance and species composition of zooplankton. Zooplankton are the floating animals that, along with phytoplankton, form the base of the marine food web. These data—coupled with long-term data sets—can provide a snapshot of ecosystem health and help forecast the productivity of our fisheries.

Zooplankton Abundance Informs Fisheries Productivity

Across the world, fisheries managers are turning more and more to ecosystem-based fisheries management. It’s a holistic approach that aims to maintain the resilience and sustainability of an ecosystem. Not only does it recognize physical and biological information, but economic and social factors as well. It seeks to optimize benefits among a diverse set of societal goals, especially in the face of climate change.

Collecting ecosystem data is a huge and multifaceted task. Looking at one piece of the puzzle, our scientists have focused on more efficiently surveying zooplankton. It’s vitally important prey for fish at many stages of their life. Most importantly, zooplankton is the primary food source when marine fish transition from egg stage to larval stage and first begin to feed. This is deemed the “critical period” during which many fish die without abundant food. This, in turn, impacts recruitment—meaning how many fish will survive to older life stages. Zooplankton abundance is a good indicator of how strong recruitment will be for a specific fishery.

Zooplankton are also important to seabirds and marine mammals like whales. And zooplankton respond more immediately to climate variability. They are a great indicator of the health of an ecosystem. They can also give us insight into future climate regimes based on how they have responded to marine heatwaves and other large-scale changes.

DC Circuit tests Chevron’s impact in fisheries case

November 6, 2024 — The demise of the Chevron doctrine may not spell automatic doom for the federal fisheries rule that was at the center of the Supreme Court case that ended 40 years of precedent on agency deference.

During oral arguments Monday, judges of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit — who in 2022 upheld the NOAA Fisheries regulation on Chevron grounds — appeared to think that there is still statutory support to affirm requirements for herring vessels to pay the salaries of third-party onboard monitors.

The case, Loper Bright v. Raimondo, is back before the D.C. Circuit after the Supreme Court decided in June to overturn Chevron, which since 1984 had instructed federal judges to defer to agencies’ reasonable interpretations of ambiguous statutes. But the justices did not decide the fate of the NOAA Fisheries rule at the heart of the case.

Read the full article at E&E News

Building Bridges to Restore Connectivity: Penobscot Nation and NOAA Fisheries Improve Atlantic Salmon Resilience

November 6, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The Penobscot Nation conserves and recovers endangered Atlantic salmon and facilitates their return to Tribal lands. The Nation completes these conservation efforts with help from the NOAA Fisheries’ Species Recovery Grants to Tribes Program. Their latest project focuses on restoring aquatic habitat connectivity to promote the species’ resilience in the face of climate change.

The Importance of the Penobscot River Watershed

For thousands of years, the Penobscot River has served as a highway for the Penobscot people, who live along its banks. To this day, the river provides food for the community, is central to their culture, and is considered a Tribal citizen. “We hunt and fish and gather there, and we respect the river as our relative who provides sustenance to us,” said Chuck Loring, a member of the Penobscot Nation and the Director of the Tribe’s Department of Natural Resources. The Penobscot River is now one of the last places in the United States where endangered Atlantic salmon live. The species is important to the Nation.

Atlantic salmon once migrated inland by the hundreds of thousands to rivers in the northeastern United States. Beginning in the 1800s, dam construction along the Penobscot River severely reduced fish passage. Later, undersized culverts prevented fish passage throughout tributaries including headwater streams. Atlantic salmon face many threats in the northeast United States due to dams, including warming waters, high predation from species such as smallmouth bass, and modified habitats.

Free-flowing and connected rivers are vital to anadromous fish such as Atlantic salmon, providing uninterrupted migration between freshwater and the ocean. This connectivity ensures that the salmon can hatch in the river, mature in the ocean, and return to spawn in the waters in which they were born. Sea-run fish also play an important role in the ecosystem by carrying nutrients and energy from the ocean to the rivers. For example, when they die, Atlantic salmon bodies provide nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus to the river system. Maintaining connected rivers is essential not only for the survival of Atlantic salmon but also for the health and productivity of the ecosystem.

Dams Block Salmon from Reaching Habitat

Dams and barriers can block, delay, and kill Atlantic salmon and destroy freshwater spawning and nursery habitats, unless they are removed or equipped with adequate fish passage. Today, more than 400 dams along rivers and streams block or impair migration corridors and alter habitat conditions that impede both the survival and recovery of Atlantic salmon.  Salmon populations have greatly diminished, with around 1,500 fish returning to Maine rivers in 2023. The West Branch of the Penobscot River was one of the most important, abundant, and historical salmon habitats. However, today it largely remains inaccessible to salmon because of numerous dams that lack fish passage; dams are one of the principal causes of their decline. The Penobscot Nation’s efforts aim to restore these vital “highways” for salmon and other sea-run fish to thrive.

Ongoing Efforts to Restore Salmon Habitat

Culverts can block fish passage or impair migration and destroy habitat by changing streamflows and altering stream channels. However, bridges support more natural stream features, such as water depth and flow speed. This enables fish passage, improves Atlantic salmon habitat, and provides protection for Atlantic salmon eggs. Under the Species Recovery Grants to Tribes program, the Penobscot Nation has successfully replaced culverts with bridges at two road-stream crossings in the Mattamiscontis Stream. Support from the program has allowed the Nation and project partners to complete another 16 connectivity projects since 2011. Together, these projects are helping to reconnect the upper reaches of Mattamiscontis Stream to the Penobscot River.

The Penobscot Nation has also increased their participation in the Atlantic Salmon Collaborative Management Strategy. The Strategy establishes a platform for effective communication and collaboration between multiple partners. The Nation’s voice is important in this process. Their involvement facilitates the implementation of the 2019 Final Recovery Plan for the Gulf of Maine Distinct Population Segment of Atlantic Salmon. This work is critical in supporting ecosystem-wide restoration for the recovery of Atlantic salmon and requires the collective efforts of many partners.

The Nation’s participation in the Strategy provides an opportunity for the integration of Traditional Ecological Knowledge (also known as Indigenous Knowledge). This allows the Nation to voice their cultural perspectives, while advocating for essential dam fish passage structures and operational practices. Traditional Ecological Knowledge offers a profound understanding of local environmental changes and ecological patterns that modern science alone might not fully capture.

As Dan McCaw, the Fisheries Program Manager for the Penobscot Nation, emphasizes, “The Tribal people stewarded these rivers since time immemorial and had some of the most robust fish runs in the world. They continue to manage forests very conservatively. There’s a huge benefit of bringing in Traditional Ecological Knowledge and weaving it with modern science in a very respectful way. This integration is not always simple or easy, but it ensures that the Tribe has an important voice in the recovery effort.”

In 2023, the Nation’s (and their partners) efforts led to the highest return of Atlantic salmon to the Penobscot River in more than a decade. These efforts also have benefits to other sea-run species. Improved fish passage on the Mattamiscontis Stream enabled river herring (alewives and blueback herring) to reach spawning lakes that could support nearly 800,000 fish. River herring are prey for many birds and other fish, such as bald eagles and striped bass, so their resurgence may serve to buffer juvenile Atlantic salmon from predators.

NOAA Fisheries further supports the Penobscot Nations’ work through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. This funding supported construction of fish passage projects on Birch Stream, a tributary of the Penobscot River. These projects will improve access to additional cold-water habitat for Atlantic salmon. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding will also support the construction of a hiking trail along Sam Ayers Stream on Tribal lands later this year. The trail will highlight recent and future restoration projects through informational kiosks. The Penobscot Nation is hopeful that increasing opportunities for Tribal and non-tribal members to see and access the restored lands and kiosks will continue public support and engagement for important ongoing and future restoration projects.

Building Resilience for Climate Change

Climate change exacerbates the urgency of the Nation’s restoration work to increase Atlantic salmon’s resilience. Restoring free-flowing rivers and streams aligns with traditional practices and enhances ecosystem and infrastructure resilience in the face of climate change. Projected increases in precipitation and more frequent intense storms in the Northeast United States pose significant risks. For example, flooding in December 2023 highlighted the growing threats associated with these changes in Maine. These road-stream crossing projects help to mitigate flood risks by supporting wider ranges of water flows and improving fish passage. By integrating Traditional Ecological Knowledge into the management of the river system, the Penobscot Nation is better prepared to address these climate challenges. As climate change intensifies, these proactive restoration efforts are crucial for sustaining Atlantic salmon populations and maintaining the health of the ecosystem while protecting critical infrastructure.

Despite significant progress, much work remains to recover Atlantic salmon populations in Maine. With support from NOAA’s Species Recovery Grants to Tribes Program, the Penobscot Nation continues its restoration efforts for Atlantic salmon populations in the Penobscot River watershed. These efforts align with NOAA Fisheries’ broader vision to restore habitats and reopen migratory routes, ensuring fish access to healthy environments.

Chuck Loring highlights the Penobscot Nation’s commitment to restoration: “The Tribe takes a seven-generation approach to conservation. That’s our motivation to work hard now. I might not be able to see the results, but my descendants will.”

Biden administration announces USD 95 million for fish passage projects

November 5, 2024 — The U.S. government has announced another USD 95 million (EUR 87 million) in funding for new fish passage projects, some of which is specifically dedicated to Tribal priorities.

“These investments reflect a continuation of decades of work by NOAA Fisheries to recover threatened and endangered migratory fish and support the sustainability of commercial, Tribal, and recreational fisheries,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit said in a statement. “Our work with Tribal organizations to improve fish passage is vital for building long-term tribal capacity to sustain and manage culturally significant resources and habitats.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

‘A post-Chevron world’: DC Circuit wrestles with agency authority in fishing boat spat

November 5, 2024 — A D.C. Circuit panel grappled Monday with the fallout from the Supreme Court’s recent decision to overturn a longstanding legal doctrine which allowed federal judges to defer to a government agency’s interpretation of a challenged statue.

The high court ruled 6-3 in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo that the doctrine, known as Chevron deference, should be overturned and that federal judges themselves should instead “exercise their independent judgment” when an agency oversteps its authority.

That case was originally argued before the D.C. Circuit in 2021, the appellate circuit that deals the most with challenges against federal agencies such as the Environmental Protection Agency and, in this case, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Marine Fisheries Service.

In its decision to overturn Chevron, the high court remanded the case to the three-judge panel to reassess claims by a coalition of fishing companies that the government was wrong to require they pay the wages of independent “at-sea monitors.”

Read the full article at Courthouse News Service

What’s in the Water Might Be A New Way to Measure the Amount of Fish Present

November 1, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Around the world, standard ways to measure fish abundance and biomass to manage commercial, recreational and subsistence fisheries rely heavily on deriving estimates from fish caught in research surveys and commercial fishing nets and other collected biological data. In a new study, NOAA Fisheries scientists, in partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks, show that it is possible to estimate fish biomass for more than one species at the same time, using environmental DNA (eDNA). They found they can estimate the abundance of ecologically and commercially-important Alaska fish species—Arctic cod, walleye pollock, and Pacific cod—which are difficult to distinguish in eDNA samples.

eDNA is the genetic material shed by organisms into the surrounding environment. For example, as a fish swims through the ocean, its DNA is shed and accumulates in the water around it. Some sources of eDNA include scales, skin cells, mucus, feces, and gametes. This genetic material can be recovered from environmental samples.

“Through our laboratory studies, we learned that we could accurately quantify species compositions and estimate biomass for different species of cod and pollock at the same time using eDNA,” said Kimberly Ledger, lead author and research biologist with Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Auke Bay Laboratories. “It is possible to apply these methods to other species to improve the quantitative utility of eDNA.”

Benefits of Using eDNA Studies for Stock Assessments

A central goal of managing species is understanding where they live (their distribution) and how many of them exist (their biomass or abundance). Accurately estimating this information is difficult. It relies on making inferences about an entire community based on observations of a subset of individuals. NOAA Fisheries gets this information from fish collected in nets during research surveys and from data collected by fishery observers on commercial fishing boats and in processing plants.

With eDNA scientists are able to detect and quantify fish DNA from the environment to help estimate species abundance and biomass from just a sample of water. This revolutionary new method that relies on eDNA is highly versatile, capable of detecting and identifying a wide range of species, and minimally disruptive to sensitive species.

Scientists caution that it doesn’t replace standard trawl surveys or actual sampling by fisheries observers. We we still need to collect important biological data including size, age, sex, sexual maturity and diet information, which is important for stock assessments.

However, eDNA researchers are actively working to identify ways to use this information to support management decisions with the help of stock assessment authors and quantitative ecologists.