Saving Seafood

Final Step in Klamath River Dam Removal Opens Path for Returning Salmon

October 3, 2024 — Heavy equipment removed the final obstacle separating the Klamath River from the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday. The reconnected river was turbid but remained safe for fish after crews took steps to avoid erosion and impacts to water quality.

“These final dam removal steps set the stage for salmon to return to reclaimed habitat and expand their population recovery,” said Jim Simondet, NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region Klamath Branch Supervisor.

NOAA Fisheries analyzed the impacts of dam removal on Endangered Species Act-listed species in a biological opinion. That analysis found that the short-term impacts, such as the potential effects of sediment in the water on salmon, would be outweighed by the much greater long-term benefits as river ecosystem processes return at a landscape scale. The project will reopen more than 400 miles of habitat to salmon, steelhead, and lamprey.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

NOAA officials confirm fishing gear led to death of endangered right whale off New England coast

October 3, 2024 — Federal investigators said Maine fishing gear is to blame for the death of an endangered right whale.

Maine lobstermen said they’re sad to hear about the whale’s death, but they also fear new regulations will endanger their livelihoods. The female right whale was found dead near Martha’s Vineyard in January.

This death and investigation come as new lobster fishing regulations are up for debate.

One lobsterman said fishing without using a rope isn’t that simple and it would cost significantly more.

“It’s been an ongoing battle for a number of years. We have taken and modified our gear over the years to reduce the amount of rope that we use in the water, so the industry has done a lot that it’s been asked of,” John Drouin, a lobsterman, said.

Read the full article at WMUR

Exploring ropeless gear for sustainable lobster fishing

October 1, 2024 — On Thursday, August 29, 2024, NOAA Fisheries hosted a webinar looking at the future of ropeless, or pop-up, gear for the New England lobster fishery. NOAA’s Jennifer S. Goebel pointed out that the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team had recommended that large swaths of the Gulf of Maine and waters south of Cape Cod be subject to emergency closures and open to fishing with ropeless gear only.

Goebel noted, however, that the lobster and Jonah crab fisheries are currently in compliance with the Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act; “the recommendations from the team were put on hold.” Goebel cited other legislation that calls for innovation in the adoption of gear technology as justification for efforts aimed at developing ropeless gear. “That seems to support the development of ropeless gear,” Goebel said, before outlining a 4-year plan to develop the technology and have final rules in place.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA Fisheries Releases National Seafood Strategy Implementation Plan

October 1, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries released its National Seafood Strategy Implementation Plan (PDF, 14 pages). Our National Seafood Strategy, released in 2023, outlines our direction for supporting the U.S. seafood economy and enhancing the resilience of the seafood sector, including wild-capture and aquaculture, in the face of many challenges. This plan outlines actions we are currently implementing as well as those we can take to support the strategy.

“The Implementation Plan is where the rubber meets the road,” said NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit. “It outlines the specific actions to achieve the goals we laid out in the strategy to support our nation’s seafood sector and the benefits it provides.”

The plan focuses on NOAA Fisheries’ industry services, such as the Seafood Inspection Program, Fishery Finance Program and Saltonstall-Kennedy grant program. It also underscores our socio-economic activities—such as seafood market and supply chain analyses—and communications efforts around the sustainability of U.S. seafood. The plan identifies ongoing, new, and aspirational activities, with a focus on those currently within our capacity. Critical to achieving the goals is coordinating with other federal agencies, as well as states, tribes, harvesters and seafood farmers, nongovernmental organizations, and other groups.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

ALASKA: NOAA Fisheries Releases 2024 Alaska Aquaculture Accomplishments Report

September 30, 2024 — In 2024, the NOAA Alaska Regional Office and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center continued supporting Alaska’s aquaculture industry.

Aquaculture, the process of growing organisms in the ocean, is a relatively young commercial industry that is poised for rapid growth in Alaska. Alaska’s aquaculture industry consists of seaweed and invertebrate farming, with oysters, mussels, sugar, ribbon, and bull kelp being the primary species grown in the state. The NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region Aquaculture Program engaged in projects to support the sustainable development of Alaska’s aquaculture industry. They are outlined in NOAA’s 2024 Aquaculture Accomplishments Report.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

ALASKA: After years-long delay, Alaska receives USD 277 million in fishery disasters relief

September 30, 2024 – NOAA Fisheries has announced it will be providing USD 277 million (EUR 248 million) in financial relief in response to several fishery disasters.

“I’m glad to see this significant batch of federal relief dollars finally being distributed to our hardworking fishermen and coastal communities,” U.S. Senator Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) said. “These Alaskans should never have had to wait this long to see this relief processed – a frustration I raised with Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and NOAA Fisheries Director Janet Coit on numerous occasions in recent months.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

West Coast Chinook Salmon Get a New Genetic Reference Database

September 28, 2024 — NOAA scientists have upgraded a crucial tool for Chinook salmon conservation. This genetic reference tool allows researchers to pinpoint the river system individual fish come from, enabling more precise management and protection of threatened and endangered populations.

“It’s like giving every fish a unique genetic fingerprint,” says Donald Van Doornik, a NOAA Fisheries fish biologist and lead author of a new paper describing the work in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management. “We can use this fingerprint to figure out where that fish came from by comparing it to other fish’s DNA.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Extension of 2024 Atlantic Spiny Dogfish Specifications Emergency Measures

September 28, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries is issuing a temporary rule to extend the 2024 spiny dogfish specifications emergency rule, with an adjustment to account for an annual catch limit (ACL) overage in fishing year 2023. This action will extend the 2024 specifications through the end of fishing year 2024 on April 30, 2025, and reduce the 2024 ACL and commercial quota by 491 mt. A summary of the final 2024 catch specifications is shown below.

Adjusted Spiny Dogfish Fishery Specifications for Fishing Year 2024.

Pounds Metric tons
Acceptable Biological Catch 17,235,719 7,818
Initial Annual Catch Limit = Annual Catch Target 17,156,353 7,782
ACL Reduction (FY2023 Overage)  1,082,487 491
Updated Annual Catch Limit = Annual Catch Target 16,073,866 7,291
Total Allowable Landings 10,496,177 4,761
Commercial Quota 10,249,260 4,649

 

All other management measures and requirements, including trip limits, remain unchanged.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Deep Ocean Sound Confused Scientists For Years. We Finally Know What Makes It.

September 27, 2024 — A mysterious sound heard booming from deep under the ocean waves has finally been traced to a fascinating source.

First recorded in 2014 in the west Pacific, the “biotwang” is actually the call of the Bryde’s whale (Balaenoptera brydei) traveling long distances in the open ocean. What’s more, the techniques used to identify the sound have led to the development of a new tool for understanding whale populations and how they move about in and inhabit Earth’s enigmatic seas.

“Bryde’s whales occur worldwide in tropical and warm temperate waters, but their population structure and movements are not well understood,” writes a team led by biological oceanographer Ann Allen of NOAA Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Hawaii.

“Our results provide evidence for a pelagic western North Pacific population of Bryde’s whales with broad distribution, but with seasonal and inter-annual variation in occurrence that imply a complex range most likely linked to changing oceanographic conditions in this region.”

Read the full article at Yahoo News!

ALASKA: Cook Inlet fisheries to get $9.4M in disaster relief for 2018, 2020

September 26, 2024 — Two Cook Inlet salmon fisheries will receive more than $9.4 million in federal disaster relief that was held up, in part, by technical difficulties. They’re among ten Alaska fisheries getting money, the state’s Congressional delegation announced Friday.

In all, ten fisheries across the state will receive $277 million for disasters dating back to 2018. They include 2020’s Upper Cook Inlet salmon fishery and 2018’s Upper Cook Inlet east side setnet fishery.

Other fisheries that will receive money through the distribution include Bering Sea crab, Kuskokwim River and Norton Sound salmon and Gulf of Alaska pacific cod.

However, Friday’s announcement comes almost six months after U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola called on U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo to address payment holdups caused by a software glitch.

Last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, started using new accounting software, Business Applications Solution. NOAA is one of the agencies responsible for moving relief funds through the federal government. Peltola says problems with that software have held up disaster relief.

Read the full article at KDLL