Saving Seafood

Biden-Harris Administration announces more than $105 million for West Coast and Alaska salmon

August 2, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced more than $105 million in recommended funding for 14 new and continuing salmon recovery projects and programs. Located along the West Coast and in Alaska, these state and tribal efforts will be funded through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF). The funds include Fiscal Year 2024 annual appropriations as well as $34.4 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $7.5 million under the Inflation Reduction Act, and will aid programs and projects in Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington that include habitat restoration, stock enhancement, sustainable fisheries and research and monitoring.

“This $105 million investment, made possible thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, will build on decades of salmon recovery work, while helping Pacific coast Tribes and Alaska Natives sustain their communities and cultural traditions in the face of climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This is a result of the most ambitious climate agenda in history, and I am proud that nearly half of all funds in this announcement are being awarded to Tribal applicants.”

These investments will supplement state and tribal programs that provide demonstrable and measurable benefits to Pacific salmon and their habitat. They will aid in the recovery of 28 Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed salmon and steelhead species, as well as non-listed ESA salmon and steelhead that are necessary for native subsistence or tribal treaty fishing rights, and for those in the Columbia River Basin, these efforts will help meet the President’s goal of restoring healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead and other native fish in the Basin.

“The PCSRF program has benefited fish populations and their habitats in so many ways,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “The value of these investments goes far beyond recovering Pacific salmon and steelhead and their habitats, to also provide community and economic benefits, such as jobs and climate resilience.”

Read the full release at NOAA

New Jersey-sized “dead zone” that can kill fish and marine life emerges in Gulf of Mexico

August 2, 2024 — More than 4 million acres of marine life habitat have become a “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico, threatening the lives of fish and other marine animals, NOAA said on Thursday. Although this is an annual issue in the Gulf, this year’s is far larger than anticipated, with an area roughly the size of New Jersey.

The dead zone is an area where there is very little to no oxygen, a situation known as hypoxia, that NOAA says can kill fish and marine life. In June, NOAA predicted an area of 5,827 square miles, roughly the size of Connecticut. But on Thursday, the agency said it has grown to roughly 6,705 square miles, equating to more than 4 million acres of habitat and more than 1,000 square miles larger than anticipated.

It’s the 12th-largest dead zone the agency has recorded in 38 years of measurement — and well above a goal set out by researchers to reduce the area.

According to NOAA, scientists have made it a goal to reduce the average area to fewer than 1,900 square miles by 2035 to help improve the health of the marine ecosystem. As it stands, the five-year average is now nearly 4,300 square miles, more than twice as large as that target.

Read the full story at CBS News

NEW JERSEY: Whales recorded in large numbers off New Jersey coast

July 30, 2024 — Whales are gathering in large numbers off New Jersey in a portion of the Atlantic Ocean called the New York Bight, according to several sources.

Viking Yacht Company of New Gretna, Burlington County, posted to Facebook that a large group of North Atlantic right whales, an endangered species with only about 360 individuals left, was congregating in the New York Bight between the Hudson Canyon off Sandy Hook and Block Canyon off Montauk, New York.

The New York Bight is a triangular area of ocean that stretches between the Jersey Shore and Long Island.

“NOAA (the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has used planes to identify the whales — present due to large amounts of food,” Viking Yacht staff wrote on Facebook. “We’re advising boaters to be vigilant. If whale(s) are seen, provide a wide berth.”

Read the full article at Asbury Park Press

Conservationists seek permanent marine protection for Cashes Ledge off Cape Ann

July 29, 2024 — A rare underwater mountain range 80 miles off the coast of Cape Ann – home to the region’s largest kelp forest – may become a protected national marine sanctuary, joining just 16 other sanctuaries in the U.S.

The Conservation Law Foundation, based in Boston, submitted a nomination to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today to designate Cashes Ledge as a sanctuary.

National marine sanctuaries are permanently protectedfrom fishing, shipping and ocean dumping and offer a haven for marine life and an undisturbed ecological site for scientific research.

The nomination triggers a yearslong review process that could lead to the 766-square mile site being formally designated.

“The kelp forest harbors this treasure trove of marine life plants and animals … and a tremendous amount of biodiversity,” CLF’s senior scientist Gareth Lawson said, describing the area to be protected.

Research shows the Gulf of Maine warming faster than 97 percent of the global ocean, and scientists backing the effort to protect the habitat and marine life at Cashes Ledge say the need for conservation here is urgent.

Read the full article at CAI

Northwest tribes’ salmon hatcheries get $240 million federal boost

July 29, 2024 — West Coast tribes are getting nearly $240 million from the federal government to improve their salmon hatcheries.

Twenty-seven tribes, including 21 from Washington state, will get an initial $2 million each to repair and modernize their aging hatcheries, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced Thursday.

The remaining funds will be awarded competitively among the tribes “in the coming months,” federal officials said.

Jennifer Quan, regional administrator of NOAA Fisheries, called it “one of our greatest commitments of support for tribal fisheries since the treaties themselves that first assured the tribes access to the fisheries.”

Read the full article at KUOW

US lawmakers trying to stop NOAA Fisheries’ new vessel speed rules

July 29, 2024 — U.S. lawmakers in Congress are trying to stop NOAA Fisheries’ expanded vessel speed rules from going into effect, with 54 legislators signing a letter asking the federal government to reopen the rule for further input and review.

“We share the objective of preventing vessel strikes and protecting critically endangered marine mammals like the North Atlantic right whale,” the lawmakers wrote in the joint letter. “However, we believe that there are better strategies to accomplish this goal while safeguarding the multiple uses of our ocean resources.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Speed limits to protect whales? Not so fast, says Congress

July 29, 2024 — The federal proposal to designate critical habitat for the endangered Rice’s whale is slowing amid opposition from Gulf of Mexico state leaders, who say any potential restrictions to protect the whales could endanger their maritime industries.

With a population estimated at only around 75 animals, the Rice’s whale is at even more peril than the North Atlantic right whale, believed to number around 360 whales ranging along the U.S. Atlantic coast.

Back in October 2023 the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration backed off from a rule proposal that called for local 10-knot speed limits when Rice’s whales are seen in Gulf waters. The agency says ship strikes are a major danger for whales just below the sea surface.

That plan drew intense criticism from Gulf shipping and offshore energy industries. The NOAA Fisheries service is continuing to push for some measures to help the Rice’s whale survive, by designating a 28,000-square mile critical habitat along the continental shelf and slope waters within the Gulf of Mexico.

 Read the full article at Workboat

US promises $240 million to improve fish hatcheries, protect tribal rights in Pacific Northwest

July 26, 2024 — The U.S. government will invest $240 million in salmon and steelhead hatcheries in the Pacific Northwest to boost declining fish populations and support the treaty-protected fishing rights of Native American tribes, officials announced Thursday.

The departments of Commerce and the Interior said there will be an initial $54 million for hatchery maintenance and modernization made available to 27 tribes in the region, which includes Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Alaska.

The hatcheries “produce the salmon that tribes need to live,” said Jennifer Quan, the regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region. “We are talking about food for the tribes and supporting their culture and their spirituality.”

Some of the facilities are on the brink of failure, Quan said, with a backlog of deferred maintenance that has a cost estimated at more than $1 billion.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

Biden administration announces USD 220 million for coastal habitat restoration, resilience

July 26, 2024 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has recommended USD 220 million (EUR 203 million) in spending on coastal resilience and habitat restoration projects, with much of the money supporting salmon recovery efforts.

“These transformational projects will restore healthy coastal ecosystems across the country,” NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit said. “We’re proud to support projects that span a broad range of habitats and restoration techniques – from reconnecting rivers to their historic floodplains, to outplanting corals to rebuild reefs, to restoring salt marshes that will protect coasts from erosion and sea level rise.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA proposes protection for 10 giant ocean-dwelling clams

July 26, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has proposed Endangered Species Act listings for 10 giant clams, saying five of the marine species are in danger of extinction throughout the entirety or a significant portion of their ranges with five others losing habitat at alarming rates.

The clams — which can weigh as much as 500 pounds and have shells as long as 4.5 feet — have been decimated by “pervasive harvest for subsistence and domestic sale, and several periods of short-lived but intensive commercial harvest have severely depleted giant clam populations throughout their respective ranges,” the agency said in a Federal Register notice Thursday.

The proposed rule, which is open for public comment through Oct. 23, arrives eight years after biologist Dwayne Meadows petitioned NOAA to protect the giant clams whose range includes parts of the Pacific and Indian oceans, including Hawaii and the Marshall Islands.

Read the full article at E&E News