Saving Seafood

Russian, Chinese fishing vessels barred from US port services

September 13, 2024 — Fishing vessels registered with China, Russia, Mexico and a host of other nations will no longer be able to refuel or resupply at U.S. ports starting next month, federal environmental regulators said this week.

The port denials, issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, come after the agency identified more than a dozen nations with vessels that have engaged in illegal, unreported or unregulated fishing activities — some of which has affected sharks and endangered marine life.

In a statement Tuesday, NOAA said that its decision to pull port privileges for the designated nations is the result of a two-year consultation process with each country.

“We encourage them to address the issues and improve their fisheries management and enforcement practices,” the agency wrote. Because the nations in question failed to take corrective action, NOAA considers them “negatively certified” and revoked port privileges.

Read the full article at the Courthouse News Service

Why Can’t Killer Whales Find and Capture Food? The Ocean Is too Noisy

September 12, 2024 — New research shows that vessel noise—the rumble and churn of boats and ships—disrupts killer whales’ ability to find and capture food. This can have serious consequences for these whales, especially considering the challenges they already face. The findings were published recently in the scientific journal, Global Change Biology.

How Killer Whales Hunt and Why Noise Matters

Killer whales are sophisticated hunters. They use echolocation, a kind of biological sonar. They emit clicks that bounce off objects, creating echoes that help them “see” with sound. These echoes they receive back are crucial for finding prey, especially fast-moving salmon. The underwater noise made by vessels can be particularly disruptive for animals like killer whales, which rely heavily on sound to accomplish important activities like hunting.

Researchers wanted to know how vessel noise interferes with killer whales’ foraging success. So, they attached special tags to killer whales that recorded their movements and the sounds they made and heard. By comparing these data to noise levels, they could see a clear connection. As the noise from vessels increased, the whales’ foraging success decreased. They spent more time searching for prey, but with less success.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Thanks to humans, Salish Sea waters are too noisy for resident orcas to hunt successfully

September 11, 2024 — The Salish Sea—the inland coastal waters of Washington and British Columbia—is home to two unique populations of fish-eating orcas, the northern resident and the southern resident orcas. Human activity over much of the 20th century, including reducing salmon runs and capturing orcas for entertainment purposes, decimated their numbers. This century, the northern resident population has steadily grown to more than 300 individuals, but the southern resident population has plateaued at around 75. They remain critically endangered.

New research led by the University of Washington and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has revealed how underwater noise produced by humans may help explain the southern residents’ plight. In a paper published Sept. 10 in Global Change Biology, the team reports that  pollution—from both large and small vessels—forces northern and southern  orcas to expend more time and energy hunting for fis

Read the full article at PHYS.org

Coastal Marsh Restoration in the Mid-Atlantic: Aligning Habitat Objectives to Maximize Project Benefits

September 11, 2024 — Tidal Wetlands Are a Seafood Powerhouse

Estuaries are some of the most ecologically productive ecosystems in the world. They support diverse coastal economies, tourism and recreation, marine transportation and construction, and fisheries. Many commercial and recreationally important fish use coastal wetlands as habitat for at least part of their lives.

But these marshes face challenges, some driven or amplified by human activities. For example, ditches created in the marsh for mosquito control or agriculture have been shown to diminish the health of tidal marsh vegetation.Tidal constrictions, such as culverts or tide gates, can also restrict the natural flooding cycle necessary to support a healthy marsh. Finally, sea-level rise is and will continue to drive loss and degradation of substantial areas of coastal marsh.

Addressing Threats Through Holistic Planning

NOAA is working with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and other partners to address these challenges. We have developed a guidance document focused on coastal marsh restoration in the mid-Atlantic region. It highlights our common goals, provides guidance for partners, and addresses some potential issues of concern. It marks a step forward toward scaling up effective coastal marsh restoration in the face of many challenges. We recognize that an integrated approach, prioritizing overall ecosystem function above species-specific needs, is the best way to ensure coastal marsh persistence in light of an uncertain future.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Under Pressure to Restore Deep-Sea Corals

September 10, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

For 3 weeks this summer, a team of experts set out on C-Innovation’s M/V Island Intervention to support the Mesophotic and Deep Benthic Communities restoration projects. This effort aims to restore vital seafloor habitats damaged by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This operation, which took place within and around the Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary, involved a unique combination of data collection methods, as well as some competition akin to the 2024 Olympic Games!

The mission objectives were to:

  • Install new mooring buoys to prevent anchor damage to the seafloor in the sanctuary
  • Collect samples of mesophotic and deep-sea coral species for lab rearing and propagation
  • Collect additional biological, sediment, and water samples
  • Remove invasive lionfish and large marine debris
  • Complete habitat transect surveys
  • Execute coral transplants to test propagation and outplanting methods
  • Deploy equipment such as benthic landers and Autonomous Reef Monitoring Structures

The Pressure is On—Literally

Working at depth—in this case, several hundred feet below the ocean’s surface—takes some unique methodologies. Often, restoration teams deploy specialized equipment such as remotely operated vehicles to collect samples or observations deep in the ocean. In other cases—as with this mission—we also employ some good old-fashioned humans to get the job done.

Due to our specific needs on this expedition, we partnered with saturation divers from the Navy Experimental Diving Unit. These divers are expertly trained to work quickly and nimbly underwater for long periods of time. Saturation diving involves divers being at depth long enough to bring all the body’s tissues into equilibrium with the pressures of the compressed breathing gas in their tank. Most recreational and scientific diving requires divers to spend hours decompressing before returning to the surface after each dive. Saturation diving saves time by keeping the divers under pressure the whole time (cue: Freddie Mercury vocals).

This method requires specialized equipment and techniques to get the job done safely. While the divers live on deck between dives like everyone else, they have to stay within a pressurized chamber on board to ensure the pressure in their tissues remains consistent throughout the mission. Then, when it’s time to dive, the divers enter a diving bell that is lowered by a crane onboard the ship. Once lowered to the seafloor, the divers step out into the underwater realm and get to work.

NOAA fishery councils prepare to adapt to climate change

September 10, 2024 — Shifts in marine species migration and population concentrations are forcing NOAA Fisheries to rethink its regional administrative maps to reflect the new realities of changing ocean habitats.

In guidance released Tuesday, the agency’s Office of Sustainable Fisheries established a framework for when and how regulation of a species should be handed off from one regional fishery management council to another based on shifting species population dynamics. The guidance does not specifically mention climate change, but the effects of warming water on fish migration have been widely acknowledged by NOAA Fisheries, also called the National Marine Fisheries Service, and other experts.

“In anticipation of an increasing number of fish stocks shifting in geographic distribution, new fisheries emerging, and other demographic shifts in fisheries, the National Marine Fisheries Service has identified a need for guidance on determining the geographic scope of fisheries and on how to determine which regional fishery management councils will be responsible for preparing and amending new [and] existing fishery management plans for fisheries that extend or have moved beyond the geographical area of authority of any one council,” the agency said in the guidance document.

Read the full article at E&E News

Fishermen look to kill NOAA at-sea monitoring rule following Supreme Court victory

September 9, 2024 — Following their Chevron deference victory at the U.S. Supreme Court earlier this year, commercial fishermen are seeking to finally kill a NOAA Fisheries rule requiring them to pay for at-sea monitors out of pocket.

The legal battle stems from a 2020 NOAA Fisheries requirement forcing some commercial fishermen to pay for at-sea monitors out of pocket, with costs rising higher than USD 700 (EUR 640) per day. The fishermen sued but were quickly stymied by the courts’ use of the Chevron deference, a 40-year-old legal precedent that instructs judges to defer to federal agencies – in this case NOAA Fisheries – in interpreting Congressional statutes.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

North Carolina Oyster Restoration Project Trains the Next Generation of Marine Scientists

September 9, 2024 — The North Carolina Coastal Federation is taking a new, transformational approach to restoration. They are partnering with the state Division of Marine Fisheries to construct more than 100 acres of oyster reef habitat in the Pamlico Sound. They’re also preparing science students to tackle the country’s conservation and coastal resilience challenges. NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation awarded the Federation $14.9 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act for this work.

They are partnering with North Carolina State University’s Center for Marine Sciences and Technology (CMAST) and North Carolina Central University (NCCU), a Historically Black University. These partnerships are expanding opportunities for underrepresented students.

“With climate change, sea level rise, and all the other things the environment is experiencing, we need to train the next generation of restoration practitioners,” says Dr. Dave Eggleston, Director of CMAST. “We also know that the more diverse the workforce, the better the ideas generated.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

NOAA inches closer toward establishing marine sanctuary along California coast

September 9, 2024 — NOAA has completed another milestone toward achieving U.S. President Joe Biden’s goal of establishing a new national marine sanctuary off the coast of central California, releasing the final Environmental Impact Statement for the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary.

“Today, our administration is taking a critical step toward designating the first Indigenous-proposed National Marine Sanctuary,” Vice President Kamala Harris said in a statement. “As a senator, I was proud to support efforts to create the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary off California’s coast to honor our commitments to Indigenous communities and promote natural spaces. President Biden and I will continue to protect, conserve, and restore lands and waters in communities across our nation.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Biden-Harris Administration invests more than $23 million to remove marine debris

September 6, 2024 —  Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA recommended more than $23 million in funding to support marine debris removal and interception efforts for 13 multi-year projects across 10 coastal U.S. states, three territories and the District of Columbia. This funding is provided by NOAA’s Climate-Ready Coasts initiative under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.

The Climate-Ready Coasts initiative is focused on creating climate solutions by storing carbon; building resilience to coastal hazards such as extreme weather events, pollution and marine debris; restoring coastal habitats; building the capacity of coastal  communities; and supporting community-driven restoration.

“The Biden-Harris Administration is funding critical projects like these that will help remove and address harmful marine debris that can significantly impact water quality, habitats and economic prosperity in coastal communities across the nation,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These investments, made possible thanks to President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, will help improve coastal communities for decades to come by making sure they have the necessary resources to protect their ecosystems and local economies from the impacts of marine debris, which are exacerbated by climate change.”

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries