Saving Seafood

‘That Ocean Belongs To Us,’ Former Governor Tells Feds

July 27, 2016 — Former Gov. George Ariyoshi said Tuesday that he doesn’t want “somebody from the outside” dictating how Hawaii residents can use the waters around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands.

A few dozen opponents of the proposed fourfold expansion of Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument stood behind him in the Capitol Rotunda, holding signs saying “Not so fast” and “Protect our local food source.”

“That ocean belongs to us,” Ariyoshi said.

Former U.S. Sen. Dan Akaka followed suit, saying the public needs to know more about the proposal before President Barack Obama considers using his executive authority under the Antiquities Act to expand the monument.

“It’s unconscionable for us to enact a new policy of expanding Papahanaumokuakea without proper transparency,” Akaka said. “What does it do to the people of Hawaii?”

Supporters — a few of whom were at the rally to try to counter the opposition — want the president to expand the monument in September when Hawaii hosts the world’s largest conservation conference. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s World Conservation Congress is set to meet in Honolulu Sept. 1-10.

While no public hearings are required, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service are planning to hold two public meetings next week, one on Oahu and the other on Kauai.

Opponents say that’s not good enough. Hawaii Longline Association President Sean Martin said the feds should have a more robust public process to vet the proposal, one in which comments are tabulated and and submitted. 

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

New and rare whale species identified from carcass found in Pribilofs

July 27, 2016 — A stroll on the beach of a remote Bering Sea island two years ago has produced a scientific breakthrough — the discovery of a previously unidentified species of beaked whale that dwells in the deep waters of the North Pacific Ocean.

The conclusion, described in a study published in the journal Marine Mammal Science of the California-based Society for Marine Mammalogy, stems from the 2014 discovery of a beached whale carcass by a local monitoring program called Island Sentinel. Karin Holser, a teacher on St. George Island in the Pribilofs, alerted authorities, and Michelle Ridgway, a Juneau-based biologist involved with a Pribilof science camp, responded quickly.

“She was the one who said, ‘This looks like a Baird’s beaked whale, but it doesn’t,'” said Phillip Morin, a research molecular geneticist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and lead author of the new study.

The whale was about two-thirds the size of a Baird’s beaked whale, which typically grows to 35 or 40 feet, Morin said. It was clearly not a juvenile, as its teeth were worn and yellow, “so they were not baby teeth,” he said. Its skull had a distinct slope and its dorsal fin was different from that of the typical Baird’s beaked whale.

Tissue samples were sent to the Marine Mammal and Turtle Division of NOAA Fisheries’ Southwest Fisheries Science Center in California, where Morin works and where the world’s most extensive collection of cetacean tissues is kept. The whale’s skull was sent to the Smithsonian Institution in Washington — and students from the Pribilofs visited the lab there to take part in the examination.

DNA analysis showed it was a species different from the 22 previously known species of beaked whales in the world and the two known to swim in the North Pacific.

Read the full story at Alaska Dispatch News

2016 Study Fleet Solicitation – Due date extended to Aug. 11, 2016

July 26, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

The Northeast Cooperative Research Program is pleased to announce that we have an open solicitation for our Study Fleet program! Quotes are due August 11, 2016.

We are looking for 10-15 boats in the mid-Atlantic and Northeast that fish with commercial trawl or fixed gear for monkfish, groundfish, Atlantic herring, Atlantic mackerel, long-finned squid and other mid-Atlantic commercial species, those with prior experience with electronic reporting software, and vessels interested in assisting with the development of electronic reporting systems for fixed gear deployment to provide long-term tow-by-tow data collection on catch and discards, ocean bottom temperatures, and to test developing real-time data transmission systems.

Vessels will need to supply a suitable laptop computer and dedicated GPS unit.  All software necessary will be provided by the NCRP.

Full details and quote pages are in the attached RFQ, and some tips on the forms and contracting registration system is attached.

Read the RFQ as a PDF

Read the instructions for SF Application as a PDF

Pre-Proposals for SK Grants Program FY 2017

July 25, 2015 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today is the start of the fiscal year 2017 Saltonstall-Kennedy (SK) Grant Program application solicitation; now with a new, early “pre-proposal” process that will reduce the burden of preparing full proposals on projects that do not meet program criteria. Pre-proposals will be accepted for 60 days, July 22 through September 20, 2016.  To maximize time and familiarity, NOAA Fisheries will conduct at least two public webinars for interested stakeholders to walk through the process and answer any questions.

Briefly, the “pre-proposal” process is a required step that will provide applicants with early clarification from NOAA as to the technical merits and relevancy of their project. This new step provides applicants an early indication of their project’s eligibility before going through the more intensive process of developing a full project proposal.

In addition to the new “pre-proposal” process, NOAA Fisheries made a number of modifications to the proposal review process in 2016 to improve transparency and participation by external expertise. Starting in 2016, the eight fishery management councils and three state marine fishery commissions selected external parties to assist in identifying priority focus areas for funding, as well as serve on the review panel process. Also in 2016, NOAA gave broader consideration to projects focused on sustainable economies, business innovations and opportunities as well as science and research.

The 2017 priority focus areas remain the same as 2016 with the additional focus area aimed at improving the quality and quantity of fishery information from the U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Commonwealths of Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.

NOAA Recommends $9 Million in Funding for Community-based Habitat Restoration

July 25, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA is recommending $9 million in funding for 17 coastal and marine habitat restoration projects for its 2016 Community-based Restoration Program, as part of agency efforts to support healthy ecosystems and resilient coastal communities.

The recommended projects, in 10 states and territories, range from coral reef restoration in Florida to fish passage improvements in California. In the Greater Atlantic region, there are four recommended projects in Massachusetts, one in Maine, and one in Maryland.

This year’s projects will restore habitat for a variety of coastal and marine species, including three of NOAA Fisheries’ highly at-risk “Species in the Spotlight” – Atlantic salmon, Central California Coast coho, and Sacramento River winter-run Chinook. Projects will also concentrate on habitat improvement in two of NOAA’s Habitat Focus Areas – Puerto Rico’s Culebra Island, and West Hawaii – where agency and partner efforts can come together to yield community and environmental benefits.

“These restoration projects are a win-win for the environment and surrounding communities,” said Pat Montanio, director of the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation. “When we make smart investments in habitat restoration, we not only help sustain fisheries and recover protected resources, we also use these projects to provide additional benefits, like protecting coastal communities from flooding and erosion, and boosting local economies through increased recreational opportunities.”

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Community-based Restoration Program, which was established in 1996 and authorized under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act of 2006. Since the program’s beginning, NOAA has provided more than $140 million to implement more than 2,000 habitat restoration projects, all through strong partnerships with more than 2,500 organizations. Through the program and the Magnuson-Stevens Act, NOAA and its partners are helping to create healthy habitats and resilient fish populations in the United States.

At this point in the selection process, the application approval and obligation of funds is not final. Each of the 17 applications is being “recommended” and is not a guarantee of funding. Final approval is subject to funding availability as well as final review and approval by both the NOAA Grants Management Division and Department of Commerce Federal Assistance Law Division. Applicants should expect to receive formal notification of award approval by October 1.

Details about the 17 projects recommended for funding are available on the NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation website.

NEW YORK: Commercial bluefish season could come to early end

July 25, 2016 — The commercial season for Atlantic bluefish in New York State could end prematurely following a pending decision from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. 

The potential closure would come about three months earlier than usual and have a negative economic impact on commercial fisheries throughout New York, according to the state Department of Environmental Conservation.

The decision, which could be made any day now, is based on data from the Marine Recreation Information Program, which is the program NOAA uses to record all of its recreational fishing data. Recent data shows a high number of bluefish were caught last year by recreational fishers.

The DEC, however, has argued in a letter sent to NOAA that it finds the data “troubling” and is urging officials to reevaluate the findings.

On Monday, Senator Charles Schumer (D-NY) also called on NOAA to take a second look, writing in a letter to the organization that “any decision on bluefish fishing season must be based on up-to-date science, period.”

Mr. Schumer’s request follows a letter sent to NOAA last Tuesday by DEC commissioner Basil Seggos, who expressed concern that a mid-season closure would be a “devastating blow to our commercial fisheries.”

On the North Fork, several business owners have also expressed worry about how such a closure might impact them. Charlie Manwaring of Southold Fish Market said he sells a considerable number of bluefish this time of year.

“I’m not very happy because it’s one less fish I can sell,” Mr. Manwaring said, adding that bluefish season sometimes extends until November.

NOAA sets a quota each year for East Coast states regarding how many fish can be caught. The quota is divided between commercial and recreational fisheries. For Atlantic bluefish, about 80 percent of the quota relates to recreational fishing. Data from the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission shows that recent yearly averages for recreational bluefish fishing are around 13 million pounds.

DEC officials said recreational fisheries almost never hit the 80 percent quota. When commercial fishermen want to harvest more fish, they said, the government can transfer a percentage of the remaining recreational quota.

Read the full story at The Suffolk Times

Life on the Line: OSU scientists track effects of a changing ocean on tiny sea life

July 22, 2016 — NEWPORT, Ore. — In a cold mist under gray skies, the Pacific Ocean heaved against the boat as two scientists from Oregon State University pulled a net full of life from the deep.

It was a July day, but it felt like a day in December.

In the net life swarmed, much of it too small to be seen with the unaided eye. The net held the keys to help scientists unlock how creatures of the sea are affected by changing ocean conditions and those effects on the aquatic food chain. And more specifically, the effects to salmon, a fish of much importance to humans.

For 20 years scientists have made bi-monthly trips on what is called the Newport Hydrographic Line, which takes them to the same seven sampling stations along a 25-mile path perpendicular to the coast. The stations are physical points on a map. There are no buoys or other structures that mark their locations. The scientists find them using GPS.

They launch their research vessel, the R/V Elakha, from a dock in Yaquina Bay that sits along a jagged bulge of land on which OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center resides. The trips have amassed an extraordinary amount of data about the sea and the life within it. The data is routinely posted on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center website and is used primarily to help forecast salmon runs. But the data has also told the story of changing ocean conditions and its impact on the food chain.

“We can also look at the changes in the bioenergetics of the food chain across the whole 20-year time series,” says OSU research assistant Jennifer Fisher. “It doesn’t just relate to salmon; it relates to sardines and (other) fish. It gives us an idea of ocean acidification, toxic algae – lots of things.”

Fisher has been going on these trips to sea for five years aboard the 54-foot research vessel owned and operated by OSU.

On this day, Fisher, OSU lab technician Tom Murphy and deckhand Dave Weaver use two different cone-shaped nets to capture organisms that live in the sea and that form the basis of the oceanic food chain.

Fisher’s primary interest in the day’s catch is in a tiny crustacean called a copepod. These creatures feed on the sea’s phytoplankton. Copepods are animals with large antennae and are only a millimeter or two in length. Under a microscope their bodies are an elongated oval protected by an exoskeleton. But they are nearly transparent. And inside their bodies scientists have discovered a lipid sac, or stored fat.

Read the full story at KVAL

SMAST wins patent on 3D counting, measuring fish on deck of a boat

July 20, 2016 — NEW BEDFORD — A newly patented 3-D photograph system developed at the UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology soon may greatly add to scientists’ knowledge about ocean fish populations, the school announced Tuesday.

The device, the work of now-retired dean Dr. Brian Rothschild and graduate student Glenn Chamberlain, includes two digital cameras and a reference frame.

Using a common technique called stereo photogrammetry, the device essentially uses 3-D images to map the surface of the fish. The reference frame will permit the monitoring not only of the number of fish, but their size. The fish can be on the deck, or in a net, and the data obtained can be stored permanently, Rothschild said.

“The concept is very simple,” Rothschild said, and the parts are easily obtainable commercially; the two cameras cost about $500, he said.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

HAWAII: Papahānaumokuākea Expansion Public Meetings

July 20, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

Please join the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) for a public meeting to discuss the proposed expansion of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument.

On June 16, 2016, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz submitted a proposal to President Obama, requesting consideration of expanding the current boundaries of the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument – drawing attention again to the rich cultural and scientific resources of the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands (NWHI).

As the Administration evaluates the proposal, we are seeking input from all interested parties to ensure that any expansion of the Monument protects the unique features of the NWHI for future generations while recognizing the importance of sustainable ocean-based economies. Please join us at our listening session to share your comments, concerns, and visions regarding the proposed expansion.

Oahu:
Monday, August 1, 2016
5:00 pm to 8:00 pm
Filipino Community Center
94-428 Mokuola Street, Suite 302
Waipahu, HI 96797		 Kauai:
Tuesday, August 2, 2016
4:00 pm to 7:00 pm
Kauai Community College
Performing Arts Center
3-1901 Kaumualii Hwy
Lihue, HI 96766

Written comments will be accepted in person during the public meetings and may also be submitted, in person, August 1 and 2 at the following locations during normal business hours:

Oʻahu
Honolulu Services Center
Pier 38, Honolulu Harbor
1139 N. Nimitz Hwy, Suite 220
Honolulu, HI 96817		 Maui
Sanctuary Visitor Center
726 South Kihei Road
Kihei, HI 96753		 Hawaiʻi
Mokupāpapa Discovery Center
76 Kamehameha Ave
Hilo, HI 96720

We hope you are able to join us and ask that you RSVP at your earliest convenience by clicking HERE. This meeting is open to the public, so please feel free to share this invitation with anyone you think would be interested.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Read the release at the Papahanaumokuakea website

Navy’s submarine hunts are too disturbing for marine life, California court rules

July 20, 2016 — They came as a wave, some 150 to 200 melon-headed whales churning into Hawaii’s Hanalei Bay like a single mass. It was a strange sight for the Kauai islanders to behold. Melon-headed whales live in the deep ocean, feasting on squid. But here they were, swimming in the shallows no more than 100 feet from shore.

Over the course of July 3 and 4, 2004, volunteers and rescuers shepherded the animals back to sea, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s account of the mass stranding. The Washington Post reported at the time that it was the largest event of its kind in 150 years of Hawaiian history. Almost all the whales made it back out into the open water. But not the entire pod.

A young calf, split off from the rest of the herd, perished the next day.

A year later, 34 whales died when they were stranded at North Carolina’s Outer Banks. Three years after that and half the world away, 100 melon-headed whales were again stranded en masse, this time on the shores of Madagascar. The reasons why whales beach themselves are not always clear — strandings have been likened to car crashes in that the causes are myriad but the conclusion is never good. With the melon-headed whales, however, something was different. The events were unusual enough, and involved such large numbers, to prompt scrutiny. In both cases, a prime suspect emerged: sonar.

Controversy over these sound waves continues today. And in the latest skirmish over oceanic noise pollution, a victory went to the whales. On Friday, a federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled that the Navy violated marine mammal protection laws, reversing a lower court’s decision that allowed military vessels to use a type of loud, low-frequency sonar approved in 2012.

Read the full story at the Washington Post