Saving Seafood

Ocean Drifters Aid University Study of Currents

June 17, 2016 — A team of scientists and teachers last month deployed a small fleet of devices off Lucy Vincent Beach in the hope of tracking their journey to Narragansett Bay. Most of the 10 devices, known as ocean drifters, sailed past Noman’s Land and across Rhode Island Sound, confirming a link between Narragansett Bay and the waters south of the Vineyard.

Chris Kincaid, a professor of oceanography at the University of Rhode Island, and his colleagues have been trying to understand circulation within Narragansett Bay, which lies about 25 miles west of Vineyard Sound. Among other things, they hope to reveal the origin of the currents, along with the critical nutrients they carry.

“We know that there is a lot of nitrogen in the bottom water of Rhode Island Sound,” Mr. Kincaid told the Gazette this week. But he said those nutrients are mostly trapped at the bottom by changes in the water density. “To get marine growth, you need nitrogen to be where the sunlight is, near the surface,” he said. “Our hypothesis is that there’s a lot of material that fuels the ecosystem that comes in this coastal current from the area of Martha’s Vineyard.”

The study has a number of applications, including the tracking of oil spills and floating garbage. But the ultimate goal is fisheries management. The study has received funding from Rhode Island Sea Grant, a partnership that includes URI and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which regulates offshore fisheries.

Read the full story at the Vineyard Gazette

Herring Industry Scores a Victory in Long-Running Battle

June 17, 2016 — The following piece was authored by Shaun Gehan, counsel for the Sustainable Fisheries Coaltion:

The Atlantic herring fishery has been under constant litigation since 2011. Each major management action since Amendment 4 to the herring fishery management plan was adopted has been challenged by EarthJustice, a Pew Foundation-funded law firm, representing environmental and sportfishing interests. These suits are part of Pew’s multi-year, multi-million dollar “forage fish” campaign.

In what the herring industry hopes augurs an end to this cycle of litigation, Senior Judge Gladys Kessler of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia handed EarthJustice a sound defeat in its latest case. At issue, in essence, were plaintiffs’ contentions that quota was set too high and that NMFS failed to give due consideration to alternative quota-setting methods, including one developed by a Pew-funded group known as the Lenfest Forage Fish Task Force.

Judge Kessler called the approach NMFS took in setting catch targets to be “clearly permissible.”  She also noted that herring’s role as forage was explicitly taken into account by fisheries scientists when assessing the stock’s status. Currently, the Atlantic herring population is roughly twice the long-term average size generally sought to be obtained through traditional fisheries management.

EarthJustice claimed that the Pew-funded research constituted the “best available science for managing forage fish.” Use of the “best scientific information available” in managing fisheries is legally required. As the court noted, however, not only did NMFS consider the reports advocated by plaintiffs in setting quotas, but that as the expert agency, determining what constitutes the best science is squarely in its discretion. The plaintiffs, Judge Kessler noted, “fail to explain why” the studies they prefer “are clearly the ‘best available science.’”

This lawsuit represents the latest skirmish in a long running conflict between Pew/EarthJustice and the fishing industry over herring management. The Sustainable Fisheries Coalition, a group comprised of herring fishermen from New Jersey to Maine, processors and bait dealers, intervened in this lawsuit. While pleased with this result, industry members recognized that significant threats to their livelihood still exist.

For instance, there remains pending a challenge to herring Amendment 5 dealing with issues of monitoring and bycatch. That case was stayed as the New England and Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Councils – federally-created bodies charged with developing fishery rules – consider measures to address these concerns.

The herring fishery has one of the lowest rates of bycatch – incidental harvest of non-target species – in the nation, as SFC has repeatedly noted. To improve on this record, herring fishermen have established a “bycatch avoidance network” in conjunction with partners from academic institutions and support of some states. Through this network, vessels communicate areas of high incidental catch so that others may avoid them.

Nonetheless, the Pew-funded Herring Alliance, also represented by EarthJustice, is seeking to impose a requirement that 100 percent of all herring trips be monitored by government observers at industry expense. Such a measure was included as part of Amendment 5, but was rejected by NMFS on the basis that it lacked the funds to fulfill the mandate. It was this decision, among others, that are the subject of EarthJustice’s pending case.

Various federal laws forbid a governmental agency from incurring unfunded obligations or shifting money appropriated for other uses. At the time it rejected these provisions, NMFS noted that even with industry cost sharing, additional at-sea monitors and data collection would impose financial obligations on the government it could not cover. Notably, like all federal fisheries, the herring fleet is required to carry observers in order to collect statistically rigorous data. The issue is thus about monitoring above levels necessary to gather precise and accurate information.

The new measure currently under development would establish a framework under which fishermen could be required to pay additional monitoring costs. Such monitoring could be done by observers on vessels, via electronic means such as cameras, through dockside inspections, or a combination of methods. Additional industry-funded data collection, however, could only occur when NMFS has funds to cover its share of the costs.

Nonetheless, in a letter to both Councils the Herring Alliance this week advocated for mandatory coverage on all trips made by the largest herring vessels. The practical effect of this proposal would be to cause these vessels to cease fishing, save for a handful of routinely observed trips. SFC participants believe this option is unlawful as it would result in an inability to harvest most of the allowable herring catch each year. There is support among fishermen, however, for increased monitoring so long as the costs are reasonable. Herring fishing is capital-intensive and profit margins are small.

The parties to the Amendment 5 lawsuit are set to report to Judge Kessler in early July on how they want to proceed with the case. It is likely EarthJustice will ask the judge to continue the stay while the Industry-Funded Monitoring amendment works its way through the process. In the meantime, the herring industry is savoring a small, but important victory. Counsel for the SFC notes that this decision makes it more likely that the next herring action – quota specifications for the next three years – will be the first herring measure in half a decade not to wind up in court.

 

Regulators close scallop fishery southeast of Cape Cod

June 16, 2016 — NANTUCKET, Mass. — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is closing one of the key fishing areas off of New England where fishermen seek scallops.

The administration is closing the Nantucket Lightship North Scallop Access Area to scallop vessels that fish under “limited access general category” rules. The closure goes into effect at 12:01 a.m. on Thursday.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Portland Press Herald

Researchers Discover 3 New Species of Fish Off Hawaii

June 16, 2016 — Researchers in Hawaii have discovered three probable new species of fish while on an expedition in the protected waters of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

In a statement released Wednesday, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration officials said divers collected two previously unknown species of fish and filmed a third.

Read the full story at NBC New York

NOAA seeks proposals for up to $8.5 million for coastal resilience projects

June 16, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

As part of its national effort to build resilient coastal ecosystems, communities and economies, NOAA is announcing today the availability of up to $8.5 million in funding for coastal and marine habitat restoration in 2016.

NOAA is seeking proposals for habitat restoration projects under the Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency grant program. The proposed projects should reduce the risks to coastal communities from extreme weather events, changing environmental conditions and known or potential climate change effects.

“People, businesses and their communities face enormous risks from extreme weather and climate change,” said Pat Montanio, director of the Office of Habitat Conservation for NOAA Fisheries. “These grants reflect NOAA’s efforts to better understand those risks, and help them to make smart decisions for a rapidly changing planet. The funded projects will use NOAA’s environmental intelligence to reduce communities’ vulnerability to environmental threats and preserve coastal and ocean resources for future generations.”

In addition to strengthening the resiliency of coastal ecosystems, these projects will support the recovery and conservation of protected resources, and help promote productive fisheries by restoring habitat for marine life to reproduce and develop, which are key NOAA Fisheries missions.

“Investing in habitat restoration is a win-win for marine life and coastal communities,” said Montanio. “Restoration activities create healthy habitat for protected species and valuable fisheries, while also providing ecosystem services for coastal regions such as barriers against extreme storm surge or sea level rise.”

The deadline for applications for the Coastal Ecosystem Resiliency funding opportunity is August 16. NOAA will accept proposals requesting between $100,000 and $2 million. More information can be found online at grants.gov or from NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation.

 

Rep. Jones Asks for Red Snapper Opening Based on New Data

June 15, 2016 — The following was released by the office of Rep. Walter Jones (NC-3):

WASHINGTON — This week, Congressman Walter B. Jones (NC-3) and over a dozen of his House colleagues urged federal fisheries regulators to consider science from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Research Institute before following through on a 2016 commercial and recreational closure of the South Atlantic red snapper fishery. The Institute, which is a subsidiary of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Commission, has data which shows a much healthier red snapper stock than the federal data used to justify the 2016 closure. Harvest of South Atlantic red snapper has been banned for the past six years.

“The population statistics from the Institute support allowing a commercial and recreational harvest of red snapper in the South Atlantic region,” said Jones and his colleagues in a letter to NOAA Administrator, Dr. Kathryn Sullivan. “Unfortunately, reports indicate these data are not being considered as ‘best available science’ and, therefore, are at risk of being excluded from the [South Atlantic Fishery Management] Council’s deliberations. Permitting a limited amount of red snapper harvest this year, to the extent it would not jeopardize the fishery’s overall sustainability, could serve to more accurately assess the size, sex, and relative abundance of the red snapper fishery and help resolve the discrepancies between the two data sets.”

Jones has been a critic of the science used by the federal government to manage South Atlantic red snapper. In November of 2015, he raised a number of questions about the credibility of the agency’s red snapper data.

CFA Responds to Approval of H.R. 3094 Today in the U.S. House Natural Resources Committee

June 15, 2016 — The following was released by the Charter Fisherman’s Association:

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Earlier today the House Natural Resources committee in Congress approved H.R. 3094 by Rep. Garret Graves (R-La) to transfer management of the private, charter for-hire and commercial components of the Gulf of Mexico red snapper fisheries away from the federal government to a newly created five-person committee made up of the five Gulf state fishery directors. The CFA has been adamantly opposed to this concept since its inception last year and one of our members (Captain Gary Jarvis) testified against the bill in a hearing on the bill in October. The following statements are in reaction to this morning’s vote.

“As federally permitted charter captains, we are the access point for millions of Americans who want to go offshore but don’t own a big boat,” said Captain Shane Cantrell from Galveston, TX. “We have worked constructively with NOAA to develop management solutions for our industry to improve accountability, increase sustainability and deliver flexibility for our customers and most of the Gulf States have opposed us every step of the way. Congress should be advised that transferring authority over this fishery will result in the Gulf of Mexico being reserved for only wealthy boat owners in short order.”

“I am disappointed to see this dangerous piece of legislation move out of the Natural Resources committee because our industry has been near unanimous in saying that we want to stay under federal management. The private recreational system is what is broken and those anglers absolutely deserve relief, but you don’t throw the baby out with the bath water. If the states want to manage millions of private anglers that is fine, but there are 1,200 of us and we operate exclusively in federal waters and we don’t want any part of that.” ~ Capt. Gary Jarvis from Destin, FL.

“In addition to turning their backs on years of progress in rebuilding this fishery, they are passing down a huge unfunded mandate to my home state of Louisiana. After the multi-billion dollar mess that the previous Governor left us, I don’t know how they expect us to pay for the management of another 191 miles offshore!”  ~ Capt. Steve Tomeny from Fourchon, LA. 

Justice asks for details in fish monitoring suit

June 15, 2016 — The final judgment in New Hampshire fisherman David Goethel’s federal lawsuit against NOAA Fisheries concerning at-sea monitoring will be further delayed after the judge in the case requested additional briefs and memoranda from both sides.

“In consideration of the parties’ cross motions for summary judgment and conducting the attending legal research, the court has identified points, authorities and (to some extent) arguments that were unfortunately not cited or raised by the parties’ legal memoranda,” U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante wrote in his procedural order.

Prior to ordering the supplemental filings, Laplante, who sits in U.S. District Court in Concord, New Hampshire, held a June 9 conference call with attorneys to discuss “whether, and the extent to which, any delay caused by additional briefing would increase, extend or intensify any claimed economic hardship” from the federal mandate shifting the costs of at-sea monitoring to the industry.

“Counsel assured the court that neither party had objections or reservations in this regard with respect to additional briefing,” Laplante wrote in the order issued June 10. “The court therefore orders counsel to supplement their arguments in support of their summary judgment motions.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

Council to consider loosening red snapper fishing rules

June 15, 2016 — COCOA BEACH, Fla. — A regional fish management panel meets this week to consider — among other things — whether to allow more time for fishermen to bag a red snapper.

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries closed the red snapper fishery on Jan. 4, 2010, to protect the species from fishing pressure. Fishery managers said the ban was necessary because the species had been “overfished.”

The council in recent years had reopened the fishery for short seasons lasting only a few days, after new scientific information projected red snapper could continue to grow in numbers, even with some allowable catch.

Consideration of allowing up to a six-month red snapper fishing season — possibly by 2018 — will come up at around 1:30 p.m. at the Wednesday, June 15 council meeting, held at the Hilton Cocoa Beach Oceanfront, 1550 N. Atlantic Ave., Cocoa Beach.

Read the full story at Florida Today

Mischievous Snailfish and Other Mysteries of the Deep

June 15, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

Right now, scientists from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center are at sea collecting information crucial to keeping Alaska fisheries sustainable. The data they collect during yearly stock assessment surveys is used to set quotas for the familiar species that support some of world’s largest fisheries.

But sometimes they find something no one has seen before.

Mischievous, hardheaded, arbiter, dusty, peach, tomato, whiskered, combed, goldeneye, comet and comic snailfishes: none of these species were known to science 10 years ago. Some were named only last year. All were discovered by Alaska Fisheries Science Center biologist Jay Orr during stock assessment surveys in the Aleutian Islands.

Orr has discovered new skate, sculpin, sole and other species, but his favorites are the snailfishes. Alone or with coauthors including Morgan Busby (AFSC) and Katherine Maslenikov (University of Washington) he has discovered and named 12 new species of snailfishes. “My interest was sparked in 1997 when I collected one specimen that represented a new genus, and several that I thought were a known species out of their range”, Orr says. “When I examined one of these closely, I found it was a brand new species. And so was the second, and the third, and finally, a fourth newly discovered species. That’s what started me down this road.”

Some 350 snailfish species inhabit marine environments from the Arctic to Antarctic, from tide pools to deep sea – deeper than any other known vertebrate: one snailfish species was recently found swimming nearly 5 miles below the ocean surface. More than 50 species have been identified in the North Pacific; many more exist that are undescribed, and more continue to be discovered. In fact, Orr has collected twelve more unknown species that are now just waiting to be described.

A Slippery Fish

A snailfish looks a bit like an overweight tadpole. Naked of scales, its body seems gelatinous. Most species have a sucking disc in place of pelvic fins, and use it to attach themselves to rocks or other undersea surfaces. Most snailfish stay close to the bottom, rather than swimming in the water column.

Some of these characteristics partly explain why there are still so many unnamed snailfish. “They are challenging for taxonomists,” Orr says. “Because they don’t have scales, they get damaged easily. In the past, biologists might just call all snailfish ‘snailfish,’ instead of attempting to identify them.”

Taking advantage of a small bag added to the footrope of the trawl used to collect samples of other fish and invertebrates for species assessment, Orr’s group was able to collect undamaged snailfish, a true rarity. “The first time it was deployed it came up full of snailfish in perfect condition,” says Orr. “We aren’t sure why it works, but suspect it creates a vortex that gently sweeps up snailfish.”

Location, Location

Orr collects snailfish during fish and invertebrate species assessment cruises in the Aleutian Islands, as well as other regions in Alaska. Many of the new species were found in the Central Aleutians, and had not been identified during routine surveys of the entire Aleutian chain since 1980s.

The central Aleutians are a “biological hot spot” because of high productivity and prey availability. Snailfish may be concentrated in this high biodiversity area because of these favorable conditions. Also, they live and lay their eggs on the bottom, which may tend to keep them in this desirable real estate.

What’s in a Name?

“I name some of them according to what strikes me about the fish, its color or morphology,” says Orr. “I’ve also used descriptive words from the Aleut language, in honor of the Aleut people. And some species are named after individual people.”

Prognatholiparis ptychomandibularis, for example, means “protruding jaw snailfish, folded jaw,” and is commonly known as the wrinkle-jaw snailfish.

The goldeneye snailfish Allocareproctus unangas was named in honor of the Unangas, the Aleut people of Atka Island, near which the species was discovered.

The species name for Careproctus lerikimae, the dusty snailfish, is an amalgam of the first names–Libby, Erika, and Kim–of three scientists who helped collect the first specimens.

One hardheaded snailfish (Lopholiparis flerxi) was affectionately named after a colleague known for his keen eye for unusual specimens – and for his strong opinions.

Two most recently discovered species were named after retired leaders at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center who supported work in fisheries ecosystem management and biodiversity. “And they are just great guys,” says Orr. Orr has not named any species after himself (that’s just not done), but other scientists did: a whole new genus of fossil fishes is named Orrichthys, in honor of Orr’s contributions to the field.

More Information

Orr, J. W., and M. S. Busby. 2001.  Prognatholiparis ptychomandibularis, a new genus and species of the fish family Liparidae (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes) from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Proceedings of the Biological Society of Washington 114(1):51-57.

Orr, J. W. 2004. Lopholiparis flerxi, a new genus and species of snailfish (Scorpaeniformes: Liparidae) from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Copeia 2004(3):551-555.

Orr, J. W., and M. S. Busby. 2006. Revision of the snailfish genus Allocareproctus Pitruk and Federov (Teleostei: Liparidae), with the description of four new species from the Aleutian Islands. Zootaxa 1173:1-37.

Orr, J. W., and K. P. Maslenikov. 2007. Two new variegated snailfishes of the genus Careproctus (Teleostei: Scorpaeniformes: Liparidae) from the Aleutian Islands, Alaska. Copeia 2007(3):699-710.

Baldwin, Z. H., and J. W. Orr. 2010. A new species of the snailfish genus Paraliparis (Scorpaeniformes: Liparidae) from the eastern Bering Sea. Copeia 2010(4):640-643.

Orr, J. W. 2012. Two new species of Careproctus (Scorpaeniformes: Liparidae) from the eastern North Pacific. Copeia 2012(2):257-265.

Orr, J. W., Y. Kai, and T. Nakabo. 2015. Snailfishes of the Careproctus rastrinus complex (Liparidae): Recognition of seven species in the North Pacific Ocean and its marginal seas, with the description of a new species from the Beaufort Sea. Zootaxa 4018:301–348.

Orr, J. W. In press. Two new species of Careproctus (Liparidae) from the Aleutian Islands. Copeia, 20 ms pp.

Gardner, J. R., J. W. Orr, D. E. Stevenson, I. Spies, and D. A. Somerton. In press. Reproductive parasitism between distant phyla: molecular identification of snailfish (Liparidae) egg masses in the gill cavities of king crabs (Lithodidae). Copeia, 30 ms pp.

 

Read the full story at NOAA