Saving Seafood

Rice’s Whales Heard in the Western Gulf of Mexico

February 14, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

For the past 25 years, Rice’s whales have been consistently observed in the northeastern Gulf of Mexico. They have been seen along the continental shelf break in waters roughly between 100 and 400 meters deep. In 2017, a single Rice’s whale sighting was confirmed in the western Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Texas, suggesting that their distribution may extend further west. New science led by NOAA Fisheries provides more evidence that these whales may be more prevalent in the western Gulf of Mexico than previously thought.

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Listening for Rice’s Whales

Melissa Soldevilla, Ph.D., of the NOAA Fisheries Southeast Fisheries Science Center led an international team of researchers that used passive acoustic recorders called High-frequency Acoustic Recording Packages to listen for Rice’s whales in the western Gulf of Mexico. The recorders were moored to the seafloor for up to 2 years and captured ocean sound from a variety of sources, including whale sounds. The team used specialized software to analyze the recordings for Rice’s whale calls, which were then validated manually by an experienced acoustic analyst.

The team deployed these long-term passive acoustic recorders offshore of Louisiana and Texas for 356 days, and in Mexican waters for 680 days. They detected Rice’s whale calls on 25 percent of days recorded offshore of Texas, and 33 percent of days recorded off Louisiana. These findings provide additional support for Rice’s whales’ persistent occurrence in the western Gulf, including new information demonstrating their regular occurrence in waters offshore of Texas.

Even more striking was the detection of Rice’s whale calls on 15 percent of days recorded offshore of Mexico, at sporadic intervals throughout the year. This provides the first evidence that Rice’s whales occur in Mexican waters.

The paper, Rice’s whale occurrence in the western Gulf of Mexico from passive acoustic recordings, was published in the journal of Marine Mammal Science on February 13, 2024.

What This Means for Rice’s Whales

This discovery has many implications for the management and conservation of Rice’s whales. The results of this research will be used to inform management decisions for this endangered species.

These findings also highlight the importance of continuing surveys into these waters to refine future population estimates and track the Rice’s whale population status. NOAA Fisheries continues to conduct research on these whales to better understand them and plan for recovery of their population. Ongoing research on Rice’s whales includes:

  • Studying their trophic interactions and habitat requirements
  • Conducting stock assessments
  • Observing whales on vessel-based visual surveys
  • Leading acoustic studies to better understand Rice’s whale distribution, movement, and behavior

Rice’s whales face threats that contribute to their risk of extinction such as:

  • Vessel strikes
  • Noise from vessels and energy exploration
  • Oil spills and other pollutants, including lingering effects of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill
  • Ingestion of and entanglement in marine debris
  • Climate change and its effect on prey
  • Entanglement in fishing gear

Rice’s whales are listed as an endangered species under the Endangered Species Act, and is protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act. They are also a part of NOAA Fisheries’ Species in the Spotlight initiative, which brings greater attention and leverages partnerships and resources to save this highly at-risk species.

Partnerships

This work involved many researchers from these partner institutions:

Help Keep Whales Safe

NOAA Fisheries encourages boaters, anglers and others to report all suspected sightings of Rice’s whales by calling (877) WHALE-HELP (877-942-5343). This information is invaluable for helping us learn more about this endangered species.

The Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act prohibit harassing, harming, pursuing, wounding, killing, capturing, or collecting protected marine mammals. Observe marine animals from a safe distance of at least 100 yards—the length of a football field. Never approach or touch them. Please read our marine life viewing guidelines for more information.

Study Provides Guidance on Detecting North Atlantic Right Whales in Wind Energy Areas

February 13, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

A new study by Northeast Fisheries Science Center researchers provides data-driven guidance for using passive acoustic monitoring. This will allow us to more effectively detect North Atlantic right whales when they are present and calling in wind lease areas off southern New England.

“North Atlantic right whales’ calling rates vary widely depending on location, season, behavior, and other factors,” explained research acoustician and lead author Genevieve Davis.

“Having this information, which is specific to the Southern New England Wind Energy Area, is important for management with wind energy development underway.”

The study shows that when North Atlantic right whales are present and vocalizing, 1 hour of monitoring detected them 4 percent of the time. An 18-hour monitoring period detected them 75 percent of the time. Therefore, a minimum 24 hours of pre-construction passive acoustic monitoring would increase the likelihood of detecting a right whale if it is in the area and calling. The data also showed that once detected, whales remained in the area for 10 consecutive days on average, and recurred within 11 days.

Data on whale presence used in this study were collected by bottom-mounted acoustic recorders. They were deployed at six sites within or near nine lease areas for more than 2 years prior to construction in these lease areas. There are now 19 recorders deployed off southern New England.

This new information will help inform NOAA’s future decisions about incidental take authorizations off southern New England. Improving the effectiveness of real-time monitoring for protected animals in and around wind energy operations is significant. This tool will reduce the harmful effects of some activities on these animals.

This research supports NOAA Fisheries’ overarching North Atlantic Right Whale Road to Recovery. This strategy describes our efforts to address threats to the species and halt the current population decline.

The paper, “Upcalling behaviour and patterns in North Atlantic right whales, implications for monitoring protocols during wind energy development,” was published as part of a special theme issue of the ICES Journal of Marine Science. The issue focused on assessing the impacts of expanding offshore wind energy.

 

Climate Change Affects Different U.S. West Coast Fishing Fleets Unequally

February 13, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Climate change is hitting fishermen hard. But it’s not hitting all those who depend on the sea for their livelihood the same way.

A new NOAA Fisheries study examined how climate change might affect commercial fishing fleets on the U.S. West Coast. The findings were published recently in the journal PLoS Climate.

Researchers assessed the risk climate change poses to different bottom trawl groundfish fishing fleets in California, Oregon, and Washington.

They combined information about ocean conditions, fishing behavior, and the economy. They wanted to understand how climate change affects different fishing communities. And in turn, they hope this helps us figure out the best ways to help them adapt and thrive in a changing climate.

The research team included members from:

  • NOAA Fisheries
  • University of Washington
  • The Nature Conservancy
  • Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife
  • Oregon State University
  • Wellesley College
  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Location Matters: Northern Fishermen Face More Challenges

The researchers found that West Coast fishermen further north face a double whammy. First, fishermen nearer the poles may be exposed to more rapid changes in ocean climate. Climate models predict that northern ports may experience double the ocean temperature changes of their southern counterparts in the coming decades. Previous work showed that the warmer water pushes many groundfish (e.g., rockfish, sablefish) into cooler waters, forcing northern fishermen to fish much deeper or further offshore.

Second, these northern fishermen often rely more heavily on the specific fish they catch. For example, the researchers found that some northern fishermen are 10 times more economically dependent on groundfish than southern fishermen. Southern fishermen maintain more diverse fishing portfolios or rely more on other species. Northern fishermen will experience waters that warm faster and have fewer options for which species to target, so they are more vulnerable to a changing climate.

Different Solutions Needed for Different Situations

Climate change affects fishing fleets differently and requires different solutions. The researchers found that encouraging diversification, mobility, and market expansion can help fishing communities cope with climate impacts.

In particular, the researchers compared two adaptation strategies they called: adapting in place and adapting on the move. They note that some fishermen can adapt by catching different fish or moving to new areas, but this isn’t always easy.

“We found that adapting to climate change by seeking more distant fishing grounds appears to be better at reducing risk for northern fishing fleets than diversifying fisheries portfolios,” said Jameal Samhouri, the study’s lead author. “A key next step is to follow up with direct conversations with fishermen in their communities to determine if these findings ring true for them.”

But it’s often not that simple. The researchers point to a host of other considerations that affect the situation and adaptation strategy. For example, past events and regulations can affect how communities respond to the new challenges posed by climate change. We don’t know whether fishermen are already at their catch diversification and mobility limits.

That’s why the researchers stress that understanding each fishing community’s specific risks and vulnerabilities is crucial for developing effective climate adaptation strategies. This research shows that climate change isn’t a one-size-fits-all problem. While some fishermen face a rougher ride, understanding these differences is vital for finding the best ways to help them adapt.

Endangered species listing sought for horseshoe crabs

February 13, 2024 — Apetition filed Feb. 12 with NOAA Fisheries seeks federal Endangered Species Act protection for the American horseshoe crab, a long-ubiquitous species whose populations have  “crashed in recent decades because of overharvesting and habitat loss,” according to the Center for Biological Diversity.

The center and 22 other environmental groups from the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico states want regulators to restrict horseshoe crab harvests for commercial whelk and eel fisheries, and for crab blood used by biomedical companies.

“We’re wiping out one of the world’s oldest and toughest creatures,” said Will Harlan, a senior scientist at the Center for Biological Diversity. “These living fossils urgently need Endangered Species Act protection. Horseshoe crabs have saved countless human lives, and now we should return the favor.”

Horseshoe crabs come ashore in spring along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, laying their eggs in massive beach spawning events. One of the largest gatherings happens on Delaware Bay beaches, where the concentrations of crabs eggs attract migrating shorebirds including red knots.

But “horseshoe crab populations have declined by two-thirds in the Delaware Bay, their largest population stronghold,” according to the Center for Biological Diversity. Early alarms over declining crab and shorebird numbers led New Jersey officials to first restrict commercial crab harvests in the late 1990s.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA takes ‘hard look’ at growing salmon to feed orcas

February 13, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries started doing something in 2020 that it had never done before: pay hatcheries to grow juvenile chinook salmon specifically to help feed an endangered population of southern resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest.

Four years later, the agency said the program is producing roughly 20 million fish at 35 different hatcheries every year, providing food for the 75 orcas remaining in the wild.

“It’s the only one I know that’s producing live prey for a predatory species,” said Michael Milstein, a public affairs officer for NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast region.

Read the full article at E&E News

 

Scientists Identify Ways to Account for Effects of Climate Change on Fish Stock Estimates

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

Climate-driven changes in the timing of pollock spawning and migration can affect the timing of when fish aggregate in areas where surveys are conducted to monitor their abundance. This can affect survey estimates. It also complicates efforts to assess pollock stock status and sustainably manage fisheries because survey estimates are a data source for preparing annual stock assessments. However, NOAA Fisheries scientists have developed a new method to address climate-driven mismatches in survey timing and when fish gather to spawn. This has helped to improve the accuracy of Alaska pollock population estimates.

“Climate change is causing fish and other species to shift their distributions and behavior in response to warming ocean conditions all around the world,” said Lauren Rogers, fishery biologist and lead author of a new paper published today in ICES Journal of Marine Science. “We now have a new tool to support climate-ready fisheries management.”

Collaboration Across Scientific Disciplines Led to Success

From 2017 to 2019, scientists saw different trends in the pollock estimates collected in Alaska Fisheries Science Center surveys in the Gulf of Alaska. Some surveys showed declines in biomass, while one other—the Shelikof Strait acoustic-trawl survey—showed a steep increase. This annual winter acoustic-trawl survey is designed to measure pollock abundance when the fish gather to spawn.

Rogers teamed up with survey scientists and the scientist who produces the annual Gulf of Alaska pollock stock assessment. They explored what may be causing the differences in abundance trends in the surveys.

“We got talking and wondered if changes in spawn timing could be affecting the Shelikof Strait survey estimates,” said Rogers. “Together, we explored how to account for these changes and what could be done to ensure the accuracy of the assessment.”

This involved pulling together information about how spawning changes across years. The scientists looked at spring larval surveys and observations of spawning state in mature female pollock. They found that changes in spawn timing relative to survey timing explained a significant portion of recent and historical discrepancies between survey and model estimates of biomass.

They also found that estimates of biomass from the survey tended to be relatively higher when the survey was closer in timing to estimated peak spawning. From there, they were able to develop a time series of relative timing that could be incorporated directly in the stock assessment. In doing so, the assessment model fit to the winter acoustic survey data was significantly improved.

This work was informed by Rogers’ previous studies examining data collected during larval fish surveys over the past 30 years. She found that the timing of pollock spawning varies by as much as a month depending in part on ocean temperatures. For instance, when temperatures are warmer, spawning happens earlier.

“It’s particularly exciting to demonstrate the value of having long-term surveys to assess the abundance of larval and juvenile fish,” said Rogers. “As we are faced with challenges posed by ocean warming and marine heatwaves, having an understanding of fish abundance, trends, and climate-sensitivity across their life stages is invaluable for helping us proactively plan and prepare for an uncertain future.”

Scientists look for clues to right whale death on Martha’s Vineyard. It could take weeks.

February 10, 2024 — For about half her life, the North Atlantic right whale that washed up dead Jan. 28 on a Martha’s Vineyard beach lived with fishing rope wrapped around her tail and flukes, making her existence increasingly difficult and painful as she grew.

A team of more than 20 scientists last week conducted a necropsy on the 3-year-old female whale, looking for clues about her cause of death, which has yet to be determined, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Division. Researchers at the New England Aquarium‘s Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life were able to identify her as the 2021 calf of the right whale known as Squilla, the now approximately 17-year-old’s only known calf.

The dead whale is listed in the North Atlantic right whale catalog as #5120 and was last seen alive in Cape Cod Bay in January 2023. Found washed up on Jan. 28 just south of Joseph Sylvia State Beach — a barrier beach along Nantucket Sound between Oak Bluffs and Edgartown — she was moved to Aquinnah for the investigation.

Read the full article at Cape Cod Times

Alaska tribes, green group take aim at planned bottom-trawling study in northern Bering Sea

February 10, 2024 — Three tribal governments and an environmental organization on Thursday served notice to federal agencies that they are planning a lawsuit to block a fishing experiment along the seafloor in the northern Bering Sea.

The practice of bottom trawling — sweeping a net to catch fish on or near the seabed — is currently prohibited in the Northern Bering Sea, which is abbreviated in legal documents as NBS. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service is planning to deploy some commercial trawling gear in selected spots over the coming summers to see what impacts, if any, result to the habitat and the marine life dependent on it.

The research project is called the Northern Bering Sea Effects of Trawling Study, or NBET. It is focused on specific areas north and south of St. Lawrence Island and would potentially simulate effects of commercial harvests.

Read the full article at the Alaska Beacon

NOAA designates fish habitat around New England wind power leases

February 8, 2024 — A swath of ocean off southern New England between Nantucket and Block Island – including tens of thousands of acres marked for offshore wind energy development – will be designated a ‘habitat area of particular concern’ by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

NOAA Fisheries will finalize the action March 6, implementing a proposal by the New England Fishery Management Council over its concerns of how wind development will affect essential fish habitat, including Cox Ledge, an important bottom area for cod spawning.

The designation itself does not impose new conditions on the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and wind developer plans for energy projects. The HAPC brings additional conservation focus when NOAA Fisheries reviews and comments on federal and/or state actions that could impact essential fish habitat – such as BOEM’s reviews of offshore wind energy construction and operations plans.

“EFH consultations provide non-binding conservation recommendations to the implementing (action) agency to avoid, minimize, and mitigate the impacts of federal actions on EFH,” according to the NOAA Fisheries Feb. 2 notice in the Federal Register.

Read the full article at National Fisherman

NOAA cites ‘chronic entanglement’ in death of juvenile right whale that washed up on Martha’s Vineyard

February 7, 2024 — Rope entanglement appears to be a factor in the death of a juvenile North Atlantic right whale that washed up on Martha’s Vineyard on Jan. 28, federal officials said Monday.

NOAA Fisheries said in a statement that the whale “had a chronic entanglement and was seen in poor health before its death. Experts are examining the rope and other samples collected from the whale.”

The deceased whale washed up near Joseph Sylvia State Beach on the Vineyard, officials said. NOAA Fisheries worked with the International Fund for Animal Welfare and other partners to recover the carcass and conduct a necropsy.

Read the full article at the Boston Globe