Saving Seafood

NOAA Fisheries issues disaster declaration for two California salmon fisheries

December 11, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries has determined a fishery took place in two California salmon fisheries, clearing the path for the fishing industry in those areas to receive financial relief. The U.S. Small Business Administration is also offering low-interest federal disaster loans to businesses affected by the closure.

In April 2023, California Lieutenant Governor Eleni Kounalakis requested fishery disaster determinations for the Sacramento River Fall chinook fishery and the Klamath River fall chinook, ocean, and inland salmon fisheries.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Secretary of Commerce Allocates $8.2 Million for Pacific Salmon Fishery Disasters

December 11, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced the allocation of $8.2 million appropriated by Congress for the 2021 and 2022 Yurok Tribe Chinook Salmon fishery disasters.

NOAA Fisheries used commercial fishery revenue loss as the basis to allocate the funding across the eligible fishery disasters. We also considered factors that cannot be accounted for in revenue loss data alone, such as subsistence uses. We increased the allocation to the Yurok Tribe to account for these important uses.

“We understand the importance of these funds to the affected communities,” said Kelly Denit, Director of NOAA’s Office of Sustainable Fisheries. “These funds will help them recover from the disaster and prevent similar fishery resource disasters in the future.”

NOAA Fisheries provides guidance on developing spend plans which can cover a range of activities to support disaster-affected communities. The allocated funds can be used to help:

  • Commercial fishermen
  • Recreational fishermen
  • Charter businesses
  • Shore-side infrastructure
  • Subsistence users

It can also help improve the fishing ecosystem and environment.

These funds can help address the factors contributing to the fishery resource disaster and minimizing future uninsured losses.

We will work with the Yurok Tribe on administering these disaster relief funds. Affected fishing communities and individuals should contact the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to learn more about the spend plan process.

Some of the affected fishing communities may also be eligible for assistance from the Small Business Administration or other federal agencies.

Conservation groups call on US to ban foreign seafood over whale and dolphin bycatch

December 8, 2023 — Conservation groups want NOAA Fisheries to ban imports from foreign fisheries that are not adequately working to prevent marine mammal bycatch.

“By continuing to allow imports that do not meet U.S. standards, [NOAA Fisheries] NMFS chooses business as usual over the survival of some of the most amazing species on the planet,” Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) Senior Attorney and Global Biodiversity Conservation Director Zak Smith said. “Because NMFS has failed to safeguard ocean biodiversity, future generations may never have the chance to protect invaluable marine life.”

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

A group of commercial fishermen have ended up before the Supreme Court

December 7, 2023 — For years, fishermen like Bill Bright and his colleague Wayne Reichle have been required to take federal observers on their boats when they set out into the North Atlantic in search of herring. Those observers are making sure fishermen are catching what they’re legally allowed, most of it in efforts to prevent overfishing.

But back in 2020, federal regulators moved to require herring fishermen to directly pay observers salaries, a move that could potentially cost herring fishermen up to $700 per day.

By some estimates, that could top 20% of revenue from a fisherman’s catch.

“From the beginning, the most important thing for us was the ability to continue fishing and continue operating the way we’ve operated for a number of years,” Wayne Reichle said.

As a result, Reichle, Bright and a half dozen other fishermen sued the federal government.

A case that has rippled so far beyond the shores of New Jersey that it has now ended up before the Supreme Court. Loper Bright Enterprises, Inc. v. Gina Raimondo is set to be argued before the court in January 2024.

“From the beginning, the most important thing for us was the ability to continue fishing and continue operating the way we’ve operated for a number of years. It’s about us being able to maintain our livelihoods and operations,” Reichle said.

Read the full story at KSBY

Navy to build $146.7 million NOAA marine operations center in Rhode Island

December 6, 2023 — The U.S. Navy awarded a $146.7 million contract to New York-based Skanska USA to design and build a new National Oceanic and Atmospheric base on Naval Station Newport in Rhode Island, with plans for the facility to eventually be homeport for NOAA’s Marine Operations Center – Atlantic. 

Design details are still being finalized, according to a brief prepared statement issued by NOAA late Tuesday. requirements include having a pier that will accommodate four large vessels, a floating dock for smaller vessels, space for vessel repairs and parking and a building to be used for shoreside support and as a warehouse. Construction is anticipated to be completed by 2027. 

Design and construction of the NOAA port will be “funded in part by the Inflation Reduction Act — a historic $3.3 billion investment to help communities, including tribes and vulnerable populations, prepare, adapt and build resilience to weather and climate events in pursuit of a climate-ready nation,” according to the agency. “The act also supports improvements to weather and climate data and services, and strengthens NOAA’s fleet of research airplanes and ships.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman 

Bottom-trawl gear to blame for most of this year’s fishery-related killer whale deaths, NOAA says

December 5, 2023 — A federal investigation into the unusually large number of Bering Sea and Aleutian killer whales found dead this summer determined that most but not all of the deaths were killed by entanglement in fishing gear.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center on Friday released some details about the deaths in the Bering Sea and Aleutians, which had spurred sharp criticism of seafood trawling practices.

Of the nine killer whales that were found ensnared in bottom-trawling gear, six were killed by those entanglements but two others were already dead before they were netted, the investigation found. The other whale was seriously injured by the gear entanglement but escaped alive, the agency said.

In addition to the nine whales found in bottom-trawl gear, there were two other cases of dead killer whales found entangled in other types of fishing gear.

Read the full story at the Alaska Beacon

Biden-Harris Administration makes $106 million available for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund as part of Investing in America Agenda

December 5, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA are announcing the availability of up to $106 million in funding through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) for Pacific salmon and steelhead recovery and conservation projects. This funding — which includes funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) — will support state and tribal salmon restoration projects and activities to protect, conserve and restore these fish populations and their habitats.

“Restoring Pacific salmon populations and their habitats is vital for communities on the West Coast and in Alaska,” said Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This funding — supported  by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act, a key pillar of Bidenomics — will power transformational, high-impact projects and support efforts by states and tribes to protect and conserve salmon populations.”

Read the full release from NOAA

Study points to concurrent marine heat waves as culprit in Western Alaska chum declines

December 5, 2023 — Successive marine heat waves appear to have doomed much of the chum salmon swimming in the ocean waters off Alaska in the past year and probably account for the scarcities that have strained communities along Western Alaska rivers in recent years, a newly published study found.

In the much-higher water temperatures that lingered in the 2014-19 period, juvenile chum salmon metabolism was super-charged, meaning they needed more food, said the study, by scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. But the food that was available was of low quality — things like jellyfish instead of the fat-packed krill and other prey they normally eat, the study said.

That means for the juvenile salmon trying to survive their first year at sea, “there’s not much gas in the tank,” said the study’s lead author, Ed Farley, manager of NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Ecosystem Monitoring and Assessment Program.

Juvenile chum salmon that swam from spawning areas in the rivers suffered what was essentially a double hit, said Farley, who works in the NOAA Fisheries Auke Bay Laboratories in Juneau. They encountered one extreme heat wave in their critical first summer when they were in the northern Bering Sea and then, when they entered their wintering grounds in the Gulf of Alaska, swam into the tail end of another extreme heat wave, he said.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Autonomous Vehicles Powered by Ocean Waves Support NOAA Fisheries Research

December 4, 2023 — Scientists from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center are using autonomous surface vehicles called Wave Gliders to study ocean health in Hawaiʻi. Wave Gliders are circumnavigating each of the Hawaiian Islands. They’re collecting data on ocean conditions that will be used to help estimate the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems and fisheries across the state.

“We are primarily interested in measuring chlorophyll, which provides a good estimate of phytoplankton biomass in the ocean,” said Dr. Jamison Gove, an oceanographer with the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and co-lead scientist on the project. “Phytoplankton are the basis for productive and healthy ecosystems, so knowing where and how much phytoplankton there are in the ocean aids in understanding the entire marine food-web,” added Dr. Gove.

The Building Blocks of Ocean Ecosystems

Phytoplankton are microscopic plants that live near the ocean surface. They are similar to land-based plants: They contain chlorophyll and require sunlight to live and grow. Phytoplankton are the base of the food chain. Their biomass—the total amount of them in a given region of the ocean—dictates fisheries yields and ecosystem productivity across the world.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

Long-Term Conservation Efforts Pay Off for Rockfish Along the West Coast

December 2, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Upcoming changes in fishery management regulations mark a milestone in the ongoing efforts to conserve and sustainably manage West Coast groundfish populations. The changes are outlined in an amendment to the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery Management Plan. They reflect more than two decades of conservation work and will benefit both commercial and recreational fisheries.

Effective January 1, 2024, Amendment 32 opens fishing areas that have been closed since the early 2000s to protect several species of overfished rockfish. With the successful rebuilding of nearly all these species, reopening these areas will provide fishermen with greater access to healthy groundfish stocks.

However, some conservation challenges persist. Certain areas will remain closed to continue protecting more vulnerable fish species, as well as protect critical groundfish habitats like rocky reefs, corals, and sponges.

“This milestone is a testament to the success of long-term conservation efforts, and reflects a shared commitment to responsibly steward our marine resources,” says Jen Quan, NOAA Fisheries West Coast Regional Administrator. “It marks a significant step toward a sustainable future for West Coast groundfish fisheries and the communities that rely on them.”

This action impacts groundfish closures that span about 1,000 nautical miles from Oregon’s northern border to Mexico.

Action Highlights

  • Reopens part of the Non-Trawl Rockfish Conservation Area off California and Oregon, granting access to approximately 2,400 square miles of historically important fishing grounds that have been closed since 2002
  • Removes Cowcod Conservation Area restrictions for non-trawl groundfish fisheries areas off southern California, opening roughly 4,600 square miles of historical fishing grounds to non-trawl groundfish commercial and recreational fisheries, previously closed since 2001
  • Creates new closures to protect rebuilding yelloweye rockfish, groundfish essential fish habitat, and other sensitive areas, including abundant coral and sponges

Ocean Ecology and Rockfish

Groundfish play a vital role in West Coast marine ecosystems, serving as both predators and prey within marine food webs. Reproductive success in rockfish varies greatly from year to year and depends on highly variable ocean conditions. They have evolved to have long lifespans so that fish have several chances to reproduce. In some extreme cases, they may reach ages of 100 years or greater. With their slow growth rate, only a portion of the rockfish population are large enough to harvest at any given time. Their conservation is essential for maintaining ecological balance in these underwater environments.

The combination of overfishing in the 1980s and poor recruitment rates in the early 1990s led to the decline of many West Coast groundfish populations. In the early 2000s, large areas along the West Coast were set aside to promote the recovery of various species. The conservation areas allow fish stocks inside their boundaries to rebuild, and act as nurseries for rockfish along the entire West Coast.

“Rockfish young typically have a fairly broad dispersal,” says John Field, Supervisory Research Fish Biologist at NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center. “Rockfish that were protected in conservation areas contributed substantially to the increase in recruitment, abundance, and productivity outside of those closed areas. In addition, a lot of these trends in recruitment are environmentally driven, and shifts in ocean circulation and source waters are thought to be key drivers of recent increased productivity for many rockfish stocks.”

When cool waters from the Gulf of Alaska move south, bringing nutrients and lipid-rich northern plankton with them, rockfish recruitment rates trend upwards. In 1999 and the early 2000s, this helped fuel the rebuilding of stocks, with the support of the conservation areas. Conversely, when warm southern water comes northward, as in El Niño years, recruitment drops significantly, slowing recovery rates. The El Niño Southern Oscillation occurs roughly every 2 to 7 years.

More frequent groundfish surveys over the entire coastline have also improved the availability of data to support rockfish stock assessments over the past two decades. These surveys include assessments of environmental conditions as well as capturing and measuring individual fish. “By looking at the temperature and oxygen conditions in the water column, and shifting ocean conditions, we can paint a much more accurate picture of rockfish population health and how these populations respond to environmental variability,” says Field. Onboard observers who count the number and species of fish caught in commercial and recreational fisheries have also added to the accuracy of the stock assessments.

Commercial and Recreational Fisheries

These regulatory changes are expected to provide a significant boost to both commercial and recreational fisheries along the West Coast. The commercial groundfish fishery contributes more than $158 million annually to the economy, supporting coastal communities through processing plants, support service businesses, markets, and restaurants. The recreational groundfish fishery generates approximately $161 million annually, further benefiting local coastal economies through tourism, bait and tackle sales, and other related commerce.

“This action is important for hundreds of fishermen on the West Coast, as it will provide much-needed access and opportunity to fish for abundant groundfish stocks,” says Harrison Ibach, commercial fisherman in Eureka, California. “After decades of closure, it should be noted that gaining access into the Rockfish Conservation Area with specific hook and line gears is a milestone in sustainable fisheries management.”

NOAA Fisheries, along with the Pacific Fishery Management Council and state and tribal co-managers, manage the groundfish fisheries off of the West Coast. Through a public process involving stakeholders, the Council develops rules governing groundfish fisheries. NOAA Fisheries implements those rules about when and where commercial and recreational fisheries can fish, and how many groundfish they can catch, to make sure enough fish remain in the ocean to support current and future fishing.