Saving Seafood

Unsettled Pacific Ocean Offers Few Clear Indicators for Salmon Success in 2024

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

Want to learn how the Pacific Ocean is likely to change and affect salmon survival in the coming year? Stay tuned, scientists say.

The ocean indicators that NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center researchers track off Newport, on the Central Oregon Coast, are decidedly mixed for the coming year. El Niño is still developing at the equator and there are both positive and negative indicators in local waters for emerging salmon. The ocean indicators of juvenile salmon survival—now online—reflect a rapidly changing ocean that is tough to predict.

“We’re not seeing any clear direction as we sometimes have before,” said Jennifer Fisher, a research fisheries biologist at the Science Center’s Newport Research Station. “The overall message is that the system is unsettled. We’d like to be able to tease something out of that, but right now, we have to watch and wait.”

The Research Station’s team regularly monitors ocean conditions along the Newport Hydrographic Line, one of the best records of ocean change on the West Coast. Scientists have surveyed the line twice monthly (weather permitting) for 26 years. The information collected reveals patterns and insights into how the ocean changes, particularly how the changes are likely to affect the salmon experiencing those conditions.

UMaine-led research team making new frozen foods from squid fins

January 13, 2024 — Squid has become a staple menu item and ingredient in many seafood restaurants, whether it’s fried, baked, grilled or served raw. In North American markets, however, only about half of each squid is used for culinary applications.

To reduce food waste and open new markets, a University of Maine-led team of researchers and students will devise new frozen food products that can be created from squid fins, one of their byproducts. The project is supported by $229,376 from the NOAA Fisheries Saltonstall-Kennedy Competitive Grants Program.

The group, led by UMaine professor of food science Denise Skonberg, will devise and develop several frozen food prototypes at the Dr. Matthew Highlands Food Pilot Plant in Hitchner Hall using processed fins from North Atlantic longfin and shortfin squid. Possible goods, which will be designed for preparation at home or in restaurants, may include frozen appetizers, entrees, nuggets and sliders. Researchers will recruit people to sample their prototype food products at the UMaine Sensory Testing Center and evaluate them based on appearance, texture, aroma and flavor.

As part of their initial work, UMaine researchers recently invited local chefs to prepare various dishes with squid fins, some of which they may be able to freeze. Those dishes included meatballs, egg rolls and dumplings, all made from squid fins.

Read the full article at Bangor Daily News

Biden administration announces USD 10 million contract for right whale-protection technology

January 11, 2024 — The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has issued a USD 10 million (EUR 9.1 million) contract to the Center for Enterprise Modernization to develop technologies that can help protect endangered North Atlantic right whales.

“NOAA and its partners are working to stabilize the North Atlantic right whale population and prevent extinction of this species,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said. “This partnership, made possible by funding from President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, will allow us to develop and explore new technologies and tools to address the North Atlantic right whale crisis.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA SEA GRANT ADVANCES RESILIENT COASTAL COMMUNITIES WITH $4 MILLION IN SUPPORT

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

Sea Grant programs across the U.S. are scaling up capacity to support additional hands-on, collaborative engagement to advance the sustainability of coastal and Great Lakes communities. Sea Grant awarded $4 million in fiscal year 2023 funds to its grant-based programs nationwide to continue or expand ongoing work or address new opportunities for coastal climate adaptation and resilience for the communities that Sea Grant serves.

“Engaging with and helping to prepare coastal and Great Lakes communities to address the challenges associated with a changing climate is a priority for Sea Grant,” said Jonathan Pennock, director of NOAA’s National Sea Grant College Program. “The funded projects, and additional work with partners, will enhance communities’ resilience with a number of localized initiatives.”

In recognition of growing needs, the $125,000 per funded program was made possible with the support of Congress. These adaptation and resilience funds are further leveraged by additional program funds and at least 50 percent matched partner contributions, among a broader set of relevant Sea Grant awards.

The funded projects include support for engagement, knowledge sharing, research, technical assistance, decision support, project implementation, and partnership coordination and collaboration to help address community adaptation and resilience needs, along with support for resilience-focused staff capacity. This work also includes engagement with tribal, Indigenous, remote, and economically disadvantaged communities. Examples of this broader work are below:

    • Alaska Sea Grant will expand extension capacity to support rural coastal communities faced with erosion caused by thawing permafrost and increased coastal inundation requiring a retreat from the coast and increase the culturally relevant environmental literacy of eco-tour guides and tourists.
    • California Sea Grant will conduct an offshore wind analysis with economic development, workforce capacity and inclusion of tribal and historically underrepresented students as central assessment elements to help communities balance development with sustainable futures.
    • Louisiana Sea Grant will develop outreach materials and engagement events to address underrepresented communities’ concerns surrounding wind and flood insurance issues within the state.
    • Maine Sea Grant aims to improve community resilience to natural hazard events like coastal inundation and storm damage through scenario planning exercises and convening of communities across the region.
    • Minnesota Sea Grant will identify barriers to installing green infrastructure within land-use codes and ordinances and will provide alternate language that promotes the use of green infrastructure within Lake Superior communities.
    • Texas Sea Grant will increase awareness in technology that helps decision-making around coastal energy transition, marine debris and sustainable consumption, natural and nature-based solutions, and early warning systems for coastal hazards.

Learn about all of the funded projects here

Sea Grant programs are trusted as an important connector of university, government, community and coastal industry decision-making, and are uniquely positioned to improve engagement, communication and collaboration that supports managing coastal issues and addressing climate-related challenges. Through historic and ongoing support, Sea Grant programs aim to serve as intermediaries, trusted partners, and coordinators that facilitate and build capacity for climate resilience and adaptation.

Read more about the work that Sea Grant programs are advancing with coastal communities to address social, ecological and economic climate impacts, including with NOAA’s Disaster Preparedness Program, the U.S. Coastal Research Program, and through fiscal year 2022 coastal adaptation and resilience institutional funding.

Resolve to Meet (and Eat) New Seafood

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

U.S. seafood is sustainable, nutritious—and delicious! Many Americans are familiar with only a fraction of the species that come from U.S. fisheries. Beyond staples like tuna, salmon, and cod, there are plenty of other fish in the sea that merit a place on our plates. Because these species are not as familiar to seafood shoppers, they are often overlooked or harder to find at markets. Fisheries, fishing communities, and coastal ecosystems are more resilient when harvesters can diversify the species they target—and then sell the fish they catch. Support U.S. fishermen—and your local economy—by adding more U.S. seafood to your diet!

Some chefs, restaurants, and seafood distributors have resolved to incorporate underused species in their menus and stores. Home cooks can try this, too, especially by shopping for seafood at their local fish market or talking to their grocery store fish counter. These efforts support a sustainable ocean harvest and provide customers with opportunities to savor new fish in new dishes.

The start of a new year is a great time to try new things. In that spirit, we’d like to introduce you to six seafood species you may not have tried. Consider it a New Year’s Meet-and-Eat!

NOAA extends emergency measures for Gulf of Maine haddock quota

January 9, 2024 — NOAA Fisheries has taken emergency action to increase the Gulf of Maine haddock acceptable biological catch (ABC) for the 2023 fishing year.

At the New England Fishery Management Council’s request, NOAA Fisheries increased the fishing year 2023 ABC to the fishing mortality associated with the maximum sustainable yield (FMSY), which is 2,515 metric tons. The action is effective Tuesday, Jan. 9.

Read the full article at Gloucester Daily Times

US Wind requests marine mammal take authorization for offshore wind construction

January 7, 2023 — US Wind has submitted a request for Incidental Take Regulations to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in regards to construction of the Maryland Offshore Wind Project.

The regulations would govern the authorization of take of a small number of 19 species of marine mammals. A “small number” is considered less than one-third of estimated populations in the area, though specific small numbers are not defined. According to NOAA, take is harassing, hunting, capturing or killing any marine mammal, or attempting to do so. Though intentional take is prohibited, incidental take of small numbers can be allowed through an application process.

Actions of take can include negligent or intentional operation of an aircraft or boat, detaining marine mammals and other acts which result in disturbing them. Take can occur through acts with the potential to injure these animals in the wild, classified as level A harassment, or potential to disturb behavioral patterns like breathing, migration, breeding and sheltering, which are classified as level B harassment.

Read the full article at WRDE

US Senate Republicans demand more clarity on NOAA fishery disaster determinations

January 7, 2024 — Several U.S. senators want to be able to track fishery disaster determinations the same way consumers track packages throughout their shipping process.

The Republican lawmakers are demanding more transparency from NOAA Fisheries on how the agency makes determinations of fishery disasters – a designation that makes communities and industries eligible for federal financial relief.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Groundfish Forum sues NOAA Fisheries over halibut bycatch rule

January 4, 2023 — The Groundfish Forum – a Seattle, Washington, U.S.A-based trade group representing five U.S. trawling companies – has sued NOAA Fisheries over a newly adopted plan to reduce halibut bycatch in Bering Sea and Aleutian Island groundfish fisheries.

In November 2023, NOAA Fisheries finalized a rule potentially lowering the annual halibut catch limit for the Amendment 80 sector – a fleet of 20 groundfish-trawling vessels operating in the Bering Sea. The new rule, which went into effect 1 January 2024, ties the annual catch limit to the most recent halibut abundance figures. The previous static catch level of 1,745 metric tons (MT) for halibut bycatch is kept as a ceiling, but the catch limit can be lowered by up to 35 percent if the abundance level is considered low.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

New Funding Reinvigorates Efforts to Recover Upper Willamette River Chinook Salmon and Steelhead

January 3, 2023 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries:

An influx of $27 million from the Office of Habitat Conservation under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act is reinvigorating efforts to restore threatened salmon and trout species in Oregon’s Willamette River watershed.

“This funding is a true lifeline to restoration practitioners who have been working to recover Endangered Species Act-listed Upper Willamette River Chinook and steelhead,” says NOAA Fisheries Biologist Anne Mullan. “These species are on the downward trajectory, but this funding gives us hope.”

Multiple major dams on the Willamette River tributaries stand between salmon and steelhead and their historic spawning grounds in the upper watershed. The Office of Habitat Conservation’s Restoration Center and its partners are restoring degraded habitat in the lower watershed. NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region works with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and others to provide passage for Chinook salmon and steelhead between the lower river and their upstream spawning habitat.

Four awards to the McKenzie Watershed Alliance, American Rivers, the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, and the Clackamas Partnership will:

  • Restore floodplain and side channel habitat to provide spawning and rearing habitat for salmon and steelhead
  • Remove multiple barriers to fish passage including a dam on a Willamette River tributary
  • Reduce the risks of flooding, forest fires, and drinking water contamination
  • Provide jobs, educational and workforce development opportunities, new accessible greenspace, and recreational activities to local community members