Saving Seafood

Texas one of several states included in critical sea turtle habitat proposal

July 31, 2023 — A new proposal aims to protect threatened and endangered sea turtles by preserving their habitat along critical areas of the U.S. coastline.

NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the plan mid-July, proposing 8,870 acres of coastline in California, Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina and Texas be conserved for green sea turtles basking, nesting, incubation, hatching and traveling to sea. The proposition also included the territories of American Samoa, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands; and the commonwealths of the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.

Read the full article at KETK

Florida’s coral reefs are dying. Here’s why you should care

July 30, 2023 — Right now, the Great Florida Reef is experiencing catastrophic conditions following a marine heat wave that has engulfed the ecosystem for months.

According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the marine heat waved moved into the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea around February and March and is predicted to persist with extreme ocean temperatures through at least October.

The duration and intensity of these abnormally warm waters is a significant concern for the health of the coral.

Dr. Cory Krediet, an associate professor of marine science specializing in corals at Eckerd College, spoke to News 6 while helping rescue efforts in the Florida Keys.

“We’re looking to use microbes to try to increase resilience of corals to future stress. But right now, here at Mote Marine Lab, restoration efforts are happening. They’re bringing corals back from the reef into the land-based nurseries, to try and keep them out of the reef environment until some conditions hopefully may subside back to normal,” Krediet said.

Read the full article at Click Orlando

NOAA proposes new critical habitat in Gulf of Mexico for Rice’s whales, green sea turtles

July 26, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries has proposed designating critical habitat areas for endangered Rice’s whales and green sea turtles as part of its efforts to ensure the species’ survival.

The Rice’s whale critical habitat proposal is part of a settlement between NOAA and conservation groups Healthy Gulf and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which sued the government for failing to designate critical habitat for the whales within the time required under the Endangered Species Act.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA Takes Ownership of the James J. Howard Laboratory in New Jersey

July 23, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries held a transfer of ownership ceremony on Tuesday, July 11, 2023 in front of the James J. Howard Marine Sciences Laboratory building within the Gateway National Recreation Area in Highlands, New Jersey. Guests included NOAA officials, as well as U.S. Rep Frank Pallone, Zach McCue of U.S. Sen. Cory Booker’s staff, Highlands, New Jersey Mayor Carolyn Broullon and Middletown, New Jersey Mayor Anthony Perry.

“It’s a victory for NOAA and the State of New Jersey, but really it’s a victory for the American public,” emphasized NOAA Deputy Under Secretary Ben Friedman. “I’m happy to be here to make this a permanent part of the NOAA family.”

In 1993, this building replaced the original laboratory—a building that became a marine science laboratory in 1961 though it was originally constructed as a military hospital in the late 1800s. The State of New Jersey owned the new building, and NOAA leased space there. The official transfer of ownership was years in the making. Current and retired laboratory staff, NOAA employees from other locations, and local partners gathered for the celebration.

Northeast Fisheries Science Center Director Jon Hare said, “This is a purpose-built seawater laboratory that has the capability to do world-class research. Now that NOAA owns it, we can put it to its full use.”

Fisheries Ecology Branch Chief Beth Phelan emphasized the laboratory’s value to NOAA.

“NOAA is America’s environmental intelligence agency, and our lab here in New Jersey adapts and directs its research to important topics to help produce the best available science,” Phelan said.

She has been a scientist and leader at the laboratory for nearly four decades.

NOAA Issuing Biological Opinion on the Revolution Wind Offshore Energy Project

July 23, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries is issuing the final Biological Opinion under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM, lead federal agency). The Biological Opinion considers the effects of the construction, operation, and eventual decommissioning of the proposed Revolution Wind offshore energy project off the coast of Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

NOAA Fisheries has evaluated BOEM’s analysis of the effects of this project on endangered and threatened species, as well as the best scientific and commercial data available, and has concluded that while the proposed action is likely to adversely affect ESA-listed whales, sea turtles, and Atlantic sturgeon, it is not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of any ESA-listed species. The action is not likely to adversely affect any designated critical habitat. 

The proposed project includes a number of measures designed to minimize, monitor, and report effects to ESA-listed species, and additional measures are included through the Biological Opinion’s Incidental Take Statement. We do not anticipate any injury or mortality of any ESA-listed whale as a result of the proposed project. We also do not expect any injury to North Atlantic right whales due to exposure to increased sound levels resulting from this project. All effects to North Atlantic right whales will be limited to temporary behavioral disturbance. Additionally, no effects to the features of North Atlantic right whale critical habitat are anticipated.

BOEM is the lead federal agency for approving the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed Revolution Wind offshore energy project. NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Protected Resources is also proposing to issue regulations and an associated Letter of Authorization pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which was evaluated through the Biological Opinion. Other authorizations or permits will be required from a number of other federal agencies.

We will continue working closely with BOEM and other federal agencies to ensure effects from the Revolution Wind offshore energy project to NOAA Fisheries’ trust resources are minimized.

The Biological Opinion will be available online upon publication in our libraryin approximately 10 days. 

American Samoans fear tuna fishing limits in Pacific Ocean sanctuary could threaten their livelihood

July 19, 2023 — Iosefa Tanuvasa is worried.

Life isn’t easy, but she’s able to provide for her six children through her job at the StarKist Co. tuna cannery in Pago Pago, American Samoa. What worries her is the future of her job and family if the proposed Pacific Remote Islands National Marine Sanctuary restricts tuna fishing in the region, a vital piece of the economy to the U.S. territory.

“For now, we need money to survive and help develop our families, we don’t need a proposal that will lead to closure of our cannery due to higher cost of supplying fish for the cannery,” Tanuvasa wrote to the federal government. “This will heavily impact this nation.”

Tanuvasa is among dozens of American Samoans raising the alarm about the proposed marine sanctuary covering 770,000 square miles in the Pacific Ocean, bigger than the entire state of Alaska.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is entering the second phase of the process to protect the area around seven islands in the Pacific Ocean as a marine sanctuary. The land masses are among the nine claimed by the U.S. with no permanent population: Kingman Reef, Wake, Johnson and Palmyra atolls and Howland, Baker and Jarvis islands.

In addition to a variety of fish, the area has habitats for sea birds and coral reefs.

“The area has amazing coral resources that are found almost nowhere else in the U.S. territories,” said Brady Phillips, a senior policy specialist of NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

The waters also are ideal for skipjack tuna, which travel the equator. Tuna fishing supports about 5,000 jobs in American Samoa, a U.S. territory with a population of about 49,000, according to Benar News. The StarKist cannery is among the island’s top employers.

National marine sanctuaries are designated to preserve environmental resources. NOAA can require a permit to alter the seabed, for instance, and place restrictions oil and gas drilling.

Many Samoans have implored the agency to avoid restricting commercial fishing, which they say could raise costs for StarKist and lead it to close the cannery.

President Joe Biden in March directed the Department of Commerce, which includes NOAA, to “consider initiating a sanctuary designation” to expand protection of the Pacific islands, part of the president’s announcement creating national monuments in Texas and Nevada.

However Governor Lemanu Palepoi Sialega Mauga said “not a single representative” of the Biden administration contacted anyone in American Samoa’s government before announcing the proposal. He said “without access to these traditional fishing grounds, our tuna industry and entire economy will be annihilated.”

Read the full article at Courthouse News Service

US lawmakers propose budget cut to NOAA Fisheries for 2024

July 18, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries is likely to receive a budget cut in the 2024 fiscal year, with the U.S. Senate considering legislation providing a slight reduction in NOAA funding and the U.S. House considering even bigger cuts.

On 13 July, the Senate Appropriations Committee released its Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill, which includes funding for NOAA and NOAA Fisheries. The committee approved the bill in a 28-1 vote, clearing the way for consideration by the full Senate. The House Appropriations Committee approved its version in a vote on 13 July on a voice vote with only a few audible dissents.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

NOAA, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service propose new critical habitat for green sea turtles

July 18, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced a proposal to designate new areas of critical habitat to protect threatened and endangered green sea turtles. The agencies share jurisdiction for sea turtles, with the Fish and Wildlife Service overseeing their protection and recovery on nesting beaches and NOAA Fisheries providing oversight in the marine environment.

The Fish and Wildlife Service proposes designating 8,870 acres (approximately 35,896 square kilometers) of critical habitat on land where green sea turtles bask, nest, incubate, hatch and travel to the sea. NOAA Fisheries proposes to designate marine critical habitat from mean high water to 20 meters depth to protect access to nesting beaches, migratory corridors and important feeding and resting areas; it also includes Sargassum habitat in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean. 

“Green sea turtles continue to face threats in the marine environment, including human interactions like bycatch and marine debris, as well as habitat loss and the ongoing impacts of climate change,” said NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit. “These new critical habitat proposals will aid in our joint mission to protect and recover endangered and threatened green sea turtles.” 

“Designating critical habitat for green sea turtles will help us effectively carry out our mission of protecting and recovering the species,” said Assistant Secretary for Fish and Wildlife and Parks Shannon Estenoz. “Endangered Species Act protections are benefiting the species by raising awareness about its threats, inspiring diverse partnerships on its behalf, and now helping conserve habitat critical to its conservation and recovery.”

The proposed critical habitat areas include the states of California, Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina and Texas; the territories of American Samoa, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands; and the commonwealths of the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico. Details on the proposed critical habitat can be found in the Fish and Wildlife Service’s Frequently Asked Questions. 

Designating critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) does not affect private landowners unless they implement an action involving federal funds, permits or other activities. It also does not affect land ownership or establish a refuge, wilderness reserve or preserve, or other conservation areas, nor does it allow the government or public to access private lands. It does not create a closed area, marine protected area, refuge, wilderness reserve, preservation or other conservation area.

A final rule listing 11 distinct population segments (DPSs) of green sea turtles was issued in 2016 (three endangered DPSs and eight threatened DPSs). The 2016 rule did not include the proposed critical habitat as it was deemed not determinable at that time. Once critical habitat is designated, federal agencies must consult with the Fish and Wildlife Service or NOAA Fisheries to ensure actions they fund, authorize or undertake will not destroy or adversely modify the critical habitat. Much of the proposed critical habitat for the green sea turtle overlaps with existing critical habitat for other species. Please visit the Fish and Wildlife Service’s online mapping tool and NOAA Fisheries’ online mapping tool for more information on those overlapping areas and species.

Historically, green sea turtles were killed for their meat and eggs, leading to global population declines. Today, the species faces an array of risks, including threats to its habitat. Coastal development impacts the beaches they require to nest and increases artificial lighting, causing hatchlings to migrate to the lights and away from the ocean. Runoff and other pollution kill seagrass and algae, reducing the availability of these major food sources for green sea turtles. Fisheries bycatch, vessel strikes, marine debris and pollutants also continue to threaten green sea turtles.

Climate change also imperils green sea turtles as rising seas and storms erode beaches and flood nests, causing them to wash away. Higher sand temperatures can increase the number of female hatchlings, shifting the ratio of males and females. Changes in ocean temperature alter the amount and distribution of food, upsetting their migration, foraging range and nesting seasons.

NOAA Fisheries and the Fish and Wildlife Service listed the green sea turtle under the ESA in 1978. Today’s announcement comes as the ESA turns 50 this year. Throughout the year, the ESA is being celebrated for its importance in preventing imperiled species’ extinction, promoting the recovery of wildlife and conserving the habitats upon which they depend. 

The Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries will conduct virtual and in-person informational meetings and public hearings on the proposed critical habitat. Registration is only required for virtual meetings and hearings.

Please visit one of the following websites to register:

Comments on the proposed rules must be submitted by Oct. 17, 2023. Submit comments at www.regulations.gov under docket number FWS-R4-ES-2022-0164 for the proposed terrestrial critical habitat; and under docket number NOAA-NMFS-2023-0087 for the proposed marine critical habitat.  

Visit the NOAA Fisheries and Fish and Wildlife Service websites for more information about green sea turtles. 

Vanishing whale’s decline worse than previously thought, feds say

July 18, 2023 — A review of the status of a vanishing species of whale found that the animal’s population is in worse shape than previously thought, federal ocean regulators said Monday.

The North Atlantic right whale numbers less than 350, and it has been declining in population for several years. The federal government declared the whale’s decline an “unusual mortality event,” which means an unexpected and significant die-off, in 2017.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released new data that 114 of the whales have been documented as dead, seriously injured or sub-lethally injured or sick since the start of the mortality event. That is an increase of 16 whales since the previous estimate released earlier this year.

Read the full article at the Associated Press

MAINE: Multi-million dollar bill to support lobster industry advances

July 17, 2023 — Senator Susan Collins has announced she has advanced more than $35 million in an appropriations bill for the next fiscal year to support Maine’s lobster industry.

The bill was approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee and still needs the approval of Congress.

$30 million would go to the Atlantic Marine States Fisheries Commission for Right Whale related research and monitoring.

Read the full article at WABI