Saving Seafood

Genetic Study Finds Reef Manta Rays Stay Close to Home

July 16, 2023 —The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

New research shows that manta rays in Hawaiʻi live in isolated, island-specific, and genetically distinct populations. A team of researchers from NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, the Hawai‘i Association for Marine Education and Research, and the University of Miami conducted the first genetic study of reef manta rays in Hawaiʻi. The results were published in BMC Ecology and Evolution. The researchers used genome scans to investigate population differences between reef manta rays of Hawaiʻi Island and Maui Nui (the four-island complex of Maui, Molokaʻi, Lānaʻi, and Kahoʻolawe). Their work reveals that Hawaiʻi Island and Maui Nui populations are made up of only a few hundred individuals each and should be considered distinct and separate. Small and isolated animal populations are vulnerable to disease and extinction. Each island may need separate management strategies to ensure the rays’ long-term stability.

Mantas Stay Close to Home

Reef manta rays are strong swimmers and could easily travel the tens of miles to different islands. However, this study found that these reef manta rays stay close to home and rarely cross the deep channels between islands. Researchers compared differences in the genes inherited by both parents and those inherited only from mothers to better understand migration differences between males and females. They found that females only reproduce at the island where they were born. Migration rates are equivalent to one female moving between island groups every 1,300 years and one male only about every 64 years.

“We offer the first direct evidence that female reef manta rays reproduce close to their birthplace, which leads to strong genetic isolation of populations,“ said Dr. Jonathan Whitney, an ecologist at NOAA’s Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center and lead author of the study. “Ultimately, this means that each island population is demographically on its own. So if the manta population in West Hawaiʻi declines, they are unlikely to be repopulated by the neighboring islands.”

West Coast Wraps Up Exciting 4-Year Deep-Sea Coral Initiative

July 16, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA and partners have recently completed the second West Coast Deep-Sea Coral Research Initiative and released the final report (PDF, 83 pages). The extraordinary level of collaboration on this initiative resulted in major accomplishments that are helping to inform management and stewardship of deep-sea ecosystems. Vibrant deep-sea coral and sponge communities make their home across a diversity of seafloor features throughout the West Coast, such as seamounts, basins, and submarine canyons. Deep-sea corals and sponges are important to their surrounding ecological communities. Many have been designated as essential fish habitat because they are vital to the health of recreational and commercial fisheries.

Initiative Highlights

Habitat Observations

Scientists recorded new observations of habitats with high densities of deep-sea corals and sponges. This information has greatly improved our understanding of relatively high bycatch “hot spots” of these organisms and impacts to them in areas newly reopened or closed to seafloor-contact fishing. During the initiative, researchers completed baseline surveys or re-surveyed these areas to monitor the impact of the reopenings or closures over time.

Petrale Sole

Scientists further documented a petrale sole spawning area in the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. Petrale sole is an important commercially harvested fish species on the West Coast. Researchers observed the flatfish on the seafloor, sometimes forming “piles”—a behavior they believe to be related to spawning.

Glass Sponges and Skeletons

An expedition team discovered vast mounds of glass sponges and their skeletons in Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary. Large sponge mounds like these are an important and exceedingly rare find. They can provide habitat for a variety of life forms and teach us more about how the deep ocean responds to changing environmental conditions.

New Tools and Products

The initiative resulted in the development of a variety of new tools and products. These include a West Coast identification guide for deep-sea corals and fish, improved genetic approaches to better understand the taxonomy and biology of deep-sea coral and sponge communities, and an online tool to help prioritize areas of the seafloor to map.

Public Engagement

We had many creative and engaging opportunities for the public to learn about and connect with deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems. Examples include livestreamed remotely operated vehicle dives, 3D coral prints for classroom instruction, and new content for the West Coast National Marine Sanctuaries Deep Coral Communities Curriculum. Education and outreach efforts like these foster public understanding and stewardship of our oceans.

Science is a strategy

July 13, 2023 — A first-in-the-U.S. pilot research project to develop sustainable practices for farming sablefish has now progressed to the point that a full-color sales sheet can boast to wholesalers about the “pearly white flesh, large velvety flakes, and sweet, rich flavor” of this native deep-sea fish, long a traditional food of the indigenous people of the Pacific Northwest.

The sablefish comes from the experimental net pens at the Manchester Research Station on Puget Sound in Washington, the result of a research collaboration and partnership among NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center, the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe, and the University of Washington.  

While scientists have overcome many daunting challenges during the pilot project, social and political pushback against aquaculture cloud the future of exactly how and where commercial rollout will occur in the U.S. The precedent already exists in Canada at Golden Eagle Sablefish in British Columbia, which is producing sablefish in partnership with the Kyuquot-Checleseht First Nations.

Read the full article at Aquaculture North America

US FDA, NOAA release DNA barcode library to identify fish

July 13, 2023 — A team of researchers from NOAA, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and other partners have released the first batch of fish DNA barcodes, curated DNA sequences that can be used to identify and authenticate seafood.

Identifying seafood after processing has removed any identifiable features is difficult – fillets of one species can look identical to another. DNA testing offers one solution and can provide concrete identification, but full genetic sequencing can be time-consuming. With DNA barcodes, scientists can sequence a short, standardized section of the DNA and compare it to a library of similar sequences to determine its species quickly and efficiently.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Sharks, Rays, and Climate Change: Impacts on Habitat, Prey Distribution, and Health

July 13, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

Climate change has significant impacts on marine ecosystems, including warmer ocean temperatures, ocean acidification, and increased severity and frequency of storms. These shifting conditions can have critical effects on the health and distribution of marine species. As these climatic events intensify, predatory species like sharks and rays are shifting their geographic distributions based on prey and habitat availability. Their complex and variable life histories mean that climate change will impact individual species differently, making it important to understand species-specific vulnerabilities and needs.

In 2023, NOAA Fisheries celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, which has put many species on the path to recovery. Since it was enacted, no listed marine or anadromous species have gone extinct. However, climate change will continue to make the recovery of endangered species more challenging. Through climate-focused science and management, we aim to better understand the potential impacts of climate change on endangered species to foster their recovery into the future.

NOAA scientists say offshore wind fishery surveys won’t fill data gaps

July 11, 2023 — Monitoring plans by federal agencies and offshore wind power developers will not be enough to make up for the disruption that building dozens to hundreds of wind turbines will bring to annual fisheries surveys on the Northeast U.S. continental shelf, according to a recent report by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists.

“We found that project-level monitoring studies as currently designed for the NES (Northeast continental shelf) ecosystem will not yield information that can mitigate impacts to NOAA Fisheries scientific survey time series from offshore wind development,” wrote authors Elizabeth T. Methratta, Andrew Lipsky and Jason M. Boucher of NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

With three wind turbine projects now approved by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management – and more in various planning stages from southern New England to the Carolinas – BOEM and NOAA recognized early that constructing wind turbine arrays would force changes on how NOAA conducts its annual at-sea surveys to monitor U.S. fish stocks and other marine resources.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

Pacific News Minute: American Samoa’s tuna industry pressured by Biden’s plan

July 11, 2023 — A regional fishery council is warning that the Biden administration’s plan to block off U.S. territorial waters in the Pacific would end American Samoa’s tuna canning industry.

Commercial fishing is currently allowed within 50 to 200 miles of the Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument.

It’s made up of Baker, Howland, Jarvis Islands, Johnston, Wake, Palmyra Atolls and Kingman Reef.

However, the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration’s proposal to expand the sanctuary would completely cover the U.S. exclusive economic zone.

Read the full article at Hawaii Public Radio

NOAA Fisheries wants to create a nationwide law enforcement database

July 11, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries wants to create a new national database to collect private and public information – including vehicle registrations, phone records, social media accounts, and more – to help its law-enforcement division conduct investigations.

The agency issued a notice in late June seeking contractors capable of building the new system. Companies currently have until 12 July to submit capability statements to NOAA Fisheries as they prepare an official solicitation.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Federal at-sea monitors have New England groundfishermen pushing back

July 10, 2023 — If longtime New Hampshire groundfisherman Dave Goethel were an I-told-you-so kind of guy, this would be his moment.

Goethel, a 2004 National Fisherman Highliner, was the plaintiff in a 2015 lawsuit, subsequently joined by Northeast Fishery Sector 13, that opposed NOAA’s requirement that fishing vessels pay upward of $700 per day for at-sea monitors.

The case was dismissed. A federal court said it should have been filed within 30 days of the observer program’s creation, not 30 days after NOAA later decided to charge fishermen.

Goethel’s appeal was dismissed as well.

If the courts got rid of his lawsuit, they couldn’t get rid of Goethel. Now retired, his name is on an amicus (friend of the court) brief in the Supreme Court case of Loper Bright Enterprises, a family-owned herring fishing company that is raising the same issue Goethel raised.

The issue as most of us relate to it is whether the Magnuson-Stevens Act implicitly grants NOAA the authority to compel fishermen to pay observer salaries. The underlying question, however, is how much leeway a federal agency has when implementing laws passed by Congress.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

NOAA is looking to add regulations for some boat speeds to help protect whales, but what are the impacts?

July 10, 2023 — The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is proposing stricter speed restrictions for boats in the Atlantic, and environmental groups and boating industry experts are sparring ahead of the administration’s December deadline.

NOAA’s proposed rule would expand on existing requirements by reducing the maximum speed limit for commercial and recreational boats of 35 feet or larger to 10 knots, or about 11.5 mph, in zones across the East Coast. Currently, speed reductions only affect boats 65 feet or larger.

“When you require a vessel to go under 11 miles an hour, which is roughly the speed you would ride your bicycle in your neighborhood, then you don’t take into account the sea conditions,” said Jeff Angers, president of the Center for Sportfishing Policy.

Anglers said an exemption from going 10 knots if the National Weather Service has issued a gale-force warning isn’t adequate. A gale force warning is issued when winds hit 39 mph. But even at 35 mph, winds can cause safety issues for boaters and guests, he said.

Read the full article at Yahoo! News