Saving Seafood

New Study Confirms Warming Ocean’s Impact on Ocean Quahog

April 24, 2024 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

A new study examining the fossil record of ocean quahog, one of the longest-lived species in the ocean, further confirms that climate change is impacting the distribution and growth of shellfish across the Atlantic. Building on previous work examining regional ocean quahog populations, the study, funded by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries, expands our understanding on how shellfish species are reacting to warmer waters and changing habitats.

Ocean quahogs are an extremely long-lived species; some of the oldest ocean quahogs living today are over 200 years old, with some of them having lived long enough to pre-date the Industrial Revolution. Like using a tree’s rings to learn its life cycle, studying ocean quahog shells can tell us both about the growth and history of an ocean quahog, and about past climate conditions. This study, published in Continental Shelf Research, analyzes the historical growth rate of ocean quahogs off the Delmarva peninsula compared to modern populations, identifies the historical distribution of optimal conditions for ocean quahog growth, and how current warming trends are impacting the species.

Specifically, the study looks at ocean quahog growth rates and compares those rates of growth with known climate conditions, such as historic cold periods like the Little Ice Age and a warmer period known as the Medieval Warm Period. It finds that ocean quahogs once were found well inshore of their present distribution when climates were much colder than today, and that during these times they grew as fast or faster than today, helped by a likely combination of optimal temperatures and abundant food supply.

Ocean quahogs today are also growing at a much slower rate in some regions than similar ocean quahogs in the period from 1740-1940, with the evidence indicating that current temperatures in these areas are above the historical, optimal range that encourages ocean quahog growth.

“This study is further confirmation that ocean temperatures are continuing to move away from the conditions where ocean quahog thrive, which has long-term implications for both the species and the fisheries that depend on them,” said Alyssa LeClaire, a Coastal Ecologist at NOAA Fisheries’ Beaufort Lab, the lead author of the study. “This is just the beginning of studying the future of climate impacts on this species, and hopefully further research will continue to explore the relationship between ocean quahog and climate.”

In a related finding, the study also concluded that, as waters begin to warm, the range of ocean quahogs will begin to slowly retract long before a population is completely gone from an area. Because ocean quahogs are so long-lived, this is a slow process, taking a hundred years or more from the first signs of decrease to be completely gone from an area.

Similar to earlier SCEMFIS-funded studies on ocean quahog, this study relies on an extensive dataset of quahog shells, collected in previous surveys, this time from the Delmarva region of the Atlantic. Previous studies funded by the Center have focused on ocean quahog populations off New Jersey, Long Island and Georges Bank. Together, they draw from one of the largest and most representative sample collections of ocean quahog available, an archive that has potential to aid in future climate research.

“Ocean quahog shells have the potential to be a valuable resource in reconstructing historical climate data,” said LeClaire. “Because the species is sensitive to changes in temperature, they can tell us about changes in climate over the decades of a quahog’s life cycle, which can help us in modeling future changes.”

RHODE ISLAND: The quahog holds a dear place in RI’s culture. Could its days be numbered?

March 13, 2024 — David Ghigliotty works his bullrake into the bottom of Narragansett Bay, using the drift of his skiff to pull its steel tines through the sandy bottom in search of quahogs on a cold December morning.

Normally, he’d feel clams tumble into the rake’s basket, but with thick rubber gloves protecting his hands on this frigid winter day, he listens instead for the faint sounds of their shells clanging against metal in the water below.

“Did you hear that?” he says. “That’s one there.”

Ghigliotty rocks the handle of his rake up and down in an easy rhythm, lifting and tugging, lifting and tugging, relying on skills he’s honed over 42 years as a commercial shellfisherman.

After a few minutes, he flips the switch on a winch that pulls the rake head to the surface, swishing the basket back and forth in the water to clear out the muck before pulling it on board.

Read the full article at The Providence Journal

RHODE ISLAND: Study Commission Hears Testimony About Ocean State’s Disappearing Quahogs

November 6, 2023 — An autumn afternoon in a Smith Hill committee room isn’t the usual habitat for a small group of quahoggers. The cloistered halls of the Statehouse are a far cry from the open waters and shorelines of Narragansett Bay, but for the four shellfishermen chosen to serve on a joint legislative study commission, it could mean their livelihood.

Their chief product is a literal state symbol: the northern quahog, also called hard clams. With their iconic shape and brown or gray concentric rings lining the outside of their shells, they are instantly recognizable to most Rhode Islanders. They are featured in the state’s popular “stuffies.” They are seen as the backbone of the state’s seafood industry and Rhode Island’s blue economy, to the point where earlier this year, state officials installed giant stuffies in airports across the nation as part of an advertising campaign.

But quahoggers working Narragansett Bay today are catching less than half the total amount of quahogs they were a decade ago. What once was a thriving trade in the 1980s, supporting thousands of shellfishermen and their families, has now dwindled to the point where less than 200 commercial quahoggers work the bay.

That’s because the state symbol seems to be vanishing from local waters. Last year quahoggers harvested 397,442 pounds of quahog meat, according to data from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. That’s less than half of what they caught 10 years ago: in 2012, Ocean State quahoggers harvested more than 900,000 pounds of meat.

Read the full article at EcoRi

Ocean Quahog Growing Quicker Thanks to Climate Change, According to New Study

September 29, 2023 — The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) said a pair of recent studies indicate that climate change has changed the life cycle of ocean quahogs, one of the longest-living species under the sea.

The pair of studies, funded by SCEMFIS, found that the species is growing “much faster and maturing much earlier” with global temperatures rising over the past 200 years, which SCEMFIS said is “one of the clearest examples yet on how climate change is affecting marine life.”

Due to their longevity, SCEMFIS said ocean quahogs are a great indicator of the impact of climate change over centuries. The studies examine the age and length data of a large, diverse sample of the species and finds a clear pattern of biological change over time in response to a changing climate.

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

New Studies: Climate Change Causes Ocean Quahog to Grow Quicker, Mature Earlier

September 26, 2023 — Climate change has radically altered the life cycle of ocean quahog (Arctica islandica), one of the longest-lived species in the ocean. According to a new pair of studies funded by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS), the species is growing much faster and maturing much earlier as global temperatures have risen over the past 200 years, one of the clearest examples yet of how climate change is affecting marine life.

Because of the ocean quahog’s extreme longevity, they provide a unique record of climate change over the centuries. The oldest ocean quahogs are over 200 years old, and can provide us with insights into the ocean climate before widespread industrialization. The new papers, published in the journals Continental Shelf Research and Estuarine, Coastal, and Shelf Science, examine ocean quahog growth rates, and their changes over time, by examining the age and length data of a large, diverse sample set of ocean quahogs, and finds a clear pattern of biological change over time in response to climate conditions.

In 1800, the average ocean quahog reached full maturity between 18 and 26 years, and reached a commercially harvestable size (according to the standards of the modern fishery, developed in the 20th century) in anywhere from 63 to 119 years. By 2000, ocean quahogs were reaching maturity as early as 8 years, and had reached harvestable size between 26 and 29 years, over three times faster than 200 years ago.

Read the full article at Accesswire

Science Center for Marine Fisheries Approves $126,000 in New Research for 2022

January 3, 2022 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCEMFIS) has funded $126,000 in new marine science research for 2022. The funds, approved by the members of the Center’s Industry Advisory Board at its annual fall meeting, will support new, much-needed research on prominent fisheries such as thread herring, ocean quahogs, squid, and surfclams.

Part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry-University Cooperative Research Centers program, SCEMFIS connects marine scientists with members of the fishing industry to identify scientific priorities for better understanding commercially important fish species, and directs industry funding to projects that study them. Since its founding, SCEMFIS has promoted research that has increased our understanding of these species, and improved their management.

The following research projects were approved by SCEMFIS for 2022:

  • Biostatistical and fishery-dependent sampling of Atlantic thread herring and Atlantic chub mackerel in the mid-Atlantic region – As a result of climate change and the subsequent migration of fish stocks, a fishery for Atlantic thread herring is developing in the Mid-Atlantic. As part of that development, fisheries managers need better biological data on the species in order to manage it sustainably. This project, led by Dr. Robert Leaf (University of Southern Mississippi), will conduct a sampling survey of thread herring to collect data on the fish being harvested by the fishery, including factors such as age, length, and weight. ($69,336 in funding)
  • Ocean quahog population dynamics: project completion – SCEMFIS researchers have worked extensively at expanding our understanding of ocean quahog, especially work in charting the age frequencies for quahogs in the Northwest Atlantic, as well as measuring the uncertainty that comes with estimating the age-at-length of quahogs. This project, led by Dr. Eric Powell (University of Southern Mississippi), and Dr. Roger Mann (Virginia Institute of Marine Science), will complete the Center’s ongoing work on ocean quahog, finishing and publishing current unpublished research on quahog age frequencies. ($41,210 in funding)
  • Genetic and age structure of Southern surfclams – The surfclam fishery has recently resumed fishing in the waters off the coast of Virginia in a region where high bottom water temperatures have led to the deaths of most Atlantic surfclams during much of the 2010s. Increased survival recently may be due to recruitment of the Southern surfclam. To better understand how and why surfclams have returned to this area, this project, led Dr. Daphne Munroe (Rutgers University), will conduct genetic testing on a sample of clams from the area. The tests will help determine their relationship with the rest of the coastwide Atlantic surfclam stock. ($10,795 in funding)
  • Squid age estimation using CAT Scan technology – A recurring challenge in managing squid is the lack of demographic data available to estimate the ages of the squid in the population. This project, led by Dr. Roger Mann, (Virginia Institute of Marine Science), will evaluate the use of CAT scan technology as a tool to age squid. The scans will be used to measure the size of squid statoliths, which are the hard structures in squid heads that grow over time, and attempt to age the squid based on these measurements. ($5,000 in funding).

About SCEMFIS
SCEMFIS utilizes academic and fisheries resources to address urgent scientific problems limiting sustainable fisheries. SCEMFIS develops methods, analytical and survey tools, datasets, and analytical approaches to improve sustainability of fisheries and reduce uncertainty in biomass estimates. SCEMFIS university partners, University of Southern Mississippi (lead institution), and Virginia Institute of Marine Science, College of William and Mary, are the academic sites. Collaborating scientists who provide specific expertise in finfish, shellfish, and marine mammal research, come from a wide range of academic institutions including Old Dominion University, Rutgers University, University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth, University of Maryland, and University of Rhode Island.

The need for the diverse services that SCEMFIS can provide to industry continues to grow, which has prompted a steady increase in the number of fishing industry partners. These services include immediate access to science expertise for stock assessment issues, rapid response to research priorities, and representation on stock assessment working groups. Targeted research leads to improvements in data collection, survey design, analytical tools, assessment models, and other needs to reduce uncertainty in stock status and improve reference point goals.

 

Clam industry growing as climate change warms New England’s waters

December 20, 2021 — Maine’s clam industry is growing as climate change warms the Gulf of Maine.

The Bangor Daily News reports northern quahogs are among the state’s fisheries that have seen increased harvest volumes and values over the past decade.

The average price of what are also known as hard clams has gone from 40 cents per pound in the 1990s to around $1.50 per pound in recent years, the newspaper reports.

Annual harvest totals have also increased since the early 2000s, reaching a record of more than two million pounds in 2019, according to the paper. The annual harvest value is around $2.6 million, up from just over $10,000 as recently as 2004.

Read the full story at WHDH

 

NOAA Fisheries Announces Final 2022 Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Specifications

November 5, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is setting 2022 commercial harvest quotas for Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs. The final quotas, which have remained unchanged since 2004, are:

• Atlantic surfclams: 3.4 million bushels

• Ocean quahogs: 5.36 million bushels

• Maine ocean quahogs: 100,000 Maine bushels

In addition, the Atlantic surfclam minimum size limit will be suspended for the 2022 fishing year, as it has been every year since 2005. There is currently no minimum size for ocean quahogs.

For more details, read the final rule as published in the Federal Register and the bulletin.

Questions?

Fishermen: Contact Laura Hansen, Sustainable Fisheries Division, 978-281-9225

Media: Contact Allison Ferreira, Regional Office, 978-281-9103

 

Notice to Fishermen: 2020 Surfclam/Ocean Quahog Cost Recovery Tag Fees

June 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

We are announcing the 2020 cost recovery per-tag fees for the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog individual transferable quota (ITQ) program.

2020 Cost Recovery Cage Tag Fees

Atlantic Surfclam: $0.62 per tag

Ocean Quahog: $0.36 per tag

The fee for each cage tag is calculated based on the number of ITQ cage tags that were used to land surfclams or ocean quahogs during the 2019 fishing year, and the costs associated with operating the program in 2019. The fees are then multiplied by the number of tags used during the 2020 fishing year to determine the final bill amount. These cost recovery fees are separate from, and in addition to, the price ITQ permit holders currently pay to the tag vendor to obtain cage tags each year.

Quota shareholders will soon receive bills based on these tags fees and the number of their cage tags that were used to land surfclams or ocean quahogs during 2020. The initial quota shareholder who first received the allocation of cage tags is responsible for the fee even if the tag is leased, sold, or otherwise used by someone else.

For more information read our bulletin.

Read the full release here

NCFC Members Urge BOEM to Include Commercial Fishermen in Windmill Siting Decisions in the New York Bight

August 17, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities:

Late last month, members of Saving Seafood’s National Coalition for Fishing Communities (NCFC) submitted two letters asking Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) to consider the economic importance of the commercial fishing industry before deciding where to site windmills in the New York Bight.

367 individuals signed a national letter calling on Secretary Zinke not to rush offshore energy development and to ensure projects are “sited, constructed, and operated using the best scientific information available.”

“The Interior Department should provide for intelligent and deliberate offshore renewable energy development, rather than fall prey to the gold rush mentality promoted by BOEM and financially-interested wind developers, most of which are foreign-owned,” the NCFC members wrote.

The signers also invoked President Donald Trump’s campaign promise to support working class Americans.

“When President Trump campaigned and was elected, he promised to look after America’s working middle class, of which we are all a part,” the letter stated. “You will not be honoring the President’s commitment if you allow BOEM to lease ocean areas first, and ask and answer the necessary questions later.”

Another 103 individuals and 32 vessels and businesses from Massachusetts signed a separate letter asking BOEM to reconsider its plan to develop four offshore wind farms in the New York Bight. They specifically cited the damage such development would cause to important Northeast fisheries such as the scallop fishery.

“This is an ill-conceived idea that will cause irreparable economic harm within the fishing communities along the entire East Coast,” the signers wrote. “The harm to Massachusetts will be especially significant, given that it is the center of the Atlantic sea scallop fishery and contains major surf clam and ocean quahog operations.”

The letter pointed out that, on average, nearly $54 million is generated by scallop landings annually from the areas under consideration in the New York Bight, according to data from the National Marine Fisheries Service. An additional $8 million is generated by surf clam and ocean quahog.