Saving Seafood

COVID-19 HAS HIT COMMERCIAL FISHING HARD

January 4, 2021 — Of those who kept fishing, nearly all reported a decline in income compared with previous years, according to the study in PLOS ONE.

The study, which covers March to June and included 258 fishers, also examined data on fish landings and found that the catch for some species, such as squid and scallops, decreased compared with previous years. The catch for other species, such as black sea bass and haddock, was on par with or higher than previous years, suggesting that many fishermen fished as much as they had been before the pandemic, while earning less income.

“They may have kept fishing to pay their bills or crew, or to maintain their livelihoods or their quotas until markets rebound,” says main author Sarah Lindley Smith, a postdoctoral associate in the human ecology department in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University-New Brunswick. “Most of the fishermen who stopped fishing during the early months of the pandemic planned to resume fishing instead of leaving the industry.”

The pandemic has slammed the fishing industry due to the loss of restaurant sales, disruptions in export markets, and a decline in seafood prices. Before the pandemic, 70% of seafood spending in the United States took place in restaurants, the study notes.

Read the full story at Futurity

Marine Fisheries Will Not Offset Farm Losses after Nuclear War

November 10, 2020 — The following was released by Rutgers University:

After a nuclear war, wild-catch marine fisheries will not offset the loss of food grown on land, especially if widespread overfishing continues, according to a Rutgers co-authored study.

But effective pre-war fisheries management would greatly boost the oceans’ potential contribution of protein and nutrients during a global food emergency, according to the study in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The study for the first time explored the effects of nuclear war on wild-catch marine fisheries.

“Nuclear war that causes global climate cooling could lead to far less food from farms on land, and increased fishing would not be a panacea,” said co-author Alan Robock, a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Environmental Sciences in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. “We should do everything possible to prevent even a small, localized nuclear war since that could have dire consequences for people and our planet.”

Aside from the devastating direct impacts, a nuclear war would likely cause global disruptions in the Earth’s climate by injecting millions of tons of soot from massive fires into the upper atmosphere, blocking sunlight. Lower surface temperatures and less sunlight could drive unprecedented declines in agricultural production, endangering global food security.

Scientists simulated the climatic impacts of six nuclear war scenarios – a large conflict involving the United States versus Russia and five lesser ones between India and Pakistan – on fish biomass (the weight of fish stocks) and fish catch. They used a state-of-the-art Earth system model and a global fisheries model. They also simulated how an increased demand for fish, driven by food shortages, or a decrease in fishing due to infrastructure disruptions would affect global catches. In addition, they studied the benefits of strong pre-war fisheries management.

Assuming business-as-usual fishing and widespread overfishing, the models show the global fish catch falling by up to 29 percent after a nuclear war, depending on the amount of soot injected into the upper atmosphere. Due to rising demand, the catch would temporarily increase by about 30 percent – for one to two years – followed by losses of up to about 70 percent, offsetting only a small fraction of agricultural losses.

Read the full release here

Dramatic Increase in Whales in NJ/NYC Raises Safety Concerns

August 9th, 2019 — The number of humpback whale sightings in New York City and northern New Jersey has increased dramatically in recent years, by more than 500 percent, as a result of warmer and cleaner waters, raising the risk of dangerous interactions between the huge marine mammals and humans, according to a Rutgers University-New Brunswick researcher.

The increase in sightings near one of the world’s busiest ports is a safety concern for both whales and humans, especially with a new wave of migration headed close to shores this fall, said Danielle Brown, a doctoral student in ecology and evolution in Rutgers’ School of Environmental and Biology Sciences and the lead humpback whale researcher and naturalist for Gotham Whale, a New York-based nonprofit that studies and advocates for whales.

Since Gotham Whale started documenting humpback whale sightings in the New York Bight apex – the Atlantic Ocean area from New York harbor east to Fire Island and south to the Manasquan Inlet– the number has increased to 272 last year up from five in 2011. Many of the sightings have occurred less than two miles from the shore.

Read the full story at Rutgers Today