Saving Seafood

VIMS kicks off its annual juvenile striped bass seine survey

July 9, 2018 — On the bank of the James River beside the Lions Bridge in Newport News, field assistant Matthew Oliver waded chest-deep into the warm, lapping water Friday morning, hauling a seine net.

The net wasn’t tall, but it was long — 100 feet — with floats along the top edge and sinkers along the bottom, the better to keep little baby fish from scurrying underneath and swimming away.

Oliver moved heavily in a wide arc through the water, the better to scoop up whatever was swimming in the shallows.

This was just one sweep of select sites along the shores of the James, York and Rappahannock rivers as the monthslong Juvenile Striped Bass Seine Survey kicks off.

The survey is conducted by the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) in Gloucester Point and is the second-longest continuous striped bass index in the country. It began in 1967 and, except for a five-year hiatus starting in 1973 for lack of funding, has been conducted every summer since.

The goal is to keep a weather eye on how this iconic sport fish is doing by counting the young-of-year that spawn early in the year and will, in just a few more years, become an official part of the region’s lucrative recreational and commercial fisheries.

“Knowing how many young striped bass are produced this year helps them understand what’s coming in the future,” said VIMS marine biologist Mary Fabrizio. “It helps us better manage the fishery.”

Read the full story at the Daily Press

Researcher studies effects of microplastics on the ocean

June 12, 2018 — Anyone who has ever struggled with knowing which plastic items they can or cannot place in their recycling bin will appreciate the complex task facing Professor Rob Hale and his students at William & Mary’s Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Hale began studying plastics in the 1990s after he and Marine Scientist Mark La Guardia discovered high levels of flame retardants in fishes from the James River. They quickly realized these compounds, added to household plastics to reduce their flammability, were somehow escaping their confines and entering the aquatic environment.

Subsequent groundbreaking research by Hale’s team and others revealed high levels of flame retardants in wastewater, e-waste sites, sewage sludges, soils, sediments, and indoor dust; as well as in minnows, earthworms, insects, birds of prey, deep-sea squid and other organisms. Related research—based on concerns that these chemicals persist in the environment and tend to accumulate up the food chain—revealed health impacts in both wildlife and people, and led to worldwide limitations on the use of the most troublesome flame-retardant compounds.

Hale’s early experience with plastics research has now poised his team for a leading role in addressing the most recent worry about plastics in the environment—the growing concern about the effects of microplastics in the ocean.

Read the full story at PHYS.org

Dr. Bill DuPaul receives award from NEFMC

May 17, 2018 — Dr. Bill DuPaul, Professor Emeritus at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Gloucester Point, is the recipient of the 2018 Janice M. Plante Award from the New England Fishery Management Council.

DuPaul, a resident of Ware Neck, was a pioneer of cooperative research in the Atlantic sea scallop fishery, according to a release from NEFMC.

“Dr. DuPaul is a man of great integrity,” NEFMC chairman Dr. John Quinn said “He intuitively knew that solutions to hard problems would come only when people on all sides worked together. He proved that cooperative research can break through seemingly insurmountable barriers and help resolve even the most challenging issues.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester-Mathews Gazette-Journal

 

Scallop RSA Program: NEFMC and NOAA Announce 15 Awards Selected for 2018-2019 funding

May 16, 2018 — The following was released by New England Fishery Management Council:

 

The New England Fishery Management Council and NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) are pleased to announce that 15 projects have been selected for 2018-2019 funding through the Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program.

“The Scallop RSA Program truly has become one of the flagships of the scallop fishery,” said New England Council Chairman Dr. John Quinn. “The collaborative efforts that take place at sea between fishermen and researchers go a long way toward enhancing our understanding of what’s happening with the resource. The results of this RSA work funnel back to the Council and support stock assessments. Without a doubt, the RSA program helps us better manage our – Virginia Institute of Marine Science photo extremely valuable scallop fishery.”

Projects will address research priorities established by the Council, with a particular focus on resource surveys. The awards are expected to generate more than $12 million: $3 million to fund research; and $9 million to compensate industry partners who harvest set-aside quota

“We are excited to be able to work with the New England Fishery Management Council, industry, and scientists to fund sea scallop science through the Research Set-Aside Program,” said NEFSC Science and Research Director Dr. Jon Hare. “The projects funded support surveys, bycatch mitigation, and biological studies, all with the purpose of improving the information used in the management of the sea scallop resource.”

The New England Council established the Sea Scallop RSA Program to address research questions that support management of the scallop resource. The Council sets the research priorities and researchers compete for funding through a federal grant competition managed by NOAA Fisheries.

No federal funds are provided to support the research. Instead, projects are awarded pounds of scallops, which have been “set aside” from the annual fishery quota for this purpose. Successful applicants partner with the fishing industry to harvest their set-aside award to generate funds for the research. There are active research set-aside programs for Atlantic sea scallops, Atlantic herring, and monkfish.

2018-2019 Scallop RSA Award Summary

The awards fall into three categories: scallop surveys (dredge, drop camera, and HabCam); bycatch mitigation; and sea scallop biology.

Scallop Surveys

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) received new awards to conduct dredge surveys in Closed Area I, Closed Area II, and the Nantucket Lightship. Under an existing award from last year, VIMS also will conduct a dredge survey of the Mid-Atlantic Bight. As part of ongoing efforts to better understand scallop survey dredge performance, VIMS investigators received an award to evaluate the hydrodynamic characteristics of both lined and unlined survey dredges in the largest flume tank in the world, located in St. John’s, Newfoundland at Memorial University’s Marine Institute.

The University of Massachusetts, Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) received three awards to conduct surveys using a drop-camera array. Through these awards, researchers plan to conduct high-resolution surveys of the Nantucket Lightship, Closed Area I, Great South Channel, and select portions of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.

The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) will conduct Habitat Camera Mapping System (HabCam) optical surveys throughout the Mid-Atlantic Bight and on the northern flank of Georges Bank. In addition to these surveys, researchers will continue to evaluate dredge effects on habitat and habitat recovery in the Closed Area II Habitat Area of Particular Concern. Coonamessett Farm Foundation will conduct a HabCam survey of the Nantucket Lightship and Southern Flank of Georges Bank.

Bycatch Mitigation

Coonamessett Farm Foundation will continue its seasonal survey on Georges Bank, collecting information on bycatch rates for yellowtail flounder and other species relative to scallop meat yield. These data also will be used to evaluate sea scallop health and meat quality, biological questions about several flounder species, and to examine lobsters for shell disease.

Coonamessett Farm Foundation will continue its loggerhead sea turtle tagging program, receiving funds to tag up to 20 loggerheads with water activated tags. Tag data will be used to evaluate spatial and temporal overlap between loggerhead sea turtles and the scallop fishery.

Coonamessett Farm Foundation also will be testing a dredge twine-top cover net in an attempt to quantify dredge selectivity characteristics.

Sea Scallop Biology

The Virginia Institute of Marine Science will investigate sea scallop density-dependence factors that may be affecting growth, mortality, and reproduction of scallops in the Nantucket Lightship and Elephant Trunk areas. In addition, VIMS will conduct a pilot study to extend the current stock assessment model to better account for sea scallop ages with a particular focus on the Mid-Atlantic Bight and Nantucket Lightship areas.

WHOI will receive support to determine if a gonadosomatic index (GSI) can be calculated from Light Field 3D images of shucked scallops collected during fishing operations. The GSI is used to assess maturity and spawning events in many species of fish and shellfish, including scallops. If successful, this could improve the ability to collect and quantify scallop maturation and spawning data during the course of routine fishery sampling procedures.

The 2018-2019 award listings can be found on the Northeast Fisheries Science Center website at: https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/coopresearch/news/scallop-rsa-2018-2019/.

RSA award announcements and answers to “frequently asked questions” also are available at https://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/coopresearch/rsa_program.html.

Visit the New England Council’s scallop webpage: https://www.nefmc.org/management-plans/scallops.

View the release in its entirety here.

 

NE Council Receives 2017 Scallop Survey Overview and Progress Report on 2018 Management Measures in Framework 29

October 2, 2017 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

During its late-September meeting in Gloucester, MA, the New England Fishery Management Council received a comprehensive overview of the “very successful” 2017 scallop survey season. The Council then reviewed the range of measures under development for Framework Adjustment 29 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. These measures, once fully developed and approved, will apply to the 2018 scallop fishing year, which will begin on April 1 instead of March 1 as in previous years.

Five separate groups contributed to the 2017 scallop surveys:

  • The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS) conducted dredge surveys in the Mid-Atlantic, Nantucket Lightship Area, and Closed Area II.
  • UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) conducted intensive surveys of Closed Area I, Closed Area II, and the Elephant Trunk Area, along with broadscale surveys of Georges Bank and the Mid-Atlantic and a drop camera survey of Stellwagen Bank in the Gulf of Maine.
  • The Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), in partnership with Lund’s Fisheries, conducted a Habitat Camera Mapping System (HabCam) version 5 (v5) survey of the Northern Edge on Georges Bank.
  • Coonamessett Farm Foundation (CFF) conducted a HabCam v3 survey of the Nantucket Lightship Area, as well as a HabCam v3 survey on Stellwagen Bank and Jeffreys Ledge in the Gulf of Maine, along with six dredge tows on Stellwagen. And,
  • The Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) conducted a dredge survey on Georges Bank and a HabCam v4 survey of the Mid-Atlantic and Georges Bank.

Read the full release at the New England Fishery Management Council

Access to Surfclam (Spisula solidissima) Fishing Grounds Studied by SCeMFiS Scientists in Research Survey Cruise Southeast of Nantucket Island

August 15, 2017 — BOSTON — The following was released by SCeMFiS:

The scientists of the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) recently completed a survey of the surfclam fishery area southeast of Nantucket Island to provide information regarding surfclam stock status and habitat to ensure continued resource access by local surfclam vessels. Surveys were successfully conducted in 4 days aboard the F/V Mariette sailing from New Bedford, MA.

Chris Shriver of Galilean Seafoods in Bristol, Rhode Island commented – “We believe this survey will assist the federal managers of the surfclam industry to preserve traditional surfclam fishing areas and to assist in opening new areas for the vessels to harvest surfclams so we can supply the public with sustainable and healthy clam chowders and clam strips, while protecting the marine habitat.”

Data will be reported to the SCeMFiS Industry Advisory Board at the Fall 2017 meeting in Cape May, New Jersey, with a final report by Spring 2018 and will be considered by the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center (“NEFSC”) Survey Design Working Group at their September meeting. If necessary, reporting will be accelerated as required to provide input to the New England Fisheries Management Council (“NEFMC”) Omnibus Habitat Amendment 2 (OHA2) decision making process. Data collected from this cruise will contribute both to ongoing efforts to (1) preserve access to the local resource by the small boat surfclam fishermen, and (2) ensure a well informed and scientifically based decision by the NEFMC concerning delineation of Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) area closures.

SCeMFiS scientific projects are unique in that they respond directly to the scientific needs of the fisheries managers in collaboration with the commercial fishing industry while upholding strict quality scientific standards and procedures. SCeMFiS partnerships include academia, government agencies, non-profits, trade organizations, and industry members. The Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), the University of Southern Mississippi (USM) are lead academic institutions and SCeMfiS is part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program. Other participating partners include Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Bumble Bee Seafoods Incorporated, Garden State Seafood Association, Intershell International Corporation, LaMonica Fine Foods, Lund’s Fisheries Incorporated, National Fisheries Institute Clam Committee, National Fisheries Institute Scientific Monitoring Committee, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Omega Protein, Seafreeze Limited, Sea Watch International, Surfside Seafood Products, and The Town Dock.

Read the release at SCeMFiS

SCeMFiS Announces New Members: Intershell International Corporation and The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd.

July 11, 2017 — The following was released by the Science Center for Marine Fisheries:

Intershell International Corporation, and The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. have become the newest industry partners at the Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS). SCeMFiS is a partnership between fishing industry members, government agencies, non-profits, trade organizations, the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS), the University of Southern Mississippi(USM), and is part of the National Science Foundation’s Industry/University Cooperative Research Center program. Other partners include Atlantic Capes Fisheries, Bumble Bee Seafoods Inc., Garden State Seafood Association, LaMonica Fine Foods, Lund’s Fisheries Inc., National Fisheries Institute Clam Committee, National Fisheries Institute Scientific Monitoring Committee, National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Northeast Fisheries Science Center, Omega Protein, Sea Watch International and Surfside Seafood Products.

SCeMFiS is responsible for research projects that have led to major breakthroughs in fisheries science. One project of interest to Monte Rome, Owner of Intershell International Corporation, was the development of the Dameron-Kubiak research dredge. The dredge has allowed researchers to collect various sizes of juvenile clams proving that there is regular recruitment of ocean quahogs to the fishery. This information is a critical component in the development of shellfish management plans.

The Town Dock and Seafreeze Ltd. have pooled their funds to become the first SCeMFiS combined Industry-Advisory Board (IAB) Member. Katie Almeida, Fishery Policy Analyst with The Town Dock and Meghan Lapp, Fisheries Liaison at Seafreeze Ltd. state, “We are both looking forward to working with SCeMFiS to help close scientific data gaps, give more scientific certainty to stock assessments and the fishery management process, and provide stability for the future of our businesses.” The Town Dock is the largest supplier of longfin squid (calamari) in the United States and Seafreeze Ltd. is the largest producer and trader of at sea frozen fish on the U.S. East Coast.

“On behalf of the members of SCeMFiS, I would like to extend a warm welcome to our newest members Intershell International Corporation and The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd.,” states Guy Simmons, SCeMFiS Chair and VP of Marketing and Product Development at Sea Watch International. “The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. and Intershell International Corporation have joined our organization to seek the ‘Best Science’ available to fortify our respective fishery management plans. Whether a large corporation or smaller independently owned company, our membership levels can accommodate participation in this important endeavor. We appreciate the confidence displayed by our new members in SCeMFiS and look forward to their insights.”

SCeMFiS has 7 newly funded projects covering a broad spectrum of fisheries issues. Several SCeMFiS research projects are especially relevant to the work of The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. Of particular interest is Evaluation of Alternative Approaches to Risk-Based Catch Advice and representation on the stock assessment team which will provide external support to NMFS for the benchmark assessment working group focusing on the 2017 Atlantic mackerel assessment.

The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. have chosen to partner with the Virginia Institute of Marine Science as their affiliated academic institution while Intershell Seafood Corporation will partner with the University of Southern Mississippi. “SCeMFiS continues to grow and its research portfolio continues to expand. This year SCeMFiS has taken on important new challenges in survey design, ocean quahog life history, forage fish, and uncertainty in stock assessments. We look forward to working with these new companies in a continuing expansion of our research portfolio,” says Dr. Eric Powell, SCeMFiS Center Director and Professor at the University of Southern Mississippi.

Dr. Roger Mann, a Professor of Marine Science at VIMS and the Virginia Site Director at SCeMFiS, indicates that there are many ways industry members benefit from partnering with SCeMFiS. “Members gain access to an international group of experts who can focus on technical problems that are challenging your sector of the fishing industry,” said Dr. Mann. He also noted that SCeMFiS follows the research standards of the National Science Foundation, the “gold standard” in U.S. scientific research. “This places the results of any IAB funded effort beyond reproach as these results are used to advance the goals of sustainable harvest.”

By becoming SCeMFiS IAB members and partners, Intershell International Corporation, and The Town Dock/Seafreeze Ltd. help to determine funding for research projects which are pertinent to industry needs. Membership in SCeMFiS allows their businesses to expand upon their current commitment to sustainable and responsible fishing.

Read the full release here

Trump administration pledges to do more with less for U.S. aquaculture

June 5, 2017 — “Aquaculture is not the future of oyster harvests. It’s the present,” said Mark Luckenbach – Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Luckenbach, based at the VIMS lab at Wachapreague, told me those words 11 years ago, when I wrote my first story about oyster aquaculture. Since then, I’ve written more than 100 stories on the topic, and someday, I hope, I’ll write a book. One thing is sure: the present has taken a long time to arrive – not just in the Chesapeake Bay, but all over the country.

Eighty to 90 percent of the seafood eaten in the United States is imported, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. In Baltimore, where I live, the crabmeat at my local grocery store is not from the Chesapeake Bay. The salmon is not from this country. And striped bass? Never seen it there, though I live just an hour from where one could catch some of the nicest rockfish you could find anywhere.

NOAA officials want to change what they’re calling a $14 billion seafood trade deficit. At a webinar last week, agency officials said Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, who oversees NOAA, is committed to “eliminating barriers” to growing aquaculture here in the United States.

In Maryland, we know well some of these barriers as they relate to growing oysters. Would-be growers have spent years awaiting permission to put oysters in the water, even though the bivalves filter the water, increase biodiversity, and even spur recruitment for the Bay’s long-troubled wild oyster population, which is less than 1 percent of historic levels.

On a conference call during the webinar, federal officials touted Maryland’s permit innovations as a success. (They didn’t mention that oyster farmers have blamed NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service for some of those delays, relating to the possible impact of oyster farming on endangered marine turtles.) Maryland worked with the Baltimore District of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to streamline the permit process. State and federal officials, as well as oyster farmers, report it is working more smoothly now. (NOAA officials said they had an “ombudsman” role in the process.)

Read the full story at the Bay Journal

SCeMFiS Announces $200,000 for Fisheries Management Research on Mammals, Menhaden, Ocean Quahogs, Surf Clams

WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) – May 23, 2017 – The Science Center for Marine Fisheries (SCeMFiS) Industry Advisory Board (IAB) announced $200,000 in funding today for seven fisheries research projects and marine mammal-related work. The funding was approved during the Spring IAB Meeting held in Ocean Springs, Mississippi from April 26-27.

The selected projects will research species such as menhaden, ocean quahogs, surf clams, and marine mammals. They will also address critical management issues related to how fisheries managers conduct and implement stock assessments. Grant recipients include researchers from the Gulf  Coast Research Laboratory at the University of Southern Mississippi (USM), the School for Marine Science and Technology at UMass Dartmouth (SMAST), the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at the College of William & Mary (VIMS), and the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES).

“The projects, both shellfish and finfish, that have been funded by SCeMFiS have already shown positive results in contributing to the ‘Best Science’ available,” said Guy Simmons, Vice President of Marketing and Product Development at Sea Watch International and Chairman of the IAB, in a SCeMFiS release. “I believe the success of the past four years has been validated by new membership recruitment and the acceptance of the science from management agencies. I am especially proud of the work that went into the development and approval of our seven new research projects.”

SCeMFiS is sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) through its Industry/University Cooperative Research Centers Program, which matches industry, government and other organizations with relevant academic specialists. The SCeMFiS IAB is composed of members of the shellfish and commercial finfish industries and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.

“As participants in the Atlantic surf clam and ocean quahog fisheries, many of its stakeholders have been involved in cooperative research with the goal of reducing uncertainty in the fisheries management plan for many years,” said Mr. Simmons. “Since the formation of SCeMFiS, these efforts have been dramatically enhanced by the involvement of all the members as well as the guidance from the National Science Foundation.”

The IAB will review funded projects at its next meeting in Cape May, New Jersey October 31-November 1. A full list of SCeMFiS research projects already underway can be found online here.

Descriptions of the seven new research projects, provided by SCeMFiS, are below:

Risk-Based Catch Advice 

  • Evaluation of Alternative Approaches to Risk-Based Catch Advice – this project will review and evaluate methods applied by Scientific and Statistical Committees of regional fishery management councils to evaluate forecast error and improve optimal yield within an appropriate consideration of uncertainty and risk. Principal Investigator: Steve Cadrin, UMass Dartmouth [SMAST]

Stock Assessment

  • Stock Assessment Team – the stock assessment team will provide external support to NMFS for benchmark assessment working groups with a focus in 2017 on the Atlantic mackerel assessment. Principal Investigator: Eric Powell, USM

Marine Mammals

  • Independent Advisory Team for Marine Mammal Assessments – Phase V – this team addresses uncertainties in slow growing marine mammal populations and the interactions between marine mammals and fishing operations. Principal Investigator: Paula Moreno, USM.

Atlantic Menhaden

  • Evaluation of Sampling Adequacy for Atlantic Menhaden Fisheries – this project will evaluate the current Atlantic sampling program for the characterization of menhaden fishery catch leading to recommendations designed to increase sampling efficiency. Principal Investigators: Geneviève Nesslage, UMCES & Robert Leaf, USM

Ocean Quahog

  • Ocean Quahog Population Dynamics: Validation of Estimation Procedures for an Age-at-Length Key – this study builds on previous work that developed the first population age frequencies for the U.S. stock by developing and testing approaches for deriving age-at-length keys from sparse datasets. Principal Investigators: Eric Powell, USM & Roger Mann, VIMS
  • Ocean Quahog Population Dynamics: Population Modeling to Interpret Population Age Frequencies – this project will develop a population dynamics model to explain observed changes in abundance at age over the past 250 yr since ocean quahogs first colonized their present Mid-Atlantic range. Principal Investigator: Eric Powell, USM

Surf Clams 

  • Survey of Surf Clams (Spisula solidissima) Southeast of Nantucket – this will be the first survey of a region providing substantial surfclam catch to determine the need to expand the NMFS stock survey and to evaluate the distribution of complex habitat within the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area. Principal Investigators: Roger Mann, VIMS & Eric Powell, USM

Read a release from SCeMFiS here

VIMS turns to crowdsourcing to save bay scallops

April 24, 2017 — In the 1920s, the bay scallop fishery in Virginia was booming, hitting a peak harvest in 1929.

Then, in the course of a few short years, the bottom fell out of the fishery — almost literally.

A hemisphere-wide wasting disease began attacking eelgrass, a primary habitat for young scallops growing in high-salinity coastal bays. As a result, Virginia’s scallop harvest dropped in 1930. It dropped even more in 1931and even more in 1932.

Then, calamity struck in 1933 when a Category 1 hurricane slammed the state, wiping out what was left of ailing eelgrass beds in the coastal bays.

That year, Virginia watermen harvested no bay scallops at all. The species was wiped out in the state.

“The bay scallop was extinct locally,” said Mark Luckenbach, ecologist and associate dean of research and advisory services at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science in Gloucester Point. “Not reduced in numbers like oysters or eelgrass — it was extinct. The closest populations were in North Carolina to the south and New Jersey to the north.”

Read the full story at the Daily Press