Saving Seafood

Whale entanglements on the West Coast rise again in 2018, is this the new normal?

January 2, 2019 — News this month that the number of whales found entangled off the West Coast had decreased in 2017 prompted optimism among some. But, already preliminary numbers for 2018 are headed back toward the record highs of just a few years ago.

While whale entanglements in U.S. waters were slightly above the 10-year average in 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reported on Dec. 6 that West Coast numbers were nearly half the 2015 and 2016 stats. Of the 31 entangles whales reported in 2017, 25 were in the waters off California – humpbacks who like to feed on anchovies in the central coast areas fished for crab and prawn led the way, but gray whales were not far behind.

NOAA’s preliminary 2018 numbers report 45 entangled whales confirmed in the waters off Alaska, Oregon, Washington and California; 35 of which were found off California. Many of the struggling whales have been sighted off Orange County and Monterey – two areas that federal officials say are bustling with boaters, fishing and whales. Final numbers are expected in March.

Read the full story at The San Jose Mercury News

CALIFORNIA: Can sustainably caught swordfish make waves on the Central Coast?

December 31, 2018 — Will sustainably-caught swordfish receive a wave of support from Central Coast fishermen, consumers and restaurateurs?

Clean-fishing advocates sure hope so as efforts continue to phase out the use of drift gillnets — the mile-long, 100-foot-wide nets currently used to catch swordfish — which  commonly collect and kill protected species like whales, dolphins, and sea turtles.

On Sept. 28,  Gov. Jerry Brown signed Senate Bill 1017, which requires the state Department of Fish and Wildlife get funding for and enact a transition program that would help fishermen switch to alternative fishing gear.

Under the program, up to $10,000 would be offered for fisheries to turn in their drift gillnet permits, and transition to “clean-fishing” gear.

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has until March of 2020 to roll out the drift gillnet “buyout.” However, the department still needs to raise $1 million to trigger the revocation of all drift gillnet permits. The money would have to come from federal funding or private donor sources.

Read the full story at the Monterey Herald

The most important environmental and sustainability stories of 2018

December 21, 2018 — Sustainability has become a buzzword in the seafood industry in recent years, a prerequisite for doing business in the 21st century.

But with the advent of real effects of climate change being felt in fisheries and aquaculture operations around the world, paying attention to environmental news is no longer shunted off to corporate sustainability officers.

In 2018, even more evidence was presented that increasing water temperatures, ocean acidification, and deoxygenation caused by climate change will result in devastation and disruption in the world’s marine economy. A November report by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, compiled by 13 U.S. government agencies, painted a grim picture of the future of both U.S. and global fisheries as the effects of climate change continue to advance.

Beyond economic damages, upheaval in the global marine economy is likely to lead to political upheaval, a study published in the journal Science in August revealed. Climate change is driving fish species to migrate to new areas, with fish and other marine animals shifting toward the poles at an average rate of 70 kilometers per decade. That rate is projected to continue or even accelerate as the planet warms. In the process, they’re crossing political boundaries – potentially setting up future conflicts as some countries lose access to fish and others gain it, according to the report.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Japan Reportedly Will Leave International Whaling Group To Resume Commercial Hunts

December 20, 2018 — Japan will withdraw from an international organization established to limit whale hunts in an apparent attempt to resume commercial whaling, according to Japanese media outlets.

Public broadcaster NHK reports that government officials informed ruling party lawmakers on Thursday. The Asahi Shimbun, citing unnamed sources, said a formal announcement was likely “within days.”

Japanese whaling expeditions in Antarctic and Pacific waters kill hundreds of whales annually, ostensibly for research.

As NPR’s Colin Dwyer explained last year:

“Under the rules of the International Whaling Commission, of which Japan is a member, there has been an international ban on commercial whaling since 1986 — though there is an exception for whaling conducted with ecological research in mind. It is this exception that allows Japan’s whaling fleet to embark on its yearly hunt in the icy waters of Antarctica.

“Yet many critics view this use of the exception as a fig leaf, exploited by Japan’s Fisheries Agency to cover for the practice of reportedly selling whale meat commercially.”

In 2014, the International Court of Justice ruled that Japan wasn’t conducting enough research to justify the hunts, and ordered Japan to revoke Antarctic whaling permits. After a year’s pause, Japan began what it said was a scaled-back whaling program.

Read the full story at NPR

NOAA reminds people to watch out for humpback whales as they migrate to Hawaii

December 20, 2018 — As humpback whale season gets underway, the Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary reminds the public that the marine mammals are protected by state and federal laws.

The numbers may vary from year to year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but an estimated 12,000 humpback whales migrate from their feeding grounds off Alaska to breed, calve, and nurse their young in the warm waters of Hawaii.

While some whales have already arrived, the majority are expected to visit Hawaii between January and March.

NOAA reminds the public that federal regulations prohibit approaching humpback whales within 100 yards when on or in the water, and within 1,000 feet when operating an aircraft. NOAA also recommends that vessels travel at a slow, safe speed in areas where a whale strike may occur, with research showing that collisions occurring at speeds above 10 knots cause more whale deaths and serious injuries.

Additional guides and safety tips are available at this link.

Read the full story at The Honolulu Star Advertiser

NOAA Calls for Protection of Female North Atlantic Right Whales

December 20, 2018 — NOAA Fisheries researchers and colleagues are taking a closer look as to why the endangered western North Atlantic right whale population is growing at far more slower rate than that of southern right whales, a sister species also recovering from near extinction by commercial whaling.

Researchers and colleagues looked at the question and have concluded that preserving the lives of adult females in the population is the most effective way to promote population growth and recovery.

Most of these deaths are attributed to entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships. The findings are reported in Royal Society Open Science.

“Had North Atlantic right whales increased at the annual rate that we show they are capable of, the population number would be almost double what it is now and their current situation would not be so dire,” said Peter Corkeron, who is lead author of the paper and heads the large whale research effort at NOAA Fisheries’ Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

The North Atlantic right whale is one of three species of right whales. Of the three, it lives in the most industrialized habitat and migrates close to shore.

From 1970 to 2009, 80 percent of all North Atlantic right whale deaths (70 of 87) for which the cause is known were human-induced, mainly from entanglement in fishing gear and collisions with ships.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Groups: US must consider how salmon fishing hurts orcas

December 19, 2018 — The federal government is violating the Endangered Species Act by failing to consider how salmon fishing off the West Coast is affecting endangered killer whales, two conservation groups said Tuesday as they threatened a lawsuit.

The Arizona-based Center for Biological Diversity and the Washington state-based Wild Fish Conservancy notified President Donald Trump’s administration they intend to file a lawsuit within 60 days unless officials reevaluate whether the fishing further jeopardizes orcas that frequent the inland waters of the Pacific Northwest.

“We can’t allow business as usual in the salmon fisheries while Southern Resident killer whales are starving to death,” Julie Teel Simmonds, an attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a news release.

The orcas’ plight has received much attention this year as scientists warn that they’re on the brink of extinction. There are just 74 left, the lowest number since more than 50 were captured for aquarium display in the 1970s, and no calf born in the last three years has survived. One mother whale captured attention around the world this summer when she carried her dead calf on her head for 17 days in an apparent attempt to revive it.

Last week, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee announced what he called a “herculean” $1.1 billion plan to help the population recover. The Democrat said the money would go toward protecting and restoring habitat for salmon, especially chinook, the orcas’ favored prey; boosting production from salmon hatcheries; storm-water cleanup; and quieting vessel traffic, which can interfere with the whales’ hunting and communication.

But conservationists say more must be done. While a federal judge has ordered the government to consider boosting salmon runs by breaching four dams on the Lower Snake River, that prospect remains highly controversial and Republicans in Congress have vowed to oppose it.

Unlike other populations of orcas, which feed on marine mammals including seals, the southern residents eat salmon — primarily chinook. The conservation groups said Tuesday that one way to help them immediately would be to catch fewer salmon off the coast, where the whales spend their winters.

Read the full story from the Associated Press

NOAA: Hawai‘i Humpback Whale Season Underway

December 19, 2018 — NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary reminds the public that humpback whale season in Hawai‘i is underway.

Although the number may vary from year to year, scientists estimate that as many as 12,000 humpback whales migrate from their feeding grounds off Alaska to breed, calve, and nurse their young in the warm waters of Hawai‘i. While some whales have already arrived, the majority will be in Hawai‘i between January and March.

Iconic humpback whales in Hawai‘i are protected by state and federal agencies. Approaching humpback whales when on or in the water within 100 yards or within 1,000 feet by air is illegal.

“Collisions between whales and vessels occur annually, presenting serious risks to boaters as well as the whales,” said Edward Lyman, large whale entanglement response coordinator for the sanctuary. “Whale calves are particularly vulnerable because they are difficult to see and surface more often.”

Humpback whales can also get entangled in fishing gear, which can result in starvation, physical trauma and infections, and may contribute to vessel strikes since the animals are less mobile.

The Hawaiian Islands Large Whale Entanglement Response Network, a community-based effort led by the sanctuary, supports large whale response efforts statewide under the authorization of NOAA Fisheries. The network involves many state and federal agencies, including the State of Hawai‘i Department of Land and Natural Resources, NOAA Fisheries Pacific Islands Regional Office, and the U.S. Coast Guard, as well as private non-governmental organizations, fishermen, researchers and other individuals.

Read the full story at MauiWatch

Scientists: Offshore testing puts whales at risk

December 14, 2018 — The iconic North Atlantic right whale, a critically endangered species teetering at the brink of extinction, possibly faces a new threat, marine scientists say.

President Donald Trump wants to open the Atlantic coast to oil and gas exploration as part of a strategy to help the U.S. achieve “energy dominance” in the global market. His administration recently gave fossil-fuel exploration companies a green light to conduct seismic surveys across a stretch of ocean floor between Delaware and Florida.

While the testing won’t be conducted off the New England coast, scientists say air guns used in the testing can harm or kill marine animals far away.

“The sound from seismic testing is so loud that it can literally travel for hundreds of miles,” said Scott Kraus, vice president and chief scientist for marine mammals at the New England Aquarium. “It can disturb and kill mammals like whales, fish and even invertebrates like scallops, while displacing animals from areas of critical marine habitat.”

Air guns are towed behind ships and send loud blasts of compressed air through the water, which then create seismic waves through the seabed. The reflected waves are measured to reveal information about buried oil and gas deposits.

Blasts are repeated every 10 to 12 seconds during testing, which in some cases can continue around the clock for days, according to industry groups.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Times

 

NOAA report links 70% of US whale deaths to fishing gear entanglements

December 10, 2018 — More than two-thirds (70%) of the 76 whales that were killed after being entangled in US waters in 2017 were caught up in fishing gear, including traps and buoy lines and nets, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) says in its “National Large Whale Entanglement Report” released Thursday.

Most of the rest – 24% — were linked to lines that could not be attributed to a fishery activity, the US regulatory agency noted.

The data could get mentioned frequently as fishing-related regulatory agencies in the US and Canada take an increasingly harder look at how the use of lobster and snow crab traps might be contributing to whale deaths.

NOAA’s report notes that humpback whales accounted for 49 of the 76 whales that were snarled last year. That’s just above the 10-year average of 69.5 whales entangled per year. Gray and minke whales (seven each) were the next largest groups to be entangled.

Just three of the endangered North Atlantic right whales, the source of much of the controversy in the US and Canada, were part of the tally.

The majority of the whales, 33, were discovered on the northeastern US coast, from Maine to Virginia, though it’s not clear that’s where they got entangled in gear.

“Large whales are powerful and mobile. They can town gear with them for long, long distances, so where we observe them is not usually the place they became entangled,” Sarah Wilkin, national stranding and emergency response coordinator at NOAA Fisheries, is quoted by the Asbury Park (New Jersey) Press as saying.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News