Saving Seafood

Conservation & Environment

Global Extinction Risk for Sharks and Rays Is High, United States may Provide Haven

December 9, 2024 — Overfishing of sharks and rays has depleted many populations, causing widespread erosion of ecological function and exceptionally high extinction risk. NOAA Fisheries coauthored a study in the journal Science that quantifies the extinction risk for the world’s 1,199 sharks and ray species over 50 years. They found that while sharks and rays are at high risk of extinction and biodiversity loss globally, this risk differs by habitat and region. There are some “bright spots” that could help species survive.

Sharks Are In Rough Shape Globally

We found that sharks and rays globally are in a worse conservation state than all other vertebrate groups, apart from amphibians. We also demonstrated the “fishing down” of shark and ray biodiversity and ecosystem function. This shows that the largest species declined first and most rapidly.

Most sharks and rays have slow population growth rates, which makes them highly vulnerable to overfishing and subsequently takes populations longer to rebuild. Around the world, sharks and rays are targeted for their fins, meat, gill plates, and liver oil. They are also caught incidentally—as bycatch—in other fisheries.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

Gulf fish, endangered sea turtles targeted with $210 million for 10 restoration projects

December 9, 2024 — Federal officials have proposed spending $210 million for 10 projects aimed at restoring fisheries, sea turtles and invertebrate species — including shrimp, crabs, reef coral and shellfish — that were damaged during the 2010 BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill in open water areas of the Gulf of Mexico.

The money comes from an $8.8 billion settlement that BP entered into with the federal government and Gulf Coast states in 2016 to try to remediate some of the extensive damage. The settlement set aside $1.2 billion to restore the Gulf’s open water areas, which is what the new draft restoration plan aims to do.

It is the fourth plan by federal trustees to target open ocean resources damaged by the spill. The three previous plans included $421 million for a variety of projects to restore marine mammals, birds, coral reefs and more. Other settlement funds are reserved for projects within the five Gulf Coast states and for projects affecting the entire region.

The new plan includes six projects aimed at restoring fish and invertebrates that live in the Gulf’s water column, and four to help restore sea turtles.

Read the full story at NOLA.com

Biden-Harris Administration, NOAA make $100 million available for habitat restoration and coastal resilience

December 6, 2024 — Today, NOAA Fisheries is announcing the availability of up to $100 million in funding for transformational habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Through this funding opportunity, NOAA will continue supporting habitat restoration approaches that enhance the resilience of coastal and Great Lakes communities — including tribes — against climate hazards.

Dedicated funding is available for U.S. tribes, Alaska Native corporations and tribal-affiliated organizations. This funding — up to 15% of the $100 million available — is the result of direct feedback from tribes, and demonstrates NOAA’s commitment to ensuring communities and tribes are integral to decision-making that affects their environment and wellbeing.

“Under the Biden-Harris Administration, the Department of Commerce has delivered historic amounts of funding for habitat restoration and coastal resilience that will help strengthen the economies of coastal communities across America,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “These investments have been transformative and will continue to support Tribes and communities on the front lines of the climate crisis, sustain our nation’s fisheries and protect ecosystems from the impacts of climate change for years to come.”

Applications are due by April 16, 2025. For more information, visit the Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants website.

NOAA Fisheries will seek proposals for projects to restore marine, estuarine, coastal or Great Lakes ecosystems. Degraded habitat is one of the largest obstacles to rebuilding sustainable fisheries and recovering threatened and endangered species. Restoration activities such as enhancing coastal wetlands and rebuilding coral reefs can strengthen both ecosystem and community resilience.

NOAA Fisheries will also prioritize projects — ranging from planning and assessments, engineering design project monitoring and capacity building — that demonstrate a broad base of stakeholder and community support. NOAA encourages projects developed with inclusive practices that incorporate meaningful strategies to engage a diverse range of community groups, including tribes and underserved communities.

“Investments in healthy coastal and Great Lakes habitats benefit fish and communities,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “Through funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, NOAA is committed to working with partners, including tribes and underserved communities, to realize the environmental, cultural and economic benefits of habitat restoration.”

NOAA’s habitat restoration work

NOAA’s Community-based Habitat Restoration Program provides technical and financial assistance to partners across the country to develop high-quality habitat restoration projects that support our nation’s fisheries. Since its start in 1996, the Program has helped implement more than 2,200 coastal habitat restoration projects — restoring more than 94,000 acres of habitat for fish and opening more than 4,400 stream miles for fish passage.

NOAA’s habitat restoration experts also provide technical assistance and oversight to design and implement high-impact projects, and work closely in the field with our tribal, state, local and non-profit partners.

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

 

Biden admin announces USD 99 million for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

December 5, 2024 — The U.S. Department of Commerce will provide USD 99 million (EUR 94 million) in annual funding for Pacific salmon and steelhead recovery efforts through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF), the government announced 4 December.

“Since day one, the Biden-Harris administration has been committed to salmon recovery along the West Coast, and this new funding will help NOAA boost efforts to aid Pacific salmon survival and recovery,” U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo said in a statement.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Biden-Harris Administration, NOAA makes $99 million available for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

December 4, 2024 — Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA Fisheries announced up to $99 million in funding through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) for conservation and recovery projects focusing on Pacific salmon and steelhead. This funding — which includes $34.4 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) — will advance state and tribal efforts to restore salmon populations and habitats, and bolster climate and economic resilience in surrounding communities.

“Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has been committed to salmon recovery along the West Coast and this new funding will help NOAA boost efforts to aid Pacific salmon survival and recovery,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This investment, made possible thanks to President Biden’s commitment to investing in America, will help get Pacific salmon populations closer to the healthy and abundant levels our West Coast ecosystems and communities need, and help create new jobs that enhance climate resilience along our coasts.”

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

2024 saw some good news for Pacific Northwest salmon

December 2, 2024 — Zombie kokanee tumbled downstream as new waves of crimson fish dashed through the riffles making the journey to their spawning grounds.

The creek was alive with hundreds of these landlocked sockeye amid the biggest return of the salmon in the Lake Sammamish watershed in a decade.

Just a few years ago the fish almost blinked out. But efforts by King County, the Snoqualmie Tribe and others to restore and conserve habitat and a conservation hatchery program appear to have helped pull them from the brink. 

In addition to these little red freshwater fish, some oceangoing salmon have returned in big numbers.

It started with a record run of sockeye on the Columbia River, then a record number of threatened Hood Canal Summer chum returned to the Union River, and now fall chum to Pipers Creek in Seattle.

Orca researchers observed salmon leaping from Puget Sound, possibly fueling a feeding frenzy for the endangered southern resident orcas.

It looks like it’s shaping up to be the biggest Puget Sound fall chum return in 15 or 20 years, said Kyle Adicks, intergovernmental salmon manager with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The state has also seen strong catches and hatchery returns for coho in Puget Sound, which saw near all-time lows about a decade ago.

“It’s great to see that the salmon are still here and if things line up they can do well,” Adicks said.

Read the full story at The Seattle Times

A Warning From a California Marine Heat Wave

December 2, 2024 — They call it “the Blob.”

A decade ago, sea surface temperatures in the Pacific shot up to 11 degrees Fahrenheit hotter than normal. A high pressure system parked over the ocean, and winds that churn cold, nutrient-rich water from the depths to the surface died down. Stagnant, warm water spread across the Northeast Pacific, in a marine heat wave that lasted for three years.

Under the surface, the food web broke down and ecosystems convulsed, at first unseen to humans on shore. But soon, clues washed up.

Dead Cassin’s auklets — small, dark gray seabirds — piled up on West Coast beaches. The auklets were followed by common murres, a slightly bigger black-and-white seabird. The carcasses were knee-deep in places, impossible to miss.

Researchers are still untangling the threads of what happened, and they caution against drawing universal conclusions from a single regional event. But the Blob fundamentally changed many scientists’ understanding of what climate change could do to life in the ocean; 10 years later, the disaster is one of our richest sources of information on what happens to marine life as the temperature rises.

And it is more relevant than ever. Last year, multiple “super-marine heat waves” blanketed parts of the ocean. Averaged together, global sea surface temperatures broke records, often by wide margins, for months in 2023 and 2024. As the climate warms, scientists expect extreme marine heat waves to become more frequent.

The Blob “was a window into what we might see in the future,” said Julia Parrish, a marine ecologist at the University of Washington who runs the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team, a network of volunteers who survey beaches from Northern California to Alaska.

In a study published last year, Dr. Parrish and her colleagues estimate that the Blob eventually killed millions of seabirds, in waves of starvation.

Read the full story at the New York Times

“Race to the Top” – Sustainability takes center stage at 2024 AquaExpo

November 29, 2024 — For the first time in its nearly 30-year history, AquaExpo – an annual event that hosts discussions on Ecuadorian shrimp production – hosted a sustainability forum, in which experts at the event’s 2024 edition examined how the industry has developed – and how it can move toward more responsible, sustainable, and transparent practices to drive better aquaculture performance.

“Ecuadorian producers have already proven that it is possible to produce shrimp of the highest quality in a way that is safe for both people and the environment. This journey, which we call Race to the Top, has been shaped by commitment, discipline, and strategy, and this is the message we want to convey to stakeholders in our industry and to those from other sectors,” Sustainable Shrimp Partnership Director Pamela Nath said during the opening speech of the new forum. “In this race, we can all cross the finish line together. This is a race for sustainability, where business success can positively impact the future of our planet.”

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Restoring Pocket Estuaries Key to Puget Sound Chinook Recovery in Washington

November 21, 2024 — As a tiny Puget Sound Chinook salmon fry, your job is to eat as much as possible and avoid predators. You need to grow strong so you can survive the ocean and one day return to spawn. But what if heavy flows flush you from your river into salt water before you’re ready? Or, what if you can’t find quality habitat in your home watershed? You cross your fins and hope you can find a pocket estuary.

Pocket estuaries are where shorelines are protected from waves, allowing salt marsh to grow, and are often fed by freshwater streams. They serve as nurseries for juvenile salmon that leave their home rivers. However, most pocket estuaries, like other salmon habitat in the Puget Sound, have been degraded and filled in for development and agriculture. This poses a serious threat to the recovery of the threatened Puget Sound Chinook.

With funding from NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation, the Skagit River System Cooperative (SRSC) and many partners are restoring the Similk pocket estuary for Skagit River Chinook. In 2023 and 2024, the Cooperative was awarded $5.8 million through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act for salmon habitat restoration work in Washington State. NOAA has supported restoration work on the Skagit River and other locations in Puget Sound for decades.

Read the full article at NOAA Fisheries 

Fishermen at the helm of clean energy future for vessels

November 20, 2024 — Commercial fishermen harbor a range of feelings about an eventual phaseout of petroleum-based marine fuels: excitement, skepticism, anxiety, bewilderment, and curiosity, to name a few.

But there are two areas where we broadly agree. First, fishermen must take the lead in designing a low-carbon future for our own fleets by pursuing a range of technology pathways that align with our industry’s operational and regional diversity. Second, we cannot achieve this future without robust and flexible financial support from the government, combined with avoidance of costly top-down mandates. In short, fishermen need the freedom to find solutions and the funding to put them into practice.

Last year, I set out with four colleagues—all of them fishermen or members of fishing families—to canvass fishermen across Alaska, the West Coast, and New England about what those crucial supports could look like and how they can be designed to expand rather than limit the horizons of opportunity for our already-burdened industry.

Our thoughtful and wide-ranging conversations with almost 150 vessel owners probed fishermen’s knowledge and comfort regarding a range of energy efficiency measures and low-carbon fuel alternatives. We also asked fishermen to envision specific ways that existing federal and state programs (like the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act, Rural Energy for America Program, and California’s Carl Moyer program) could be enhanced or complemented by new programs to support a more complete range of options for fishermen seeking to reduce fossil fuel use on their vessels.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman