Science

PORTLAND, Maine — June 20, 2013 — As the New England Fishery Management Council meets this week in Portland to tackle the intricacies of sustaining our region's offshore fisheries, the Gulf of Maine Research Institute has released a paper that sheds light on one of the most perplexing problems confronting these managers — the dramatic decline of cod in the Gulf of Maine.

"The Future of Cod in the Gulf of Maine" explores the range of biological, climatological, economic and fishery management factors that affect this iconic species.

The report, available at GMRI.org, focuses on cod's place in the food chain, the intricate nature of local subpopulations in the region, the effect of harvesting pressure on the species and the impact of climate change on cod's ability to survive here.

Cod is part of a mix of bottom-dwelling groundfish species (including haddock, pollock, redfish, hake and flounder) that live primarily offshore in federal waters; the fishermen who fish for these species are subject to a complex array of federal regulations. Those regulations are set with the guidance of the council and adhere to standards laid out in federal law, standards that are among the strictest in the world.

Read the full story at the Portland Press Herald 

 

 

June 24, 2013 — On June 18, in advance of the June 26 Montreal meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the Pew Charitable Trusts published a fact sheet, "The Best Available Science on Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna," which claimed to separate "established science" from "new, untested theories" on bluefin tuna. But the organization's efforts to classify what does and does not qualify as the "best available science" on bluefin tuna has come under fire from several preeminent scientists with expertise in pelagic fish like tuna.

A response written by Steve Cadrin, of the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology; Molly Lutcavage and Ben Galuardi, of the University of Massachusetts Large Pelagics Research Center; and Walt Golet, of the University of Maine, criticized several inaccuracies in Pew's release. Calling the fact sheet an "irresponsible distortion of the information available to justify reductions in fishing," they note,"responsible fishery management should consider all the information provided by the ICCAT SCRS process."

The full response is reproduced below.

Response to PEW factsheet on “The Best Available Science on Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna”

Steve Cadrin, University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science & Technology
Molly Lutcavage, University of Massachusetts, Large Pelagics Research Center
Walt Golet, University of Maine
Ben Galuardi, University of Massachusetts, Large Pelagics Research Center

The factsheet implies that PEW is the arbiter of best available science rather than the ICCAT process for developing a scientific basis for fishery management. Atlantic bluefin tuna stock assessments are highly uncertain, primarily because of the highly migratory nature of tuna as well as the diverse, expansive and international fisheries for tuna. Accordingly, many aspects of Atlantic bluefin tuna biology are not known definitively, and alternative hypotheses should be considered by scientists and fishery managers. The PEW factsheet is an irresponsible distortion of the information available to justify reductions in fishing. Responsible fishery management should consider all the information provided by the ICCAT SCRS process.

Stock-recruitment relationship – Uncertainty in predicting future recruitment of Atlantic Bluefin tuna is best viewed as two possible states of nature, represented as the two stock-recruitment hypotheses. Contrary to the PEW factsheet, the low recruitment hypothesis is not an ‘unsupported hypothesis.’ Procedurally, the low recruitment hypothesis continues to be supported by the SCRS process. Scientifically, the low recruitment hypothesis recognizes changes in the North Atlantic ecosystem and the potential for associated changes in the productivity of bluefin tuna in the North Atlantic. Decadal variability of the North Atlantic marine ecosystem is well documented (e.g., ICES/NAFO symposium on the topic, ICES J. Marine Science 2012 vol. 69), and changes in bluefin tuna productivity are evidenced by the relative absence of bluefin tuna in the historically productive fishing grounds off Brazil and Norway in recent decades and changes in reproductive potential (Golet et al. 2007). Failure to recognize environmental changes and associated changes in fishery productivity can lead to ineffective fishery management.

The report of the Bluefin Tuna Stock Assessment Session (SCRS Doc. No. SCI-033 / 2012) states that, “This year, the Group maintained the two alternative spawner-recruit hypotheses explored in several prior assessments: the two-line (low recruitment potential hypothesis) and the Beverton and Holt spawner-recruit formulation (high recruitment potential hypothesis).” That conclusion reflects the consensus decision from a two-week meeting of 46 scientists from ICCAT member countries, seven scientists from ICCAT and 13 observers from various stakeholder groups.

The PEW factsheet cites a SCRS document (Rosenberg et al. 2012) that analyzed stock-recruitment estimates from the 2010 stock assessment to conclude that the information available supports the high recruitment hypothesis. However, when one of the co-authors of the Rosenberg et al. (2012) report updated the analysis with stock-recruitment estimates from the 2012 stock assessment, the revised results had nearly equal support for both the high recruitment and low recruitment hypotheses. The primary author of the PEW white paper on “Managing Atlantic Bluefin Tuna in the Midst of Uncertainty, History of the Stock-Recruit Relationship of the Western Stock at ICCAT” (Miller et al. 2013) was an observer at the 2012 stock assessment meeting, and was aware of the revised analysis, but failed toreport that important finding in either the factsheet or the white paper. The omission of the most recent results from the analysis reveals a subjective selection of information in the PEW white paper and factsheet.

Age to first maturity – The PEW factsheet on the information available on maturity of western Atlantic bluefin tuna is inaccurate and misleading. Contrary to the statement that the early maturity hypothesis is unproven, there is evidence of early maturity from macroscopic inspection and histological evaluation of gonads, and more recently from endocrine analysis (see SCRS/2012/161). Determining maturity through histology and endocrine analysis is the state-of-the-art for fisheries science. Life history modeling also predicts an energetics–based, sexual maturation schedule (Chapman et al., 2011). By contrast, the late maturity hypothesis is based on a relatively crude evaluation of the size frequency of tuna in the Gulf of Mexico spawning area (SCRS/2010/018) or is inferred from depth patterns alone. The biological implications of newly revised maturity schedules support the possibility of undetected western Atlantic spawning areas resulting from inadequate biological sampling (SCRS/2012/157). The report of the Bluefin Tuna Stock Assessment Session (SCRS Doc. No. SCI-033 / 2012) states that, “there remains considerable uncertainty about the maturation of western bluefin tuna. For this reason the group decided to examine the sensitivity of the perception of stock status in the base case run to two alternative maturity schedules, one with the early maturation schedule used for the Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean (50% maturity at age 4 and 100% maturity for age 5 and older) and one with later maturation (0% at age 8, increasing to 100% at age 16 as described in SCRS/2010/018).” After further consideration of histological evidence, the 2013 Bluefin Meeting on Biological Parameters Review concluded that “The Group recommends to revise the current maturity schedules assumed for stock assessment for both the eastern and western stocks, using the spawning ogives, and to determine a comprehensive maturity ogive for the western Atlantic.”

Contrary to the simplistic conclusion in the PEW factsheet, the implications of earlier maturity are complex. As shown in the sensitivity analysis, the earlier maturity assumption influences estimates of historical and recent spawning biomass, thereby changing stock-recruitment relationships and MSY reference points.

Strength of the 2003 yearclass – Movement of bluefin tuna between management areas and mixing of eastern and western spawning populations in North Atlantic fisheries continues to be a challenge for stock assessment and management. Information from tagging and otolith chemistry offer evidence of extensive movement and mixing among spawning populations. However, the implications of movement and mixing for fishery management are complex. The PEW factsheet suggests that catch in the western management area should not be increased, because the apparently strong 2003 yearclass is primarily of western origin, offering evidence that high recruitment is possible if the stock is rebuilt. However, the strength of the 2003 yearclass was revised downward in the 2012 stock assessment, which suggests the 2002 and 2003 yearclasses were of moderate abundance.

As documented in the Report of the 2013 Bluefin Meeting on Biological Parameters Review (ICCAT 2013), considerable investments have been made in electronic and conventional tagging, otolith research and population modeling to understand movement and mixing of Atlantic bluefin tuna, but
fundamental uncertainties remain in stock structure hypotheses and there are considerable challenges for incorporating movement and mixing in stock assessment and fishery management. Advancements in knowledge and methodology are expected to continue, but until stock assessments can account for movement and mixing, the 2012 stock assessments are the best available information for fishery management. The implications of mixing are complex and should not be considered in such a simplistic approach as proposed in the PEW factsheet.

Western bluefin tuna abundance in the 1970s – The PEW factsheet confounds the issue of historical and recent productivity of bluefin tuna in the western Atlantic. Fishery statistics demonstrate much greater catches of Bluefin tuna in the 1970s than in subsequent decades. The stock identity of historical catch in the western Atlantic is not well known. More importantly, there is considerable uncertainty on whether the resource can be rebuilt to achieve such productivity in the future. This uncertainty is communicated in the 2012 stock assessment as two stock-recruitment hypotheses, so that fishery managers can make decisions in the context of the uncertainty.

One vs. two stocks – As the PEW factsheet states, ICCAT has managed Atlantic bluefin tuna as two separate stocks since 1981. Although there are scientific initiatives to incorporate movement and mixing of spawning populations into stock assessment and fishery management, there is no agenda in ICCAT to manage Atlantic bluefin tuna as a single stock. This aspect of the PEW factsheet appears to be misinformed.

In summary, the PEW factsheet is a subjective selection of information, lacks scientific credibility and appears to be agenda driven. Fishery managers should be aware of the uncertainties involved in Atlantic bluefin tuna biology and stock assessment and should consider the alternative hypotheses identified by the SCRS process, the 2012 Bluefin Tuna Stock Assessment Session and the 2013 Bluefin Meeting on Biological Parameters Review.

View a PDF of the response

View the Pew fact sheet, "The Best Available Science on Western Atlantic Bluefin Tuna"

View the letter sent from Pew to ICCAT urging precautionary levels of Atlantic bluefin quota

Read the Pew white paper, “Managing Atlantic Bluefin Tuna in the Midst of Uncertainty, History of the Stock-Recruit Relationship of the Western Stock at ICCAT”

 

June 24, 2013 — The following was released by NOAA:

The Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) of the NOAA Fisheries Service is soliciting commercial trawl vessel quotes for a vessel to participate in a catchability study of flatfish on Georges Bank. One trawl vessel will be selected to sample approximately 50-60 bottom trawl stations each on Georges Bank during a 6 day trip to be conducted in October 2013 in conjunction with the R/V Henry Bigelow.

The purpose of the sampling will be (1) develop comparative estimates of  flatfish abundance in a relatively small and productive flatfish area using different vessels and gear; (2) to better understand the relative catchability of the surveying system on the NEFSC R/V Henry Bigelow; and (3) to provide biological sampling of flatfish populations in this area.

NOTE: THIS IS THE 2nd OF 2 SOLICITATIONS FOR GEORGES BANK FLATFISH WORK AND IS SEPARATE FROM THE FLATFISH INDUSTRY BASED SURVEY SOLICITATION THAT WAS PUBLISHED ON MAY 21, 2013 WITH A DEADLINE OF JUNE 26.  TO APPLY FOR BOTH PROJECTS, YOU MUST SUBMIT AN APPLICATION PACKET FOR EACH PROJECT. FOR QUESTIONS OR CLARIFICATIONS, PLEASE CONTACT CAROLYN WOODHEAD AT CAROLYN.WOODHEAD@NOAA.GOV OR 978-281-9197.

This solicitation can be found at this link, and the Request for Quotes with a complete Statement of Work and Vessel Requirements is attached.

Vessel quotes are due on July 29, 2013. Quotes will be accepted electronically at the following email address: Roberta.H.Smith@noaa.gov and via facsimile at (757) 441-3786. Questions regarding this solicitation should be addressed to Roberta.H.Smith@noaa.gov.

 To submit a Quote, you must submit:

1- Pages 1 and 2 of the attached Request for Quotes with block 17a completed and a daily vessel charter price exclusive of fuel costs entered in the unit price for Line Items 0001 and 0003. Fuel costs are estimated on the RFQ and will be reimbursed at actual costs at the completion of the survey.

2- Attachments I and II of the attached RFQ

3- Photocopies of:

– Stability Information, as required by vessel class
– Insurance Carrier Inspection/Survey
– Licenses held by Captain and Crew
– Current Insurance Policy
– Crew Medical Certifications – First Aid/CPR/AED
– If possible, photos of deck, berthing, and wheelhouse electronics

4- If you are not registered in the System for Award Management (SAM, formerly Central Contracting Registry) you must submit the completed Section # 4 –Pages 25-38 of the attached RFQ – OFFER OR REPRESENTATIONS AND CERTIFICATIONS–COMMERCIAL ITEMS

Successful quoters will need to obtain a DUNS number and register in the SAM system. A QuickStart Guide to register for a DUNS number and in SAM is attached.

View the Request for Quotes form

View the QuickStart Guide Entities Interested in Being Eligible for Government Contracts

 

 

NEW BEDFORD, Mass. — June 21, 2013 — NOAA scientists have found more evidence that not only are fish migrating toward colder waters, the specific zooplankton on which they feed has moved along with them.

Kevin Friedman and his colleagues at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center said that changing water temperatures and current patterns "have profoundly affected key Northeast U.S. Continental shelf zooplankton species in recent decades, and may be influencing the recovery of Atlantic cod and other fish stocks in the region."

Zooplankton species critical for the survival of Atlantic cod larvae have thinned out in the same areas where Atlantic cod have struggled to rebuild, the study found.

Read the full story at the New Bedford Standard-Times

June 21, 2013 — On Wednesday, June 26, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and NOAA's Regional Office staff will hold a public meeting at the Whaling Museum in New Bedford, Mass., from 4 to 6 p.m., with the fishing industry to discuss and get input on the design of a collaborative research project with the groundfish industry to gather more information on yellowtail flounder.

The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA Fisheries is aware of concerns about the recent Georges Bank yellowtail flounder assessment. In order to address these concerns and improve our understanding of flatfish abundance on Georges Bank, we will be conducting a pilot flatfish survey in August aboard two commercial fishing vessels. We invite members of the commercial fishing industry and general public to join us to discuss the goals and design of this collaborative project.

WHEN: Wednesday,
June 26, 20013
4:00 – 6:00 PM

WHERE: New Bedford Whaling Museum
18 Johnny Cake Hill, New Bedford MA

For more information, contact Olivia Rugo, Regional Office, at 978-675-2167 or email her at Olivia.rugo@noaa.gov

Read the Release from NOAA

June 20, 2013 — Changing ocean water temperatures and circulation patterns have profoundly affected key Northeast U.S. Continental Shelf zooplankton species in recent decades, and may be influencing the recovery of Atlantic cod and other fish stocks in the region. NOAA researcher Kevin Friedland at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and colleagues looked at the distribution and abundance of important zooplankton species, sea surface water temperatures, and cod abundance. They found that zooplankton species critical for the survival of Atlantic cod larvae have declined in abundance in the same areas where Atlantic cod stocks have struggled to rebuild after an extended period of overfishing.

“Temperature is a governing factor in the growth, reproduction and distribution of marine organisms. Shifting temperature distributions, whether triggered by natural or human factors, can cause the redistribution of plankton communities on regional and basin-wide scales,” said Friedland, lead author on the study and a scientist at NOAA's Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC).

The change in thermal habitats has had biological consequences on multiple levels in the food chain, according to the study in press in the journal Progress in Oceanography (available online).

“The geographic and depth distributions of fish and shellfish populations can also change based on their preferred thermal habitats. Future changes in thermal conditions are expected to lead to further shifts in the distributional ranges of species by, in many cases, the loss and gain of local populations,” said Friedland.

Friedland and his colleagues found that ocean water temperatures of the Northeast Continental Shelf have increased in recent decades, but these changes have not been uniform over the entire ecosystem.  Warm water habitats (16 to 27 C, 60 to 80 F) have increased and cool water habitats (5 to 15 C, 41 to 59 F), historically the core habitats in the ecosystem, have declined; however, the coldest habitats in the ecosystem (1-4 C, 34-39 F) have either stayed the same or increased slightly during the study period 1982-2011. This discontinuity is attributed to changes in circulation in the northern Gulf of Maine associated with the Labrador Current.

Read the full release from NOAA

 

 

June 18, 2013 — Scientists are expecting a very large “dead zone” in the Gulf of Mexico and a smaller than average hypoxic level in the Chesapeake Bay this year, based on several NOAA-supported forecast models.

NOAA-supported modelers at the University of Michigan, Louisiana State University, and the  Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium are forecasting that this year’s Gulf of Mexico hypoxic “dead” zone will be between 7,286 and 8,561 square miles which could place it among the ten largest recorded. That would range from an area the size of Connecticut, Rhode Island and the District of Columbia combined on the low end to the New Jersey on the upper end. The high estimate would exceed the largest ever reported 8,481 square miles in 2002 .

Hypoxic (very low oxygen) and anoxic (no oxygen) zones are caused by excessive nutrient pollution, often from human activities such as agriculture, which results in insufficient oxygen to support most marine life in near-bottom waters. Aspects of weather, including wind speed, wind direction, precipitation and temperature, also impact the size of dead zones.

The Gulf estimate is based on the assumption of no significant tropical storms in the two weeks preceding or during the official measurement survey cruise scheduled from July 25-August 3 2013.  If a storm does occur the size estimate could drop to a low of 5344 square miles, slightly smaller than the size of Connecticut.

This year’s prediction for the Gulf reflect flood conditions in the Midwest that caused large amounts of nutrients to be transported from the Mississippi watershed to the Gulf. Last year’s dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico was the fourth smallest on record due to drought conditions, covering an area of approximately 2,889 square miles, an area slightly larger than the state of Delaware. The overall average between 1995-2012 is 5,960 square miles, an area about the size of Connecticut.

A second NOAA-funded forecast, for the Chesapeake Bay, calls for a smaller than average dead zone in the nation's largest estuary. The forecasts from researchers at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science  and the University of Michigan has three parts: a prediction for the mid-summer volume of the low-oxygen hypoxic zone, one for the mid-summer oxygen-free anoxic zone, and a third that is an average value for the entire summer season.

The forecasts call for a mid-summer hypoxic zone of 1.46 cubic miles, a mid-summer anoxic zone of 0.26 to 0.38 cubic miles, and a summer average hypoxia of  1.108 cubic miles, all at the low end of previously recorded zones.  Last year the final mid-summer hypoxic zone was 1.45 cubic miles.

This is the seventh year for the Bay outlook which, because of the shallow nature of large areas of the estuary, focuses on water volume or cubic miles, instead of square mileage as used in the Gulf. The history of hypoxia in the Chesapeake Bay since 1985 can be found at the EcoCheck website.

Read the full story from NOAA

 

 

June 17, 2013 — A rise in fish farms has meant cheap, fast-growing protein to feed the world's growing human population. But a new study suggests that countries located at lower latitudes – many of which rely heavily on fish farming – may be most at risk for fish disease outbreaks. The tropical environments in countries near the equator are ripe for breeding waterborne pathogens.

Aquaculture, the technical term for the farming of aquatic plants and animals, is the fastest-growing agricultural industry in the world. The term refers to farming in all sorts of water environments, including ponds, rivers, lakes and controlled areas in the ocean. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, more than 90 percent of these fish farms are located in developing countries, which often have warm, tropical environments, conducive to raising fish year-round.
 
A study published earlier this year in the Journal of Applied Ecology, however, shows that operations near the equator are also more prone to dangerous and rapid disease outbreaks that could wipe out entire stocks of fish.
 
Tommy Leung, a lecturer in parasitology and evolutionary biology at the University of New England in Armidale, Australia, and his colleague Amanda Bates at the University of Tasmania, reviewed 114 previously published reports on disease outbreaks at fish farms from Norway to South America.
 
The implications of these findings for developing countries, many of which are located near the equator, could be dire.

Read the full story at Inside Science

 

 

June 17, 2013 — The following was released by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation:

NTERNATIONAL COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH SUMMIT
"How Members of the Commercial Fishing Industry Assist with
Data Collection to Support Stock Assessments"

OCTOBER 1ST AND 2ND, 2013
THE VILLAGE INN AND CONFERENCE CENTER
NARRAGANSETT, RI

Presentations of case studies from fishermen and scientists from abroad:

Case Study #1: Collaborative Lobster Research, Assessment, and Management
Patty King – General Manager, Fishermen & Scientists Research Society
John Levy – Commercial Lobster Fisherman & Past President of FSRS
John Tremblay – Fisheries Scientist, Fisheries & Oceans Canada

Case Study #2: Short-lived Species Science and Management – Squid
Andreas Winter – Fisheries Scientist, Falkland Islands Fisheries Department
Michael Poole – Executive Secretary, Falkland Islands Fishing Companies Association

Case Study #3: Industry-based Data Collection – Norwegian Reference Fleet
Kjell Nedreaas – Head of Demersal Fish Division, Institute for Marine Research
Stig Bloe – Norwegian Fishing Industry Representative

*A complimentary buffet dinner on October 1st
and lunch on October 2nd will be provided for registered participants*

For more information and to register for this event, please visit:
www.cfrfoundation.org/summit
or
contact the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation at (401)515-4892

Sponsored in partnership by:
The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation
The Nature Conservancy
NOAA-Northeast Fisheries Science Center

 

June 10, 2013 — Sailors have used alternative fuels on the high seas for a lot longer than people on land have – think sails.

But in today’s world are there viable alternatives to oil and gas than can help hard-pressed fishermen keep on fishing in our world of restrictions?

Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fisherman’s Association hosted a seminar for local Fishermen on alternative fuels Wednesday evening.

Fisherman Jan Margeson has added a hydrogen electrolyzer to his boat.

“It’s like a tube, with two electrodes and it uses distilled water and makes hydrogen gas that goes into the turbocharger and produces cleaner combustion in the cylinder,” he explained. “It cleans a lot of the carbon out of the engine and the exhaust. Usually there is a lot of carbon in a diesel engine. That alone is a big plus. So it’s cleaning that up and is supposed to improve the mileage.”

The fuel cell is used in conjunction with Margeson’s regular engine. He has noticed improved efficiency and hopes to see more as the engine cleans up and hopefully it won’t be long before the $3,000 fuel cell is a profitable investment.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Day