Science

Jane Lubchenco, head of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency, criticises GOP moves to cut funding for critical satellite.

America and Europe face a "disaster in the making" because of Congress budget cuts to a critical weather satellite, one of Barack Obama's top science officials has warned.

The satellite crosses the Earth's poles 14 times a day, monitoring the atmosphere, clouds, ice, vegetation, and oceans. It provides 90% of the information used by the National Weather Service, UK Met Office and other European agencies to predict severe storms up to seven days in advance.

But Republican budget-cutting measures would knock out that critical capacity by delaying the launch of the next generation of polar-orbiting satellites, said Jane Lubchenco, who heads the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency.

Read the complete article from The Guardian

 

 

 

 

 

Ocean Acidification topped the list of concerns for a panel of marine scientists opening the annual Society of Environmental Journalists conference in Miami this week.

The topic was oceans, and when moderator Nancy Baron of the science education group, COMPASS asked the scientists to “Tell us how it is, really,” panelist and top NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco said that rapidly rising acidity in the ocean is a “huge challenge.”

An increasingly acidic ocean, she said, is sometimes referred to as “osteoporosis of the sea” because it affects the “hard parts” of organisms, causing shells to break down, or not form at all. This is not only lethal for the organisms themselves, she said, but it also disrupts the entire food chain. Lubchenco said new research is showing that rising acidity also affects organisms’ sense of smell and impacts reproduction. “This is an unfolding story,” she said. “There’s a lot we don’t know.”

Lubchenco said more research and monitoring is needed, but that’s unlikely to happen in this tough economic climate. She recommended that action be taken at the local level to reduce runoff into the sea, particularly nitrogen pollution, and to prevent overfishing and invasive species.  But the only long-term solution, she said, is for the world to reduce carbon emissions.

Read the complete article from KQED – Public Media for Northern California

 

 

 

 

 

NOAA research grants totaling $1,665,056 announced today will lead to the implementation of seasonal and weekly toxic algal bloom forecasts improving accuracy and providing better early warnings for harmful algal blooms in the Gulf of Maine. State and local shellfish managers and the shellfish industry use these warnings to prepare for severe seasons, protect human health, and minimize economic losses.

“While we have made great strides in bloom prediction and monitoring, it is clear that these problems are continuing to increase in magnitude and demand our ongoing commitment and attention. This vital support will benefit Maine's dedicated fishermen by enhancing resources needed to prepare for red tides,” said Sen. Olympia Snowe of Maine.

“Maine’s shellfish industry has experienced severe economic losses due to red tide over the years,” Snowe continued. “In 2009, the resulting closure of 97 percent of the state’s shellfish beds and 100 percent of the offshore beds in federal waters for several months during the peak harvesting season proves that we in Congress must do all we can to provide the necessary resources to ensure our hardworking harvesters are able to safely access this important fishery. I recently introduced the Harmful Algal Blooms and Hypoxia Research and Control Amendments Act (HABHRCA) of 2011, which will also support preparatory resources by enhancing our nation’s ability to predict, monitor, and ultimately control harmful algal blooms and hypoxia."

Scientists researching toxic algal blooms in the Gulf of Maine, received the funding for the first year of two multi-year projects through two national peer-reviewed competitions run by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science: the Prevention, Control, and Mitigation of Harmful Algal Blooms (PCMHAB) and Monitoring and Event Response of Harmful Algal Blooms (MERHAB) programs. PCMHAB and MERHAB are authorized by HABHRCA.

Read the complete story from NOAA

 

 

 

 

 

NORTH KINGSTOWN, R.I. — Rhode Island is welcoming a new federal government research ship to its coastal waters.

The Okeanos Explorer is a 224-foot research ship operated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Commissioned in 2008, the ship boasts high-tech sensors and two remote-operated submersible vehicles.

Read the complete story from The Republic.

 

 

 

 

 

 

BIDDEFORD, ME – A coalition of scientists, spotter pilots, fishermen, bait suppliers, and members of the fish reduction industry have teamed up this summer to conduct an extensive aerial survey of Atlantic menhaden from Maine to New Jersey.

The northern-waters aerial survey, the first of its kind for menhaden, which are also called pogies or bunkers, got underway on Aug. 1 with a strong survey team that Sulikowski is confident will help ensure the project’s success.

The last stock assessment for menhaden came out in May 2010. Yet, the information that goes into menhaden assessments is limited at best. In fact, there is no coastwide menhaden survey at all – aerial or otherwise – so assessment data comes mainly from fishery-related information collected in the Mid-Atlantic/Chesapeake Bay area, supplemented by pound net data collected by the Potomac River Fisheries Commission.

Assessment scientists use this information to develop a “fishery- dependent” index of relative abundance for adult menhaden. They also use fishery-independent seine survey data from several states from Rhode Island to North Carolina to develop an index for juvenile abundance. However, menhaden is a bycatch species in the seine surveys, not a target species.

Since there’s no independent region- wide survey for menhaden and there’s very little fishing going on in the north to supply fishery- dependent data, the concern is that menhaden surveys might not accurately reflect the stock’s status.

What troubles industry members most is that the model used to crank out the assessment assumes that all age 3+ menhaden – the mature ones – are considered to be “fully recruited” into the fishery and incorporated into the assessment.

The problem is that many age 3+ menhaden spend their summers in colder, northern waters in New England – that area where there’s very little fishing and few samples are available to scientists.
Sulikowski explained that if schools of older menhaden are present in New England and aren’t being incorporated into the calculations, the assessment could be overestimating fishing mortality and underestimating spawning potential.

The scientists who conducted the 2010 menhaden assessment and those who peer reviewed it highlighted this problem and said the assessment would be “substantially improved” by a coastwide fishery-independent survey and sampling data for the full range of the resource, including the north.

Read the complete article from Commercial Fisheries News

 

 

 

 

Three NOAA scientists were named today as recipients of the 2010 Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE). The award is the highest honor given by the U.S. government to outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers.

Recipients are: James A. Morris, Jr., Ph.D., an ecologist at the National Ocean Service's Center for Coastal Fisheries and Habitat Research in Beaufort, N.C.; Erin Oleson, Ph.D., a whale and dolphin research ecologist at the National Marine Fisheries Service Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center in Honolulu; and David Richardson, Ph.D., a fishery dynamics researcher at the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Narragansett, Rhode Island.

Morris is being honored for his research on invasive species and marine aquaculture. His studies of invasive lionfish in the western Atlantic and Caribbean have helped marine ecologists better understand how lionfish physiology is driving the invasion. His studies have helped define the ecological impact of lionfish on reef fish communities and better understand the global threat lionfish pose to biodiversity. In addition, he has contributed significantly to development and improvement of low-impact aquaculture practices for coastal areas.

Oleson is being recognized for developing innovative ways to study whale and dolphin populations in remote regions of the Pacific where conventional surveys are difficult to conduct. She worked collaboratively to develop and use sound-recording gliders and long-term acoustic recorders to "sense" where these species populate and better understand their interactions with fishing gear. As a result, her work has significantly advanced species conservation and management for dolphins and whales in this region.

Richardson is receiving the award for developing a new method for calculating spawning stock biomass, a critical factor in the fish stock assessments used by fisheries managers to set sustainable levels for fishing. Richardson's method for calculating an index of Atlantic herring spawning stock biomass has since been applied to Atlantic mackerel, silver hake and pollock – a fishery that alone is worth more than $10 million annually. His work also led to the development of a population model that explains historical patterns of population highs and lows in the Atlantic herring fishery.

Read the complete story from PhysOrg.com

 

 

 

 

Omega-3 fatty acids such as those found in fish oil supplements may reduce the risk of breast cancer, according to a new study.

Researchers at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center in Seattle followed 35,016 post-menopausal women who had no history of breast cancer.

They found that women who regularly used fish oil supplements had a 32 percent reduced risk of developing the most common form of breast cancer. Of the total number of women in the study, 880 developed the disease.

Long-chain, omega-3 fatty acids (abundant in fish oil supplements and fatty fish) are essential building blocks for the cell membranes of the body and brain, blocking inflammation and allowing messages to be transmitted between cells, she said. Because the body doesn't produce it on its own, people must get it from their diet, and fatty fish is the best source.

Among those fish are salmon and sardines. There are plant-based sources of omega-3 fatty acids — including canola, soybean and flaxseed oil — but the body can't convert them to the more potent form as well as it can the ones that are found in fish, she noted.

Read the complete story from Good Morning America on ABCNews.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The recently completed 2011 SMAST scallop video survey found that the US scallop resource remains constant and strong. Within the survey area sampled each year by SMAST, the overall biomass was 323 million lbs in 2011 compared to 322 million lbs in 2010. In fact, despite recent harvest, the exploitable biomass (collectable in a 4” ring) increased from 233 to 241 million lbs. Further, exploring new areas resulted in documenting an additional 23 million lbs. This year’s survey data are critical because for the first time the industry will face Accountability Measures if they exceed the 2011 Annual Catch Limit (ACL) of 55 million lbs for limited access vessels. These results confirm the assumptions of more resource outside traditionally surveyed areas, which were used to increase the overall estimate of scallop abundance during the 2010 sea scallop stock assessment.  They also provide additional survey data that will allow the New England Fishery Management Council to refine the ACL for subsequent years.

On Tuesday evening (8/16/11) the F/V Edgartown returned to New Bedford from surveying the central historic scallop fishing grounds in the Gulf of Maine (Platt’s Bank, Fippennies, Cashes and Jefferies Ledges) marking the completion of the 2011 cooperative SMAST-Industry scallop video survey. This cooperative research program with the scallop industry began in 1999 and has contributed to the success of scallop rotational management, resulting in one of the best managed fisheries in the U.S. with record yields and a stable, high biomass.

The information collected during the previous nine cruises to Georges Bank and the Mid-Atlantic was presented to the Scallop Fishermen’s Steering Committee on Tuesday 9 August 2011. Within the survey area sampled each year by SMAST, the overall biomass of the stock remained constant with 322 million lbs in 2010 and 323 million lbs in 2011. In fact, despite recent harvest, the exploitable biomass (collectable in a 4” ring) increased from 233 to 241 million lbs.

The 2011 survey included areas outside the standard sampling area. Exploring of these areas arose from discussions with the fishing industry and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s 2010 scallop stock assessment workshops. Responding to this the New England Fishery Management Council’s Atlantic sea scallop Fishery Management Plan Development Team set exploring new areas as a research priority.  As a result the Council provided Research Set Aside funds.  An additional 26.5 million lbs of scallops, 23.2 million lbs of which are outside the National Marine Fisheries Service survey strata, representing 7% of the entire resource was observed. This is a good example of how the SMAST program can quickly respond to the need for updated scientific information.

The SMAST video survey season ran smoothly due to the hard work of the staff and students and the continued close cooperation with the fishing industry. For each of the 10 cruises the dredge gear had to be removed from the vessel, and the SMAST sampling pyramid, hydraulic winch and pilot house equipment had to be loaded and assembled. This took two days to set-up, starting with a call to Blue Fleet Crane Service to pick up and load the gear onto the vessel. The vessels sailed with two scientists, two fishermen and new students who were being trained in the field procedure.

Jon Carey was responsible for the logistics and equipment transfer and organization of all cruises. Jon managed these 10 cruises while also completing and defending his Master’s of Science thesis entitled “Physical and biological influences on juvenile sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) distribution on Georges Bank and the Mid-Atlantic Bight” and winning the Alan Ansell Memorial Award for Best Student Presentation on his research at the International Pectinid Workshop in Qingdao, China.

Tom Jaffarian developed a custom field application that records the station number, latitude, longitude, depth, number of scallops observed, substrate and biota, and a linked laboratory application which captures the video footage, verifies and updates the field collected data, quality controls the data and incorporates it into our interactive database. Tom also had the most days at sea for the lab again this year completing five of the ten cruises.

Cate O’Keefe, as scallop program manager and a member of the New England Fisheries Management Council Scallop Plan Development Team, oversaw the entire operation and presented the SMAST research. Cate completed a survey trip early in the season then focused on expanding the yellowtail bycatch avoidance program for Closed Areas I and II including over 200 vessels, which is also part of her PhD research. This program is still underway as the closed area fisheries have remained open, and to date there has been very little bycatch from these areas.

Susan Inglis is a new addition to the laboratory and is completing her PhD from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She is studying scallop seasonal growth based on our cooperative industry tagging studies, isotopic measurements of scallop shells, and energetics. She also has continued research on seasonal meat weight variations, specifically looking at the unusually large meats that occurred in the Mid-Atlantic this spring.

Two students graduated and left our program this spring. Dr. Brad Harris defended his PhD dissertation entitled “Habitat conditions in persistent high-concentration sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) aggregations on Georges Bank, USA” and was immediately hired as an Assistant Professor at Alaska Pacific University in Anchorage. Carly Mott examined factors that influence scallop growth and defended her Master’s thesis entitled “Examining variation in sea scallop shell growth and environmental conditions across Georges Bank and the Mid-Atlantic.”

Katherine Thompson joined the lab as a new Master’s student and will be studying spawning events in scallops. Katherine worked as a deck hand in the lobster fishery in Maine and has already been to sea several times on the video surveys and in support of the RSA-funded yellowtail bycatch surveys in collaboration with Ron Smolowitz of Coonamessett Farm and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science.

Erin Adams participated in three surveys while conducting our educational outreach program and developing her Master’s degree research with Professor Dan Georgianna, who also sailed on the Gulf of Maine video survey.

Dave Bethoney sailed on several surveys helping the scallop program while conducting his PhD research on reducing river herring bycatch in the Atlantic herring and mackerel trawl fisheries. Dave is a versatile researcher who recently published his Master’s thesis work on lobsters entitled “Association between diet and epizootic shell disease in the American lobster (Homarus Americanus) around western Martha’s Vineyard using 15N signatures”.

Each video survey trip sampled between 200 and 400 stations with four drops of the SMAST pyramid at each station using four cameras to collect data from different views and angles of the sea floor. After each trip the recorded video footage was examined by summer interns, a group of undergraduate and graduate students hired to gain experience in marine science and fisheries. Over 50 different fish and invertebrates are identified along with 15 different combinations of substrate type for habitat classification. Courtney Donovan developed a training program and quality control testing procedure that each new student must complete before working on the field data. This year Samuel Asci, Kyle Cassidy, Andrea Carey, Courtney Donovan and Sarah Rocha worked long hours analyzing the field collected video data and participated in some of the ten survey trips.

As in past years the industry support has been exceptional. Food, fuel, vessels and crew time were all donated from the fleet and supporting industries.

This year’s survey data are critical because for the first time the industry will face Accountability Measures if they exceed the 2011 Annual Catch Limit (ACL) of 55 million lbs for limited access vessels. The Accountability Measures would reduce the number of Days at Sea and area available to fish in 2012. In 2010, the overall landings were 56.7 million lbs. In 2011 the overall ACL is 60 million. Our survey data indicate that the scallop resource has not decreased and that there is an additional 23 million lbs outside the traditional survey area.  These results confirm the assumptions that were used to increase the overall estimate of scallop abundance during the 2010 sea scallop stock assessment.  They also provide additional survey data that will allow the New England Fishery Management Council to refine the ACL for subsequent years.  Finally, they provide the good news that there is a harvestable scallop resource today in areas where scallops were largely absent a decade ago.

 

 

 

 

 

 

NEW BEDFORD — Using underwater video to survey scallop fishing grounds, researchers from UMass Dartmouth's School for Marine Science and Technology have hit the jackpot, discovering a trove of scallops in areas never before surveyed.

SMAST has completed a similar study every year since 1999 and this year's results are the latest chapter in a remarkable comeback story for an industry that nearly went bust in the late 1990s.

"When I came here in '97, the scallopers were in terrible shape," said SMAST's Kevin Stokesbury, chairman of the Department of Fisheries Oceanography, who headed the study. "About one-third of the fleet was on the verge of bankruptcy."

It's a very different story these days, thanks to the SMAST findings.

Read the complete story from The Standard-Times.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Army is eager to know whether omega-3 fatty acids not only are good for the heart, but also might deter soldiers from killing themselves.

"I'm all over it, because I'm looking for something to help," says Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, who has been working for years to reduce the service's record number of suicides.

Research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry last month showed that men in the service with low levels of an omega-3 fatty acid known as docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, were 62% more likely to commit suicide. The researchers compared routine blood samples taken from 800 servicemembers from 2002 to 2008 — and who months later committed suicide — with samples taken from 800 other servicemembers.

The authors say their findings do not suggest fish oil is a way to deter suicides. The Army suicide rate reached 22 per 100,000 last year, higher than civilians of the same age group.

Read the complete story from USA Today