Science

NOAA’s Fisheries Service today announced that Atlantic wolffish are not currently in danger of extinction or likely to become endangered in the foreseeable future. This is the final decision on a petition received in October 2008 requesting that the species be listed as threatened or endangered under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA).

Click here to learn more.

Jane Lubchenco, chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, will be among speakers Friday at the commissioner of the agency’s newest fisheries survey vessel and dedication of a new laboratory.

Both events will be held in Pascagoula.

The recently completed NOAA laboratory replaces the facility that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.

Read the complete story at The Picayune Item.

A new study by fisheries scientists in Woods Hole shows that about half of the 36 fish stocks they surveyed had shifted north or east toward cooler waters over the past 40 years, possibly in response to rising water temperatures due to global warming.

The study, conducted by scientists at the National Marine Fisheries Service Northeast Fisheries Science Center, requires further research to factor out the effects of decades of overfishing to get a true picture of the impact of warming seas, researchers said.

But the fish migration northward could mean that fishermen will have to travel farther to catch familiar species but might also see new opportunities in species coming up from southern waters.

Still, it could mean that some species, like cod, may not find the rich food resources available on a place like Georges Bank.

Read the complete story at The Cape Cod Times.

NPR’s Fresh Air speaks with Daniel Pauly a professor at the Fisheries Centre of the University of British Columbia, who last month wrote "Aquacalypse Now: The End of Fish" in the New Republic last month.

Daniel Pauly, warns that the global fishing industry has drastically depleted the number of fish in the oceans. In an Oct. 7, 2009 article published by The New Republic, Pauly writes that in the past 50 years "we have reduced the populations of large commercial fish, such as bluefin tuna, cod, and other favorites, by a staggering 90 percent."

Pauly says that as the fish populations decline, boats have begun to catch fish that weren’t considered before — sometimes renaming them to sound more appetizing. (Thus the "Patagonian toothfish" becomes the "Chilean seabass.")

Listen to the complete story at NPR.

See also: Aquacalypse Now: the end of fish, by Daniel Pauly,

It should have been Acrockalypse Now.

Southern species like Atlantic Croaker may become common in New England waters.

About half of 36 fish stocks in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean, many of them commercially valuable species, have been shifting northward over the last four decades, with some stocks nearly disappearing from U.S. waters as they move farther offshore, according to a new study by NOAA researchers.

Their findings, published in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series, show the impact of changing coastal and ocean temperatures on fisheries from Cape Hatteras, N.C., to the Canadian border.

Janet Nye, a postdoctoral researcher at NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) laboratory in Woods Hole, Mass. and the lead author of the study, looked at annual spring survey data from 1968 to 2007 for stocks ranging from Atlantic cod and haddock to yellowtail and winter flounders, spiny dogfish, Atlantic herring, and less well-known species like blackbelly rosefish. Historic ocean temperature records and long-term processes like the Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation and the North Atlantic Oscillation dating back to 1850 were also analyzed to put the temperature data into context.

Read the complete Press Release at Northeast Fisheries Science Center.

NOAA Fisheries announces a pilot project in which researchers are using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and satellite-linked data loggers to learn more about turtle behavior in commercial fishing areas and to develop new ways to avoid catching turtles in fishing gear. This marks the first time an ROV has been used to follow turtles in the wild to learn about their behavior and how they interact with their habitat.

For more information go to: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/press_release/2009/SciSpot/SS0915

Please contact Shelley Dawicki if you have questions at 508-495-2378 or Shelley.Dawicki@noaa.gov.

Cate O’Keefe, a doctoral student at UMass Dartmouth’s School for Marine Science and Technology, won a Merit Award for best presentation at the 2009 annual science conference of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea. O’Keefe, 32, manages a collaborative scallop research program between city fishermen and SMAST scientists. Their research measures the size of the Atlantic sea scallop population, helping regulators design sustainable management practices.

"I explained how the industry was really involved in terms of designing the survey, where we should go, helping with getting the gear together and designed correctly. I showed where our stations have been over the last 10 years, how the survey works and the management applications that we get out of it. … The conclusion of it was that there have been continued benefits both for us and for the industry and for the resource as a whole."

"At times there has been sort of the idea that we are a little too friendly and maybe that our results could be biased. But it really hasn’t been that way. We have a strong relationship with them, clearly we have to, but there is no candy-coating the results. What we see is what we give them. Basically, you can’t hide it either, it is all on video."

Read the complete story at The South Coast Today.

A film and lecture investigating what ocean acidification could mean for sea scallops that make this city the nation’s most valuable fishing port will start next week’s Bioneers by the Bay: Connecting for Change.

The conference, a yearly gathering of environmental and social justice advocates, will convene in downtown New Bedford for three days of lectures, workshops, exhibits and an action event aimed at curbing global warming. The conference, which is sponsored by the Marion Institute, will be held at various downtown venues Friday through Sunday, Oct. 23-25.

An opening event featuring the film "Acid Test: The Global Challenge of Ocean Acidification" will be held Thursday, Oct. 22, at the Zeiterion Theatre. The event, which is free and open to the public, is sponsored by the Women’s Fund of the Community Foundation of Southeastern Massachusetts.

Read the complete story at The South Coast Today.

Cate O’Keefe, a PhD student at SMAST, took the top award at the Annual Science Conference of the world’s largest marine science and advisory body, in Berlin.  In her paper, she noted that "crises in the fishing industry have caused distrust between fishers and fishery scientists" but even in the midst of crises, "fishers and scientists have found ways to work together."  She noted that "the success of cooperative research hinges on participation from the fishing industry throughout the entirety of the research programme, from project design to data analysis." 

Cate O’Keefe, a PhD student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology, took the top award for “best presentation” at the Annual Science Conference of the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea (ICES), the world’s largest marine science and advisory body, in Berlin, Germany.

 

Over 650 marine scientists met in Berlin to discuss the status and future of the oceans. There were approximately 390 papers in the conference, and Cate’s was judged to be the best. The Merit Award gives formal recognition to the best research paper and poster given at the Annual Science Conference, and to the best up-and-coming new scientist making a presentation at the Annual Science Conference. Many of her colleagues anticipated that Cate had a good shot to win the ‘newcomer award’ for students, but described her winning the best presentation as "remarkable" for someone her age. 

 

In her Ph.D. studies, Cate is studying sea scallop management, and she serves as a member is a member of the New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC) Scallop Planning Development Team (PDT). This was her first presentation at ICES, which is the primary Fisheries organization for the North Atlantic. Her colleagues said that to win the "best paper award" is outstanding.  

 

Cate’s presentation was in "Session L" entitled "Bringing collaborative science – industry research data into stock assessment and fishery management: evaluating progress and future options." Her presentation was: ICES CM 2009/L:05 From bust to boom: the success of industry collaboration in US sea scallop research by Catherine E. O’Keefe and Kevin D. E. Stokesbury.

  

 

The following is the description of her presentation in the session abstracts 

 

Crises in the fishing industry have caused distrust between fishers and fishery scientists. In such crises, fishers and scientists have found ways to work together, resulting in cooperative research programmes. Despite the clear benefits of cooperation, including industry empowerment, transparency of analysis and unbiased results, cooperative research programmes often lack the critical components that make the collected data useful for management decisions. The success of cooperative research hinges on participation from the fishing industry throughout the entirety of the research programme, from project design to data analysis. Furthermore, answerable, scientific questions must be outlined at the start of the research. Finally, data must be collected and analysed in a way that can be translated into management decisions and accepted by regulatory agencies. We have conducted a video survey for Atlantic sea scallops cooperatively with the US scallop fishing industry since 1999. The survey was initiated by the fishing industry as a result of decreased landings and increased regulatory actions with the goal of determining the number of scallops on Georges Bank. Over the last decade, industry participation has grown to include over 300 vessels and 20 shore-based operations. Data and results from the video survey have been included in traditional stock assessments and decision-making processes and have been instrumental in maintaining the success of the area rotation management scheme. This case study outlines the initiation of the survey and examines the success and difficulties associated with bringing cooperative research data into the management arena. 

 

                

More information about the conference

 

 

The University of Rhode Island’s Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation will receive $6.5 million in federal grants to research challenges facing the local commercial fishing industry and to reduce the threat to North Atlantic right whales from fishing equipment.

U.S. Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., announced the funding, which involves two awards from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, on Wednesday.

“The Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation deserves great credit for bringing together a broad range of stakeholders to develop practical solutions facing the fishing industry,” Reed said in a statement. “This federal funding will support Rhode Island’s fishing industry, a vital component of the local economy, by ensuring that fishermen have the research and tools to weather the current economic storm and flourish over the long term.”

Read the complete story from the Providence Business Journal.