Saving Seafood

CALIFORNIA: California closing Dungeness crab season to protect humpback whales

April 3, 2024 — The California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) is closing most of the U.S. state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery on Monday, 8 April.

California’s zones 3, 4, 5, and 6, stretching from the Sonoma-Mendocino county line to the U.S.-Mexico border, will be closed at 6 p.m. on 8 April due to the presence of humpback whales in the area, with a 30-fathom depth constraint on traps going into effect in zones 1 and 2, which encompasses the rest of the state’s coastline north to the Oregon border.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Whale carcasses on Martha’s Vineyard fuel speculation about wind turbines

June 26, 2023 — Conservation groups and offshore wind critics are calling for an investigation into the deaths of two humpback whales that washed up on the shores of Martha’s Vineyard last week.

On Monday, June 12, a decomposing humpback whale was found in the surf on the south-east tip of Martha’s Vineyard. Early the next morning, a second humpback whale carcass was discovered about 5 miles away on the island’s eastern shoreline.

Federal scientists say that the cause of the deaths remains unclear. In an email, a spokesperson for the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (NOAA), which is leading logistics, said that it will not be performing an autopsy on either whale and that “any type of partner supported exam is being stood down.”

The first whale was stuck in the surf, making an autopsy difficult, a NOAA spokesperson said. The agency had plans to do a “limited internal exam,” but abandoned efforts last week as the carcass drifted north along the shoreline.

The decision has frustrated conservation groups curious about the unusual occurrence of two whale deaths discovered in two days. The carcasses were found about one week after construction began on the nation’s first utility-scale wind farm — which is being built in waters 15 miles south of Martha’s Vineyard — and has fueled speculation that the deaths may be connected to offshore wind development.

Read the full article at New Bedford Light

Researchers are looking into risk factors for whales who get caught up in fishing gear

March 22, 2023 — Researchers with Oregon State University are trying to better protect whales from getting entangled in fishing gear. They have discovered some areas of the ocean are more at risk for whales to get caught up in that gear, and the research has been forcing some changes for some fisherman.

The research is focused on fishing for Dungeness Crab. It was three years ago when the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife made changes to how many pots fisherman could have out, it was always a way to keep whales from getting caught in their lines.

Read the full article at KGW

US court rules NMFS must move on whale take-reduction plan for West Coast black cod fishery

March 16, 2023 — A federal court in the U.S. state of California has ruled the National Marine Fisheries Service must develop a whale take-reduction plan for the West Coast sablefish pot fishery, a decision that will put more pressure on the agency and industry to come up with gear alternatives.

U.S. District Court Judge James Donato ruled 14 March in favor of the Center for Biological Diversity, which sued NMFS challenging its permitting of the fishery without having a plan in place to reduce the danger of humpback whales entangling in vertical trap lines.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

As More Dead Whales Wash Ashore in NJ and NY, Research Into East Coast Wind Farms Eyed

March 6, 2023 — As dead whales continue to wash ashore on the East Coast — and particularly the Jersey Shore — officials and academics are planning a wide array of monitoring and research aimed at preventing or minimizing harm to whales and other marine life during construction and operation of offshore wind farms.

A dead whale washed ashore Thursday in New Jersey, a day after another was found in New York amid a continuing wave of whale deaths along the East Coast. Twenty-five of the animals have died since Dec. 1, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

A research and monitoring initiative announced last year by New Jersey environmental and utility regulators is launching numerous projects to establish a baseline of current ocean conditions, with plans for monitoring while wind farms are built and operated.

Read the full article at NY4

2 more whales found dead along Atlantic Coast. NOAA says they were likely hit by boats.

February 16, 2023 — Necropsies on two whales found dead along the Atlantic coast this week revealed that both marine mammals showed evidence of vessel strikes.

Both whales, a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale and a humpback, were already beginning to decompose, but preliminary results show internal injuries consistent with the blunt force trauma of a vessel strike, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Tuesday.

The deaths are among a flurry of 21 whale deaths along the length of the Atlantic coast since Dec. 3.

While several politicians who previously expressed opposition to — or concerns about — offshore wind energy projects have called for a moratorium on wind activities and an investigation into the whale deaths, preliminary exams show at least five of the 21 whales were likely killed in vessel collisions. Several were too decomposed to be examined.

Read the full article at USA Today