August 8, 2023 — The head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said he is confident the agency is back on track in conducting fisheries stock surveys following criticism from some U.S. lawmakers.
NOAA Fisheries Faces 2024 Budget Reductions
August 4, 2023 — The U.S. Senate is considering reducing the National Marine Fisheries Service’s budget request by about $42 million.
The potential reduction comes as part of an effort to limit discretionary spending tied to the passage of the debt-ceiling bill earlier this year. The House is looking to reduce NOAA Fisheries’ funding even more dramatically, but it has not yet released a detailed report.
The Senate Appropriations Committee released its Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies Fiscal Year 2024 Appropriations Bill on July 13. That bill includes funding for the National Marine Fisheries Service, more commonly known as NOAA Fisheries.
Proposals to cut NOAA Fisheries’ budget have drawn concerns from Alaska lawmakers.
“I understand that negotiations on the debt limit have forced reductions in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget, but I have very real concerns about the impacts these cuts will have on Alaska’s fisheries,” Sen. Lisa Murkowski told KDM via email.
“We have the well-deserved reputation across the world as the gold standard of fisheries, and keeping that reputation requires strategic investments in things like stock assessment surveys, data collection and other resources essential to sustainable resource management. I’m committed to making sure Alaska’s fisheries have the resources to remain a world-leader.”
Funding to Support Research on How Climate Change Is Affecting Fisheries in the Chesapeake Bay
August 3, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA is recommending $1.5 million to support six new projects that will explore the connections among climate change, habitat, and fisheries. Some of the funded projects will quantify how climate change is affecting the habitats different Chesapeake Bay species need. Other projects will develop ways to evaluate how successful nearshore habitat restoration supports fish species and communities in the face of climate change.
New 2023 Projects
We’re recommending funding for six new research projects:
- The Virginia Institute of Marine Science will forecast the effects of climate change on Chesapeake Bay fisheries using physiologically informed habitat models.
- The Virginia Institute of Marine Science will estimate fish density and production enhancement that happen due to restored salt marsh edge habitats.
- The Smithsonian Institution will research the migration ecology of river herring in a changing climate.
- The University of Maryland–Eastern Shore will explore the trophic role, energy densities, and fatty acids composition of forage fish—and their prey.
- The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science will research how climate change affects striped bass recruitment in the Choptank and Patuxent rivers.
- The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science will use time series analysis of rare events to quantify the effects of climate change on fish and shellfish.
Over the past 30 years, the average water temperature in the Chesapeake Bay has increased by 1 degree Celsius (1.8 degrees Fahrenheit). Water temperature changes are expected to affect fish abundance, distributions, spawning areas, and migratory patterns.
Changes in precipitation patterns, including more frequent intense storms, will affect salinity levels. That will affect fish species distribution and diversity. NOAA buoys and satellites provide important data to help researchers track trends, but the effects of these trends are not yet well understood. That’s why we need more research on these topics.
Projects receiving these NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office Fisheries Research Program grants were selected through a competitive process. The results of this research will help inform science-based management decisions that are part of protecting and restoring important habitat.
This research will also support our efforts to advance ecosystem-based fishery management. We used recommendations from fishery and resource managers to develop the request for proposals for these grants. We work to deliver the most up-to-date and relevant science to resource managers and decision makers.
At this point in the selection process, the application approval and obligation of funds is not final. Applications are being “recommended” for funding. This is not an authorization to start the project and is not a guarantee of funding.
MASSACHUSETTS: Massachusetts Dam Removals to Allow Return of River Herring After 200 Years
August 3, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Below the Armstrong Dam in Braintree, Massachusetts, a desperate scene has played out for decades. “Currently, thousands of river herring are massed below the dam trying to come upriver to spawn,” says Eric Hutchins, a NOAA Fisheries restoration biologist. “But, after beating their heads against the dam for weeks, most females will just drop their eggs or reabsorb them.” Exhausted from this effort, they are unlikely to reproduce elsewhere.
But change is finally coming, with the injection of $2 million in funding from NOAA under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. The Town of Braintree began moving equipment to remove the obsolete Armstrong and Ames Pond Dams (PDF, 111 pages) in July. Soon, river herring and other migratory fish will have access to 36 miles of high-quality spawning habitat along Monatiquot River for the first time in nearly 200 years.
Connecting rivers and streams to the sea is critical for the survival of both river herring and coastal species popular on dinner menus. “River herring are the potato chips of the ocean,” says Hutchins, “everything eats them.” Commercially and recreationally important fish like bluefish, cod, and striped bass rely on river herring as a key food source. “It is especially important to build the river herring population now as other forage species like Atlantic herring and mackerels are crashing,” Hutchins adds. Birds such as herons and osprey and mammals like otters and whales also eat river herring.
A Big Dam Problem
More than 3,000 dams block nearly every river in Massachusetts. Most serve no purpose. Remnants of the Industrial Revolution, the Bay State’s decrepit dams block migratory fish from reaching upstream habitat. They also collect layers of contaminated sludge in stagnant ponds, pose flood risks, and prevent local people from enjoying the river.
That’s certainly the case for the 12-foot-high, 92-foot-long Armstrong Dam. The surrounding area is densely populated, with a significant number of minority residents. In the event of a major storm, the Armstrong Dam contributes to upstream flooding; if the dam fails, the community would experience serious damage. Spray-painted and crumbling, the ugly industrial site sprawls across both sides of the river. “For at least the past 100 years, the public has been unable to access the Monatiquot River,” says Hutchins. “It’s all fenced off.”
Restoring the Monatiquot River for Fish and People
Taking down dams and restoring rivers to conditions where fish—and people—can thrive is a high priority for NOAA. But it isn’t easy. NOAA, the Town of Braintree, and its partners have been working on plans to eliminate the Armstrong and Ames Pond Dams for the last 15 years. In 2017, NOAA provided an initial investment of $100,000 to the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Restoration. It supported design and permitting work that was crucial for early project planning. This followed many years of feasibility studies and field work that were led by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. Hutchins, who has worked on more than 50 dam removals, lends his experience to partners like the Town of Braintree to ensure success. “Most local proponents of a project may only work on one dam removal in their careers,” says Hutchins. “So, I help them through the entire complicated process including project design, community engagement, permitting, and implementation.”
This summer and fall, construction crews will demolish both dams, remove 6,800 cubic yards of contaminated sediment, and restore the river channel. River herring will once again be able to reach the calm inland ponds where juveniles have a better shot at survival. American eel, which are born in the ocean but spend most of their lives in freshwater, will also be able to return.
“I love seeing dams come down,” says Hutchins. “The most exciting part is standing in the water and watching the reformation of the river. I’ve been standing in the water right after a dam comes down and witnessed American eel swim past my feet.” Despite the passage of centuries, the instinct to return remains.
The community will also be invited back to the river. The Town of Braintree will restore wetlands around the dam site and build a boardwalk trail with wildlife viewing points and interpretive signs. “There is strong community support for this project,” says Kelly Phelan, Braintree’s Conservation Planner. “People are excited to see the fish return and to reconnect with the river.”
Project Partners
- Fore River Watershed Association
- Hollingsworth Pond, LLC
- Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries
- Massachusetts Division of Ecological Restoration
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
NOAA Fisheries preparing to issue USD 75 million contract for habitat conservation and oil spill support
August 3, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries is preparing to issue a contract worth up to USD 74.5 million (EUR 68.1 million) for support for its Office of Habitat Conservation, which oversees NOAA’s efforts to conserve habitat for managed fisheries and restore fisheries impacted by oil spills.
Under the solicitation, a contractor would oversee some of the office’s core responsibilities and manage the agency’s preparations for an oil spill on the scale of the Deepwater Horizon disaster. The contractor would “coordinate and manage coastal and marine habitat management” on behalf of OHC and assist the office in developing national fisheries protection policy.
US domestic shrimp prices stayed near historic lows in April
August 3, 2023 — NOAA recently released preliminary data on shrimp landings from the Gulf of Mexico and the South Atlantic for April 2023, with the data showing the price of shrimp continues to sit near historic lows.
Across the Gulf of Mexico – which is listed by landings from Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Western Florida, and compiled monthly by the Southern Shrimp Alliance from NOAA data – most states saw increases shrimp catches sitting above historical averages. Overall landings across the state, however, were down thanks to a lack of data from Louisiana, which historically has averaged over 884,000 pounds, or roughly 401 metric tons (MT), of shrimp landed for the month.
Two Fish Passage Funding Opportunities Now Open, One Focused on Tribes
August 1, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA is announcing two funding opportunities for fish passage, including one funding opportunity focused on tribes. This significant funding is available under the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. Projects selected through these opportunities will help support sustainable fisheries, recover threatened and endangered migratory fish, and strengthen the resilience of coastal and Great Lakes communities and tribes.
Through these two competitions, we will prioritize projects that were developed with inclusive practices and incorporate meaningful strategies to engage a diverse range of community groups, including tribes.
Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal
Nearly $175 million in funding is available through the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal funding opportunity. Projects selected through this opportunity will reopen migratory pathways and restore access to healthy habitat for fish around the country.
This funding will support the locally led removal of dams and other in-stream barriers. Selected projects will sustain our nation’s fisheries and contribute to the recovery of threatened and endangered species. They may also provide community and economic benefits, such as jobs and climate resilience.
NOAA will accept proposals with a federal funding request of between $1 million and $20 million from non-federal partners. Applications are due by October 16, 2023.
Texas one of several states included in critical sea turtle habitat proposal
July 31, 2023 — A new proposal aims to protect threatened and endangered sea turtles by preserving their habitat along critical areas of the U.S. coastline.
NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service announced the plan mid-July, proposing 8,870 acres of coastline in California, Florida, Hawaii, North Carolina and Texas be conserved for green sea turtles basking, nesting, incubation, hatching and traveling to sea. The proposition also included the territories of American Samoa, Guam and U.S. Virgin Islands; and the commonwealths of the Northern Mariana Islands and Puerto Rico.
Florida’s coral reefs are dying. Here’s why you should care
July 30, 2023 — Right now, the Great Florida Reef is experiencing catastrophic conditions following a marine heat wave that has engulfed the ecosystem for months.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the marine heat waved moved into the Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Sea around February and March and is predicted to persist with extreme ocean temperatures through at least October.
The duration and intensity of these abnormally warm waters is a significant concern for the health of the coral.
Dr. Cory Krediet, an associate professor of marine science specializing in corals at Eckerd College, spoke to News 6 while helping rescue efforts in the Florida Keys.
“We’re looking to use microbes to try to increase resilience of corals to future stress. But right now, here at Mote Marine Lab, restoration efforts are happening. They’re bringing corals back from the reef into the land-based nurseries, to try and keep them out of the reef environment until some conditions hopefully may subside back to normal,” Krediet said.
NOAA proposes new critical habitat in Gulf of Mexico for Rice’s whales, green sea turtles
July 26, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries has proposed designating critical habitat areas for endangered Rice’s whales and green sea turtles as part of its efforts to ensure the species’ survival.
The Rice’s whale critical habitat proposal is part of a settlement between NOAA and conservation groups Healthy Gulf and the Natural Resources Defense Council, which sued the government for failing to designate critical habitat for the whales within the time required under the Endangered Species Act.
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