September 17, 2019 — The Middle Fork of the Salmon River, one of the wildest rivers in the contiguous United States, is prime fish habitat. Cold, clear waters from melting snow tumble out of the Salmon River Mountains and into the boulder-strewn river, which is federally protected.
West Coast whale entanglements reduced by half this season, but reason why is debated
September 13, 2019 — Whale entanglements involving fishing gear along the West Coast have dropped by more than 50% so far this year compared to 2018.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration as of Aug. 23, the National Marine Fisheries Service reported 17 confirmed whale entanglements in 2019, compared to 40 for the same period a year prior.
In both years, entanglements involved commercial Dungeness crab gear and drift gillnets.
“Year to date, it’s lower and is encouraging,” said Justin Viezbicke, NOAA’s West Coast Stranding coordinator. “We’ve seen spikes where we’ve seen seven or eight in a month and with three months left this year, things could still change.”
DOJ green lights Clipper, Blue North merger
September 12, 2019 — The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has greenlit a proposed merger between the two largest Pacific cod longline companies, sources told Undercurrent News.
The DOJ review of the merger of Clipper Seafoods and Blue North, which is expected to include the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) taking a majority stake in the combined company, was undertaken to ensure that the combined company wouldn’t create a monopoly. Sources told Undercurrent that the DOJ’s seal of approval means that the deal is likely to close this week.
Despite the combined company’s heft in the market, Clipper and Blue North argued that there are several factors that go into cod prices, like other species, “so there shouldn’t be any antitrust problems”, sources previously told Undercurrent.
West Coast marine life endangered by ‘blob’ heatwave
September 12, 2019 — A “blob” of warm water in the Pacific Ocean could disrupt the marine ecosystem off the coast of California, similar to an event that occurred five years ago, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
The patch, designated the Northeast Pacific Marine Heatwave of 2019 and also referred to as a “blob,” is the second-biggest such mass in four decades and, according to experts, is on a similar path to that of one that, from 2014 to 2016, caused toxic algae blooms and killed sea life ranging from sea lions to salmon en masse.
“I am surprised to see something like this develop again so soon after what looked like the end of the marine heatwave in 2016,” Nate Mantua, head of the Landscape Ecology Team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz, Calif., told the newspaper.
Ocean heatwave known as ‘The Blob’ is warming up the West Coast – and endangering animals
September 11, 2019 — It could be the return of “The Blob” and scientists are worried.
A huge mass of extra warm water extending from Baja California in Mexico all the way to Alaska and the Bering Sea could result in death for many sea lions and salmon, as well as toxic algae blooms that can poison mussels, crabs and other sea life.
When it happened in 2014 it was dubbed “The Blob” and disrupted sea life between Southern California and Alaska. Now it’s back.
The ocean heatwave began to form in June.
“Temperatures are about as warm as have ever been observed in any of these locations. It developed in mid-June and it’s gotten really big really fast,” said Nate Mantua, head of the Landscape Ecology Team at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in Santa Cruz, California.
CALIFORNIA: Santa Monica’s only seafood festival aims to lessen environmental impact
September 11, 2019 — The fifth annual “Off the Hook” Santa Monica Seafood Festival is scheduled be held at the Santa Monica Pier on Saturday, 14 September, and will celebrate the seafood bounty and chefs of southern California.
Held in September in order to celebrate National Water Quality Month, Santa Monica’s only seafood festival is set to feature sustainable seafood from nearly two dozen of Santa Monica’s restaurants, including Blue Plate Oysterette, The Lobster, Sushi Roku, Herringbone, and Enterprise Fish Co. Attendees will be able to sample seafood from these and other restaurants, purchase local beer and wine, and enjoy live music with views of the Pacific Ocean framing the festival.
Climate redistribution of tuna may mean a loss of USD 60 million for Pacific by 2050
September 11, 2019 — Pacific island countries could lose an estimated USD 60 million (EUR 54.5 million) in revenue annually due to the impacts of climate change on the tuna population within the next 30 years, according to Conservation International (CI).
In a fact sheet produced by CI with the assistance of the Australian National Centre for Ocean Resources and Security (ANCORS), modeling indicates increases in ocean temperature due to climate change will cause skipjack and yellowfin tuna to shift to the east.
U.S. Coast Guard Targets Illegal Fishing in International Waters
September 9, 2019 — The crew of U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Mellon, including two Canadian fishery officers, returned to Seattle on Sunday after an 80-day patrol detecting and deterring illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing activity in the Pacific Ocean. The patrol was performed under the auspices of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and the North Pacific Fisheries Commission.
Economists estimate that IUU fishing costs the international economy billions of dollars per year. By diminishing stocks, it undermines the livelihoods of legitimate fishermen around the world, with negative effects on food security in developing nations. According to the U.S. Coast Guard, combatting global IUU fishing through international partnerships is a priority for Canada and the United States.
“IUU fishing is one of the greatest threats to the ocean’s fish stocks,” said Capt. Jonathan Musman, Mellon’s commanding officer. “It was an honor to be on the front lines of enforcement efforts of the distant waters fishing fleets.”
A giant warm-water mass—similar to ‘the blob’—could wreak havoc on West Coast marine life
September 9, 2019 — You might remember the blob.
Not the 1958 sci-fi movie, but the giant mass of warm water that formed in the Pacific Ocean in 2013 and continued to spread until 2015. It wreaked havoc on the West Coast marine ecosystem and dampened salmon runs.
Scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have identified another expanse of warm water and say this marine heatwave could rival the blob. The impact on sea life could be devastating.
Ocean surface temperature maps show the warm mass stretching from Alaska to California. It currently “ranks as the second-largest marine heatwave in terms of area in the northern Pacific Ocean in the last 40 years, after ‘the Blob,'” according to NOAA.
Pacific Bluefin Tuna: Catch Could Increase in 2020
September 9, 2019 — The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC) Northern Committee met in Portland, Oregon, last week to discuss two proposals to increase catch limits on Pacific bluefin. Despite continued overfishing of the depleted species, the Committee recommended changes to the Pacific bluefin management measure that will lead to an increase in catch for 2020. However, The Northern Committee will need to reconvene at the WCPFC annual meeting in December to officially adopt the outcomes of this meeting, as the meeting failed to reach the required quorum due to the absence of four members.
The Northern Committee recommended that next year, Chinese Taipei be allowed to transfer 300mt of their adult catch limit to Japan. All countries will also be able to roll over up to 17 percent of their 2019 quota to be used to increase their catch of both adult and juvenile fish in 2020. This means that Japan will be able to catch hundreds of tons of additional fish in 2020 from a stock that is at just 3.3 percent of its unfished size and is just two years into a 17-year rebuilding plan.
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