Saving Seafood

Seafood workers at higher risk for contracting COVID-19, study finds

March 22, 2022 — A new study by the University of New Hampshire has found that workers in the seafood industry were twice as likely to contract COVID-19.

The study – “The direct and indirect effects of a global pandemic on U.S. fishers and seafood workers” – found that the average amount of seafood workers testing positive for COVID-19 per 1,000 workers was more than double that of other food industries. The study found that there were an estimated 65 positive cases per 1,000 seafood workers, compared to 31 cases per 1,000 workers in the wider food industry.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

UNH Research: U.S. Seafood Workers at Increased Risk for COVID-19 During Pandemic

March 22, 2022 — The dramatic toll that COVID-19 has taken on the U.S. is apparent, but as caseloads come down and mandates are loosened it has become increasingly obvious how much of an impact the pandemic had on food service workers in industries like the fisheries. A study from the University of New Hampshire looked at the direct and indirect effects of the global pandemic on U.S. seafood workers by tracking cases and outbreaks and found seafood workers were twice as likely to contract COVID-19 as workers in other food industries.

“The U.S. seafood industry was hit pretty hard, especially workers in high-density workplaces like seafood processing plants where social distancing was difficult,” said Easton White, assistant professor of biological sciences. “Even though COVID-19 precautions were set in place reducing the number of workers on processing lines it meant longer shifts and increased exposure overall. Fishing vessels had similar issues, where crews on crowded boats faced challenges wearing PPE, or masks, in wet and windy conditions.”

Read the full story from the University of New Hampshire

 

First Public Meeting For Offshore Wind Task Force Will Take Place In N.H.

November 19, 2019 — New Hampshire will host the kick-off meeting of a federal offshore wind task force for the Gulf of Maine. The meeting is set for Dec. 12 at the University of New Hampshire.

It will be open to the public, with time for public input.

The task force will include state, local and tribal government officials from New Hampshire, Massachusetts and Maine, and from the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management.

Read the full story at New Hampshire Public Radio

You could soon grow shrimp at home, UNH researchers say

January 28, 2019 — We have a tradition that we follow every year when the Super Bowl rolls around. We ignore it for as long as possible.

We avoid all mention of the big game until as close to kickoff as we can manage. Otherwise, you just drown in the endless drek of mindless and irrelevant reports about teams we already know way too much about.

Still, people tell us things. We don’t encourage it, but there you are. They tell us the big game will pit the Patriots of New England against the Rams of Los Angeles (by way of Cleveland, Los Angeles (the first time), Anaheim and St. Louis).

Well, that sounds like a corker. Feel free to invite us to your Super Bowl party. We’ll bring Kenny Rogers Roasters chicken. The man, as Newman attested, makes a pretty strong bird.

What we won’t be bringing is our home-grown shrimp. Didn’t know you could grow shrimp at home? Well, according to researchers at the University of New Hampshire, you can.

“Researcher Michael Chambers says the shrimp can be cultivated in any larger container or tank, or even in a backyard kiddie pool, at a relatively low cost,” according to a story in the Boston Globe. “Chambers said people could make $40,000 or more a year if they invested in a large-scale operation. The homegrown shrimp could replace frozen or processed shrimp found in supermarkets during the winter.”

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

New Hampshire ‘AquaFort’ among 22 projects earning NOAA Sea Grant

October 26, 2018 — Researchers in New Hampshire have received federal funding to create an offshore aquaculture program that will be used to recruit fishermen in northern New England interested in raising steelhead trout and blue mussels.

Officials from the University of New Hampshire – which manages the state’s Sea Grant program – along with the state’s federal leaders announced the USD 747,673 (EUR 655,574) award last week. The grant was given to UNH for its new aquaculture program called “AquaFort.” It involves the hatching of rainbow trout in freshwater, and after eight months of development, the fish are transferred to the sea and become known as steelheads.

The university already has permits for the AquaFort site, which will be located less than two miles south of the Isle of Shoals.

“Warming ocean temperatures and invasive species have caused a decline in sea creatures such as blue mussels and steelhead trout, which has negatively impacted New Hampshire fishermen and the seafood industry,” U.S. Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-New Hampshire) said in a statement. “By increasing seafood production through aquaculture training for fishermen and farmers, this federal grant to the University of New Hampshire will help expand economic opportunity on the Seacoast.”

The New Hampshire initiative was one of 22 projects that earned 2018 Aquaculture Research Awards grants by NOAA Sea Grant. All of the endeavors receiving a total of USD 11 million (EUR 9.6 million) will work on their projects over the next two to three years. Awardees must also receive a 50 percent match in funds from non-federal sources.

The Rhode Island Sea Grant program received USD 745,815 (EUR 654,052) to develop an online training initiative for entry-level workers that’s designed to improve worker safety and hone the skills necessary to get and keep a job in aquaculture. The training program will include a “train-the-trainer” aspect that could lead to a national deployment.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

With plants on top and fish underneath, can aquaponics work in N.H.?

October 23, 2018 — Years ago I helped a friend of a friend with a backyard aquaponics system – in which plants are grown in water rather than soil and fish live in the water. I was entranced.

It seemed almost magical, with the poop from the fish feeding the plants to create both vegetables and animal protein in one small space. I figured such systems would soon start replacing gardens among the geekier subsets of the back-to-the-land crowd, becoming a real part of the local food movement.

Nope.

I’m not sure what happened to the system I saw, but I know that aquaponics has never caught on even though the related field of aquaculture, which grows fish or shellfish without the plants, is doing pretty well.

A new project at UNH wants to change that, and maybe turn this fish-and-veggies idea into something that can support a real business in New England.

How? They’re going to science the heck out of it.

“I’m here as a fancy plumber,” said Todd Guerdat, an assistant professor of agricultural engineering, who is leading the project at UNH’s Kingman Research Farm in Madbury. He said seven graduate students are involved in the research at the moment: “They’re the facility managers, they understand the biology, physics, engineering, physiology, and all the other factors that go into it.”

In New Hampshire as in many places, he said, aquaponics systems are built on rules of thumb, at best. If a system fails or if costs go through the roof, it’s not clear why because there’s limited understanding of what’s actually going on with inputs like fish food and outputs like the harvest and the waste.

“The tough part of aquaponics, as opposed to poultry or dairy farming, is that we don’t have nutrient balances established,” Guerdat said. “We don’t have a functional model that says: this is how you can do it … and make money. Send your kids to college.”

Read the full story at the Concord Monitor

Oceanographers in New England given new vessel to explore

July 13, 2018 — The National Science Foundation has selected a group of oceanographers in New England to operate a new research vessel.

The University of Rhode Island said Thursday the $100 million vessel will be delivered to its Graduate School of Oceanography in 2021.

URI, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in Massachusetts and the University of New Hampshire formed the East Coast Oceanographic Consortium to apply for one of three new research vessels awarded nationwide.

URI already operates a foundation vessel, the Endeavor. It’s more than 40 years old and scheduled to retire within five years.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Midland Reporter-Telegram

NEFMC: Cod Stock Structure Symposium – June 19, 2018, Registration Information

May 15, 2018 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

New Hampshire Sea Grant and the University of New Hampshire (UNH), in conjunction with a steering committee, are hosting a symposium on the structure of Atlantic cod populations in the Gulf of Maine and Southern New England regions, as well as nearby Canadian waters, namely Georges and Brown Bank and the Scotian Shelf. Fishermen are encouraged to attend.

EVENT TITLE:  “Cod Population Structure and New England Fisheries Symposium: Furthering our understanding by integrating knowledge gained through science and fishing”

DATE AND LOCATION:  Tuesday, June 19, 2018 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the UNH Campus at the Elliot Alumni Center. Light breakfast, lunch, and snacks will be provided. Travel expenses may be provided for fishermen who are attending.

WHAT’S THIS ABOUT:  According to the steering committee, the symposium will provide an opportunity to explore and talk about “the current understanding of the stock structure of cod.” New information from recent scientific studies will be discussed, and recreational and commercial fishermen will share on-the-water experience and knowledge. The symposium will help: (1) identify areas of common ground in the understanding of cod population structure; (2) identify areas of remaining uncertainty; and (3) broaden knowledge of alternative management options that may be considered in the future to accommodate the evolving understanding of cod stock structure. The steering committee said, “The symposium contributes to a new process focused on reevaluating cod stock structure in U.S. waters.”

SYMPOSIUM OBJECTIVES:

  • Present recent findings among regional scientists studying Atlantic cod stock structure in U.S. and adjacent Canadian waters.
  • Capture insight and feedback from fishermen on what is being observed on the water to incorporate into the developing model by researchers.
  • Identify areas of common ground in the understanding of cod population structure and areas of remaining uncertainty.
  • Learn about a series of alternative management options that may be considered in the future to accommodate the evolving understanding of cod stock structure.

REGISTRATION INFORMATION:  Sign up at Cod Population Structure Symposium.

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE SYMPOSIUM:  Contact Erik Chapman, New Hampshire Sea Grant Director, at (603) 862-1935, Erik.Chapman@unh.edu.

COD STRUCTURE WORKING GROUP:  The symposium will precede a June 20-21, 2018 meeting of the Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Working Group. The working group was formed in February 2018 to “determine the most appropriate representation of Atlantic cod stock structure for use in regional stock assessments based on currently available information.” Background on the group is available at Working Group Formation Plan. The list of working group members and upcoming meetings can be found at Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Working Group.

Learn more about the NEFMC by visiting their site here.

 

Bullard: Seafood Farming Is Key for the Future of Seafood and Our Communities

January 24, 2018 — As I retire from NOAA Fisheries, I want to share my vision of a bright future where marine aquaculture is part of our collective strategy for ensuring economic and environmental resiliency in coastal communities.

If done responsibly — as it is in the United States — aquaculture is increasingly recognized as one of the most environmentally sustainable ways to produce fish protein. While world population is rising, the amount of wild fish is not. I am proud of the progress that NOAA, the fishing community, and conservation agencies made in dramatically reducing overfishing in the United States through science-based management practices. While wild harvest fisheries have always been our priority, we know that even with sound management, wild fish harvests cannot meet increasing seafood demand. However, by fostering aquaculture here and growing our seafood locally, this nation can ensure a safe, secure and sustainable seafood supply.

In our local coastal communities, farming the sea is gaining momentum as a way for fishing families to diversify income and to provide fisheries-linked professions that we can pass on to future generations.

Few things are more New England than bustling waterfronts filled with hard-working men and women making a living from the ocean, but many working waterfronts have disappeared as wild stocks declined and processing plants give way to waterfront condos. Aquaculture farms — including shellfish, salmon, and seaweed operations — provide a year-round source of high-quality jobs and economic opportunities in coastal communities that can supplement seasonal employment, such as tourism and fishing.

There are already good examples where jobs in aquaculture and seasonal employment are combining. On the Piscataqua River, fishermen collaborated with the University of New Hampshire to farm steelhead trout as a way to supplement their incomes. The New Hampshire-grown steelhead operation helps fishermen diversify their income and learn a new trade. These fish also provide New England chefs with an additional local source of healthy protein.

Aquaculture is much more than food production. Around the nation, scientists are studying how shellfish farming can benefit local ecosystems and water quality, energy agencies are exploring farming algae as a source of biofuel, and seaweed farmers are fighting ocean acidification with their crops. NOAA’s Milford Laboratory is a world leader in aquaculture science and, working alongside shellfish farmers, we are leveraging its more than 85 years of research to inform management for sustainable expansion seafood farming in the region.

Read the full opinion piece at the Gloucester Times

 

UNH: Climate change effects could accelerate by mid-century

December 15, 2017 — DURHAM, N.C. — Environmental models used by University of New Hampshire researchers are showing the effects of climate change could be much stronger by the middle of the 21st century, and a number of ecosystem and weather conditions could consistently decline even more in the future.

If carbon dioxide emissions continue at the current rate, they report scenarios of future conditions could not only lead to a significant decrease in snow days, but also an increase in the number of summer days over 90 degrees and a drastic decline in stream habitat with 40 percent not suitable for cold water fish.

The research, published recently in the journal Ecology and Society, used models bench marked to field measurements to evaluate the Merrimack River watershed in New Hampshire. They found that along with a decrease in snow cover in the winter, other potential impacts could include up to 70 hot summer days per year with temperatures of 90 degrees or more by the end of century, a greater probability of flooding, a considerable loss of cold water fish habitat, and accelerated nitrogen inputs to coastal areas which could lead to eutrophication, an abnormal amount of nutrients that can pollute the water and deplete fish species. Researchers say the biggest impact will be around urban areas.

Read the full story at the Portsmouth Herald