News Updates for The Week of August 17, 2021
Climate change scenario planning, NH awards of excellence, and shortnose sturgeon research in NY!
Upcoming
Meetings

August 26: Atlantic Cobia Plan Development Team Webinar

August 30: East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Webinar 1

September 1: East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Webinar 2

September 2: East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning Webinar 3

September 13-17: SAFMC Meeting

September 28-30: NEFMC Meeting

October 4-7: Red Drum Simulation Assessment Workshop Webinar

October 18-21: ASMFC 80th Annual Meeting
(Long Branch, NJ)

November 6-10: AFS Baltimore Annual Meeting
Abstract submission deadline is August 16
Public Comment

September 7: NMFS is seeking public comment on proposed rule on 2022 Coastal Sharks Specifications, including commercial quotas, season start dates and retention limits. The proposed quotas for the Atlantic Region and No Regional Quota Shark Management Groups for 2022 are unchanged from 2021 levels, with a season start date of January 1, 2022 for all shark management groups (Find more here). 
Climate Change Scenario Planning: Input Needed to Prepare for Uncertainty in Ocean Conditions and Fisheries

Save the date! Join us for the East Coast Climate Change Scenario Planning—a new project led by representatives from the New England Fishery Management Council, Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and NOAA Fisheries Service. Starting on August 30, 2021, the team will host a series of kick-off webinars aimed to help fishing communities and fishery managers prepare for climate change. During the webinars participants will learn about climate change scenario planning, the benefits to participating in the planning process, other ways to become involved, and more. Registration is required and advanced registration is strongly encouraged. Please note all three webinars will present the same information so you only need to register for one.
Global climate models can project how ocean conditions will change over time. This figure shows how ocean bottom temperatures are projected to increase, especially north of Cape Hatteras, NC by the 2060s to 2080s under a scenario where carbon dioxide (CO2) increases by 1% per year and doubles after 70 years, representing a “high CO2 emissions” scenario. Image © NOAA Fisheries NEFSC

Find more information here.

ASMFC & MAFMC: Specifications for Summer Flounder, Scup, Black Sea Bass, and Bluefish

ASMFC’s Management Boards for Bluefish and Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass met jointly with the MAFMC to adopt 2022-2023 specifications for all four species. The Boards and Council reviewed the results of the June 2021 management track stock assessments for the four species, which incorporated fishery catch and fishery-independent survey data through 2019. They also considered recommendations from the Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC), Monitoring Committees and Advisory Panels, as well as comments from members of the public regarding the specifications for each species.

Find more information here.
SC DNR: Investigation leads to charges of illegal harvesting and sale of flounder and other fish

SC DNR Conservation Officers in Beaufort County last month charged multiple individuals and businesses after a wide-ranging investigation into the illegal commercial harvest and sale of flounder and other saltwater finfish species.

In the early morning hours of July 10, 2021, following a three-month investigation that began in April, SCDNR officers arrested three individuals in connection with the illegal harvest and sale of flounder and other finfish, including tripletail, sheepshead, and red drum. Forty-two fish were seized during an arrest at Alljoy Boat Landing in Bluffton, including thirty-three undersized flounder.

Find more information here.
MD DNR: Secretary’s Message — August 2021

Outdoor recreation has become more welcome than ever as we seek safe activities to do with our friends and family. Recognizing its importance even before the pandemic, Governor Hogan charged Maryland Commerce Secretary Kelly Schulz and me with co-chairing the Maryland Outdoor Recreation Economic Commission (MOREC). Since then, Secretary Schulz and I have been traversing the state and working to implement the recommendations of the commission. Among those recommendations is naming Maryland Outdoor Recreation Ambassadors to help position Maryland as a top destination for world class outdoor recreation experiences. So far we have recognized 33 ambassadors in four counties and counting.

Governor Hogan with Secretaries Riccio and Schulz visit Black Girls Dive Foundation, Randallstown, in May. This organization empowers and encourages young black women to be involved in recreational swimming and diving; ocean-related science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) academic pursuits; and environmental stewardship.

Find more information here.

MD DNR: Angler Breaks Newly Set Maryland Swordfish Record

A New Jersey angler is now the second officially recognized state record holder for swordfish, which he caught in a tournament August 6 at Ocean City. Jake Bertonazzi broke the state’s nearly two-week-old record for the Atlantic Division with a 318.5-pound swordfish — Xiphias gladius — caught while participating in the White Marlin Open, roughly 60 miles offshore in Poor Man’s Canyon. 

Find more information here.
NH FGD: 2020 Awards of Excellence Announced

The New Hampshire Fish and Game Commission has honored several individuals with the 2020 Commission Awards of Excellence for outstanding efforts in the conservation field in support of the New Hampshire Fish and Game Department’s mission.

Commissioner Ritchie White was selected for the Award of Excellence and has been an active saltwater angler for over 40 years. As a result of his passions, White has been actively involved in fisheries and wildlife policy since the 1990s. He spent 13 years as the Coastal Commissioner for the NH Fish and Game Commission, he has been a 20-year Governor’s appointee to the New Hampshire Advisory Committee on Marine Fisheries, he has been a member of the Board of Directors of Ducks Unlimited, the American Bluefin Tuna Association, and was also a founding member of the Coastal Conservation Association of New Hampshire and a board member since its inception. Since 2004, White has also been the Coordinator of NH’s Revolving Loan Fund which provides low-interest loans for New Hampshire’s commercial fishing industry.

Find more information here.
NYSDEC: Shortnose Sturgeon: New Population Study Underway 

This spring, academic, federal, and state research scientists embarked on a large-scale project that will provide an updated estimate for the Hudson’s shortnose sturgeon population using acoustic telemetry and side-scan sonar. In April and May, 50 adult shortnose sturgeon were netted on the spawning grounds north of Coxsackie and surgically implanted with long-lived (10-year) acoustic transmitters. These transmitters will be detected on a river-wide array of acoustic receivers as the fish move throughout the Hudson River estuary. The receivers will store the unique tag number and the date and time that a fish swims past a receiver (like E-Z Pass for sturgeon).

In the winter, fisheries staff will use side-scan sonar to image and count individual shortnose sturgeon in overwintering areas. These estimates will be mathematically merged with the river-wide telemetry data to estimate the proportion of individual fish in the overwintering areas, and by extension, in the overall Hudson River. This provides a robust and relatively low-cost means to track recovery of America’s first endangered fish. Funding for this project comes from the Hudson River Foundation and the Hudson River Estuary Program. The shortnose sturgeon were collected and tagged under a National Marine Fisheries Service Endangered Species Act Research permit # 20340.

Find more information here.
USFWS: Service Sends Updated Coastal Barrier Resources System Maps to Congress: Additions and removals for units in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida

USFWS has submitted to Congress seven draft revised maps for John H. Chafee Coastal Barrier Resources System (CBRS) units located in North Carolina, South Carolina and Florida. If adopted, the revised maps would remove a total of 34 acres (mainly uplands) from the CBRS to address mapping errors, and add a total of 10,012 acres (mainly wetlands and open water) that meet the criteria for an undeveloped coastal barrier. The recommended changes will only take effect if adopted by Congress through legislation. Development still can occur in areas added to the CBRS provided that private or other non-federal parties bear the full cost of building or re-building in these highly vulnerable, biologically important areas.

Find more information here.
NOAA Fisheries: Six Steps to Sustainable Sharks

NOAA Fisheries ensures that United States fisheries are some of the most sustainable in the world, including sharks. Of the 479 fish stocks or stock complexes we manage, 43 are shark species in the Atlantic Ocean. See below for some of the steps in our management approach:

Step One: Research
Scientists spend months at sea and in the lab every year, collecting vital data on different marine species, including sharks. Shark research is conducted on NOAA’s fleet of research ships, or through its cooperative research programs. That’s where NOAA researchers work in conjunction with university scientists, the fishing industry, or other stakeholders to perform research activities.

Step Two: Assessment
Using the data collected about shark stocks, our scientists in coordination with other scientists and partners complete a stock assessment to measure the impact of fishing on these stocks. Assessments use the best information available, which may include data from fisheries landings, scientific surveys, and biological studies. They predict catch levels that maximize the number of fish that can be caught every year while preventing overfishing (removing too many fish). These limits protect the marine ecosystem and, where necessary, rebuild overfished (depleted) stocks. Results of stock assessments are used for setting sustainable levels of fishing under the authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Act

Find more information here.
NOAA Fisheries: Andy Strelcheck to Lead Fisheries’ Southeast Region

Today, NOAA Fisheries announced Mr. Andy Strelcheck as the new Regional Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Southeast Regional Office in St. Petersburg, Florida. He will assume his new duties on August 15, 2021. Mr. Strelcheck began his career with NOAA in 2004, serving in a series of positions, including Southeast Deputy Regional Administrator since 2015. He succeeds retired Regional Administrator Dr. Roy Crabtree who was in the position since 2003.

“I’m honored to make this announcement,'' said NOAA Fisheries’ Assistant Administrator Janet Coit. “He’s done an incredible job acting in the position since the beginning of the year and we’re looking forward to him officially taking on this important role.”

Find more information here.
What We're Reading

The hashtags that brought Black scientists together: Online communities forged last year sparked collaborations and conversations about diversity and equity in academic research (Nature).


The case for ocean optimism (Knowable Magazine).

Saved by a Bucket, but Can the Owens Pupfish Survive? A new refuge in the California desert offers a long imperiled species its first real chance to thrive (The New York Times).


What Happens to Wildlife Swimming in a Sea of Our Drug Residues? Wastewater exposes plants and wildlife to hundreds of chemical compounds. Researchers are learning about potential side effects and solutions (The Revelator).
Partner Agencies
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