FishWatch

New Floating Surface Collector at the Baker Hydroelectric Project is a Model for Innovative Fish Passage

This second 5-part series featured in The Seattle Times Newspapers in Education (NIE) was created to help educators introduce the science behind sustainable seafood.

From the halls of Congress to high-end restaurants, seafood fraud has been getting a lot of attention. Investigations by nongovernmental organizations and media outlets such as the Boston Globe have revealed that consumers in several metropolitan areas are routinely served something other than what is on the menu or at the fish market.

Just yesterday a new step was taken in support of global sustainable fisheries – with the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the United States and Morocco. The MOU reflects efforts by both countries to embrace modern principles of fisheries management.

The International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) concluded its annual meeting today in Agadir, Morocco with significant advances that will combat Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing and support the rebuilding of bluefin tuna and marlin stocks.

Marine mammal shootings and smuggling operations. International conspiracies and local fraud. Paper trails and money trails. Not just the stuff of political thrillers, these are the kinds of issues NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement confronts every day.

Here in the United States, our seafood consumption habits haven't changed too much during the past several years. Eating about 15 pounds of seafood per person per year, we tend to eat the same types of seafood from shrimp, salmon, and canned tuna to milder species like tilapia, catfish, and pollock. While there's nothing wrong with an unadventurous appetite, health experts agree that we should be increasing not only the amount but also the variety of seafood we eat for a healthy diet.

Meet Terry Alexander, a fourth generation fisherman from Harpswell, Maine, who has fished for 35 years. Alexander has teamed up with other fishermen, scientists, and the Gulf of Maine Research Institute to help revive redfish fishing now that the population has rebounded. Alexander is president of the Sustainable Harvest, a sector of Northeast groundfish fishermen, and owns two vessels, the F/V Jocka, a dragger used to fish for cod, haddock, and other groundfish, and the F/V Rachel T that gillnets groundfish. We caught up with him to learn more about the redfish revival and how sector management is working for him.

Pirate fishing is illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing, and it is threatening the sustainability of our ocean ecosystems and fisheries. Combating IUU fishing is one of NOAA Fisheries' top priorities. As a global leader in sustainable fisheries and one of the largest importers of seafood in the world, the United States must ensure the seafood we import is caught legally. Keeping unsafe, illegal product out of the market protects our fishermen from unfair competition and ensures consumer confidence in the seafood supply.

Armed with whisks, knives, and seafood native to their home states, chefs from around the country descended on New Orleans in August to battle for the title of King of American Seafood at the 2012 Great American Seafood Cook-off. We recently sat down with the winner of the 2012 Cook-off, Chef Gregory Gourdet of Portland, Oregon, to talk about his passions and philosophies as a chef, the Cook-off, and why he counts U.S. seafood, specifically from Oregon, as the key to his success.

Do you know how we inspect seafood? How about the most common types of seafood fraud? We sat down with NOAA Fisheries Steve Wilson, Seafood Inspection Chief Quality Officer, to learn how his staff ensures seafood is safe and high-quality. Read on to find out why a highly trained nose knows.

Our top ten favorite seafoods in the United States haven't changed much in the past several years…but you might be surprised at where they come from. See how much you know about the source of your seafood.

Stock assessments are one important piece of a dynamic cycle of management aimed at preserving our ocean resources. They provide scientific advice to decision-makers on the current health and future trends of a fish stock and its fishery. Assessments also offer the technical basis for setting annual fishery harvest levels (through quotas and catch limits) and other fishery management measures to keep our fisheries operating sustainably.

The Center for American Progress takes an in-depth look at stock assessments, and the important role they plan in modern fishery management in the United States and the sustainability of our fishery resources and the fishing industry.

The oceans have absorbed about a third of the carbon dioxide emitted into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide alters ocean chemistry, making seawater more acidic. The term researchers use for this phenomenon is 'Ocean Acidification', and it threatens not only the ecological health of the oceans, but also the economic well-being of the people and industries that depend on a healthy and productive marine environment. Dr. Shallin Busch co-leads a team of scientists at NOAA's Northwest Fisheries Science Center studying ocean acidification. She recently stopped in to NOAA headquarters while in D.C., and we had a chance to ask her a few questions.

The world's fastest-growing form of food production and a vital component of our food supply, aquaculture (fish or shellfish farming) also supports commercial fisheries, coastal communities, and working waterfronts and enhances habitat and at-risk species. Take a look at the advantages, challenges, and growth of aquaculture in our country in a new NOAA Fisheries video.

The aquaculture industry's growing demand for fish feed, which is derived mainly from wild populations of smaller fish such as anchovies and sardines, will soon outstrip supply. Can we replace wild-caught fish in the diets of farmed fish so that the aquaculture industry's continued growth will be sustainable? Researchers from NOAA and the US Department of Agriculture have been working on this problem. A recently released report, The Future of Aquafeeds, details their progress.

Each year NOAA Fisheries compiles key fisheries statistics from the previous year into an annual snapshot documenting fishing's importance to the nation. The 2011 report provides landings totals for both domestic recreational and commercial fisheries by species and allows us to track important indicators such as annual seafood consumption and the productivity of top fishing ports.

With sea surface temperatures reaching record highs on the Northeast Continental Shelf during the first half of 2012, scientists are predicting profound impacts on the area's ocean life. For instance, Atlantic cod are moving northeast of their historic distribution in response to warming waters. What this means for this important fishery resource is so far unknown—but we do know things are changing and we must continue monitoring and adapting to these changes.

Think back to your school days and the excitement you felt when your yearbook arrived. I always enjoyed looking back at all that happened during the year. It's with this same excitement that I share with you NOAA Fisheries' yearbook, Fisheries of the U.S., 2011. Yes, fitting our rich scientific tradition, this is a statistical yearbook filled with facts and figures about our domestic fisheries. Take the time to flip through the pages and you'll see Fisheries of the U.S., 2011 has some good news to share.

Veterans are getting a chance to train and work on habitat restoration and fisheries monitoring through a project funded by NOAA. Partnering with California Conservation Corps and California's Department of Fish and Game, NOAA will offer the vets a year-long program of paid training and hands-on experience that will open pathways to new careers in natural resource management and habitat conservation. The work will benefit fisheries, too!

Bycatch of various species—whether fish, marine mammals, or turtles—can have significant biological, economic, and social impacts on our nation's fisheries. Reducing bycatch can help fishermen increase their fishing opportunities and efficiency and can also increase catch rates for target species. Under the Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program, NOAA Fisheries works side-by-side with fishermen on their boats to develop solutions to some of the top bycatch challenges facing U.S. fisheries.

White abalone used to number in the millions off the southern California coast, but they've since declined to the point that, in 2001, they became the first marine invertebrate to be listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. Recovery efforts to date haven't helped; in fact, trends indicate that this species is approaching extinction. NOAA Fisheries and partners are working to changes that—using aquaculture techniques, they're producing captive-bred abalone that will be used to establish a self-sustaining population in the wild.

NOAA researchers are getting a comprehensive view of the ocean floor using a new instrument, and have confirmed high numbers of young sea scallops off of Delaware Bay, which bodes well for the future of the scallop fishery.

With a dish of slow-cooked Oregon Chinook salmon, Chef Gregory Gourdet of Departure Restaurant in Portland, Oregon took first place at the ninth annual Great American Seafood Cook-Off, an event partly sponsored by NOAA Fisheries to highlight – to American seafood consumers – the agency's commitment to a healthy marine environment and improving the nation's domestic seafood supply.

As one of the top predators of the oceans, sharks play an important role in the food web and help ensure balance in the ocean's ecosystem. As demand and exploitation rates for some shark species and shark products (i.e., fins) have increased, concern has steadily grown regarding the status of many shark stocks and the sustainability of global fisheries. Relative to other marine fish, sharks have biological characteristics that leave many shark species vulnerable to overfishing. Globally there is a general lack of data reporting on the catch of sharks, particularly species-specific data. For these reasons, sharks present an array of issues and challenges for fisheries conservation and management both domestically and internationally. Despite the challenges, NOAA Fisheries is committed to achieving sustainable management of sharks.

Three basic things you should know about bluefin tuna—they're big, they're fast, and they like to travel. So, when scientists from NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center actually tagged and released an 8-foot-long, 400-pound bluefin tuna in the Gulf of Mexico in April, they anxiously awaited to discover…where did that huge tuna go?

For centuries, Gloucester, Massachusetts has been one of the nation's top fishing ports—a port filled with commercial and recreational fishing boats, fish buyers, distributors, ice houses, shipyards, seafood restaurants, and fishermen's bars. The town was built on a foundation of fish and fishing runs strongly through the city's blood. Now, NOAA is beginning to work with the fishermen of Gloucester (pronounced gläs-tər) to add mussel farming, or aquaculture, as a complement to traditional fishing.

A truly sustainable fishery balances people, profit, and of course, the planet. CNN Money highlights disclaimer how the famous "'deadliest catch' is not so deadly anymore," and it's more profitable and environmentally friendly, too—basically a fishery manager's dream come true. Under an innovative management approach, the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery now operates more efficiently, safely, and profitably than ever, all while the crab population remains abundant and bycatch of other species is minimal.

Flatfish trawl gear isn't what it used to be—and that's a good thing. In the Bering Sea, traditional trawl gear had long sweeps, or cables running from the doors to the wings of the net, which moved across the bottom of the seafloor to herd flatfish into the center of the net. NOAA Fisheries scientists and partners like Alaska Seafood Cooperative and Bering Sea flatfish fishing industry members collaborated to modify the gear so it reduces the damage to important bottom habitat.

Multiple types of white fish have been used for fish sticks, but today, the primary fish-stick fish is Alaska pollock (Theragra chalcogramma). With an annual harvest that fluctuates around a million tons, Alaska pollock is the United States' largest fishery, and it's one of the biggest, most economically valuable fisheries in the world. Alaska pollock populations exhibit large fluctuations from year to year. Historically, declines in some regions were exacerbated by heavy fishing. By establishing annual catch limits (quotas) on this stock since 1977, the United States has long worked to ensure that the pollock fishery is a model for sustainable seafood harvest. While quotas have largely addressed the problem of human overfishing of Alaska pollock, another challenge looms for NOAA Fisheries: keeping up with changes in climate. Warmer water temperatures appear to be a double-whammy for pollock: they reduce availability of the pollock's preferred food, while increasing the populations of its predators.

Healthy habitat is vital to abundant fisheries and marine life. Fish use habitat to feed, grow, reproduce, and raise their young so these places need to be in good condition for fish populations to survive and thrive.

In September 2011, the largest dam removal in U.S. history began on the Elwha River in Washington—home to all five species of Pacific salmon. Just a few short months after the 108-foot tall Elwha Dam was removed, fish are already returning to their restored habitat.

In 2011, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and NOAA Fisheries implemented the West Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program. In just one year, the program has become a national model for sustainable fisheries management that ensures overfishing is behind us, provides stability to the fishing industry, and supports the fishing infrastructure of many Pacific coastal communities.

How are you connected to deep-sea corals? For one, deep-sea corals are home to important commercial fish species such as grouper, snapper, sea bass, rockfish, shrimp, and crab. One way to protect deep-sea corals is to make wise seafood choices that support sustainable fishing practices.

The Commerce Department recently announced the appointment of 30 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA Fisheries to manage ocean fish stocks. Council members represent diverse groups, including commercial and recreational fishing industries, environmental interests and academia, and carry out the Magnuson-Stevens Act's requirements to end overfishing, rebuild fish stocks, and manage them sustainably.

Silently patrolling the ocean depths for the last 400 million years, sharks are some of the oldest creatures on the planet...and some of the most elusive. However, that's changing a bit now that NOAA scientists are working collaboratively with Uruguay's fisheries agency to research blue sharks in the southwestern Atlantic Ocean using state-of-the-art tagging techniques and satellite monitoring. Experts believe that this research could lead to better conservation of sharks, by informing sustainable fishing practices and reducing unnecessary bycatch.

When are the salmon coming? That's what people along the Yukon River are asking this month, as they gear up for another season of fishing. The timing of the year's first run of Chinook (king) salmon can vary by as much as 20 days, depending on spring conditions. Researchers from NOAA Fisheries and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game use data on these conditions to predict the timing of the salmon run.

Have you ever wished you could have fresh, locally caught seafood delivered direct to you every week? What if your purchase helped support the local fishing communities in the process? In a growing number of communities, this is a reality. Community supported fisheries, or CSFs, link fishermen to their local markets. It works like this—any member of the public can pre-pay for a "season" of fresh, local, low-impact seafood, and in turn, receive a weekly or bi-weekly share of fish or shellfish.

Alaska waters host some of the most commercially valuable U.S. fisheries. More than half of the U.S. seafood Americans eat is caught in Alaska. Understanding what role natural and human-influenced variations in temperature, nutrients, sea ice, and other factors play in the ecosystem will enable better predictions of climate impacts that affect the economy and people of the region. NOAA researchers and their partners studied Bering Sea ice and ecosystem conditions over six years in order to understand the processes that influence the eastern Bering Sea marine ecosystem and recently published their findings.

Fish swim beyond national boundaries. Because fish are a shared resource, the long-term sustainability of the world's fisheries can only be achieved through effective international cooperation. In support of this goal, NOAA seeks to ensure that management of global fish stocks is science-based, that U.S. commercial and recreational fishermen have equitable access to these fisheries, and that a steady supply of safe, legal, and sustainable seafood is available to meet consumer demand into the future. The United States and the European Union have outlined a similar vision for fisheries reform in the global arena—one that will provide for ecological and economic stability.

Culverts—the pipes that allow water to flow under roads and bridges—can sometimes block fish from swimming upstream. When this happens, fish can't reach their spawning habitat. In 2010, we replaced culverts on Bride Brook, the second largest herring run in Connecticut. With the increased flow from the new, larger culvert, herring were able to swim upstream for the first time in more than a decade. And this year, Bride Brook reaped the benefits: this year's run was more than triple what we had seen in the past.

In Baja California, Mexico, NOAA Fisheries scientists are doubling the impact of their research—protecting endangered sea turtles while mentoring the next generation of ocean scientists and ocean leaders. Through a partnership with the San Diego-based non-profit Ocean Discovery Institute, NOAA is giving hands-on research opportunities to young people from urban and diverse backgrounds.

NOAA Fisheries' scientific stock assessments are key to fisheries management. They examine the effects of fishing and other factors to describe the past and current status of a fish stock, answer questions about the size of a fish stock, and make predictions about how a fish stock will respond to current and future management measures. Fish stock assessments support sustainable fisheries by providing fisheries managers with the information necessary to make sound decisions. Find out more about the data required for assessing U.S. fish stocks in part one of our Stock Assessment 101 Series.

NOAA Fisheries releases the 15th Annual Report to Congress on the Status of the Nation's Fisheries. This report documents our national journey toward ending overfishing and rebuilding the nation's fisheries.

Ann and Capt. Richard Cook of Charlestown, Rhode Island sell locally caught, fresh seafood at Rhode Island and Connecticut farmers markets, restaurants and through their community supported fishery program. Capt. Cook also fishes for summer flounder, striped bass, sea bass and lobster from the Sandra Lynn, his 35-foot fiberglass boat.

Scalloping is a big and growing business in the United States. It's also a sustainable fishery. Here we feature Bob Keese—a scallop fisherman out of Chatham, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. Keese says scalloping is better than it ever has been; there's a bigger demand and the price is higher. Bob and his crew work for a small, clean fishery. They typically shuck about 600 pounds of scallops a day and sell what's been freshly landed. Click on the video below to hear Bob's story, how he makes his living harvesting scallops, and why he loves fishing in Cape Cod.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation recently awarded 18 grants from its Fisheries Innovation Fund for a total $1.55 million, and grantees will match the funds more than $1.2 million. The fund targets local innovation and knowledge transfer to sustain coastal communities and the fisheries upon which they depend. The most recent grant recipients focus on improving access to fish, capital, and shore-side infrastructure.

Observers are NOAA-trained biologists who monitor commercial fisheries nationwide, collecting data on catch and bycatch as well as biological samples, information on fishing gear, and economic data. This data is critical for smart fishery management and the future of our seafood supply.

Two recreational fishermen (a chef and a seafood salesman by trade) are leading a unique grassroots movement to control the spread of northern snakehead, an invasive species that threatens the future of an ecosystem they know and love. How do they plan to do it? By creating a market for snakeheads and eating them!

Take a look at the collaboration between NOAA scientists and fishermen and hear how this team is using new tools to survey, research, and better understand depleted, commercially important groundfish in the Southern California Bight—the area located in coastal southern California which includes the Channel Islands and part of the Pacific Ocean.

When you see the word "overfishing" it's only natural to think this only applies to, well, fishing. Although fishing adds significant pressure, fish stocks can also become "overfished" for many other reasons, including natural mortality, disease, and environmental conditions.

Meet Phil Harris, a commercial fisherman who uses traps to catch black cod, or sablefish, in waters off San Diego. Phil and his crew work hard to get fresh, quality, sustainable fish straight to the consumer.

Learn more about the safety of seafood from the Gulf of Mexico post-Deepwater Horizon.

Meet Rob Seitz, a commercial fisherman who fishes for dungeness crabs and groundfish in the waters off Astoria, Oregon and Ilwaco, Washington.

Meet Bill Dewey of Taylor Shellfish Farms in Shelton, Washington. A biologist by training, Bill owns and runs his own clam farm in addition to his job at Taylor.

Meet Laura Anderson, owner of Local Ocean Seafood – a popular seafood restaurant on the waterfront in scenic Newport, Oregon. Watch a video to hear her story and learn why she works so hard to bring a variety of sustainable local seafood to her customers.

Meet Linda Behnken, a commercial fisherman out of Alaska. Behnken has been fishing for halibut, sablefish, and salmon in Alaskan waters since 1982. With her husband, she co-owns the Woodstock, a 40-foot boat home-ported in Sitka, a small community in Alaska's southeast.

Meet Perry Raso, an oyster farmer and owner of Matunuck Oyster Farm, who has been growing oysters in a Rhode Island salt pond since 2002. Two years ago, Raso also opened Matunuck Oyster Bar, a seafood restaurant next door.