Maine Red Tide May Be Abating

According to the Bangor Daily News, the HAB that prompted Senator Olympia Snowe to requests emergency funding for NOAA research appears to be past its peak:

The massive blooms of red tide algae that have shut down much of Maine’s shellfish industry for weeks may be abating, according to the Department of Marine Resources.

Read the article here.

Read more!

H.R.1080 (IUU) on the Union Calendar

H.R.1080, the Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing Enforcement Act of 2009. was reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. (H. Rept. 111-228) on 7/24/2009 and placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 126.

The Congressional Budget Office has released its Cost Estimate for the bill:

H.R. 1080 would strengthen the authority of the National Oceanic and AtmosphericAdministration (NOAA) to enforce fisheries laws and combat illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing by foreign vessels. The bill would establish uniform enforcement policies and procedures among the many federal statutes that govern the regulation of commercial fishing and would reauthorize funding for certain international enforcement activities through fiscal year 2015. Finally, the bill would authorize the appropriation of $5 million a year through 2015 to assist other nations with fishery conservation programs and enforcement activities.

Read the CBO cost estimate here.[PDF]

Read more!

H.R.2093 Passed in the House

Via the Office of the Clerk for the House of Representatives:

H.R. 2093, the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009 to amend the Federal Water Pollution Control Act relating to beach monitoring, and for other purposes was passed as amended in the House this evening by a voice vote.


More information on this act and The Senate version, S. 878 is available in my earlier post.
Read more!

Little Creatures, Big Stir

From ScienceNOW Daily News

Little Creatures Can Stir Big Oceans

When it comes to churning up the world's oceans, Mastigias jellyfish are quite the little blenders. New research suggests that large groups of the small, placid creatures--along with all of the sea's other motile beings--can mix as much heat, gases, and nutrients through the water column as the winds and tides do.

Read the entire story at ScienceNOW

Read the Letter to Nature:[Subscription Required]
A viscosity-enhanced mechanism for biogenic ocean mixing


Read more!

Modulation of Ocean Acidification

Via PNAS:
Reasearch suggests that acidification rate of the oceans is modulated by physical and biogeochemical processes which must be considered "when designing and interpreting ocean pH monitoring efforts and predictive models."

Physical and biogeochemical modulation of ocean acidification in the central North Pacific

Here we report the results of nearly 20 years of time-series measurements of seawater pH and associated parameters at Station ALOHA in the central North Pacific Ocean near Hawaii. We document a significant long-term decreasing trend of −0.0019 ± 0.0002 y−1 in surface pH, which is indistinguishable from the rate of acidification expected from equilibration with the atmosphere. Superimposed upon this trend is a strong seasonal pH cycle driven by temperature, mixing, and net photosynthetic CO2 assimilation.

Read the Open Access article at PNAS.


Read more!

West Coast Permit Fee Final Rule

From the Federal Register Online via the GPO:

NMFS issues a final rule to initiate collection of a permit fee for vessel owners participating in commercial and charter recreational fishing for highly migratory species (HMS) in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the West Coast of California, Oregon, and Washington. The HMS permits are issued under implementing regulations for the Fishery Management Plan for U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species (HMS FMP).

The Administrator, Southwest Region, NMFS, determined that this regulation is necessary for the conservation and management ofthe U.S. West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species and that it is consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and other applicable laws. This final rule has been determined to be significant for purposes of Executive Order 12866.

Read the entire announcement at the Federal Register Online

Read more!

Big Advantage for the Small

New research out of IFM-GEOMAR makes the case that:

... reduced body size is the third universal ecological response to global warming in aquatic systems besides the shift of species ranges toward higher altitudes and latitudes and the seasonal shifts in life cycle events.

Read the article at PNAS:
Global warming benefits the small in aquatic ecosystems.[Subscription Required]

Read the press release at IFM-GEOMAR

Read more!

Biogeochemical Markers

Via PLoS ONE:
Understanding Oceanic Migrations with Intrinsic Biogeochemical Markers

... using tracked pelagic seabirds and some of their own feathers which were known to be grown at different places and times within the annual cycle, we proved the value of biogeochemical analyses of inert tissue as tracers of marine movements and habitat use.

...

Our findings shed new light on the simple and effective assignment of marine organisms to distinct oceanic areas, providing new opportunities to study unknown migration patterns of secretive species, including in relation to human-induced mortality on specific populations in the marine environment.

Read the Open Access article at PLoS ONE.
Read more!

H.R.509 & H.R.556 pass in the House

Via the Office of the Clerk for the House of Representatives:

H.R.509, the Marine Turtle Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2009 which was Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 111-200 and placed on the Union Calendar on July 12, 2009, passed in the House by a vote of 354 to 72 (R.C. 652)

See my earlier post of June 23, 2009, for further details on this bill.

H.R.556 the Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act passed by a by a vote of 316 to 107 (R.C. 651)


Read more!

H.R.509 scheduled for vote 7/28

Via Thomas:

H.R.509, the Marine Turtle Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2009 which was Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 111-200 and placed on the Union Calendar on July 12, 2009, is scheduled to be voted on at the end of the 7/28 session during the Tuesday rules suspension along with H.R.556 - Southern Sea Otter Recovery and Research Act


See my earlier post of June 23, 2009, for further details on this bill.
Read more!

90-day Finding for Elkhorn and Staghorn Corals

NMFS has announced a 90-day finding for the petition from Palm Beach County Reef Rescue to revise elkhorn and staghorn corals' critical habitat.

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access:

We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), announce a 90-day finding for a petition to revise elkhorn (Acropora palmata) and staghorn (A. cervicornis) corals' critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) of 1973, as amended. Elkhorn and staghorn corals are listed as threatened throughout their ranges and have designated critical habitat consisting of substrate of suitable quality and availability to support larval settlement and recruitment and the reattachment and recruitment of asexual fragments in water depths shallower than 30 meters in four areas in Florida, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.

The petition seeks to extend the northern boundary of designated critical habitat in the Florida area to the Lake Worth Inlet, approximately 15.5 miles (24.9 km) north of the current boundary at Boynton Beach Inlet. We find that the petition presents substantial scientific information that the revision may be warranted. We are soliciting information and comments pertaining to this request for
revision of critical habitat.

Written comments and information related to this petition finding or the petitioned action must be received by August 26, 2009.

Read the entire announcement for the comment addresses at the Federal Register.
Read more!

Princess Liner whale strike

In a repeat of an incident from a decade ago, a cruise ship returned to Vancouver BC with a whale impaled on her bow. The Sapphire Princess had just returned from an Alaskan voyage. Both the Princess liner, and the Celebrity Glaxy on the same date in 1999, struck and killed rare fin whales.

• Princess ship returns from Alaska cruise with rare whale pinned to bow


• Read Princess Cruises' statement
  


• Necropsy set for whale found on cruise ship bow
  


• 1999 Column: Dead whale found pinned by cruise ship just another distraction for tourists


• Necropsy completed on whale found on bow of cruise ship docked in Vancouver

Read more!

Hypoxia suspected in Buoy Key Fish Kill

The Miami Herald and The Palm Beach Post are reporting that a large fish kill in the Everglades near Buoy Key is likely due to hypoxia driven by an increase in water temperature:

• Heat may have killed fish in Florida Bay

The chief of biological resources at Everglades National Park said the thousands of fish floating dead in Florida Bay this week may have died from the heat.
Thousands of fish popped up dead this week in Florida Bay -- possible victims of what might be described as a marine version of heat stroke.

The fish kill was unusually large for the waters of Everglades National Park, with floating redfish, snook and other species covering nearly 20 acres in between Buoy Key and the coast, said Dave Hallac, the park's chief of biological resources.

• Scientists: Heat wave may be to blame for killing thousands of fish in Florida Bay

Thousands of dead fish bobbed to the surface of Florida Bay this week, an unusually large kill that scientists are blaming partly on hot weather.

The dead fish - snook, redfish, mullet and even the tougher catfish - surfaced suddenly and mysteriously along with tangles of dead sea-grass blades across 20 acres of the north-central bay near Buoy Key, about five miles off Florida's mangrove-lined southern coastline.

Read more!

NOAA Awards Emergency Funding

NOAA has responded to Sen Snowe's July 16th request for aid with the Gulf of Maine HAB:
NOAA Awards Emergency Funding to Aid New England Red Tide Response

NOAA is taking steps to respond to the New England red tide in the Gulf of Maine that has caused a near-complete shutdown of shellfish harvesting in Maine. Today the agency awarded $121,000 to Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in partnership with the University of Maine to conduct research cruises to monitor the toxins. The information obtained will help managers determine how long the severe red tide conditions may last, if there are regions where the bloom is receding, and whether the bloom will expand to new areas.

Read the entire announcement at NOAA News.
Read more!

Public Meeting: NEFMC Research Steering Committee

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access

The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Research Steering Committee (Committee), in August, 2009, to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate.

DATES: The meeting will be held on Thursday, August 6, 2009 at 9:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The meeting will be held at the Radisson Hotel Plymouth Harbor, 180 Water Street, Plymouth, MA 02360, telephone: (508) 747-4900; fax: (508) 747-8937.

Council address: New England Fishery Management Council, 50 Water Street, Mill 2, Newburyport, MA 01950.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Paul J. Howard, Executive Director,
New England Fishery Management Council; telephone: (978) 465-0492.

See the announcement in the Federal Register for details on the public meeting
Read more!

Draft SoCal Steelhead Recovery Plan

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces that the Draft Southern California Steelhead Recovery Plan (Plan) is available for public review and comment. The Plan addresses the Southern California Steelhead (Oncorhynchus mykiss) Distinct Population Segment (DPS), which spawns in watersheds from the Santa Maria River (just north of Point Conception) south to the Tijuana River at the U.S.-Mexico border. NMFS is soliciting review and comment from the public and all interested parties on the Draft Plan. In addition, public meetings will be held on August 25 and September 1, 2009, as opportunities for providing comments on the Draft Plan.

NMFS will consider and address all substantive comments received during the comment period. Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m. Pacific daylight time on September 21, 2009. Public meetings will also be held.

See the announcement in the Federal Register for details on the public meetings and comment period.
Read more!

CBO Cost Estimate on S.668

The Congressional Budget Office has released its Cost Estimate for S.668, The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2009 which was reported favorably with amendments on July 8 by the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation.


The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative, which protects and restores the marine resources of the northwest coast of Washington State and northern Puget Sound is estimated to cost $2 million dollars per year for 2010-2014.

Read the CBO Cost Estimate here. [PDF]

Read a press release about the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative Act from Senator Patty Murray.
Read more!

Selecting Areas where Fishing Is Permitted

Via PLoS ONE:
Natalie C. Ban and Amanda C. J. Vincent address the challenge to "secure a future for marine life while minimizing impacts on fishers and fishing communities."

Beyond Marine Reserves: Exploring the Approach of Selecting Areas where Fishing Is Permitted, Rather than Prohibited

Rather than selecting areas where fishing is banned – as is usually the case with spatial management – we assess the concept of designating areas where fishing is permitted. We use spatial catch statistics for thirteen commercial fisheries on Canada's west coast to determine the minimum area that would be needed to maintain a pre-ascribed target percentage of current catches. We found that small reductions in fisheries yields, if strategically allocated, could result in large unfished areas that are representative of biophysical regions and habitat types, and have the potential to achieve remarkable conservation gains.

Read the article at PLoS ONE.
Read more!

Jane Lubchenco in the news

New NOAA administrator Jane Lubchenco garnered some press attention with her keynote address at Coastal Zome 2009 in Boston and an announcement about the Gulf of Mexico "Dead Zone":

• NOAA's chief poses 'grand' ocean challenge
  [South Coast Today]

BOSTON — The chief of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is challenging the nation to reverse the decline of oceans and coasts and restore them to a "healthy, productive and resilient state" while tackling the issue of climate change.

• NOAA chief says new ocean uses creating conflicts
  [AP via Google]

BOSTON — New pressures on the nation's oceans, from wind turbines to fish farms, are increasingly sparking conflicts with more traditional activities such as shipping and recreational boating and show the need for better planning, the head of the agency overseeing federal ocean research services said Monday.

• New NOAA chief brings attention to dead zone
  [The Miami Herald]
  

NEW ORLEANS -- The "dead zone" off the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, where there is too little oxygen in the water for anything to live, is getting new federal attention under President Barack Obama's administration.

Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, has scheduled a teleconference Monday with Nancy Rabalais, who has been studying the problem, called hypoxia, since 1970 and is currently measuring this year's hypoxic area.

Read more!

New Study: AMOC Shutdown May Be Gradual

New GCM reasearch out of Oregon State University finds that a climate-change-induced shutdown of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) may occur more gradually than previously predicted.

Research indicates ocean current shutdown may be gradual

CORVALLIS, Ore. – The findings of a major new study are consistent with gradual changes of current systems in the North Atlantic Ocean, rather than a more sudden shutdown that could lead to rapid climate changes in Europe and elsewhere.

The research, based on the longest experiment of its type ever run on a "general circulation model" that simulated the Earth's climate for 21,000 years back to the height of the last Ice Age, shows that major changes in these important ocean current systems can occur, but they may take place more slowly and gradually than had been suggested.

Read the entire press release at the OSU College of Science.


Read more!

Buoys Help Avert Whale-Ship Collisions

Via Oceanus at WHOI:

Specially engineered mooring system detects whales and warns ships.

A lot of lines crisscross, run parallel, and ultimately connect in this story.

The first line is a watery one hugging the East Coast between Florida and Nova Scotia, which right whales have migrated along since time immemorial. The second is an intensifying line of vessel traffic on the east-west shipping lanes in and out of Boston—and right through prime whale feeding areas. That greatly increases the risk of lethal collisions that threaten extinction for the tiny remnant population of North Atlantic right whales.

In 2005, a company called Excelerate Energy sought permission to build a deepwater port about 16 miles off Boston for large ships to deliver liquefied natural gas. Proponents believed the plan had all sorts of economic and environmental benefits, including avoiding the construction of a large gas storage facility on a populous coastline. But to conservationists, it was like allowing 18-wheel trucks to zoom through a school zone.

Read the article at Oceanus.
Read more!

Judge rules against NOAA in auction dispute

A US District Judge has ruled that the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction cannot be closed while the court case is still pending.

Via FIS.com:
Judge rules against NOAA

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s attempt to shut down the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction as a penalty was prohibited earlier this week by a federal judge. It was decided that the auction cannot be closed down while a court case involving it is pending in a US District Court.

Read the complete FIS.com article here


Reaction from the Gloucester Daily News:
NOAA, after media push vs. auction, silent after court rebuke

The law enforcement office of the federal fisheries service undertook an aggressive, preemptive media campaign last month to inform the public of its decision to penalize the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction with a 10-day closure for a disputed violation of a 6-year-old probation agreement.

"The press release on this matter was designed to ensure that all relevant factual information was made available to the public," wrote NOAA enforcement attorney Mitch MacDonald, in a judicially demanded affidavit on the purpose of the campaign.

But yesterday — a day after a federal judge issued a restraining order on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and sharply chastised the service for attempting to impose punishment before the case was resolved in federal court — the NOAA media machine went silent.

Read the Gloucester Daily News article here
Read more!

Havre de Grace Manatee

The Baltimore Sun is reporting that a manatee has been sighted in the northern reaches of the Chesapeake Bay near Havre de Grace. USGS biologists have identified it as a male they have named Ilya, last seen in the Miami area in 2006.

One of Florida's endangered manatees paid a social call on Havre de Grace over the weekend, swimming close enough to the dock to be filmed and even touched, officials at the National Aquarium said yesterday.

Video shot by a town police officer of the visiting marine mammal was clear enough to allow federal biologists in Florida to identify the manatee as a teen-ager named Ilya, last sighted near Miami three years ago, said Jennifer Dittmar, coordinator of the Baltimore aquarium's marine animal rescue program.

Read the entire story at the Baltimore Sun.
Read more!

Humboldt squid on the West Coast

Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) have been showing up as far north as Seattle.

• Giant squid caught in West Seattle
  

• Jumbo Squid Spook California Divers

• Jumbo squid invade San Diego shores, spook scuba divers

Historically the appearance of Humboldt this far north has coincided with El Niño conditions in the eastern Pacific. The NCEP Climate Prediction Center issued an advisory on July 9 for El Niño conditions that have been observed and are expected to continue through the Northern Hemisphere Winter 2009-2010.

See: "Invasive range expansion by the Humboldt squid, Dosidicus gigas, in the eastern North Pacific"

Read more!

NOAA: Record Global SST for June

NOAA: Global Ocean Surface Temperature Warmest on Record for June

The world’s ocean surface temperature was the warmest on record for June, breaking the previous high mark set in 2005, according to a preliminary analysis by NOAA’s National Climatic Data Center in Asheville, N.C. Additionally, the combined average global land and ocean surface temperature for June was second-warmest on record. The global records began in 1880

.

Read the entire press release at NOAA News.
Read more!

Spain’s first seafloor laboratory opens

Via AlphaGalileo

Spain’s first seafloor laboratory, the Expandable Seafloor Observatory (OBSEA), located three miles off the coast of Vilanova i la Geltrú at a depth of 20 meters, has begun real-time transmissions to the laboratories of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC). The data it collects will make it possible to study the Mediterranean seafloor via the Internet. This pioneering underwater platform, installed in March with the help of the CSIC’s oceanographic research ship Sarmiento de Gamboa, has successfully completed its two-month test period.

The platform will make it possible to assess water quality by studying slight variations in temperature and/or salinity, determine the level of noise pollution by studying acoustic signals from natural or manmade sources, and evaluate the degree of pollution caused by waste and sea transport. The Observatory will be able to record underwater processes uninterruptedly, thanks to a 4.5-km optical-fiber power supply cable that eliminates the need for limited-life energy sources such as batteries. The project forms part of the European Seafloor Observatory Network (ESONET).

Read the entire Press Release at AlphaGalileo
Read more!

Huge blob of Arctic goo

The Anchorage Daily News brings word of an strange substance floating in the Chukchi Sea between Wainwright and Barrow:

Huge blob of Arctic goo floats past Slope communities

IT'S NOT OIL: No one in the area can recall seeing anything like it before.

Hunters from Wainwright first started noticing the stuff sometime probably early last week. It's thick and dark and "gooey" and is drifting for miles in the cold Arctic waters, according to Gordon Brower with the North Slope Borough's Planning and Community Services Department.

Brower and other borough officials, joined by the U.S. Coast Guard, flew out to Wainwright to investigate. The agencies found "globs" of the stuff floating miles offshore Friday and collected samples for testing.

Deckboss is reporting that

lab tests conducted in Anchorage have confirmed the stuff is an algae of some sort.

Further tests are planned to see if it's toxic.

Read more!

Sen Snowe requests HAB research

As far as I can tell, the Snowe-sponsored 2009 HABHRCA Reauthorization [S.952] is still tied up in the Oceans, Atmospheres, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Subcommittee. It doesn't appear to have been rolled into any omnibus bills.

Snowe Calls for Additional Research on Gulf of Maine Red Tide


July 16, 2009

Washington, D.C. -

Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmospheres, Fisheries, and Coast Guard Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today, in a letter, urged National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Administrator Jane Lubchenco to reallocate at minimum $500,000 in federal funding to conduct additional research in the Gulf of Maine to determine the extent of the disastrous red tide that has closed nearly all of the state’s clam and quahog beds. ?The research would help predict the bloom’s duration as well as what it could mean for outbreaks in future years.

"The state of Maine is currently besieged by the most virulent red tide event ever recorded in the region.? As a result of this outbreak, over 97 percent of the coast of our state has been closed to the harvest of clams, mussels, ocean quahogs, and other shellfish," wrote Senator Snowe.

Senator Snowe continued, "I request that you allocate at least $500,000 to carry out one or more such research cruises as soon as possible.? I understand that this may require reassignment of one of NOAA’s research vessels undertaking alternate research in the area, but given the immediacy and the historic nature of this unprecedented event, disruption of ongoing research may be warranted to deal with this natural disaster."

Read the letter here.

Read more!

Remote, Underwater Detection of HABs

Scientists Report First Remote, Underwater Detection of Harmful Algae, Toxins

Scientists at NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science and the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) have successfully conducted the first remote detection of a harmful algal species and its toxin below the ocean’s surface. The achievement was recently reported in the June issue of Oceanography.

This achievement represents a significant milestone in NOAA’s effort to monitor the type and toxicity of harmful algal blooms (HABs). HABs are considered to be increasing not only in their global distribution, but also in the frequency, duration, and severity of their effects.

Read the entire announcement here at NOAA News
Read more!

Tsunami “Shadow” Visible from Space

NOAA Scientists Find Tsunami “Shadow” Visible from Space

For the first time, NOAA scientists have demonstrated that tsunamis in the open ocean can change sea surface texture in a way that can be measured by satellite-borne radars. The finding could one day help save lives through improved detection and forecasting of tsunami intensity and direction at the ocean surface.

“We’ve found that roughness of the surface water provides a good measure of the true strength of the tsunami along its entire leading edge. This is the first time that we can see tsunami propagation in this way across the open ocean,” said lead author Oleg Godin of NOAA’s Earth System Research Laboratory and the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences, in Boulder, Colo.

Read the entire announcement here at NOAA News
Read more!

Draft Transportation Act still in committee

Democrats are pushing for a full 6-year authorization of SAFETEA over an 18-month extension of authority. No word if the runoff controls sought by the Chesapeake Bay governors will be added.

Press Release

Oberstar, DeFazio Decry SAFETEA Extension

Join Voinovich in call to move 6-year authorization bill

WASHINGTON—Democratic leaders of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure joined a prominent Republican Senator in a Capitol news conference today to voice support for a new authorization of surface transportation programs and opposition to an extension of current authority.

T&I Chairman James L. Oberstar (Minn.), Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Chairman Peter A. DeFazio (Ore.), and Sen. George Voinovich (Ohio) spoke against a proposed 18-month extension plan and pledged to move ahead with a six-year authorization bill. The current authorization, contained in the 2005 act known popularly by the acronym SAFETEA-LU (or simply SAFETEA), is due to expire September 30.

The bipartisan trio of lawmakers said Congress should move the bill now being developed in the House.

“The Interstate highway system gave America its greatest spurt of economic growth in the history of this country and we need to sustain that growth by sustaining the investment in surface transportation. That is what this legislation will do,” said Oberstar. “An eighteen-month extension will put us into the next Presidential election cycle. It will take four years to finish, not a year and a half. I know how Congress works. Inertia becomes the enemy of progress. We are ready to move and we should move now.”

“An eighteen-month delay of the transportation authorization is short-sighted, unacceptable, and will harm our economic recovery,” added DeFazio. ‘Our six-year authorization bill will create or sustain double the amount of jobs as an extension. We cannot afford to walk away from one million jobs at a time when we are experiencing a struggling economy and high unemployment.”

The lawmakers said a six-year bill is needed to give states and other recipients time to plan their long-term construction projects. Short-term extensions cause uncertainty and disrupt the planning process, resulting in fewer projects, fewer jobs, and less economic growth.
The Highways and Transit Subcommittee marked up a Committee print of a new authorization bill in late June, and the full Committee is preparing the bill for mark-up, pending action by the Committee on Ways and Means on the revenue title. In the meantime, the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is scheduled to mark up a bill providing for an 18-month extension later this week.

Video of the news conference can be seen here

Read more!

FMC public meetings

From the Federal Register Online via the GPO

Two Fishery Management Council Committee meetings announced:

• The New England Fishery Management Council (Council) is scheduling a public meeting of its Monkfish Oversight Committee on July 30, 2009 to consider actions affecting New England fisheries in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). Recommendations from this group will be brought to the full Council for formal consideration and action, if appropriate. This meeting will be held on Thursday, July 30, 2009 at 9 a.m.[Federal Register]
  
  
  
• The Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council will convene a joint meeting of the Standing and Special Reef Fish Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC). The meeting will convene at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, July 29, 2009 and conclude by 4 p.m. [Federal Register]

Read more!

Basking Shark dies on Long Island beach

Newsday is reporting that 26-foot-long basking shark has come ashore at Gilgo Beach on Long Island and died.


Read the stories at Newsday:

Dying shark washes up on Gilgo beach

Researchers eye shark washed ashore at Gilgo Beach.

Read more!

Amendment 10 to the MSB FMP

From the Federal Register Online via the GPO
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
Provisions; Fisheries of the Northeastern United States; Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish Fisheries; Amendment 10
Notice of availability of a fishery management plan amendment; request for comments.

NMFS announces that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) has submitted Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid, and Butterfish (MSB) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) (Amendment 10), incorporating the public hearing document and the Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis (IRFA), for review by the Secretary of Commerce and is requesting comments from the public.

Comments must be received on or before September 14, 2009.


Read the entire announcement at the Federal Register.
Note that there is a typo in the announcement, the FSEIS/RIR/IRFA is accessible via the Internet at http://www.nero.noaa.gov
Read more!

Northern Rockfish directed fishery closure

From the Federal Register Online via the GPO
Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Northern
Rockfish in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska

NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for northern rockfish in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2009 total allowable catch (TAC) of northern rockfish in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA.

Effective 1200 hrs, Alaska local time (A.l.t.), July 9, 2009, through 2400 hrs, A.l.t., December 31, 2009.

Read the entire announcement at the Federal Register.


Read more!

Final Rule on Krill Protection

In a step toward Ecosystem Based Management (EBM) for the fisheries off the west coast states, the NMFS took the step of protecting krill, explaining:

As the principal food source for many fish and non-fish species, krill are a critical component of the marine ecosystem. Off the West Coast krill are important prey for a variety of fish species, including several overfished groundfish species, salmon and Pacific whiting. Krill are also a principal food source for many species of marine mammals and seabirds, some of which are listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act and warrant special efforts for protection and recovery.

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access

Fisheries Off West Coast States; Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery; Amendment 12 to the Coastal Pelagic Species Fishery Management Plan

NMFS issues this final rule to implement Amendment 12 to the Coastal Pelagic Species (CPS) Fishery Management Plan (FMP) which would provide protection for all species of krill off the West Coast (i.e., California, Oregon and Washington). This rule would prohibit the harvest of all species of krill by any fishing vessel operating in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the West Coast, and would also deny the use of exempted fishing permits to allow krill fishing.

DATES: Effective August 12, 2009.

Read the entire notice here at Federal Register.

Read some of the history behind the decision at OMB Watch:
Krill Protection Rule Clears White House

Read more!

Humbolt squid beached in La Jolla

NBC News is reporting the beaching of dozens of Humbolt squid after the quake that shook southern California:

Jumbo Humboldt squid wash up minutes after 4.0 earthquake hit off the coast of La Jolla

Dozens of dazed Humboldt squid that were about three to four feet long and weighed close to 40 pounds were flapping around on La Jolla Shores beach.

A spokesman for Scripps Institution of Oceanography said at this point they do not see a connection between the squid and the earthquake, but plan to look into it. Dozens of squid washing up at the same time is unusual but it has happened before, according to Sgt. Rains. But Mary Skeen said it is a first for her.

Read more!

UMass Dartmouth to Study Emerging Whelk Fishery

Goal to manage sea snail population before it becomes depleted

UMass Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology Professor Bradley Stevens has been awarded $220,000 in Saltonstall-Kennedy funding for a two-year study to improve the conservation of the New England whelk, a large, edible sea snail, locally known as a "conch."

"This is an opportunity to study a fishery before it is significantly depleted," said Dr. Stevens. "Although relatively small now, the whelk fishery has the capacity to expand significantly virtually overnight, and we need to anticipate the effects of such an expansion."

At $3 million in landings per year in Massachusetts (2007 estimates), the whelk fishery is small compared to fisheries such as lobster and scallops, and it operates with few regulations and virtually no biological information, therefore, the population's degree of vulnerability is a question mark. In recent years, the demand for New England whelk has increased, especially in Asian and Italian markets.

Dr. Stevens, who blends expertise in fisheries, whelk biology, and research aquaculture, said, "There are currently 166 conch-pot permits in Massachusetts, but only about 40 of those are actively fished. If the remainder were to be fully utilized, landings could quadruple, which could seriously deplete the whelk population."

Stevens noted that the whelk fishery has been moving northward for decades. Directed fisheries for whelks developed in the 1970s in the Carolinas, the 1980s in Virginia, and the late 1990s in New England.
The Massachusetts whelk fishery was a small bycatch fishery until about a decade ago, just as lobster populations were showing the most dramatic drop. Lobster fishermen have long found whelks in their pots, but as the lobster catch declined, the lobstermen began to target the whelks as an income source. "Wherever such fisheries have sprung up, they started as bycatch fisheries, expanded rapidly as fishermen sought alternative income after sudden declines in other fisheries such as shrimp and lobster, and then just as rapidly began to decline within a few years," Stevens said.

Expanded whelk harvesting could threaten not only the target species, but also the horseshoe crab. The preferred bait for whelk pots, horseshoe crabs are already fully exploited in New England, mostly for medical applications. Stevens will be investigating alternative baits and fishing practices to reduce the pressure on the horseshoe crab population.

Working in cooperation with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries and the Massachusetts Lobstermen's Association, Stevens will determine life history, growth rates, age distributions, and size/age of sexual maturity in channeled whelks. The information will be provided to managers to improve the conservation of whelks in a sustainable manner.

The Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program is a competitive program administered by the National Marine Fisheries Service of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce to provide financial assistance for research and development projects to benefit the U.S. fishing industry.
Dr. Stevens lives in Wareham, MA.

Contact Info:
Email: kbeals@umassd.edu Kathy Beals, UMass Dartmouth Office of Public Affairs

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Invasive Kelp reaches San Francisco

The AP is reporting that the invasive Asian kelp Undaria pinnatifida has arrived in San Francisco. According to a 2004 paper, First Report of the Asian kelp Undaria pinnatifida in the Northeastern Pacific Ocean it was first identified in southern California in early 2000, and it had spread as far north as Monterey Harbor by the summer of 2001.

From its native range in the northwestern Pacific, Undaria has now been introduced to the northeastern and southwestern Atlantic and the southwestern and northeastern Pacific, through a combination of intentional transport for cultivation, accidental transport with oysters, as fouling on vessel hulls, and possibly other means. In the northeastern Pacific, water temperatures are suitable for its establishment from at least Baja California to British Columbia, where it is likely to grow well in sheltered and partially sheltered waters.

Now from the AP: Fast-growing kelp invades San Francisco Bay

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A fast-growing kelp from the Far East has spread along the California coast from Los Angeles to San Francisco Bay, worrying marine scientists and outpacing eradication efforts.

In May, scientists for the first time found the invasive seaweed called Undaria pinnatifida clinging to docks at a yacht harbor in San Francisco Bay, fouling boat hulls and pier pilings.

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H.R.509 on the Union Calendar

Via GovTrack.us and Thomas:
H.R.509, the Marine Turtle Conservation Reauthorization Act of 2009 was Reported (Amended) by the Committee on Natural Resources. H. Rept. 111-200 and has been placed on the Union Calendar (Calendar No. 107.) This bill, which reauthorizes the Marine Turtle Conservation Act of 2004 through FY2014, was previously introduced in the second session of the 110th Congress as H.R. 6862 and died in committee.

See my earlier post of June 23, 2009, for further details on this bill.
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Gloucester fishermen vs. NMFS

The most recent of a series of enforcement actions against the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction and the resulting U.S. Commerce Department investigation into allegations of improper and vindictive enforcement tactics by NMFS fisheries regulators has the Gloucester fishing community in an uproar.

Via the Gloucester Daily Times:

State AG backs auction in court fight

Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley has sided with the Gloucester Seafood Display Auction in its request for a restraining order barring federal fisheries regulators from shuttering the Harbor Loop fish brokerage for 10 days this summer.

At least 9 testify in IG's probe

A day after hundreds packed Gloucester City Hall at a vigil in support of the fishing industry, area fishermen yesterday met with investigators from the U.S. Commerce Department examining complaints of improper and vindictive enforcement tactics by fisheries regulators.

Hundreds protest enforcement regulations Hundreds protest enforcement, regulations

The imagery suggested a tragedy more than an industry's struggles with arcane federal regulations.

But for the hundreds marching with candles from the steps of City Hall to the sea last night, the Byzantine federal efforts to control the fishing industry have risen to that level.

Editorial: Fishing vigil, rally is a new beginning in fight for justice

Wednesday night's candlelight vigil and demonstration against the shameful regulatory and enforcement squeeze on a fishing industry already struggling for survival was an invigorating show of passion and solidarity.

My view: Taking fishing industry message to a higher economic level

Wednesday evening's vigil and march in support of Gloucester's embattled fishing industry marked a critical moment in this seafaring community's long and storied history.

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NFWF partners with Perdue

July 7, 2009
News for Immediate Release
Contact: Tim Zink, tim.zink@nfwf.org, 202-857-0166
Julie DeYoung, Julie.DeYoung@perdue.com, 410-543-3166

National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Announces New Partnership with Perdue to Aid Chesapeake Bay

WASHINGTON – The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation today announced a new partnership with Perdue, the East Coast’s leading poultry provider, to help restore the Chesapeake Bay.

Perdue has committed a total of $35,000 to the Foundation’s Chesapeake Bay Stewardship Fund to support habitat restoration and water quality improvement projects on the Delmarva Peninsula. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF) and its federal partners will provide matching funds of at least dollar-for-dollar to further leverage the investment.

“We are thrilled to have as a partner a company with Perdue’s stature and capacity to do good work,” said Jeff Trandahl, NFWF executive director. “Perdue has proven for decades that it can be a driver for the region’s economy. Through its more recent environmental initiatives, we’ve seen that it can bring similar benefits to the region’s natural resources. Our new partnership will strive to maximize the effectiveness of the company’s investment in environmental stewardship, while adding new momentum to the overall effort to revitalize the Chesapeake Bay.”

“The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation has demonstrated its ability to bring together public and private partners,” said Steve Schwalb, Vice President of Environmental Sustainability forPerdue. “This talent, along with its long track record of funding highly successful projects, made NFWF the logical choice for a partner in expanding our investments in the health of theChesapeake Bay.”

“The projects supported by these grants will be both very creative and help fulfill priority
strategies for restoring the Chesapeake Bay. We look forward to announcing the grant recipientslater this summer,” said Mike Slattery, director of the NFWF Eastern Partnership Office. “Bringing back the Bay will take creative approaches to complex problems, along with continued support from corporations like Perdue that realize their business success, and the health of the communities in which we live, are inextricably linked to the vitality of the Chesapeake Bay watershed.”
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Golden Tilefish closure for South Atlantic

From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]

NMFS closes the commercial fishery for golden tilefish in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) of the South Atlantic. In addition, for a person on board a vessel for which a Federal commercial or charter vessel/headboat permit for the South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper Fishery has been issued, the provisions of the closure (restriction to the bag and possession limits and prohibition of sale or purchase) apply regardless of whether the golden tilefish are harvested in state waters or the South Atlantic EEZ.

NMFS has determined that the quota for the commercial fishery for golden tilefish will have been reached by July 15, 2009. This closure is necessary to protect the golden tilefish resource.

DATES: Closure is effective 12:01 a.m., local time, July 15, 2009,
through December 31, 2009.

Read the entire announcement via the Federal Register.
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Role for groundwater in Red Tides?

In the new issue of Sound Waves, U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientist Christopher Gerald Smith investigates the role of groundwater in initiating blooms of Karenia brevis on the nitrogen-limited west Florida shelf.

Submarine Groundwater Discharge Along the West Florida Shelf: Is Groundwater an Important Nutrient Source for Florida's Red Tides?

Harmful algal blooms have been observed along the west Florida shelf and adjacent water bodies for more than 150 years (some suggest as long ago as 1570), with the first historically documented bloom dating back to 1854. Modern harmful algal blooms, commonly referred to as "red tides," are dominated by the brevetoxin-producing dinoflagellate Karenia brevis. Brevetoxins are neurotoxins that pose a threat to marine and human health. The greatest densities of K. brevis blooms generally occur along the west Florida shelf between Pinellas and Lee Counties, Florida.

Read the entire article at USGS Sound Waves
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MD seeks to buy back commercial crab licenses

Via the Baltimore Sun:

[Maryland] State officials offered today to buy back more than half of all the commercial crab licenses held by Marylanders in a bid to protect the Chesapeake Bay's iconic crustacean as it recovers from a near-disastrous decline.

The Department of Natural Resources announced it is willing to buy back up to 3,676 "limited crab catcher" licenses, which allow holders to fish with up to 50 wire-mesh "pots" or an unlimited amount of baited line. The department mailed letters to all license holders giving them until July 31 to submit bids specifying the amount they'd be willing to take for their permits.

Read the full story at the Baltimore Sun.
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Study: Icelandic cod stock is imperiled

Via PLoS ONE
A new study out of the Institute of Biology at the University of Iceland finds it likely that the Icelandic cod stock is imperiled and recommends immediate action be taken to avert a collapse similar to that of the northern cod of Newfoundland.

Can anything be done to avert collapse? Upon collapse of the northern cod of Newfoundland the Canadian government imposed a moratorium on fishing [11]. Such a drastic measure if imposed in Iceland doubtless would avert collapse. Alternatively management measures that shifted fishing from shallow-water to deep-water or measures that distributed fishing effort evenly over all depth ranges by controlling fishing by different gear also could possibly help avert collapse.

However, we consider that such strategies would be difficult to implement. Alternatively we speculate and suggest that it may be possible to avert collapse by adopting a different strategy of removing selection pressures against shallow-water adapted AA and AB fish. This highlights the use of evolutionary thinking for management and conservation issues. Given that current practices are ineffective in protecting shallow-water adapted fish, we suggest that immediate action is required.

Intense Habitat-Specific Fisheries-Induced Selection at the Molecular Pan I Locus Predicts Imminent Collapse of a Major Cod Fishery
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CPC issues El Niño Advisory

The NCEP Climate Prediction Center has issued an advisory for El Niño conditions that have been observed and are expected to continue:

El Niño conditions will continue to develop and are expected to last through the Northern Hemisphere Winter 2009-2010. .

During June 2009, conditions across the equatorial Pacific Ocean transitioned from ENSO-neutral to El Niño conditions. Sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies continued to increase, with the latest weekly departures exceeding +1.0°C along a narrow band in the eastern equatorial Pacific.

All of the weekly SST indices increased steadily during June and now range from +0.6°C to +0.9°C . Subsurface oceanic heat content anomalies (average temperatures in the upper 300m of the ocean, also increased as the thermocline continued to deepen
And here is the rest of it.

Read the entire Diagnostic Discussion here at NCEP/CPC.
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The Airplane That Studied the Ocean

Amy E. Nevala at Oceanus highlights the chance reunion of Ed Denton, with a plane that he had outfitted and maintained for oceanographic research decades earlier at WHOI.

In early April 1997, Denton was visiting a friend who had moved from Cape Cod to California. One day, while his friend went golfing, Denton decided to tour the Aerospace Museum of California in Sacramento.

“After going through the exhibits in the buildings, I went to view the 30 or so old military and civilian aircraft parked outside. I was walking the rows, and I spotted a plane with a long fiberglass nose,” which was unusual for that type of plane, Denton said. “Something funny got to me. My senses told me there was something very familiar here.”

Read the whole story here at Oceanus.
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Vital marine habitat under threat

Daniel Cressy at NatureNews highlights new research by Michelle Waycott et. al. appearing in PNAS. Michelle was co-author on "A Global Crisis for Seagrass Ecosystems" in 2006.

Destruction of seagrass on a par with loss of rainforests and coral reefs.

While the world has focused on the destruction mankind has brought to coral reefs, the massive loss of an equally important ecosystem has been widely ignored.

Now the first comprehensive assessment of the state of seagrass meadows around the world has revealed the damage that human activities have wrought on these economically and biologically essential areas.

Read Daniel's Summary here.
Read the OpenAccess article at PNAS Accelerating loss of seagrasses across the globe threatens coastal ecosystems.

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U.S. Proposes Bigeye Tuna Catch Limits

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access:

International Fisheries; Western and Central Pacific Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species; Bigeye Tuna Catch Limits in Longline Fisheries in 2009, 2010, and 2011

NMFS proposes regulations under authority of the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Convention Implementation Act (WCPFC Implementation Act) to establish a catch limit for bigeye tuna (Thunnus obesus) in the U.S. pelagic longline fisheries in the western and central Pacific Ocean for each of the years 2009, 2010, and 2011.

Once the limit of 3,763 metric tons (mt) is reached in any of those years, retaining, transshipping, or landing bigeye tuna caught in the western and central Pacific Ocean would be prohibited for the remainder of the year, with certain exceptions.

Comments must be submitted in writing by August 7, 2009.

Read the entire announcement here in the Federal Register.
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Chesapeake Bay Governors Seek Runoff Controls

Karl Blankenship at the Bay Journal reports that the governors of the six states in the Chesapeake Bay watershed are asking that language requiring runoff controls be included in the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009[PDF] currently being drafted by the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

6 Bay governors unite in drive to put runoff controls in highway bill

"In the Chesapeake watershed, it is the urban sector and the paved sector that is growing at the fastest rate," said Ann Swanson, executive director of the Chesapeake Bay Commission. "If we don't start institutionalizing proper water management provisions, we will never be able to mitigate all of the mistakes.
"So we better move forward ensuring that we are addressing water quality issues as more pavement is laid down."

Read the entire story at the Bay Journal.


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CBO releases Cost Estimate for S.878

The Congressional Budget Office has released its cost estimate for the Senate version of the Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009, S.878.

S. 878 would authorize the appropriation of $60 million a year over the 2010-2013 period for the water quality program that benefits coastal states under the Clean Water Act. Under this program, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) provides grants to state or local governments to support their efforts to monitor the quality of coastal waters and notify the public when beach water does not meet established standards. This legislation also would authorize the appropriation of such sums as necessary for EPA to manage the program through 2013.

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Assuming appropriation of the authorized funds (including amounts necessary for administrative costs), CBO estimates that implementing S. 878 would cost $244 million over the 2010-2014 period. Enacting the bill would not affect direct spending or revenues.

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Read the entire report at the CBO.[PDF]

The CBO had previously released its cost estimate for the House version H.R.2093 on June 10.[PDF]


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Haddock Recovery

From The Scientist

Subject to the same overfishing pressure as the Atlantic cod, Georges Bank haddock stocks collapsed in the early 90's. Kirsten Weir tells the tale of their surprising recovery and the hope it offers for other depleted species.

The Great Haddock Revival

"Haddock is a bright spot," says John Annala, chief scientific officer of the Gulf of Maine Research Institute, and a member of the Management Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee. Now scientists and fishermen are asking whether the haddock's dramatic recovery is a management triumph, a biological fluke, or simply a stroke of good luck. And if experts can replicate what went right with this species, could others be pulled back from the brink? For now, Annala says, "the jury is still out."

Read the entire article at The Scientist
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Proposed Red Snapper Closure in South Atlantic

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access:

This proposed temporary rule would implement interim measures to establish a closure of the commercial and recreational fisheries for red snapper in the South Atlantic as requested by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council).

The intended effect is to reduce overfishing of red snapper while permanent management measures are developed in Amendment 17 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 17) to end overfishing of red snapper.

Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern time, on August 5, 2009.

Read the entire announcement at the Federal Register
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House Subcommittee Hearing

Via the Committee's Web Site
On Wednesday, July 08, 2009, at 10:00 a.m., the House Natural Resources Committee, Subcommittee on Insular Affairs, Oceans and Wildlife, led by Del. Madeleine Z. Bordallo (D-GU), will hold a legislative hearing on the following bills:

• H.R. 1771 (Sarbanes): To reauthorize the Chesapeake Bay Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and for other purposes. "Chesapeake Bay Science, Education, and Ecosystem Enhancement Act of 2009"

• H.R. 1053 (Wittman): To require the Office of Management and Budget to prepare a crosscut budget for restoration activities in the Chesapeake Bay watershed, to require the Environmental Protection Agency to develop and implement an adaptive management plan, and for other purposes. "Chesapeake Bay Accountability and Recovery Act of 2009"

• H.R. 905 (Stupak): To expand the boundaries of the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve, and for other purposes. "Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve Boundary Modification Act"

The hearing will be webcast live and archived on the Committee's Web site at http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/
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NY Daily News: Fishing for danger

This past weekend the NY Daily News drew attention to the problems of bioaccumulation of toxins in locally caught fish and the lack of signs with consumption warnings at popular fishing locations with three articles:

Fishing for danger: Poor people driven to catch and eat toxin-filled species

Cash-strapped New Yorkers are ignoring health warnings not to fish for their meals in polluted local waters, where the catch of the day comes laced with cancer-causing PCBs and mercury.

Casting at own peril: Tainted fish could harm granny's 'angel'

Mary Sapp wouldn't do anything to harm her darling granddaughter, 6-year-old Kiana. But at least once a week, the Brooklyn woman gives the little girl a serving of striped bass plucked from the polluted waters off the gritty Canarsie Pier.

No sign of threat: Don't expect gov't to issue warning of dangerous fishing.

Want to know how much fish is safe to eat from polluted local waters? Good luck.

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NMFS RFMC Comment Period Extended

Originally scheduled to close tomorrow July 6, NMFS has extended the comment period for proposed regulations that address the operations and administration of regional fishery management councils.

New Date: Comments must be received by November 2, 2009.



Read all of the proposed changes at the Federal Register.

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NY State Supreme Court upholds Indian Point Decision

The sad thing is that this fish kill has been occurring for over 40 years. Despite the CWA, Con Ed was permitted to continue operating in this manner as compensation for being blocked by a lawsuit from building a larger plant called Storm King further up the river in the 80's. The Riverkeeper folks finally got a ruling from the DEC against this plant in 2003 - it took another 6 years to get the appeals through the courts. Much like the Exxon Valdez saga - the current owner Entergy is a big money corporation that can delay action for decades by using the courts.

Via Riverkeeper:
NY State Supreme Court Affirms that Indian Point Adversely Impacts Fish Riverkeeper and DEC claim victory in effort to bring plant into compliance with CWA

(Tarrytown, NY) On June 22, 2009, The Supreme Court of the State of New York ruled in favor of Riverkeeper and the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and dismissed Entergy’s petition to overturn a decision by the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). That decision, released on August 15, 2008, determined that Indian Point’s cooling water intake system causes adverse environmental impacts on Hudson River fish.

In October 2008, Entergy filed a lawsuit challenging DEC’s determination. On behalf of Riverkeeper and Scenic Hudson, Riverkeeper Attorney Victor Tafur filed a motion to have Entergy’s suit dismissed on the grounds that the claims are premature, and that DEC established “adverse environmental impact,” in large part, by relying on Entergy’s data.

Read the entire press release here.
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Proposed South Atlantic Red Snapper Closure

From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access:

This proposed temporary rule would implement interim measures to establish a closure of the commercial and recreational fisheries for red snapper in the South Atlantic as requested by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council). The intended effect is to reduce overfishing of red snapper while permanent management measures are developed in Amendment 17 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Amendment 17) to
end overfishing of red snapper.
Written comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., eastern time, on August 5, 2009.


Read the entire release at the Federal Register.
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U.S. action on Bigeye Tuna Criticized

Via Environmental Science and Technology
U.S. increases catches of bigeye tuna

The U.S. is coming under harsh criticism from Pacific island nations and conservationists for ramping up its catch of bigeye tuna at a time when scientists are calling for an immediate 30% reduction. By invoking a treaty it signed with 16 Pacific island nations, the U.S. has declared itself immune from a reduction in catch that fisheries scientists say is long overdue. In contrast, other nations are preparing for 10% per year cutbacks starting in January 2010.

“Is the Obama government deliberately acting in an anticonservation role, or is it misguided by its advisors?” wonders Sylvester Pokajam, director of fisheries in Papua New Guinea, the country that pushed hardest for conservation measures. U.S. officials declined to discuss the official position on the record.

Read the article here.
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Crabs go deep to avoid hot water

Via the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, UK:

Researchers from the National Oceanography Centre, Southampton, have drawn together 200 years’ worth of oceanographic knowledge to investigate the distribution of a notorious deep-sea giant – the king crab. The results, published this week in the Journal of Biogeography, reveal temperature as a driving force behind the speciation and radiation of a major seafloor predator; globally, and over tens of millions of years of Earth’s history.

In deep seas all over the world, around 100 species of king crabs live largely undiscovered. The fraction that we have found includes some weird and wonderful examples - Paralomis seagrantii has its eight walking legs and claws entirely covered in long fur-like setae; while related group Lithodes megacanthus grows to lengths of 1.5 metres, and has 15-20-cm long defensive spines covering its body. At temperatures of around 1- 4ºC, these crabs thrive in some of the colder waters on Earth; living and growing very slowly, probably to very old ages. Only in the cooler water towards the poles are king crabs found near the water surface – though temperatures found around some parts of the Antarctic (below 1ºC) are too extreme for their survival.

Read the entire release here.
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