Winter News Roundup

Winter News Roundup

0:00:00.9 John Sheehan: So we've mentioned a few times on this podcast the sheer breadth and diversity of NOAA Fisheries' responsibilities when it comes to our oceans and marine resources. From Alaska, to Hawaii, to Maine, to Miami, it's a lot. And important developments are happening all the time, in every region. So much so that on this podcast we cannot possibly cover it all. This is Dive In with NOAA Fisheries, I'm John Sheehan, and today we're breaking format a little to check in and take a look at some recent headlines from around the agency. Sort of our winter roundup. In that spirit, we start off at the bottom of the world, Antarctica, where NOAA Fisheries scientists spend three months each summer at a field camp monitoring populations of seals, penguins, and other predators displaced by climate change. The field camp itself was built in 1996 and made up of four wooden buildings, and maintaining the camp year in and year out was a constant struggle. The punishing conditions took a toll on the structures almost from the get-go. Scientists stationed there would often spend a lot of their time scrubbing the camp of mold and fungus just so that it would be habitable. The cost of conducting science in Antarctica made replacing the buildings difficult, until the pandemic, ironically, when operations were forced to shut down temporarily.

0:01:19.0 JS: The funds for that season were redirected, and now the replacement of Cape Shirreff Field Camp is through phase one. Doug Krause, the Pinniped Research Lead with NOAA Fisheries Antarctic Team said, "The old camp isn't perfect, but it took care of us. These are just a few tiny buildings on the edge of the planet in one of the stormiest, most challenging places on earth, and those buildings every year stepped up and took care of us. Every time you were cold and hungry, every time you needed shelter from a storm, every time you needed to celebrate a holiday away from your family and friends, those buildings were there and they're wonderful." I recommend checking out the NOAA Fisheries website for some pictures of the camp and time-lapse video of the construction. It's pretty cool to see. This December also saw the celebration of Corals Week. In fact, the previous podcast episode was about the efforts in the Florida Keys to protect their barrier reef.

0:02:12.5 Speaker 2: The average coral cover across the entire reef is about 2% right now, and it used to historically be 25-30, so we're really, really low.

0:02:23.1 JS: But in other coral news, NOAA has announced approximately $1 million in funding in 2024 through the Ruth D. Gates Coral Restoration Innovation Grant, and is seeking proposals from non-federal applicants looking to advance science-based intervention techniques to help corals respond to threats, such as ocean warming or coral disease, and improve coral restoration practices. And in Puerto Rico, NOAA recently awarded $10.6 million to the Institute for Socio-Ecological Research to protect and restore reefs around the island. Lastly, in Hawaii, the one millionth sea urchin has been deployed to help restore an Oahu coral reef. The urchins eat invasive algae that threaten the corals, and since 2005, the State of Hawaii Division of Aquatic Resources, in partnership with NOAA, has grown and released the urchins as part of its restoration work. Nice job, urchins.

0:03:20.6 JS: Staying in Hawaii for a moment, scientists from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center are now using autonomous surface vehicles called wave gliders to study ocean health. The vehicles, which look kind of like chunky surfboards, harness the upward and downward motion of the ocean waves to constantly propel themselves forward. These particular vehicles are part of a study to assess the abundance and habitat of whales and dolphins, and this is just one of many examples of this kind of technology being deployed across NOAA Fisheries.

0:03:51.9 Speaker 3: So we use a combination of advanced technologies, including the stereo video camera system on this SeaBED AUV, to video the fish populations.

0:04:00.5 JS: Uncrewed aircraft are being explored as a way to survey seals and sea lions in the Aleutian Islands. Sail drones will be used to map the seafloor in the Gulf of Maine. Drones will be used to map Pacific salmon habitat. Underwater gliders in the Caribbean have been tested to perform marine mammal assessments and help with hurricane forecasting. And for more than a decade now, the Northwest Fisheries Science Center has used a SeaBED autonomous underwater vehicle to support stock assessments in complex and protected seafloor environments. That vehicle is nicknamed Popoki, which is Hawaiian for cat. On the West Coast, the Office of Habitat Conservation's Restoration Center awarded $27.8 million towards efforts to bring the endangered Central California Coast coho salmon back to California rivers.

0:04:48.4 Speaker 4: Coho salmon were abundant along the north central California coast, supporting native, recreational, and commercial fishing. But this species has declined, primarily from habitat loss.

0:05:00.2 JS: The money itself is thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. The projects will allow salmon to reach their historic spawning grounds by removing barriers and restoring degraded habitat. In the 19th and 20th centuries, agriculture and logging industry practices disrupted the streams and creeks that the salmon depended on. The current project partners are working with landowners to develop solutions that will benefit fish and people. Speaking of salmon, Secretary of Commerce, Gina Raimondo, just announced the allocation of $8.2 million in disaster relief funds to support the Yurok tribe and its Chinook salmon fisheries, which saw big declines in 2021 and 2022. In the southeast, new NOAA-led research is revealing species in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic that may be more vulnerable or more resilient to climate change, and some of the reasons why. In the Gulf, for example, vulnerable species include sharks and rays, grouper, oysters, and snook, while Gulf menhaden, shrimp, vermilion snapper, cobia, Spanish mackerel, and speckled sea trout may have some resilience to climate change.

0:06:10.1 JS: You can find out more and in much more detail with information across regions and species using NOAA Fisheries' new Climate Vulnerability Assessment Tool. It's on the website. And in whale news, NOAA Fisheries has confirmed the causes of death or injury for 11 killer whales caught incidentally in the Alaska region in 2023. 10 of the 11 were caught in trawl gear used by processor vessels, and one was entangled in survey gear during a long-line survey by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. Three of the whales caught in trawl gear were dead prior to being captured. The number of incidental takes is higher than in previous years, but still below the annual level that would pose a long-term risk to the stocks in the region. NOAA Fisheries is planning a new report soon with information about reported killer whale entanglement cases in Alaska over the past three decades.

0:07:03.6 JS: And finally, in more optimistic whale news, scientists from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center recently spotted four critically endangered North Pacific right whales in the Gulf of Alaska, the first sightings there since 2021. It's estimated that there are less than 50 animals left in the population, so these rare sightings are incredibly important and a cause for hope for the animal's survival. Check back here soon, we'll hear the story of the sightings and an update on the status of North Pacific right whales on an upcoming episode of the podcast. These have been just a handful of the stories happening across the agency, and indeed across the globe. You can find lots more at our website, fisheries.noaa.gov, where you can read about developments and updates that are tailored to specific regions like Alaska or the Gulf of Mexico, or individual topics like aquaculture or habitat conservation projects, and you can sign up for any number of email newsletters. My favorite is Fish News, because the name tells you what it is immediately and without ambiguity. Remember to follow us on your favorite podcast platform. I'm John Sheehan, happy holidays, and this has been Dive In with NOAA Fisheries.