Abstract:

The Northeast Skate Complex Management Plan was established in 2003 with a primary objective of rebuilding four overfished skate populations in the northeastern US. One of those overfished species, the thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata), had experienced a nearly 90% decline in abundance since the 1960s and was placed under a harvest moratorium to drastically reduce fishing mortality. Around the same time that the moratorium was implemented, research on thorny skate commenced in the Gulf of Maine with the aim of collecting biological and ecological data that will inform decisions on population recovery. However, over two decades later, while all three other overfished skate species have been fully rebuilt, thorny skate remains under a moratorium, and their biomass is presently near an all-time low. Facing failed rebuilding, managers and fishery scientists are now posed with new questions around why the thorny skate population has not responded more positively to decreased fishing mortality and what to do moving forward. New data from long-term tagging and genetics studies have finally provided some answers to these questions, but the answers might make future management of the Skate Complex more complex.

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Meeting ID: 937 5823 0260

Passcode:426839

Abstract:

The NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) operates and maintains sophisticated arrays of instruments to collect and distribute research quality data to users. These time series provide insights into the Earth, ocean, and atmosphere for scientists, educators, students, and policy makers charged with the stewardship of our ocean. The time series come from seven arrays operated and maintained in demanding locations (mid-to high-latitudes) for over a decade. The arrays include global arrays in the Irminger Sea, Gulf of Alaska, Argentine Basin and the Southern Ocean, as well as coastal arrays off the US east and west coasts. These arrays are comprised of instrumented surface and subsurface moorings, profilers, instrumented anchors, AUVs, gliders, and a network of cables providing power and two-way communication to instrumented seafloor nodes and profiler moorings.

This talk will provide an update on the OOI and how anyone can access ten-years of data for scientific research. The majority of the talk will focus on turbulent flux data collected with the Direct Covariance Flux Systems (DCFS aka FDCHP) on the OOI global and coast moorings to investigate air-sea exchange under moderate to high wind conditions. These systems remove platform motion from the measured wind components using 3-axis sonic anemometers, angular rate sensors, linear accelerometers and a compass. The DCFS has evolved to include real-time processing of the data, and telemetry of the processed fluxes and associated means to shore. This provides research quality data in near real-time. The DCFS has also been combined with fast-response infrared hygrometers during the NASA’s SPURS and the INCOIS field programs to directly measure the latent heat flux.

These measurements are extremely useful in process studies that investigate the exchange of momentum, heat and mass across the coupled boundary layers with a key application being improvement of bulk flux parameterizations. These bulk flux parameterizations find wide use in numerical modeling, oceanic process studies, and globally gridded air-sea flux products that combine bulk parameterizations with in situ and satellite data. The ever increasing number of high-quality near surface flux observations has led to improved understanding of air-sea exchange under high wind and sea-states. Most recently, this has included investigations of the role played by evaporating sea-spray on air-sea exchange, and improvements to wave-based parameterization of momentum exchange at high winds. This talk will describe how these observational advances are being used to improve our understanding of air-sea interaction under a wide-variety of wind and sea-states.

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https://umassd.zoom.us/j/97440069270

Meeting ID: 974 4006 9270

Passcode: 428029

Abstract:

Regulations and a strong conservation ethic among anglers make Striped Bass among the most frequently released coastal marine fishes. Given the currently assumed 9% release mortality rate, these recreational releases account for the majority of human removals from the stock. In an attempt to reduce this mortality rate, fishery managers have recently begun requiring that anglers use circle hooks when fishing with natural baits for Striped Bass. To measure the reduction in release mortality resulting from this rule change, we conducted a two-year acoustic telemetry experiment (n = 349 fish) to compare the survival of bass caught via circle hooks and conventional J-hooks. This telemetry dataset was also used to estimate mortality rate as a function of a release “condition score”, which is a simple visual assessment of the injury and vitality of released fish. By combining these telemetry results with fishery observations of release condition from a citizen science project (n = 8,349 fish), a machine learning model was developed to predict mortality rate from a suite of biological, environmental, and fishing variables. This model was then used to generate an updated comprehensive estimate of release mortality rate by accounting for fishery-wide patterns in the suite of predictors. Although we found that circle hooks did not provide a conservation benefit for Striped Bass, our results demonstrate that release mortality for the recreational fishery is on average 4%, which is less than half of the currently assumed rate. Furthermore, a significant positive relationship between mortality rate and fish size suggests that fishery removals are more focused on older fish than previously thought.

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Meeting ID: 937 5823 0260

Passcode:426839

Abstract:

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) in the Alaskan Arctic pose severe risks to the ecosystem health and human populations in the region. Historically, the Pacific Arctic has been considered too cold for these organisms to form recurring blooms. However, both locally originating and remotely advected HABs have recently been documented in the Chukchi Sea. In summer 2022, a widespread and toxic bloom of Alexandrium catenella was measured in the northern Bering and Chukchi Seas during two back-to-back research cruises. In this seminar I will share the results from an interdisciplinary biophysical study where we addressed the following main questions: where did the bloom come from? How did the physical properties modulate the initiation, growth and spread of the bloom? To answer these questions, we used shipboard hydrographic and velocity data, together with ocean reanalysis fields.

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Meeting ID: 974 4006 9270

Passcode: 428029

Abstract:

Established in 2002, the Northeast Seafood Coalition is a non-profit organization that represents commercial ground fishing entities in the northeastern United States on political and policy issues.  NSC strives to find creative solutions that work to rebuild fish stocks while preserving family-owned fishing businesses and a diverse groundfish fleet.

On behalf of its members, NSC directly engages in the stock assessment and policy-making processes.  Federal fisheries management operates under open meeting and public involvement laws, primarily the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA).  Transparency and public participation, with opportunities for written and oral comment, are requirements under Fishery Management Council system and the Administrative Procedures Act.  NSC actively engages in this public process by offering fishery expertise; prepares oral and written comments; and working to inform the scientific and management community on essential information concerning the operations and performance of the fishery.

Over the years, groundfish science and management have encountered significant transitions. Of the most noteworthy was the transition from input control (e.g., days at sea management regime) to an output control (e.g., groundfish sectors) in 2010.  To comply with new 2006 Magnuson mandates related to annual catch limits and accountability measures, the commercial groundfish fishery transitioned to a sector allocation and management program, known as a catch-share program. The policy development work was extensive and the allocation process, with the move to groundfish sectors, was highly contentious and remains so to this day.

Fifteen years after the inception of sectors, the Council will now be grappling with how to implement an updated scientific understanding of the stock structure of Atlantic cod under the sector allocation and management regime.  Transitioning from two to four Atlantic cod stocks will be a monumental undertaking for managers and will directly impact permit holders.  Although cod has become incidental catch on groundfish trips, access to cod quota is essential to making profitable groundfish trips.  Lease prices have been high on cod and are anticipated to grow as quotas remain low and cod remains available despite low estimated biomass.

This next phase of groundfish management will represent a significant pivot for the groundfish fishery.  It will be a critical time for engagement by the Northeast Seafood Coalition.

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https://umassd.zoom.us/j/93758230260

Meeting ID: 937 5823 0260

Passcode:426839