NOAA Fisheries FishNews – August 20, 2020

AUGUST 20, 2020 Eat Seafood, America—Good for You, Good for the Planet! Want to help support seafood farmers AND the environment? Then eat some oysters! This Emmy-winning video explains how restoration specialists use oyster shells collected from restaurants and the public to rebuild wild oyster reefs. Try a mouthwatering oyster recipe from FishWatch, then learn more about oyster restoration and shell recycling programs near you! Highlights 2020 Recipients of NOAA Fisheries–Sea Grant Joint Fellowship Announced NOAA Fisheries and Sea Grant have announced the 2020 Fisheries–Sea Grant Joint Fellowship recipients. The talented class includes nine population and ecosystem dynamics fellows and one marine resource economics fellow. The program supports students pursuing doctoral degrees in population and ecosystem dynamics, as well as marine resource economics. Alaska Central Gulf of Alaska Marine Heatwave Watch Sea surface temperatures in the Central Gulf of Alaska remain warmer than average and continue to oscillate around the 90th percentile mark. There were two periods with heatwave conditions in the past 90 days, June 8–23 and July 14–August 3rd. West Coast Give Pregnant Killer Whales Space to Forage With news of multiple pregnancies among the endangered Southern Resident killer whales, agencies and partners are calling for boaters to steer clear of the whales. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, NOAA Fisheries, whale watch leaders, and Soundwatch are asking boaters to give the whales extra space on the water at this critical time. NOAA Fisheries Authorizes States and Tribes to Remove Sea Lions Preying on Protected Fish States and tribes can remove California and Steller sea lions from a management zone on the Columbia River and its tributaries where they prey on at-risk salmon, steelhead, lamprey, sturgeon, and eulachon, under a new authorization by NOAA Fisheries’ West Coast Region. U.S. Adopts Safety Improvements for Observers in Pacific Tuna Fisheries NOAA Fisheries this week made effective new regulations to implement measures that will promote the safety of fisheries observers on tuna-fishing vessels. These measures reflect stronger international standards developed through years of U.S.-led negotiations to improve the safety of observers at sea. Southeast NOAA and the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission Partner to Restore Recreational Fish NOAA announced a new partnership with the Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission to restore recreational fish species impacted by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. This award will focus on the development of best practices for fish descender devices by distributing them to recreational anglers and providing information on their use. Surveys on attitude changes, use, and effectiveness of the devices will be conducted to track project success. Greater Atlantic Dam Impact Analysis Model Helps Researchers Assess Atlantic Salmon Survival NOAA Fisheries Atlantic salmon researchers have found that abundance can increase as more young fish and returning adults survive their encounters with dams. Also, progress in rebuilding the population will depend heavily on continuing stocking of hatchery fish raised especially for this purpose. Andrew Jones Leads Effort to Apply Industry-Collected Data to Scientific Problems Andrew Jones joined the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Cooperative Research Branch as fishery biologist in March. He now leads the branch's research projects that depend on working directly with the fishing industry. Federal Register Actions Visit NOAA Fisheries' Rules & Regulations web page to learn more about recently proposed and finalized regulations in your region.  Corrections or technical questions should be sent to the FishNews Editor at editor.fishnews@noaa.gov. www.fisheries.noaa.gov

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