Wednesday, July 28, 2021

$35M Allocated for Design/Build of New UC San Diego Coastal Research Vessel

California legislators have allocated $35 million for a new coastal research vessel for the University of California-San Diego, for education and research to boost understanding of the California climate change impacts on the coastal ecosystem.

The 125-foot vessel, expected to take three years for design, build and commission, would replace the research vessel Robert Gordon Sproul, which has been used for nearly 40 years to educate thousands of UC San Diego students. The vessel is to be operated by the university’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

“After a four-decade run, it is high time Scripps built a new research vessel that can keep up with the high-caliber work they continue to churn out, and help our state navigate the troubles waters of sea level rise and our evolving climate,” said California Senate President pro Tempore Toni G. Atkins.

The hybrid-hydrogen design for the new vessel represents an innovation in the maritime industry, which is essential to the University of California’s carbon neutrality initiative with a goal of being carbon neutral by 2025. The new vessel will feature a hybrid propulsion system that integrates hydrogen fuel cells alongside a conventional diesel-electric power plant, enabling zero-emission operations. The design allows the ship to operate 75% of its missions entirely using a non-fossil fuel –hydrogen – with only pure water and electricity as reaction products. For longer missions, extra power would be provided by clean-running modern diesel generators.

“Our vision is to build an uncompromising, fully capable oceanographic research vessel that can be powered independently from fossil fuels and be free from the criteria pollutants and greenhouse gas emissions that diesel-powered ships emit,” said Bruce Appelgate, associate director and head of ship operations at Scripps Oceanography. “In doing so, we hope to both serve our scientists and students while being a world leader for transformational change to clean, nonpolluting shipboard power systems.”

The vessel is to be equipped with instruments and sensing systems, including acoustic Doppler current profilers, seafloor mapping systems, midwater fishery imaging systems, biological and geological sampling systems, and support for airborne drone operations. These capabilities, along with state-of-the-art laboratories, would allow for broadly multidisciplinary research, to advance understanding of the physical and biological processes active in California’s coastal oceans, university officials said.

The feasibility study to conceptualize the hydrogen fuel-cell propulsion technology for the vessel was initially completed in 2020 by Sandia National Laboratories, Glosten, and Scripps, funded through the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration.

The budget also includes essential environmental research to UC San Diego including $15 million toward the ALERTWildfire program to help reach the goal of 1,000 wildfire camera installations in California by 2022.

Oceana Sues NMFS Over Sardine Rebuilding Plan

A lawsuit filed on behalf of the environmental entity Oceana against National Marine Fisheries Service contends that a current Pacific sardine rebuilding plan is not working, nor does it take into account the importance of a healthy sardine population to other species.

The lawsuit, filed by non-profit public interest organization Earthjustice on behalf of Oceana, notes that Pacific sardine numbers have dropped by over 98% since 2006, and according to a 2020 federal assessment the current population is only 28,276 metric tons. Historically when that population was healthy, its abundance measured in millions of metric tons, the lawsuit contends.

Ruth Howell, speaking for NMFS in California, said the agency had no comment at this time.

Sardines are an essential food for humpback whales, dolphins, sea lions, brown pelicans, marbled murrelets and other critters.

Geoff Shester, senior scientist and California campaign director for Oceana, claims that fishery managers have plainly ignored best available science indicating an impending collapse and allowed catch levels that have cause yet another collapse of Cannery Row era proportions of the 1950s.

Pacific sardines were officially declared “overfished” in 2019, which legally requires development of a rebuilding plan within two years. The lawsuit notes that between 2013 and 2019, over 9,000 starving California sea lion pups and yearlings washed up on beaches and that from 2010 to 2015, brown pelicans had unprecedented reproductive failures in the U.S. Pacific area due to lack of adequate sardines and anchovies.

Bristol Bay Processors Donate 25,000 Lbs. of Salmon to Yukon River Villagers

Six major processors of Bristol Bay salmon collaborated in late July to gather and transport to Yukon River villages 25,000 pounds of headed and gutted king salmon, a diet staple for hundreds of folks living in subsistence communities along the river.

The project came together in the midst of a wildly successful Bristol Bay salmon harvest, with a harvest of over 40 million sockeye salmon, while on the length of the Yukon River all fishing, including subsistence, was banned by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game because of weak runs of Chinook and keta salmon.

Officials from Alaska General Seafoods, Leader Creek Fisheries, North Pacific Seafoods, OBI Seafoods (Ocean Beauty/Icicle), Silver Bay Seafoods and Trident Seafoods asked SeaShare executive director Jim Harmon to help with coordination and tracking of the fish, which was being delivered to Emmonak and Fairbanks for distribution to surrounding subsistence communities.

“None of this relief effort would have happened without the help of all these companies,” Harmon said. “Collaboratively they are providing 100,000 servings of seafood to the Yukon, all at zero cost to the receiving communities.”

“When it comes to feeding hungry people, the general rule of thumb is you do what you need to do to get the job done,” Harmon added. “And when it comes to feeding those in need in Alaska, it takes an entire industry, from fishermen to processors to transportation, to get the job done.”

Transportation was coordinated by Jim Jansen of Lynden Inc., which worked with Northern Air Cargo and Everts to get the fish to Emmonak and Fairbanks. ADF&G also helped cover some of the air freight charges.

In a normal year, families along the Yukon would put up 45 to 100 kings caught in the subsistence fishery for the winter, smoked and dried, said Jack Schultheis, general manager of Kwik’Pak Fisheries at Emmonak.

“They have not had a chance to do that (this year). It is more of a cultural thing. Nobody is going to stare, but that is how they have lived here for a couple of thousand years,” he said.

With no work harvesting and processing Chinook and keta salmon, Kwik’Pak, a subsidiary of the Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association, has turned a new venture in farming, with help from a $350,000 grant from the Rasmuson Foundation in Anchorage. Twenty-seven high school students from Emmonak were employed to build some 3,000 square feet of greenhouse space.

The farm will create jobs for up to 75 youth and boost local access to fresh produce, including potatoes, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, cabbage, beans, cucumbers, squash and pumpkins, Schultheis said. Arctic apple and pear trees are also being planted, but still they sure could use more salmon, he said.

The statewide preliminary commercial salmon harvest count meanwhile was approaching 90 million fish, including 50.4 million sockeyes, 32.6 million pink, more than 6 million chum 358,000 coho and 158,000 Chinook.

Wednesday, July 21, 2021

Counter Service Appointments are Back at Regional National Maritime Centers

The National Maritime Center has resumed counter service appointments at 18 of its regional examination centers, including three in Alaska, two in California, and one each in Hawaii, Oregon and Washington state.

Mariners wishing to schedule counter service or examination appointments may do so by contacting the appropriate email address or phone numbers:

No walk-in appointments are available. Late arrivals for appointments will not be permitted and will require rescheduling to another date.

Only the mariner conducting business may enter the REC, with other members of their party remaining outside during the appointment. Also, mariners will be subject to COVID-19 screening questions and temperature checks, and any mariners experiencing COVID-19 symptoms will need to reschedule their appointment.

Face coverings are required at all times. Anyone removing a face covering will be dismissed and could be subject to exam module failure, according to the National Maritime Center. Persons with documented health issues that prevent them from wearing face coverings must notify the REC/MU when scheduling appointments.

All fees must be satisfied prior to arrival at the REC for counter service or examination appointments, with https://www.pay.gov/public/home the preferred payment method.

Mariners should bring a pay.gov receipt, their own #2 pencils, photo ID, a non-programmable calculator and plotting equipment. No other personal belongings are allowed in the facility.

Those with questions and concerns may contact the NMC Customer Service Center at IASKNMC@uscg.mil or call 1-888-IASKNMC (888-427-5662).

The National Maritime Center also issued an update on its centralized electronic delivery process for renewal examinations, which was launched back in May of 2020.

To date over 1,200 mariners have completed over 3,000 exam modules using this process and feedback on the improved communications and significant reduction in processing time has been overwhelmingly positive, officials said.

Approval to test letters for renewal exams issued on or after May 1, 2020, include directions on how to obtain an electronic exam. Those directions may also be found on the NMC examinations page website, https://www.dco.uscg.mil/nmc/examinations/

For questions, concerns or feedback on this process, email IASKNMC@uscg.mil or call 1-888-IASKNMC (427-5662).

SE Alaska Sustainability Strategy Ending Old Growth Logging Draws Kudos, Fire

A new federal Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy that will end old growth logging in Tongass National Forest by reinstating the Roadless Rule is elating fishermen and drawing fire from the timber industry.

“The Southeast Alaska ecosystem, which holds as its heart and lungs the Tongass National Forest, can be thought of (as) one marvelous SeaBank, rich in natural capital, paying generous annual dividends, and with assets that support local jobs and a sustainable economy,” said Linda Behnken, a veteran commercial harvester and president of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association in Sitka.

The Tongass provides 95% of the 53 million salmon annually harvested by Southeast Alaska’s commercial salmon fisheries, which are the cornerstone of the sustainable local economy, Behnken said.

The Alaska Forest Association, an industry trade association in Ketchikan, adamantly disagreed with the USDA decision.

“AFA recognizes the immense work undertaken by U.S. Forest Service employees in the Tongass and in Region 10 during the last eight years to move forward with a commitment to supply, preserve and retain the timber industry in the Tongass,” said Tessa Axelson, executive director of AFA, in a statement.

“What a monumental loss for the USFS, the Tongass and Alaska that this work will be set aside,” she said. “Professionals, not politics, should manage the region’s natural resources.”

The U.S. Department of Agriculture strategy announced in mid-July mandates the USDA to work with partners and communities in Southeast Alaska and consult with tribes and Alaska Native corporations in a collaborative process to invest $25 million in financial and technical resources in sustainable opportunities for economic growth and community well-being and identify priorities for future investments, the agency said.

In announcing the transition away from old growth logging on July 15, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said his agency looked forward to meaningful consultation with communities, partners, the state, tribal governments and Alaska Native corporations to prioritize management and investments in the region that reflect a holistic approach to the region’s diverse values. The mandate of the collaborative effort is to provide opportunities for recreation, fisheries and the fishing industry, mariculture, renewable energy and sustainable timber management, including or young growth, traditional and customary cultural uses, and carbon sequestration.

The USDA decision to halt old growth logging and road building in the nation’s largest national forest also received kudos also from conservation entities and criticism from Alaska’s congressional delegation.

“The real value of the Tongass is in its abundant fish and wildlife, its cultural resources and in its beautiful scenery and wild landscapes,” said Austin Williams, director of law and policy in Alaska for Trout Unlimited.

The state’s congressional delegation meanwhile cited the USDA decision as a detriment to the economic future of Southeast Alaska.

CDFW Relocates 1.1M Juvenile Fall Run Chinook Salmon

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has relocated 1.1 million juvenile fall-run Chinook salmon from the Iron Gate Fish Hatchery in Siskiyou County to a nearby satellite facility and to the Trinity River Hatchery, 122 miles away. There, the young Chinooks will remain until conditions improve from the drought impacting the Klamath River.

The baby salmon, about seven months old and about three inches in length, normally are released into the Klamath River in May and June. Due to warm water, low water flow and exceedingly high probability of the fish succumbing to disease in the river, a decision was made to retain these salmon within the hatchery system over the summer, until conditions in the Klamath River improve, CDFW officials said.

The unprecedented relocation came after extensive monitoring discussion and close collaboration with federal partners, academic specialists and three Native American tribes on the Lower Klamath Basin. This temporary relocation marks the first time CDFW has not released salmon into the Klamath River since construction of the Iron Gate Fish Hatchery in 1962.

Another one million juvenile Chinook salmon are expected to remain at the Iron Gate hatchery.

Mark Clifford, hatchery environmental scientist for CDFW’s northern region, noted that it’s extremely challenging to raise cold water fish species in a drought. “The reality is most of these fish would have died if we released them into the river,” he said. “We need to maintain the integrity of the fall run on the Klamath River and we especially can‘t afford to lose this generation of fish,” he said.

Four Klamath River dams are slated for removal by 2024, constituting the largest dam removal undertaking in U.S. history. Dam removal is expected to restore fish access to the entire river and the relocated Iron Gate fish could be the first salmon to return to a new Klamath River after their life in the ocean, finding miles of additional spawning habitat and contributing to future generations of wild fish.

CDFW officials said when conditions improve, and before the fish are ultimately released into the Klamath River, the relocated salmon will be returned to the Iron Gate Fish Hatchery for a number of weeks, to allow the fish to further imprint on the Klamath River. All of the relocated salmon have been outfitted with unique coded wire tags to allow CDFW and other agencies to determine their origin and destination.

All of their adipose fins have been removed to visibly identify them as hatchery reared fish, CDFW officials said.

Pew Charitable Trusts, WTO Critical of Failing Efforts to End Harmful Fishing Subsidies

Leaders of the World Trade Organization and The Pew Charitable Trusts are criticizing World Trade Organization member states for failing to put aside their national interests to reach a deal to end harmful fishing subsidies for the benefit of oceans and marine life.

In a report published by the online publication SeafoodSource, the two entities said that the world’s largest fishing nations are dodging their responsibilities.

According to Isabel Jarrett, manager of a Pew Charitable Trusts project to end harmful fisheries subsidies, an ambitious WTO deal to end harmful fisheries subsidies could restore 12.5% of fish biomass in the ocean by 2050.

The most recent draft of the WTO agreement text would likely yield only an increase of 1.59% for that same period, and new research by the University of California Santa Barbara found that the draft text being negotiated would have a minimal impact of fishery stocks, she said.

WTO Director-General Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala also expressed frustration with member states’ negotiating strategies. Member states have been bargaining over how to structure opt-outs for developing member states and how to define fuel subsidies, but they have yet to agree on how sustainable fishery stocks are defined, SeafoodSource report said.

In comments during the end of a virtual meeting of trade ministers in mid-July, Okonjo-Iweala said while textual proposals have evolved over the years, a core problem remains the same.

“Instead of converging on effective disciplines for all, negotiators have devoted time and ingenuity to finding ways to constrain others’ support but not their own,” she said. That is what trade negotiators are trained to do, she added, but “it is not getting us the outcome we need for our oceans.”

The talks, which have been going on in various formats for 20 years, were stalled earlier this month, but are set to begin anew in September.

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