Unusual Fish Catches Off San Diego Signal Large-Scale El Niño, Researcher Says

Wednesday, June 11, 2014 | By Susan Murphy | Aired 6/11/14 on KPBS News.

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El Niño currents and warming water are drawing semi-tropical fish, such as yellowfin, to San Diego's coast several months earlier than usual.

One telltale sign that this year's coming El Niño could be a big one is what’s been reeled in off San Diego's coast.Above-average sea surface temperatures are developing in the tropical Pacific Ocean. The weather phenomenon, called El Niño, changes the heating pattern of the atmosphere and pulls the Pacific jet stream farther south. It has the potential to play havoc on weather systems across the globe, causing heavy rain and mudslides in some areas, drought in others, and disrupting the marine food chain.Previous strong El Niños caused above-average rainfall and coastal erosion in San Diego. In 1997-1998, the event was credited with dumping 17 inches of rain at Lindbergh Field.“This looks really a lot like the ’97-’98 El Niño event, which was one of the biggest ones ever recorded,” said Tim Barnett, marine research physicist emeritus with Scripps Institution of Oceanography.“We’ll just have to wait and see how things develop in the summer,” he added.Barnett said the ’97-’98 event caused a northward shift of the whole fishery population, drawing an abundance of albacore and Bluefin tuna to San Diego’s unusually warm waters.“We’ve already started to see very unusual fish catches here,” Barnett said. “The first yellowfin tuna was caught in May — that has never happened before to anybody’s recollection.”“And the other thing too is the first dorado Mahi Mahi — first of June," Barnett added, “that has never happened before. They really like the warm water and you normally don’t see them here until September.”Barnett said both catches could be signatures of a coming large-scale El Niño. He said the tropical fish get caught up in currents caused by El Niño trade winds.“They get entrapped in the current and they just swim along happily North,” Barnett said. “Unfortunately, it’s a one-way trip for most of them, it appears.”In 1997-98, there were a lot of strange biological goings-on, Barnett added, like yellowtail being caught off Kodiak Island in Alaska. The tropical fish usually stops much farther south at Point Conception near Santa Barbara, California.“And nobody could identify them, it’s really funny, they had never seen a yellowtail in Kodiak Island, and they had to send the fish out to be identified."Barnett said it’s still too early to project this year’s El Niño strength, but the unusual fish sightings are a good early indication.

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SUSAN MURPHY, Reporter

FDA and EPA Issue Updated Draft Advice for Fish Consumption

 Advice encourages pregnant women and breastfeeding mothers to eat more fish that are lower in mercury

WASHINGTON -- June 10, 2014 -- The following was released by the Food and Drug Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency:

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued updated draft advice on fish consumption. The two agencies have concluded pregnant and breastfeeding women, those who might become pregnant, and young children should eat more fish that is lower in mercury in order to gain important developmental and health benefits. The updated draft advice is consistent with recommendations in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

Previously, the FDA and the EPA recommended maximum amounts of fish that these population groups should consume, but did not promote a minimum amount. Over the past decade, however, emerging science has underscored the importance of appropriate amounts of fish in the diets of pregnant and breastfeeding women, and young children.

"For years many women have limited or avoided eating fish during pregnancy or feeding fish to their young children," said Stephen Ostroff, M.D., the FDA's acting chief scientist. "But emerging science now tells us that limiting or avoiding fish during pregnancy and early childhood can mean missing out on important nutrients that can have a positive impact on growth and development as well as on general health."

An FDA analysis of seafood consumption data from over 1,000 pregnant women in the United States found that 21 percent of them ate no fish in the previous month, and those who ate fish ate far less than the Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommends-with 50 percent eating fewer than 2 ounces a week, and 75 percent eating fewer than 4 ounces a week. The updated draft advice recommends pregnant women eat at least 8 ounces and up to 12 ounces (2-3 servings) per week of a variety of fish that are lower in mercury to support fetal growth and development.

"Eating fish with lower levels of mercury provides numerous health and dietary benefits," said Nancy Stoner, the EPA's acting assistant administrator for the Office of Water. "This updated advice will help pregnant women and mothers make informed decisions about the right amount and right kinds of fish to eat during important times in their lives and their children's lives."

The updated draft advice cautions pregnant or breastfeeding women to avoid four types of fish that are associated with high mercury levels: tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico; shark; swordfish; and king mackerel. In addition, the updated draft advice recommends limiting consumption of white (albacore) tuna to 6 ounces a week.

Choices lower in mercury include some of the most commonly eaten fish, such as shrimp, pollock, salmon, canned light tuna, tilapia, catfish and cod.

When eating fish caught from local streams, rivers and lakes, follow fish advisories from local authorities. If advice isn't available, limit your total intake of such fish to 6 ounces a week and 1-3 ounces for children.

Before issuing final advice, the agencies will consider public comments, and also intend to seek the advice of the FDA's Risk Communication Advisory Committee and conduct a series of focus groups.

The public can provide comment on the draft advice and the supplemental questions and answers by submitting comments to the Federal Register docket or by participating in any public meetings that may be held. The comment period will be open until 30 days after the last transcript from the advisory committee meeting and any other public meetings becomes available. The dates of any public meetings, as well as when the public comment period will close, will be published in future Federal Register notices at www.federalregister.gov.

For more information:

• Draft advice on fish consumption, and supplemental questions and answers about the draft advice:  Fish: What Pregnant Women and Parents Should Know

• Federal Register Notice of Availability: Advice About Eating Fish; Draft Update

• 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans

• FDA Consumer Update: New Advice: Some Women and Children Should Eat More Fish

• EPA information on wild-caught fish

• FDA Audio Clips

• EPA Audio Clips

To comment on the draft advice on fish consumption:

• Read the draft advice.

• Starting Wednesday, June 11, 2014, submit comments through the Federal Register docket at FederalRegister.gov.

NOAA vessel to conduct research with Scripps, UCSD

Jun 06, 2014 | SDNEWS.COMFisheries survey vessel Reuben Lasker, the newest member of the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) research fleet, was commissioned May 2 in San Diego, tasked with conducting research cruises in the California Current, the ocean region where Scripps Institution of Oceanography, UCSD, and NOAA operate the California Cooperative Oceanic Fisheries Investigations program.“NOAA will once again be prominent in San Diego Bay,” said U.S. 53rd District Rep. Susan Davis, who helped secure American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funding for the construction of the $75-million Lasker. “The ship brings an important legacy to our research mission and to the blue economy.”The vessel, which will dock at the 10th Avenue Terminal, will be the first NOAA ship home-ported in San Diego since David Starr Jordan was retired in 2009 after having logged 1.5 million miles in its 44-year tenure.The Lasker's duties will routinely conduct research cruises in the California Current for the state fisheries investigations program with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Since 1949, the fisheries program has conducted regular cruises with the goal of managing living resources in an ocean region that supports a $250 million fishery.The 208-foot vessel is named for the late Reuben Lasker, NOAA coastal fisheries division director, who served as an adjunct professor at Scripps. Lasker is noted in fisheries management for his advances in understanding the transition period of commercially important fish species from juveniles to adults.San Diego Port Commissioner Bob Nelson noted that the ship brings 24 jobs and an estimated $27 million to the local economy.The ship's first cruise will center on a July cetacean and ecosystem survey. It will employ perhaps its most distinctive feature, an ability to operate so quietly that the vessel will be able to make close-range observations of marine life without disturbing animal behavior or compromising extremely sensitive acoustic equipment.

In related news:As the probability of an El Niño winter increases, Scripps Institution of Oceanography researchers are following the climate phenomenon as it develops off Southern California and finding that local readings closely hew to El Niño monitoring taking place at the equator.El Niño is a phenomenon characterized by warmer sea surface water in the equatorial Eastern Pacific Ocean. It is often associated with greater rainfall on much of the U.S. West Coast and frequently enhances the encroachment of storm surges by raising regional sea levels for several months at a time. An El Niño is defined by a seasonal sea surface temperature anomaly in the eastern-central equatorial Pacific greater than 0.9 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than historical average temperature. The opposite phenomenon, La Niña, is defined as a seasonal sea surface temperature colder than the historical average.The researchers' data are distributed by the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS), a region of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System. SCCOOS uses the data to make model forecasts in support of U.S. national security.

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 View the original post: http://sdnews.com/bookmark/25253275

Intense El Nino seen likely to be developing this fall

SEAFOODNEWS.COM [SCOM] - May 15, 2014 -

New NASA satellite images seem to show that El Niño conditions seem to be developing in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, data from satellites and ocean sensors indicate.  The ocean temperature profile in May 2014 appears very similar to that of 1997, when an intense El Nino cycle formed.

A natural climate cycle that brings abnormally toasty temperatures to the Pacific Ocean, El Niño occurs when winds pile up warm water in the eastern part of the equatorial Pacific, triggering changes in atmospheric circulation that affects rainfall and storm patterns around the world.

Sea-surface height can reveal if such heat is being stored in particular regions of the ocean, since water expands as it warms. Above-normal sea-surface height in the equatorial Pacific Ocean, in turn, can suggest an El Niño is developing, according to NASA's Earth Observatory.

That's what is showing up right now, as satellite images taken from the Ocean Surface Topography Mission/Jason 2 satellite reveal sea-surface height, averaged over a 10-day period centered on May 3, is above normal. A similar anomaly showed up during May 1997 — which coincided with one of the strongest El Niños ever experienced. That year North America saw one of its warmest and wettest winters on record; Central and South America saw immense rainstorms and flooding; and Indonesia along with parts of Asia endured severe droughts, the Earth Observatory noted.

"What we are now seeing in the tropical Pacific Ocean looks similar to conditions in early 1997," said Eric Lindstrom, oceanography program manager at NASA headquarters, in an Earth Observatory statement. "If this continues, we could be looking at a major El Niño this fall. But there are no guarantees."

A network of sensors in the Pacific Ocean reveals a deep pool of warm water shifting eastward, supporting the satellite data, according to the Earth Observatory.Model predictions issued on May 8 by the National Weather Service Climate Prediction Center forecast that the chances of an El Niño developing during the summer are more than 65 percent. "These atmospheric and oceanic conditions collectively indicate a continued evolution toward El Niño," the alert read.

This event may be just the beginning of more intense El Niños to come, according to research detailed Jan. 19 in the journal Nature Climate Change. That study suggested the most powerful El Niño events may occur every 10 years rather than every 20 years, due to rising sea-surface temperatures overall in the eastern Pacific Ocean.

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Republished with permission of SeafoodNews.com

View the original article here.

Warmer ocean spurs feasting along coast

Warmer ocean spurs feasting along coast

By

Samantha Kimmey

05/01/2014

Large schools of baitfish off the coast of Point Reyes, presenting a feast for birds and sea mammals and a strange sight for locals last month, may have been lured north and inland because of warmer ocean temperatures this year.A fisheries scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said it was too early to tell if the oceanographic conditions might indicate a coming El Niño, since those conditions can be highly variable from year to year; however, last month NOAA reported that the chances of an El Niño event kicking off by this summer exceed 50 percent.An avian ecologist with Petaluma-based Point Blue said that “off the charts” numbers of pelicans in the area last month might also point to abnormal ocean conditions and a coming El Niño event.El Niño is a weather event that occurs roughly every three to seven years, when sea surface temperatures in the middle or western Pacific warm by about 1 degree Fahrenheit; it can spur severe weather events around the world, including storms, floods and droughts. And not all El Niños are the same; some can be stronger, others weaker. The event can last from about nine months to two years. Although they are not caused by climate change, there is evidence that modern climate change is increasing their frequency and ferocity.On April 19, countless big sardines laid trapped in tiny channels amid the mudflats of Bolinas Lagoon at low tide, drawing the attention of a local birder who watched pelicans gorge en masse for an hour or so. Bolinas resident Burr Heneman wrote to a North Bay birding listserv that he had only seen such a massive baitfish event in Bolinas a few times in the past 40 years, and never in the spring—only in July or August, and only with anchovies. He told the Light that the sardines have been in and around the lagoon for roughly a week before his sighting, and noted that others have seen sardines in Drakes Bay.“Brown Pelicans swarmed the shallow channels, awkwardly using their bills and pouches as dip nets,” Mr. Heneman wrote. “The pelicans were so thick that the cormorants had trouble maneuvering among them. More dead or still-flopping sardines were on the mud flats than the gulls and terns could eat, though they kept trying. And the sardines I saw were so large (10”-12”?) that even the gulls were having trouble getting outside of them. Or else the gulls were just too full to get another fish down… A great show. An hour later, water covered the flats, and the action was over.”Mary Jane Schramm, a spokeswoman for the Gulf of the Farallones National Marine Sanctuary, which has jurisdiction over the Bolinas Lagoon, said last week that she has received reports of whales, dolphins and seabirds taking advantage of the unusually abundant baitfish in Bolinas Bay and off Duxbury Reef.Large sardines typically spawn in southern California in spring and migrate up the California coast starting in April, but might not typically reach this area until June, said Russ Vetter, a senior scientist at NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center. But the ocean as recently as two weeks ago was roughly two degrees warmer than is considered normal. Although within the past week he said waters have cooled down, the warmer waters could have both dissuaded the fish from traveling too far south over the winter and spurred the sardines to spawn earlier.Reports early this year described a decline of the sardine fishery off the southern California coast, likely due to large-scale oceanographic cycles that switch every 20 or 30 years between favoring sardines or anchovies. Fishing crews reportedly struggled to find sardines and typically picked up larger and more mature ones when they caught any at all (so the presence of larger sardines in recent sightings here isn’t surprising).Sardines don’t typically come so close to the coast when they pass through the area because of the inhospitable cold waters brought to the surface by upwelling. That’s the process by which winds from the northwest—combined with the south-flowing California current and the earth’s rotation—push surface water west and pull nutrient-rich cold water to the top. The nutrients and sunlight fuel the growth of algae, creating food for baitfish, which are then eaten by other sea life and birds.In some areas along California’s coast, upwelling occurs in thinner bands. But off the coast of Point Reyes and a few other spots, such as Point Arena and Big Sur, it can extend out a few hundred miles, which accounts for the diversity of sea life around two nearby marine sanctuaries, Cordell Bank and the Farallones.Although measurements by the Bodega Marine Lab in Bodega Bay show that upwelling began in March—within the normal range—there were fits and starts. There was a relaxation at the end of March, and water temperatures at Point Reyes were warm in the first half of April. But they cooled down by the end of the month, with recent nearshore winds, according to NOAA data provided by Ben Becker, a marine ecologist at the Point Reyes National Seashore.Mr. Vetter said that upwelling had generally begun late across the state, but it was too early to know whether California’s upwelling would be weak or normal this year, and that more will be known in another month or so. He added that weaker upwelling generally accompanies El Niño events.Some of the birds that feasted on the sardines, such as gulls, are typically in the area at this time of year and took advantage of an easy meal. But an avian ecologist with Point Blue, Dave Shuford, wrote to the Light that the number of pelicans seen at Bolinas Lagoon was highly unusual for this time of year. That could reflect breeding failures elsewhere, he said, or it could be a harbinger for El Niño.“Although occurrence of pelicans in the [hundreds] is not unprecedented in the Point Reyes area in April, the numbers seen the other day appear to be: [a friend] counted about 2,600 pelicans at Bolinas Lagoon on Sunday, which is off charts, I think, for April. Usually the early occurrence of pelicans in this area reflects warm water conditions like El Niño,” he wrote.A professor of wildlife ecology at the University of California, Davis, Daniel Anderson, said he has heard of other unusual influxes of pelicans along the southern California coast.A forthcoming scientific paper actually links the mild winter and drought on the West Coast and the frigid winter endured by those in the East both to climate change and a coming El Niño, the Associated Press reported Tuesday, although many scientists hesitate to link singular or very recent weather events to broad shifts like climate change.View the original article: http://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/warmer-ocean-spurs-feasting-along-coast

Vital part of food web dissolving

Scientists have documented that souring seas caused by CO2 emissions are dissolving pteropods, a key marine food source. The research raises questions about what other sea life might be affected.It didn’t take long for researchers examining the tiny sea snails to see something amiss.The surface of some of their thin outer shells looked as if they had been etched by a solvent. Others were deeply pitted and pocked.View the article here. — SeattleTimes.comStory byCRAIG WELCH

NOAA to Commission Fishery Survey Vessel, Reuben Lasker

Southwest Fisheries Science Center, 4/29/2014What is 208-feet long, glides through the ocean as silent as a gray whale, counts schools of fish with the speed of sound, and calls San Diego home? NOAA Fisheries’ new fishery survey vessel Reuben Lasker, the most advanced technology platform for monitoring fish, turtles, marine mammals and oceanography, will be placed in active service on Friday, 2 May 2014. NOAA will officially commission the ship at the Navy Pier, close to the ship’s permanent port in San Diego, California on the 10th Street Terminal.The fishery survey vessel, Reuben Lasker, arrived in San Diego on 29 March 2014 after traveling 5000 miles from Norfolk, Virginia and through the Panama Canal, a 20-day journey. This distance is a pittance compared to the miles she is expected to rack up over the next many decades as a platform for researching fish, marine mammals and turtles off the U.S. West Coast and in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean. “Reuben Lasker provides a living laboratory for monitoring ocean animals and their environment,” said Francisco Werner, Science Director of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center (SWFSC) in La Jolla, CA. “She will support superior stock assessments and ecosystem-based management of the region’s living marine resources for today, tomorrow and future generations.”“The addition of the sophisticated Reuben Lasker to our fleet of modern fisheries research vessels on the West Coast amplifies our ability to understand the ecosystem and inform wise management of its resources,” reiterates John Stein, Science Director of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, WA. “Together with the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, we now have the capability to build highly refined stock assessments for valuable West Coast fisheries and conduct ecosystem and species-specific studies to support healthy and resilient coastal communitiesBuilt by Marinette Marine Corporation in Marinette, Wisconsin, from 2010 to 2013, Reuben Lasker is quiet, quieter than other research vessels, which allows scientists to study ocean life without affecting their behavior so much as other vessels might. This is useful, for example, when studying where fish live. “The fishery survey vessel Reuben Lasker is designed to produce so little sound that our scientists can survey marine species without disturbing the animals' behavior or compromising the capabilities of our most sensitive acoustic equipment,” said Richard Merrick, chief scientist for NOAA Fisheries.The ship also has several acoustic technologies that can identify the shape, type and mass of fish schools as well as map the ocean floor. Her dynamic positioning system accurately holds the vessel in a fixed position so scientists can more easily deploy their equipment –trawls, longlines, plankton nets, oceanographic equipment and other gear collect samples and data. And scientists can process data and samples on board during research cruises in the five laboratories, providing enhanced efficiency.The 24 staff, command and crew, on board Reuben Lasker support more than just science. That’s 24 new jobs in San Diego, 24 more professionals contributing to the community. “We look forward to a long relationship with the Lasker and her command and crew,” said Werner. “Together we will provide an integrated view of the California Current's ecosystem and address the challenges and emerging issues facing our marine resources."Reuben Lasker replaces the last NOAA Ship stationed in San Diego, David Starr Jordan, which was retired in 2009 after logging over 1.5 million miles during her 44 year tenure off the West Coast.“The fisheries survey vessel Reuben Lasker is inspired by its namesake, a renown and well-loved fisheries scientist with a passion for his research and those who worked with him,” said Roger Hewitt, Assistant Director for Ships, SWFSC. “Reuben conveyed a sense of joint purpose, that the mysteries of the sea could only be addressed by a multi-disciplinary team. The design of Reuben Lasker embodies this spirit. Reuben would be proud, even if he got a bit sea sick.”

Welcome home, Lasker.Contributed by Sarah M. Shoffler

More information on the design and features of the new ship and the science of the Southwest Fisheries Science Center may be found online:• NOAA's New West Coast Fisheries Survey Vessels • https://facebook.com/NOAAShipReubenLasker • http://moc.noaa.gov/rl • NOAA Takes Delivery of New Fisheries Survey Vessel• Lasker PhotosSouthwest Fisheries Science Centerhttp://swfsc.noaa.gov/Northwest Fisheries Science Centerhttp://www.nwfsc.noaa.gov/

Glucosamine, made from shellfish shells, may have exciting new health benefits

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Daily Mail] By John Nash - April 22, 2014Could the elixir of youth in fact be a potion made from the shells of crab, lobster and shrimp?Last week, in the highly respected journal Nature Communications, scientists reported how the food supplement glucosamine, often made from shellfish, can make mice live nearly 10 per cent longer. That would add an average eight years to human lifespans, taking the average UK life expectancy to 89.The researcher, Dr Michael Ristow, a biochemist at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, gave the supplement to ageing mice in addition to their usual diet and compared them with similar mice not given the supplement.He believes the benefits are down to glucosamine making the body think it's on a low-carb, highprotein diet. It does this by creating amino acids that the body mistakes for proteins.In response, our bodies start burning more protein. This can keep weight down and, as a result, may also fend off problems such as high blood pressure and diabetes.Glucosamine supplements, available in health food shops, are already a popular remedy for arthritis, with annual sales estimated at £41.6 million, according to recent figures.This is because glucosamine is thought to help the body produce synovial fluid, which lubricates joints and helps cartilage to repair itself. If cartilage isn't repaired, bones in joints are more likely to rub against each other, causing arthritis — inflammation and pain in the joint.The body itself produces glucosamine but the amount starts to dwindle after the age of 45.However, the jury is out on whether glucosamine supplements really help ease arthritis.While supplement manufacturers are keen to claim it is proven by lab tests, a 2010 review of ten trials published in the British Medical Journal found that glucosamine was not useful in reducing osteoarthritis joint pain.The evidence for glucosamine promoting longevity may in fact be more promising.It appears to protect against several common causes of death, according to a 2012 study by The Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre in the U.S.The large-scale study, involving more than 77,000 people over an eight-year period, found those taking glucosamine for their joints had nearly a fifth lower risk of premature death. Furthermore, they had a 13 per cent reduced risk of dying from cancer and a 41 per cent reduced risk of dying from respiratory disease, reported the European Journal of Epidemiology.Scientists have suggested that glucosamine may have an anti-inflammatory effect similar to that of aspirin but without the long-term adverse side-effects such as stomach bleeding.There may, however, be another explanation. Glucosamine has been found to boost a process in the human body called autophagy, according to a 2013 report in the journal Arthritis and Rheumatism.Autophagy is a system in which cells get rid of their toxic waste. If this process fails, the cell dies, explains Katja Simon, a researcher in immunology at the University of Oxford Nuffield Department of Medicine, who is exploring this process in human studies. 'In the ageing process it has been shown that autophagy levels fall. It may be that things such as wrinkles, hearing loss and cancer are actually due to these falling autophagy levels and accumulation of toxic wastes in the cells.'This may help to explain why glucosamine used in a cream appears to have an anti-ageing effect on the skin.A series of studies presented to the American Academy of Dermatology in 2006 suggested it may reverse the ageing effect of sunburn on skin cells.Tests from Harvard Medical School found that a cream made with the chemical reduced liver spots and freckles in those with sunburn-related damage.Other studies presented at the conference showed that glucosamine in skin cream may stimulate production of hyaluronic acid, believed to help keep skin hydrated, and collagen, which can make skin appear youthfully plump.But these are early days. As Tim Spector, professor of genetic epidemiology and a consultant rheumatologist at King's College London, says: 'Glucosamine is an interesting molecule that could affect us subtly in many ways. If even a modest effect on ageing were proven, it would be a major advance. However, humans are not the same as worms or rodents and studies will need careful replication before we get overexcited.'It should also be acknowledged the substance has potential side-effects. People taking the bloodthinning drug warfarin should be cautious, as glucosamine may make the drug too potent.And those who are allergic to shellfish should also be wary, although the allergenic part of shellfish is usually the flesh and not the shell, and some glucosamine supplements are based on alternative sources, such as plant fungus.Nevertheless, we may now be nearer the day when a lobster can help us to look less crabby.Ken CoonsCopyright © 2014 Seafoodnews.comSource: Seafood.com News