UN warns on ocean acidification as GHG levels soar
Carbon dioxide emissions in 2013 were largest on record since 1984, says World Meteorological Organization
Shellfish are vulnerable to acidification, as acid in waters prevents species developing calcium shells (Pic: NOAA)
By Ed KingCurrent levels of ocean acidification are “unprecedented” and directly linked to rising emissions of carbon dioxide, according to the UN’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO). In a greenhouse gas analysis of 2013, released on Tuesday, it said concentrations of CO2 in the air had risen more than any other year since 1984. Methane and nitrous oxide levels also rose.Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are now 142% higher than 1750, before the industrial revolution.And the WMO said data showed the warming effect on the world’s climate due to greenhouse gases, known as radiative forcing, had risen 34% between 1990 and 2013.“Carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere for many hundreds of years and in the ocean for even longer,” said WMO secretary general Michel Jarraud.“Past, present and future CO2 emissions will have a cumulative impact on both global warming and ocean acidification. The laws of physics are non-negotiable.”Jarraud added the latest data should be used as a “scientific base for decision-making”.World leaders are primed to meet in New York in two weeks for a UN summit to discuss options to reduce emissions of climate warming gases.This report is the latest evidence of the levels of atmospheric gases burning fossil fuels has released.A leaked draft of the UN’s IPCC climate science panel syntheses report, due out in November, stressed that “human influence on the climate system is clear”.
Earlier this year the Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii recorded for the first time in recorded history that concentrations of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere had passed 400 parts per million (ppm).Report: Alaska fisheries hit by rising acidifiction levelsEqually concerning, WMO scientists said the ability of the biosphere to absorb rising carbon levels had diminished, leaving the oceans to compensate.“The ocean cushions the increase in CO2 that would otherwise occur in the atmosphere, but with far-reaching impacts,” it said in a press release.“The current rate of ocean acidification appears unprecedented at least over the last 300 million years, according to an analysis in the report.”Caused when the oceans suck in CO2, acidification is likely to lead to the decline of corals, algae, molluscs and some plankton, say scientists.The ocean currently absorbs around a fourth of manmade CO2 emissions. The WMO said if emissions continue to rise, acidification is likely to accelerate until the 2050s.Earlier this year the IPCC said ocean warming and acidification linked to rising CO2 levels would undermine food production and threaten the world’s poorest people.Wendy Watson-Wright, executive secretary of the Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission of UNESCO welcomed the WMO’s focus on oceans in its report.“The inclusion of a section on ocean acidification in this issue of WMO’s greenhouse gas bulletin is appropriate and needed,” she said.“It is high time the ocean, as the primary driver of the planet’s climate and attenuator of climate change, becomes a central part of climate change discussions.”
Read the original post at www.rtc.org:http://www.rtcc.org/2014/09/09/un-warns-on-ocean-acidification-as-ghg-levels-soar/
How Fishing Makes You A Better Person (According To Science)
Fishing is one of the most accessible outdoor sports. Nearly anyone, no matter age, income level or even fitness ability, can easily participate. And the sport is no longer the boys' club it was once thought of either. Of the 46 million Americans who fish today, over one third of them are women, according to a new report released by the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and the Outdoor Foundation. There's also growing age and ethnic diversity within the sport.Whether they grew up heading out onto the lake every Sunday with Grandpa or are one of the millions trying the sport for the first time every year, those who fish have a direct connection to health and well-being. Here's how fishing can help you lead a happier, healthier life.Fishing can keep you physically fit.While fishing itself isn't necessarily going to get your heart rate up, many of the best fishing spots require a bit of paddling, biking or hiking to reach, all of which have proven cardiovascular benefits. "You can make your fishing excursion as physical as you want," Janna Superstein, president of fly fishing company Superfly International Inc., tells The Huffington Post. She stresses, however, that you don't need to be incredibly active to participate. "Even just getting out there, you'll still get the benefits of the outdoors and maybe that's the beginning of a new fit, healthy lifestyle," she says.Of course, just spending time outside is good for your body and your brain. The outdoors gives us plenty of vitamin D (but don't forget the SPF!), makes us happier and helps us age gracefully.Fly fishing -- a specific type of fishing that incorporates artificial "flies" and a weighted line -- may also help women with breast cancer recover. Groups like Casting for Recovery combine breast cancer education with the sport as a form of support, therapy and exercise. Casting for Recovery's site says that the gentle motion of fly casting resembles exercises often prescribed after surgery or radiation to promote soft tissue stretching. The group is designed for women of all ages in all stages of treatment and recovery.Fish are an excellent source of nutrition.
While not all who fish keep what they catch, those who do may be in for some bonus benefits. Fish is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, which may decrease blood pressure and lower the risk of stroke and heart failure. They could also reduce irregular heartbeats and improve brain function in children, according to the Mayo Clinic.In addition to heart and brain health, research shows that eating fish can save your eyesight, decrease the risk of asthma, protect your skin from UV-rays and cut your chances of developing rheumatoid arthritis in half. Some research suggests that eating a fish-heavy diet could even help reduce the risk of breast cancer.Eating fish could help you live longer.All of that healthy eating pays off. Some credit the long lifespan of the Japanese to a fish- and veggie-heavy diet. Japanese women have the longest life expectancy in the world, at 87 years, according to the World Health Organization. And while men in Japan aren't quite as lucky, they do live to an average age of 80.Fishing may reduce stress.
Many fishermen (and women!) would agree that the gentle lapping of waves and tug on a fishing line is enough to push any stress far from the mind. "Just doing the activity relieves pressure and creates sense of excitement," Frank Peterson, president and CEO of the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation, tells The Huffington Post.Of the nine percent of Americans currently considering taking up the sport, 38 percent of them are interested in it as a means of relieving stress, according to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and the Outdoor Foundation report. In a country where 80 percent of us report feeling even more stressed or equally stressed each year and only 37 percent of us actually think we're doing a good job at managing it, finding a way to relax is vital to our mental and physical health.For many, a day of casting line is the answer because research shows that focusing on any one activity at hand can be a fast track to stress reduction. "When you're fishing, you have to be mindful," Superstein says. "You have to be present in order to observe what's happening with the fish and catch them."The sport may decrease symptoms of PTSD.The combination of mental relaxation and an easy form of exercise could also help those who suffer from post traumatic stress disorder. A 2009 study shows that fishing can lower PTSD symptoms and increase the mood of those who suffer from the disorder. After three days of fly fishing, participants reported a 32 percent reduction in guilt and a 43 percent decrease in feelings of hostility. The feeling of fear was also reduced by 30 percent, and sadness dropped by 36 percent. A portion of these positive effects remained even a full month after the fishing retreat.Plus, it helps you unplug.
Some of the mental benefits of fishing may be thanks to the opportunity it offers for us to unplug from our digital lives and enjoy nature. Sure, many love to snap shots of their big catches for various forms of social media or to print off and frame the old-fashioned way -- "Before there were selfies, there were 'fishies'," says Peterson. And 50 percent of us use technology -- whether for music, pictures or GPS -- when participating in outdoor activities, according to the Recreational Boating and Fishing Foundation and the Outdoor Foundation. But overall, fishing offers a way to cut back on screen time. "It gives us a chance to unplug from daily lives and plug into something completely natural," Superstein says. "We can then recharge our batteries in a natural way."Interested in taking up the sport yourself? So you're ready to feast on a fresh catch. Luckily, it's easier to start fishing than you may think. We talked to an expert to find the best tips for beginner fly fishers:
- First, get rid of the misconceptions. Contrary to popular belief, fly fishing isn't only done for trout in mountain streams. According to Superstein, you can actually do it in saltwater, lakes, ponds and rivers.
- Invest in a starter kit. If you're a total newbie, look into buying a starter kit that includes a rod, reel, line and flies. Some even come with the necessary knots already tied. And don't feel like you have to spend a fortune, Superstein says. "Spending more money on gear doesn't necessarily mean you're going to catch more fish."
- Ask the experts. From weather to season to type of fish, there are so many variables to take into account that Superstein cautions against sticking to any hard and fast rules for catching more. Instead, check with people who know the area. Ask fellow boaters, workers at the bait shop or members of local fishing clubs for the best spots to fish and the best type of bait or fly to use.
- Explore the waters close to home. There's no need to venture into the depths of the woods or up a mountain to a small trout stream. Fishing is likely more accessible than you think. You can fish in the heart of downtown Chicago or on the Hudson River in New York City and still get the benefits of nature while living in an urban setting, Superstein says.
- Go whenever you can. While some only fish in the early morning and others swear by the first thaw of spring, Superstein warns against letting these restrictions hold you back. If you want to fish, go fish. "To quote my father," she says. "'The best time to fish is whenever you can,' because for the most part, it's not about the fish, it's about getting out on the water."
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D.B. Pleschner: State's wetfish industry solid, sustainable
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Despite gloomy predictions of El Niño and the broader impact of climate change on the ocean and planet, California’s historic wetfish fisheries carry on – still the foundation of California’s fishing economy.More than 150 years ago, Chinese fishermen rowed Monterey Bay at night in sampans, with baskets of burning fat pine on the bow used as torches to attract market squid, which fishermen harvested with round-haul nets.This was the modest beginning of California’s “wetfish” industry. The immigrant Asian, Italian, Slavic and other nationalities of fishermen who came to America introduced new fishing methods.Around the turn of the 20th century, Sicilian immigrants to Monterey brought their lampara nets, another type of round-haul net, and launched what would become the largest fishery in the western hemisphere – California’s famed sardine industry, popularized in our collective conscience by John Steinbeck’s “Cannery Row.”It was the plentiful schools of fish – especially sardines that stretch from the Gulf of California to Alaska – that provided opportunity for generations of enterprising fishing families to prosper. The complex of fisheries that make up California’s wetfish industry, including mackerel and anchovy as well as squid and sardines, helped to build the ports of Monterey and San Pedro, as well as San Diego and San Francisco.Wetfish, now called coastal pelagic species, or CPS, have contributed the lion’s share of California’s commercial catch since before the turn of the 20th century.Even back then, fishermen recognized that a sustainable fishery was good for both fisherman and fish. That’s why over the decades, fishing interests have supported marine protections based on sound science, and have contributed significantly to cooperative research. That tradition continues today.In fact, today, coastal pelagic fisheries in California like squid and sardines are managed with strict quotas as well as numerous time and area closures, including a statewide network of no-take marine reserves. Fishermen are allowed to harvest only a small percentage of the overall fish population.Current regulations require that at least 75 percent of CPS finfish must stay in the ocean to ensure a resilient core biomass, and the sardine protection rate is even higher at about 90 percent.In addition, squid fishing is closed on weekends (squid live less than a year and die after spawning). And about 30 percent of squid spawning grounds are also closed in reserves.What’s more, to preserve the quality of the catch, fishermen typically fish day trips nearby the ports. This makes California’s CPS fisheries among the most efficient and “greenest” fisheries on the planet with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world.For example, wetfish fisheries can produce 2,000 pounds of protein for only six gallons of diesel fuel.Beyond the history, the culture and the sustainability, California’s CPS fisheries contribute essential revenue into local port communities.Wetfish fisheries are an important part of California’s fishing economy and squid is California’s most valuable fishery. Statewide, these fisheries represent more than 80 percent of all landings and close to 40 percent of dockside value of all fisheries in the Golden State.
D.B. Pleschner is executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association, a nonprofit created to promote sustainable wetfish resources.
INNOVATIVE LAB GAUGES ACIDIFICATION EFFECTS ON MARINE SNAILS
Michael Maher working at the NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center Mukilteo field station with Mobile Ocean Acidification Treatment Systems (MOATS). Credit: NOAA NWFSC
Carbon dioxide scrubbers like those that clean the air in space stations.Precision monitors and instruments.Industrial parts used in wastewater treatment.Michael Maher’s job was to assemble the pieces into one of the most sophisticated ocean acidification simulation systems yet developed. Ocean acidification is the decrease in ocean pH due to its absorption of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere – carbon dioxide forms an acid when it dissolves in water.“You have tools available – they may not be designed for this purpose but you can try to make them all work together,” said Maher, a research biologist at NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. “There wasn’t a blueprint or a kit you could order because nobody had really been trying to do this kind of thing before.”The system that Maher and the ocean acidification research team built in the Science Center’s parking lot has provided new insight into the impacts of future ocean conditions on marine species. Researchers used it to examine what happens to small marine snails from Puget Sound when exposed to both current ocean conditions and the acidified conditions expected in the future. The research is described in a new paper in the online journal PLOS ONE reporting that current West Coast ocean waters are acidified enough to dissolve the shells of the snails, called pteropods.The finding is not a surprise: Another NOAA-led team reported in April that shells of pteropods in near-shore habitat on the West Coast show signs of dissolution due to acidified waters. What is important about the new research is that it measured the extent of shell damage at escalating carbon dioxide concentrations, each translating to a different degree of acidification, in a controlled laboratory environment said Shallin Busch, a NOAA research ecologist.The findings are a first step toward using the pteropod species examined in the study as a living barometer or indicator of ocean acidification along the West Coast.“Our findings are a piece of the puzzle,” said Busch, the lead author of the new paper. “Now we know, yes, pteropods from the North Pacific are sensitive to ocean acidification. Now that we have confirmed their sensitivity, we need to look more closely at how pteropods are responding to current ocean conditions and what may happen in the future as carbon dioxide increases.”Pteropods provide important nutrition for whales, seabirds and fish such as herring, salmon and mackerel, so changes in their populations could rattle through the marine food chain. Carbon emissions during the industrial era have lowered the average global ocean pH from 8.2 to 8.1, turning oceans slightly more acidic. West Coast waters are naturally acidified compared to other parts of the ocean so they may affect marine life such as pteropods sooner than acidifying waters elsewhere in the world.The research also demonstrated the capacity of the NWFSC’s ocean acidification system to hold marine life at different carbon dioxide concentrations for extended periods. The system can control temperatures, oxygen levels and light for even more precise management of conditions during experiments.“They are all dependent on each other – if you change the temperature, the pH will change,” Maher said. The system that carefully manages all the variables is “ a combination of machines and precisions instruments.”The comprehensive controls allow researchers to isolate acidification as the cause of the shell damage, ruling out other factors that might otherwise be at play in a natural environment.“There are not a lot of cases where we can definitively say, ‘This change is the result of acidification,’” said research ecologist Paul McElhany, Busch’s colleague at NWFSC. “It’s very hard to disentangle unless you know that’s the only thing changing. Experiments like this provide evidence about the effects of acidification alone.”Busch said each member of the research team – Maher, McElhany and NOAA Hollings Scholar Patricia Thibodeau – brought individual skills to the research. The team has also developed a smaller and transportable version called a Mobile Ocean Acidification Treatment System, or MOATS that could be carried in the field or aboard research ships.Thibodeau joined the research team for the summer of 2012 after her junior year at Bowdoin College in Maine. One of her initial tasks was to collect pteropods from Puget Sound by boat at night to stock the experimental system. Pteropods ascend in the water column at night to feed. The vertical movement naturally exposes them to varying carbon dioxide concentrations, which the ocean acidification system can simulate.Later Thibodeau helped examine the shells of pteropods exposed to different concentrations of carbon dioxide. As with most science experiments where objectivity is paramount, she did not know which ones had been exposed to which concentrations when she rated the extent of damage to each shell.“Sometimes biology can be so unpredictable, but this had such a clear outcome and relationship, it was very interesting to be a part of,” said Thibodeau, who just began work on her PhD at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science. “There is definitely a human component to the issue because so many of us eat oysters and clams and other species affected by ocean acidification. So what we know and what we do really makes a difference.”
NOAA Hollings Scholar, Patricia Thibodeau collects seawater from Puget Sound for chemistry measurement. Credit: NOAA NWFSC
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Monterey Bay - Squid Fishing - Thank You
Source: Monterey Harbor Update September 2014 -
The 2014 squid catch was an event of a life time! This years squid catch challenged the memory of local fisherman elders. They had a difficult time remembering a better year for the squid fishery going back to the 1960's. This year more than 1500 jobs were created for local companies during this season. This years catch and subsequent use of the pumping and landing facilities along with the associated track trailers challenged the users of the commercial wharf with parking, transportation, and access. The businesses, fisherman, boaters, and the public worked within a defined amount of space. The limitations of commercial wharf II was challenged to try and be all things to all users on wharf II this year. We wanted to let you know how much we appreciate the wharf II users being patient throughout this busy 2014 season.
Thank you.
Watch the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=O_F4KiMMpik
Pacific Ocean acidity dissolving shells of key species
Pacific Ocean acidity dissolving shells of key species: New research from NOAA sounding alarm bells about climate change
By Paul Rogers/San Jose Mercury News and Will Houston/The Times-Standard In a troubling new discovery, scientists studying ocean waters off California, Oregon and Washington have found the first evidence that increasing acidity in the ocean is dissolving the shells of a key species of tiny sea creature at the base of the food chain.The animals, a type of free-floating marine snail known as pteropods, are an important food source for salmon, herring, mackerel and other fish in the Pacific Ocean. Those fish are eaten not only by millions of people every year, but also by a wide variety of other sea creatures, from whales to dolphins to sea lions.Humboldt State University Oceanography Department Head Jeffrey Abell has conducted several studies on ocean acidification off the coast of Trinidad, most recently in 2010. Abell said that deeper ocean waters are usually more acidic due to bacteria digesting dead organism matter, called detritus, which floats to the ocean floors. This digestion releases carbon dioxide, which reacts with water and causes the ocean to increase in acidity. Abell said Humboldt County's shoreline is more prone to upwelling events in the late spring, which brings this deep, more acidic water to the surface."We don't see a consistent exposure to acidic waters," he said. "What we see is in the order of a few times to a dozen times a year during which the organisms, like pteropods, will be exposed to this corrosive water."Abell said Trinidad experienced about five of these events in 2007 -- lasting no longer than a few days -- but that number tripled to 15 episodes in 2010 that sometimes lasted over a week.If the trend continues, climate change scientists say, it will imperil the ocean environment."These are alarm bells," said Nina Bednarsek, a scientist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle who helped lead the research. "This study makes us understand that we have made an impact on the ocean environment to the extent where we can actually see the shells dissolving right now."Scientists from NOAA and Oregon State University found that in waters near the West Coast shoreline, 53 percent of the tiny floating snails had shells that were severely dissolving -- double the estimate from 200 years ago.Until now, the impact on marine species from increasing ocean acidity because of climate change has been something that was tested in tanks in labs, but which was not considered an immediate concern like forest fires and droughts.The new study, published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, a scientific journal based in England, changes that."The pteropods are like the canary in the coal mine. If this is affecting them, it is affecting everything in the ocean at some level," said one of the nation's top marine biologists, Steve Palumbi, director of Stanford University's Hopkins Marine Station in Pacific Grove.The vast majority of the world's scientists -- including those at NOAA, NASA, the National Academy of Sciences and the World Meteorological Organization -- say the Earth's temperature is rising because of humans burning fossil fuels like oil and coal. That burning pumps carbon dioxide into the atmosphere and traps heat, similar to a greenhouse. Concentrations of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere have increased 25 percent since 1960 and are now at the highest levels in at least 800,000 years, according to measurements of air bubbles taken in ancient ice and other methods.Many of the impacts are already being felt. Since the 1880s, when modern temperature records were first taken, the 10 hottest years have all occurred since 1998. Polar ice has melted, forest fires are burning in the West with increasing frequency, and the ocean has risen 8 inches since 1900 at the Golden Gate Bridge.But what many people do not realize is that nearly a third of carbon dioxide emitted by humans is dissolved in the oceans. Some of that forms carbonic acid, which makes the ocean more corrosive.Over the past 200 years, the ocean's acidity has risen by roughly 30 percent. At the present rate, it is on track to rise by 70 percent by 2050 from preindustrial levels.More acidic water can harm oysters, clams, corals and other species that have calcium carbonate shells. Generally speaking, increasing the acidity by 50 percent from current levels is enough to kill some marine species, tests in labs have shown.Coastal Seafoods manager Greg Dale said Humboldt County's oyster industry has actually thrived over the last two years, but rising ocean acidity is "something we watch carefully.""If this keeps going, and it means shutting ocean productivity, that's when things get scary," Dale said. "The ocean changes every year, but if you change the (acidity), you will lose a great deal."Abell said the current ocean acidification levels are not enough to harm the shells of oysters or abalone, which are made of calcite, but are enough to dissolve the shells of pteropods, which are made of aragonite."Pteropods are the most sensitive of this process; they'll be kind of like an early warning system," Abell said. "The present school of thought is that 50 years from now is when we'll have to worry about the more sturdy shellfish, such as abalone."The new research on the marine snails does not show that increasingly acidic water is killing all of them, particularly older snails. But it is causing their shells to dissolve, which can make them more vulnerable to disease, slow their ability to evade predators and reduce their reproductive rates, the researchers said.Some of the corrosive water near the shore could be a result of other types of pollution, such as runoff from fertilizer and sewage, said Stanford's Palumbi, who was not involved in the NOAA research. But because the study found rates of the snails' shells dissolving in deep water, far from the shore, human-caused carbon dioxide is the prime suspect, he added.If people reduce emissions of fossil fuels, cutting carbon dioxide levels in the decades ahead, the damage to the oceans can still be limited, he said."But if we keep on the emissions profile we have now, by 2100 the oceans will be so harmed it's hard to imagine them coming back from that in anything less than thousands of years," Palumbi said."We are in a century of choice," he said. "We can choose the way we want it to go."
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Focusing In: Collaborative Fisheries Research West
Collaborative Fisheries Research West is a program that supports and facilitates research involving fishermen, managers and scientists. Unlike other cases we have examined, this is a program dedicated to supporting one very particular kind of citizen science. In this summary we describe the approach that CFR West has taken to supporting collaborative fisheries research -- the principles and practices that they instill through their program -- using the same framework that we have applied to citizen science programs in previous blog posts.The BasicsCollaborative Fisheries Research West is a not-for-profit organization that develops partnerships between fishermen, managers, and scientists for the purpose of contributing to fisheries science and management, for example: bycatch reduction, gear recovery, population structure, or seafood markets. CFR West may fund projects directly, provide project management and oversight or contribute scientific expertise to these efforts. Projects must abide by a set of ten principles (link is external), the first of which is that projects must be relevant to fisheries management. The last round of funding, supported by the California Ocean Protection Council, committed over $1.1 million to 15 projects.Program ParticipationWhile all of the CFR West projects involve collaborators from the fishing community, participation varies amongst individual projects. Some are instigated by fishermen: for example, conducting aerial sardine surveys to complement acoustic-trawl surveys conducted by the National Marine Fisheries Service. Another project collects life history information on night smelt by beach fishermen in northern California. Others are driven by management needs x for example, an experiment to test the effect of trap hole diameters on the size distribution of hagfish was led by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. All, however, are required to maintain close cooperation and communication amongst all three partner types, from identifying the research questions and determining best methods through data collection to data interpretation. This is one of the highest forms of collaboration and is recognized by scholars of participation to be an effective means to integrate different worldviews towards a common goal.Fishermen get involved with the program often because they do not see the best available science used to inform management decisions - possibly because there xs not much available science. In these cases, fishermen lend their expertise to help steward the resource in the future. Managers are motivated to work together to improve the data available for developing regulations and policy. Scientists share a similar motivation - a desire to better understand fisheries ecology in order to support the livelihoods, economy, and ecosystems that depend on fisheries, and, of course, an interest in learning how populations and ecosystems respond to recreational and commercial fishing pressure.Meeting the Mission by Balancing GoalsCFR West has the following mission statement:CFR West engages commercial and recreational fishermen, resource managers, tribes, nongovernmental organizations, and scientists by facilitating and supporting applied research focused on fisheries and fisheries resources and their human dimensions. Through open and collaborative partnerships, CFR West contributes to the management of sustainable marine resources, and fosters the stewardship of those resources.Data from CFR West are used for both scientific and management applications, which helps connect science and policy. This connection bolsters the sometimes flagging trust between fishermen and managers, who can have a conversation about the data and how they are interpreted. For the fishermen, participation fosters a sense of stewardship for the resource and participants report that taking on these responsibilities can be rewarding.The stewardship aspect of this mission, aside from producing management-relevant science, brings together a diverse group of stakeholders in research and fosters a stewardship ethic among these communities. The manner in which CFR West implements its multi-faceted mission is affected heavily by the uncertainty and nature of its funding. As a result, most projects are, by necessity, short term and the means for maintaining continued support for long term monitoring, a requirement for good fishery management, are limited at best.Data Types Good for a Citizen Science ApproachCollaborative fisheries research is designed to utilize expertise in the fishing industry gained largely through daily experience on the water or practical experience gained on the job. There are many avenues for such integration of expertise, as demonstrated by the wide diversity of projects under the CFR West umbrella. They are mostly unified by research that includes a large amount of fieldwork, as time on the water is the best place to share and demonstrate the experiential knowledge of fishermen.Data UsesScientific UsesThe scientific partners in each of these projects generally make sure that the data contributes to the appropriate body of scientific literature. A number of the projects also enroll graduate students in the work, who use the data as part of their thesis work.Management UsesIn addition to the data from the research projects, lessons learned from the research process itself can inform management. CFR West projects must be completed or transferred to an agency within three years, and some projects serve as pilots for potentially long-term programs within management agencies.Scientific Credibilityverification of data qualityThe collaborative aspect of CFR West xs approach promotes trust-building among participants in the program, and a degree of data verification happens through reputation-building of the investigators as trustworthy brokers of information. Otherwise, the data is reviewed the same way as most other fisheries research - by undergoing review as part of the process of making management decisions through the Pacific Marine Fishery Council, the Department of Fish and Wildlife or the National Marine Fisheries Service, as well as the peer-review process of publishing in academic journals and presenting at scientific conferences. CFR West also makes an effort to disseminate project results widely to include fishing communities and the interested public in a manner that is generally accessible to the non-scientist. For example, the results of the hagfish trap experiment were presented at meetings held in key port communities from Morro Bay to Eureka. This too functions as a kind of peer review, whereby those not involved in the research process have an opportunity to consider the projects and their results and provide input to CFR West and project collaborators.raw data transparency and accessEvery project must make the data publicly available unless there xs a specific sensitivity, but the logistics of this access can be tricky. Results published in scientific journals (a common product of these projects) often reside behind paywalls, so the fishing partners often do not have access, plus raw data is not always included. In addition, fisherman participants worry about sharing spatially explicit data, which might give away lucrative fishing spots or invite legal battles with DFW enforcement.clarity of communicationsCommunicating about the scientific process comes primarily in the form of participation - fishermen, scientists, and managers are all invited to spend time designing the research, collection data, or otherwise observing the research process firsthand. Similarly, post-project community presentations and outreach materials offers everyone an opportunity to learn. One of the major challenges, however, is to design these in such a way that they are accessible to all.willingness and capability to adapt methodsCFR West is currently beginning a process of evaluating itself. The evaluation will form the basis of plans for future collaborative research as well fundraising strategies. Some of the projects will live on, as they include plans to develop a strategy for future activity. The crab gear recovery project, for example, has developed a long-range plan to convert the effort to a largely industry-funded one, including work with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to address legal issues that would otherwise interfere with the process.Program SustainabilitySince the CFR West program focuses heavily on creating trusting relationships between fishermen, managers and scientists, it depends especially heavily on equal participation - xtrue collaboration x - through all the intellectual and economic aspects of the project. One of the challenges CFR West faces is that the funding is structured around short-term projects, while maintaining these relationships requires some standing level of base funding. Another challenge is that the nature of a traditional request for proposals, so familiar to scientists, is foreign to fishermen; ways of encouraging these fishermen to come forward with their own ideas that would benefit from collaboration should be developed.Just like any research, collaborative fisheries research has some resource needs that are critical to success of the program. Many of these needs are specific to the research question at hand - for example, equipment and data analysis software. But there are a couple of additional resources peculiar to collaborative fisheries arrangements:
- coordinator, especially to connect potential partners.
- payment for fishing partner xs time (managers and scientists are generally salaried employees; if they are not fishing, fishermen are not earning a living)
- data management and regulating data access
Looking Toward the FutureCollaborative fisheries research is a subset of the broader citizen science community. It is one that celebrates and values the experiential expertise of fishermen. Yet, to date on the Central Coast, there are no models that blend collaborative fisheries research (with commercial fishermen) and more typical citizen science, which often focuses on long-term monitoring. Such a program might look something like fishermen recording observations while out on the water daily. Collaborative fisheries research is an evolving model, and for the long term, one that needs to collect quality data without huge injections of grant money. This can be done, but the model that demonstrates this goal does not appear to be out there yet.For existing projects, the future holds a program evaluation. The CFR West director, Peter Nelson, says he is interested in participants x sense of what collaborative research is and if their feelings on the process changed over the course of their project. In addition, CFR West might shift its attention a bit - to be less of a grant-making institution and more of a boundary organization that helps cement relationships between the many partners in the fishing industry, management, and academic science.
Aerial sardine surveys. Photo by Kirk Lynn, CDFW
Tag and release study of Paralabrax spp. Photo by Lyall Bellquist.
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D.B. Pleschner: California's ports, fishermen rely on healthy wetfish fisheries
Despite gloomy predictions of El Niño and the broader impact of climate change on the ocean and planet, California's historic wetfish fisheries carry on — still the foundation of California's fishing economy.More than 150 years ago, Chinese fishermen rowed Monterey Bay at night in sampans, with baskets of burning fat pine on the bow used as torches to attract market squid, which fishermen harvested with round-haul nets.This was the modest beginning of California's "wetfish" industry. The immigrant Asian, Italian, Slavic and other nationalities of fishermen who came to America introduced new fishing methods. Around the turn of the 20th century, Sicilian immigrants to Monterey brought their lampara nets, another type of round-haul net, and launched what would become the largest fishery in the western hemisphere — California's famed sardine industry, popularized in our collective conscience by John Steinbeck's "Cannery Row."It was the plentiful schools of fish — especially sardines that stretch from the Gulf of California to Alaska — that provided opportunity for generations of enterprising fishing families to prosper. The complex of fisheries that makes up California's wetfish industry, including mackerel and anchovy as well as squid and sardines, helped to build the ports of Monterey and San Pedro, as well as San Diego and San Francisco. Wetfish, now called coastal pelagic species (CPS), have contributed the lion's share of California's commercial catch since before the turn of the 20th century.Even back then fishermen recognized that a sustainable fishery was good for both fisherman and fish. That's why over the decades fishing interests have supported marine protections based on sound science and have contributed significantly to cooperative research. That tradition continues today.In fact, today coastal pelagic fisheries in California like squid and sardines are managed with strict quotas as well as numerous time and area closures, including a statewide network of no-take marine reserves. Fishermen are allowed to harvest only a small percentage of the overall fish population. Current regulations require that at least 75 percent of CPS finfish must stay in the ocean to ensure a resilient core biomass, and the sardine protection rate is even higher at about 90 percent.In addition, squid fishing is closed on weekends (squid live less than a year and die after spawning). And about 30 percent of squid spawning grounds are also closed in reserves.What's more, to preserve the quality of the catch, fishermen typically fish day trips near the ports. This makes California's CPS fisheries among the most efficient and "greenest" fisheries on the planet with one of the lowest carbon footprints in the world. For example, wetfish fisheries can produce 2,000 pounds of protein for only six gallons of diesel fuel. This highlights the importance of California wetfish to California.Beyond history, culture and sustainability, California's CPS fisheries contribute essential revenue into local port communities. Wetfish fisheries are an important part of California's fishing economy and squid is California's most valuable fishery. Statewide, these fisheries represent more than 80 percent of all landings and close to 40 percent of dockside value of all fisheries in the Golden State!
[www.californiawetfish.org/CPS_infographic.pdf]
D.B. Pleschner is executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association, a nonprofit created to promote sustainable wetfish resources.
Read the original post: MontereyHerald.com