One of the longest running biological monitoring surveys in the Northwest Atlantic will resume plankton sampling this winter. Plankton are food for endangered North Atlantic right whales and many other marine species. A new agreement between NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center, the Marine Biological Association in Plymouth, England and the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution will allow the continuous plankton recorder survey to resume.

A recent research collaboration between the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at the New England Aquarium, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, academic and state institutions, and the fishing community indicates that thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) in the Gulf of Maine exhibit sedentary behavior over seasons and years. Between 2002 and 2019, partners in the fishing community worked with researchers to tag thousands of thorny skates in the Gulf of Maine. The data from these tags indicate that thorny skates exhibit limited movement and occupy a wide range of thermal habitats.

Scientists looking at the effects of underwater pile driving and construction noise on sea life have found that black sea bass can hear these sounds. Their study is the first to look at the impact of ocean noise on this fish. It found that younger fish were more sensitive to sounds than older fish. The frequencies at which the fish are most sensitive to sound directly overlap with frequencies of human-produced noise pollution. This noise comes from activities like shipping and the underwater construction required for offshore wind farms.

The state of Maine is pioneering sea scallop farming. It's a story that begins with a vision by enterprising fishermen in Maine with ties in Japan—a vision that came to reality in part thanks to the work of scientists at our Milford lab. With scallop farming being new to Maine, growers need to know what environments have the right conditions for shellfish to grow. And this is when science kicks in.

Seriously Useful Seafood Tips

Those committed to making our nation’s seafood sustainable will likely have an amazing fount of knowledge on how to cook it. We asked seven of our region’s stakeholders and industry partners to share some of their best seafood tips for the home consumer. Whether you’re a cooking novice or an experienced seafoodie, there’s something here for everyone. 

Seafood Lovers Showed Us Their Seafood

NOAA Fisheries asked you to #ShowUsYourSeafood and you delivered! In this latest feature, we highlight just a few of the delicious dishes you shared on social media to celebrate #SeafoodMonth and our #EatSeafoodAmerica campaign.

Enterprising aquarists at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium got more than they bargained for in this year’s burrfish husbandry project. Consider the striped burrfish. Round but boxy. Eyeballs that look forward, yet askance. Mouth turned up at the corners like a smile, centered in a square face. Spikes erupt from its skin, and the most gossamer of fins flutter furiously from its sides as this armored oddball propels its way through life.

Our cooperative research team works with our region’s commercial fishing community to collect data that help us understand ocean ecosystems and improve fisheries management. This partnership is critical to the future of sustainable fisheries in our region. It helps us feed data-hungry climate models, estimate fishing effort and catch, and understand potential conflicts with wind energy areas. Meet some of our commercial fishing partners and some of their best seafood tips.

Once mostly discarded in the American lobster fishery, Jonah crab landings are now growing. More biological and fishery data are needed to support stock assessments, and fishermen are leading the way. The Lobster and Jonah Crab Research Fleet has collected biological data from nearly 160,000 American lobsters and about 90,000 Jonah crabs from the Gulf of Maine and south to the Mid-Atlantic. In September, the Northeast Fisheries Science Center provided funding to the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission to support the research fleet’s work.

Since 2009, the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program (PEP) has offered a 10‐week, residential summer internship program for underrepresented minority undergraduates in marine science. A recent study followed up on career progress among PEP alumni. Did they complete studies and are they working as scientists? The authors accounted for 80% of alumni (98 former students) who have been out of the program long enough to have finished their undergraduate work. We now know that:

• 71% have done or are doing graduate work
• 43% have obtained advanced degrees
• 29% currently in advanced degree programs 
• 66% are employed in science

This year, PEP was among a handful of programs that provided a virtual undergraduate research program, by adapting traditional field‐ and lab‐based research experiences to a virtual environment. Read the study and more about how PEP adapted to COVID-19 pandemic constraints to carry out a full program for 2020 students.

The National Marine Ecosystem Status web portal is now live. It shows the status of marine ecosystems nationwide and by region. Tracking the status and trends of ocean and coastal ecosystems is important to understand how these ecosystems are changing and to identify potential issues. The Northeast region extends from Maine to Virginia and includes the marine coastlines of 11 states. Within its bounds are the Gulf of Maine, Cape Cod Bay, and several other estuarine systems including Long Island Sound, the New York Bight, and the Delaware and Chesapeake Bays.