Our Rockfish Newsletter keeps you informed on all of the interesting and innovative work currently underway by NOAA Fisheries and our partners to conserve rockfish and their habitats.
In this edition, we discuss:
- A new study on kelp management in the Salish Sea
- Recent hires within the world of kelp
- Outreach in the classroom
- How to order your rockfish kids book!
We hope you'll enjoy reading! If you have an idea for an article or questions about content, please email James Selleck, Marine Ecologist, NOAA.
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Stressors on kelp forests, Art: Su Kim, NOAA Fisheries
Kelp forests provide critical habitat for threatened or endangered rockfish and other marine species. Researchers in the Salish Sea recently published a paper describing efforts to utilize a focus group of kelp experts to inform ecosystem-based management. Led by Jordan Hollarsmith of NOAA Alaska Fisheries Science Center, they worked to identify direct and indirect stressors affecting kelp forests. Kelp forests are in decline across the West Coast, and the Salish Sea is a hotspot for kelp diversity, providing critical habitat and food for commercially, ecologically, and culturally important fish and invertebrate species. The group conducted a comprehensive literature review of peer-reviewed studies from the Salish Sea and temperate coastal ecosystems worldwide to assess stressors, and identified knowledge gaps to prioritize future research. This study demonstrated the value of expert opinion to help make informed management decisions. The paper can be found here.
New hires bring more hands to kelp, and rockfish, conservation and recovery efforts
Implementing rockfish and kelp conservation plans in the Salish Sea requires a diverse set of experts and committed volunteers. New funding made available through the Washington State Legislature and Reef Check Foundation has been used to create and fill several positions that will contribute to this work. We’re pleased to introduce the following people, whose efforts will help achieve shared goals:
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Jeff Whitty was hired in December by the Northwest Straits Commission as the Puget Sound Kelp Conservation and Recovery Plan Coordinator. Jeff will coordinate a collaborative European green crab monitoring and removal project in the central Salish Sea. During his career, Jeff has worked predominately as a fish ecologist with threatened and invasive species including rockfishes, salmonids, carp, elasmobranchs, and sturgeon; collaborating with NGO’s, government, indigenous, and academic groups. If you'd like to know more about the Kelp Plan or green crabs, please contact Jeff by email or at 360-399-8170.
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Jackie Selbitschka, long-time young-of-the year (YOY) rockfish survey partner, was hired by Reef Check Foundation as their new Washington Regional Manager. Reef Check is a nonprofit organization that has been monitoring California kelp forests since 2006 and is expanding their survey efforts into Washington State and the Salish Sea. Jackie graduated from the University of California Santa Cruz with a BA in Marine Biology. She holds an AAUS scientific diver certification and has been a NAUI certified instructor for 10 years. For the last four years, she has participated in YOY rockfish surveys and recruited other divers to volunteer for the project as well. Her goals with Reef Check Washington, along with their partners, are to build a base of volunteer citizen science divers and establish a network of monitoring sites throughout the Salish Sea. These efforts will continue to support YOY rockfish counts in Puget Sound, among other monitoring projects, by surveying a list of indicator species of fish, invertebrates, and kelp. To learn more about how to become a Reef Check Citizen Science Diver visit Reef Check Foundation’s Training Page or contact Jackie by email.
Welcome new, and seasoned, partners! We look forward to working with you!
Outreach in the classroom and beyond
Photo: Young-of-Year Rockfish in Metridium. Credit: Adam Obaza, Paua Marine Research Group
While our methods for rockfish conservation outreach and education have evolved the past two years due to the pandemic, our efforts have remained strong! We have conducted most of our presentations to dive clubs, schools, and working groups virtually, and that has allowed us to reach a broader audience across a greater geographic scope!
Since January, NOAA Fisheries contractors Morgan Arrington and Sean Rohan have joined students in Seattle area classrooms twice to unveil a new curriculum demonstrating how scientists count rockfish in deep waters of the Salish Sea. Using video clips recorded during remotely operated vehicle (ROV) surveys, students have the opportunity to count as many fish as they can and produce density estimates. Results are then compared across teams to demonstrate concepts of variability and inherent sampling error. Though currently in the pilot phase, we hope to expand and refine the curriculum for broader deployment into schools throughout the Salish Sea region next year.
In February 2022, NOAA Rockfish Recovery Coordinator Dr. Dayv Lowry joined researchers, documentarians, and outreach professionals at the virtual Sound Waters University to address the theme Hope in Action. Hosted by Sound Water Stewards, this annual event draws hundreds of conservation-minded participants from throughout the region for a day of “classroom” learning followed by a day of field trips. While the recording of Dayv’s presentation on rockfish management is only available to attendees of the event, he’s happy to give the same talk to other groups interested in rockfish conservation and recovery. Feel free to contact Dayv by email if you’re interested in scheduling a talk.
Also in February, NOAA contractor and YOY monitoring program lead, Adam Obaza, gave a presentation to the Emerald Sea Dive Club recapping YOY survey effort over the last six years – including a record-breaking number of dives by citizen science partners in 2021! If you have a dive club or other organization that wants to know how citizen science gets done, and maybe join the fun, contact Adam by email for a command performance of his talk.
Rockfish Kid's Book, designed and illustrated by Claudia Makeyev
We’re so excited about continued interest in the Rockfish Kids Book and teacher’s guide! Over 1,000 copies have been distributed to schools and communities so far, so we ordered more copies to help reach young minds eager to learn about rockfish.
You can preview the book at mermaidscientist.org, and request your copies for the classroom at our Book Order Form page.
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