NOAA Fisheries has released a comprehensive population viability analysis for North Atlantic right whales, and the 2023 population estimate. The analysis allows users to project how the total population’s extinction trajectory could change under various “what-if” scenarios. Results show that both vessel strikes and entanglement of these whales need to be considerably reduced for the species to continue to exist. The annual population estimate shows that approximately 360 animals were alive at the beginning of 2022. This is fewer than the numbers alive at the beginning of 2021, but the sharp downward trajectory of this species observed between 2015 and 2019 may be slowing. The annual population estimate is derived in collaboration with the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium using documented models developed by NOAA and the Anderson Cabot Center for Ocean Life at New England Aquarium.

Our fall Cooperative Gulf of Maine Bottom Longline Survey started on October 11 and marks our 10 year anniversary! Since 2014, we’ve been working with our region’s commercial fishing community to conduct this survey in the western and central Gulf of Maine. The goal is to collect fisheries data in rocky bottom habitats to complement data collected during our annual bottom trawl surveys. Rocky habitats are a challenge to sample with trawl survey gear. Our Bottom Longline Survey addresses that concern by using gear more likely to capture species that prefer rough-bottom habitat in the Gulf of Maine. This survey provides data on commercially and recreationally important fish species and critical information about data-poor species.

EarthRanger is a free platform developed to help protected area managers, ecologists, and biologists make more informed decisions for wildlife conservation. We’ve been working with EarthRanger to develop ways for fishermen to “see” on-demand fishing gear on the ocean bottom. In our pilot project, the EarthRanger platform collects location information provided by fishermen to their gear manufacturers, and brings it together in a common visual display. The EarthRanger platform is currently blending data from:

• EdgeTech and their Trap Tracker app
• SMELTS (with both EdgeTech and Teledyne acoustics)
• Blue Ocean Gear Buoys (must opt-in to participate) 
• Ashored
• DevOcean

All integrated data are viewable online both in the EarthRanger website and via the EdgeTech Trap Tracker application.

The latest Current Conditions report is live! These biannual reports led by our science center use data collected during seasonal scientific surveys and other data sources to help show changes and trends in the Northeast U.S. continental shelf ecosystem. The fall 2023 report focuses on the first half of 2023 and includes sections on temperature, spring thermal day transition, chlorophyll concentration, and possible effects of El Niño. 

Our Cooperative Research Branch will be hosting in-person and online workshops in November 2023 for commercial hook-and-line fishermen and for-hire charter fishermen to share their expertise and help us develop a pilot hook-and-line survey to sample in offshore wind energy areas. This is a great opportunity to collaborate on a project that helps keep our region’s fisheries sustainable and fishing businesses successful in areas that might be affected by offshore wind development. Discussion topics will include:

• Tackle selection and leader designs 
• Fishing operations
• Vessel specifications
• Possible industry vessels to utilize as survey platforms
• Survey timing and sampling areas

Attention diadromous fish scientists, managers, and stakeholders! Join us and others on January 9-10, 2024, for the 2024 Atlantic Salmon Ecosystems Forum. The focus of the meeting is to have meaningful discussions pertaining to the past, present, and future of diadromous species science, management, conservation and restoration, with an emphasis on re-establishing lost biological, physical, and social connections between and among humans, habitats, and fish. Registration is open through December 31!

Biological science technician Zach Fyke takes us on a journey to the Gulf of Maine where he and other science center scientists searched for a locally iconic and celebrated crustacean—the Atlantic northern shrimp. In his blog, he talks about the Atlantic Northern Shrimp Survey, history of the survey and fishery, how they sample and process survey catch, what they found, and more. Zach’s also an avid photographer and captured some of the incredible sights and scenes during the survey.

Staff from our science center’s Woods Hole Lab, NOAA's Satellite Service, and NOAA’s Deputy Under Secretary for Operations, Ben Friedman, and his staff recently volunteered to help beautify and landscape Falmouth Service Center, a local food pantry in Falmouth, Massachusetts. It was part of NOAA in Service—an initiative to support our local communities. 

NOAA’s mission is Science, Service, and Stewardship. Post pandemic, and through NOAA’s Regional Collaboration Network’s climate and equity efforts, the definition of “service” has broadened to include time, energy, and vested interest in the communities we serve. NOAA in Service aligns with our commitment to support the communities where we live, work, and visit.

Milford Lab Open House Attendance Shatters Recent Records

Staff from our Milford Lab held the lab’s first post-pandemic open house on September 30, welcoming 642 community members who toured the lab. They learned about shellfish aquaculture research and enjoyed hands-on activities including fish printing and seaweed pressing. Guests met live Long Island Sound critters, including horseshoe crabs, dogfish, and bay scallops, held in touch tanks. Milford Lab staff and visitors discussed a wide range of topics related to the lab’s research. Visitors were excited to learn about the research done in a local facility that they drive or walk by frequently.

I have been one of two U.S. delegates to the International Council for the Exploration of the Sea since 2017. I’m very pleased to have Dr. Ann Bucklin join me as the second U.S. delegate. The U.S. Department of State appointed her to be a delegate in August. She is a professor emeritus of marine sciences at the University of Connecticut.

ICES is an intergovernmental organization with 20 member countries surrounding the North Atlantic. Their work mirrors NOAA Fisheries, but at the scale of the North Atlantic. Ann and I will be working to engage the U.S. academic community more in ICES work, particularly early-career researchers. This also means engaging the U.S. academic community more in the work of NOAA Fisheries and vice versa. 

In recent years, we’ve been working with ICES on a number of important priorities: 

• Improving stock assessments and fisheries acoustics
• Understanding the interactions between offshore wind and fisheries 
• Coordinating ecosystem observations and ecosystem science in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean 
• Synthesizing oceanographic and ocean climate data across the North Atlantic
• Improving science on Atlantic mackerel and American eel 

There is a lot that we can learn from working together and working internationally. If you are interested in learning more about ICES, please contact me.