Releases – June 26, 2014
The Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission has begun work on a red drum benchmark stock assessment. The assessment will evaluate the health of the Atlantic coast red drum population and inform the management of the species. The Commission’s stock assessment process and meetings are open to the public (with the exception of discussion of confidential data).
The Commission welcomes the submission of data sets that will improve the accuracy of the assessment. These include, but are not limited to, data on growth, maturation, migration, genetics, stock enhancement, tagging, recruitment, natural mortality, and abundance/biomass. An essential need is information on the adult component of the stock as well as spawning stock condition.
For data sets to be considered, the data must be sent in the required format, with accompanying methods description, to the Commission by August 1, 2014. For those interested in submitting data, including the appropriate format, and/or attending the Red Drum Data Workshop, please contact Jeff Kipp, Stock Assessment Scientist, at jkipp@asmfc.org or (703) 842-0740. The deadline for data submission is August 1, 2014. All available data will be reviewed and vetted by the Commission’s Red Drum Technical Committee and Stock Assessment Subcommittee for possible use in the assessment.
The Data Workshop will be conducted October 14-17, 2014, in Charleston, SC. A subsequent press release will announce the specific location of the Data Workshop. The Assessment Workshop will be conducted in early 2015, with the peer review being conducted through the SouthEast Data, Assessment and Review process in August 2015.
For more information on the red drum stock assessment process, please contact Kirby Rootes-Murdy, Fishery Management Plan Coordinator, at krootes-murdy@asmfc.org or (703) 842-0740.
The N.C. Marine Fisheries Commission is looking for individuals to serve on the Sea Turtle Advisory Committee and provide advice on various issues related to sea turtles.
Duties of this committee will include, but are not limited to: (1) Providing recommendations on reducing sea turtle interactions in commercial and recreational fisheries; (2) Reviewing information on sea turtle strandings and interactions; and (3) Assisting with public education.
Individuals interested in serving as an adviser should be willing to attend meetings at least once every three months and participate in the committee process, which includes reviewing scientific documents and issue papers to make recommendations on management strategies. Advisers will be reimbursed for travel and other expenses incurred in relation to their official duties.
The Marine Fisheries Commission chairman appoints committee members for three-year terms.
Applications are available online at http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mf/mfc-advisory-committees or at the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries’ offices or by calling (252) 808-8022 or (800) 682-2632.
Applications should be returned by July 18 to the N.C. Division of Marine Fisheries, P.O. Box 769, Morehead City, NC 28557, Attention: Lauren Morris or to DMF.Advisors@ncdenr.gov.
Four of the most common mosquito pesticides used along the east and Gulf coasts show little risk to juvenile hard clams and oysters, according to a NOAA study.
However, the study, published in the on-line journal Archives of Environmental Contamination and Toxicology, also determined that lower oxygen levels in the water, known as hypoxia, and increased acidification actually increased how toxic some of the pesticides were. Such climate variables should be considered when using these pesticides in the coastal zone, the study concluded.
“What we found is that larval oysters and hard clams can withstand low levels of pesticide use, but they are more sensitive to pesticides if their ecosystem is suffering from local climate stressors like hypoxia and acidification,” said the study’s lead author, Marie DeLorenzo, Ph.D., NOAA environmental physiology and microbiology program lead with NOAA’s Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. “Hopefully these data will benefit both shellfish mariculture operations and environmental resource agencies as they manage the use of mosquito control pesticides near their coastal ecosystems.”
Commercial shellfishing has a large economic national impact. NOAA Fisheries estimated that U.S. oyster and hard clam landings for 2010 were worth nearly $118 million and $41 million, respectively. Shellfish growers, however, are concerned that pesticide spraying near the coastlines may contaminate both their hatcheries and source waters. This is compounded by a lack of data on the toxicity of mosquito insecticides for these shellfish.
These ecologically and economically important species inhabit tidal marsh habitats along the U.S. Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coastlines. Clams and oysters are also important for the coastal ecosystem because they filter water, improving water quality, and serve as habitat and food sources for other estuarine species.
Approximately 200 mosquito species live in the United States. In addition to causing painful itchy bumps to people, mosquito bites can transmit serious diseases such as malaria, dengue fever, and West Nile virus. One approach to controlling mosquitoes is to apply pesticides by spraying from planes or trucks over a large area. However, to effectively control mosquitoes, the pesticides must target species which live in aquatic habitats that are also home to sensitive estuarine species. This may pose a risk to coastal environments. Also, since many residential communities where the pesticides may be used are near these coastal aquatic habitats, the potential for direct overspray or unintentional drift into these waters is increased.
The study sought to address a lack of toxicity data for mosquito control pesticide effects on shellfish early life stages. The research team examined the toxicity of four mosquito control pesticides (naled, resmethrin, permethrin, and methoprene) to larval and juvenile life stages of hard clams (Mercenaria mercenaria) and Eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica).
Lethal thresholds were determined for the four pesticides, and differences in sensitivity were found between chemicals, species, and life stages tested. Overall, clams were more susceptible to mosquito control pesticides than oysters. Naled, an organophosphate chemical, was the most toxic compound in oyster larvae, while resmethrin was the most toxic compound in clam larvae. Decreased swimming activity was observed after four days in larval oysters and decreased growth was found in juvenile clams and oysters after 21 days.
Using a hazard assessment, which compared the toxicity thresholds to concentrations expected in the environment, the researchers calculated a low-level of risk to clams and oysters from application of these pesticides for mosquito control.
The researchers also tested the pesticides’ toxicity under climate stress conditions. The more extreme climate conditions caused increased pesticide toxicity.
The study did not address the impacts of the pesticides on other shellfish such as shrimp or lobsters.
Commercial harvest of blueline tilefish in South Atlantic waters will close at 12:01 a.m. (local time) June 23, 2014. On April 17, 2014, NOAA Fisheries published an emergency rule which removed blueline tilefish from the deep-water grouper complex and established a separate commercial annual catch limit (112,207 pounds whole weight) for blueline tilefish. Landing reports indicate the catch limit will be met by June 23, 2014. Commercial harvest will reopen at 12:01 a.m. (local time) on January 1, 2015.
The operator of a vessel that has been issued a federal commercial permit for snapper-grouper and who is landing blueline tilefish for sale must have landed and bartered, traded, or sold such blueline tilefish prior to 12:01 a.m., local time, June 23, 2014. The prohibition on sale does not apply to sale or purchase of blueline tilefish that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to 12:01 a.m. (local time) June 23, 2014, and held in cold storage by a dealer or processor.
During the closure:
(1) Harvest or possession of blueline tilefish in or from federal waters is limited to the recreational bag and possession limits.
(2) Sale and purchase of blueline tilefish in or from federal waters is prohibited.
(3) The closure applies in both state and federal waters for a person onboard a vessel with a federal snapper-grouper permit.
This closure is necessary to protect the snapper-grouper resource.
