Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS October 2010 Commercial Fishing News MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS Continued from Page 11.


citing examples of collaborations to coordi- nate administration among nations in Africa and Southeast Asia.


The concept of LMEs was pioneered by Sherman and University of Rhode Island colleague Lewis Alexander in the 1980s as a way to manage large areas of the ocean by identifying distinct ecosystems based on topography, water depths and currents, pro- ductivity and food chain interactions. NOAA has supported the concept, and the United Nations (UN) has provided funding through its Environmental Program, which published an extensive volume co-edited by Sherman detailing the characteristics and state of the 64 LMEs in 2009. Sherman also heads the U.S. LME Program.


“The phone call informing me of the award was a complete surprise,” Sherman said of the news. “In retrospect, recognition by the Selection Committee that Large Ma- rine Ecosystems are important to society and should be protected to ensure sustainable development, will further energize and en- courage hundreds of experts working dili- gently on LME projects in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and eastern Europe.”


In the meantime, Sherman’s long-term studies of the biological, physical, and hu- man-related factors causing change in the U.S. Northeast Shelf LME continue. His inter- national efforts, supported by NOAA, are focused on introducing in economically-de- veloping countries methodologies to assess changes in LME productivity, fish and fish- eries, pollution and ecosystem health, socioeconomics, and governance.


Financial assistance to implement LME projects worldwide has been provided to more than 100 developing countries. Contri- butions total $3.1 billion from the Global En- vironment Facility and World Bank and are disbursed through partnerships with NOAA, donor agencies from other countries, five UN agencies and two non-governmental institutions. “International LME projects are making significant progress in recovering depleted fish stocks, improving degraded habitats, reducing pollution and nutrient over-enrichment, and conserving biodiversity,” Sherman says. “These efforts are also helping countries adopt ecosystem management policies to adapt to climate change”.


Sherman will share the prize with Randall Arauz, founder and president of the environ- mental organization PRETOMA in Costa Rica. Arauz has worked to make people aware of and to stop the practice of shark finning in Costa Rica and internationally.


Previous winners of the Göteborg Award include former Vice President Al Gore (2007) for increasing public awareness about global warming, three Japanese engineers for the development of the Toyota Prius (2006), Norway’s former Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland (2002) for her environmental work for sustainable development, and Cana- dian entrepreneur Geoffrey Ballard (2000) for his contributions to develop and commercial- ize fuel cell technology.


Researchers Explore Ecological Connec- tions between Species that Migrate Through Salt and Fresh Waters and Their Oceanic Predators


The coastal waters off of the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers in the Gulf of Maine will soon be the focus of NOAA researchers seeking to detect the movement of fishes that live part of their lives in these rivers and part in the ocean, and the role these species play in the Gulf of Maine’s food web. “Diadromous fish – those that migrate between fresh and salt water habitats during their lifetimes such as alewife, blueback her- ring, shad, and American eel - are an impor- tant food source for a number of oceanic species,” said Jason Link, a fisheries biolo- gist at the Woods Hole Laboratory of NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC).


“Atlantic cod, goosefish, striped bass and other economically important fish spe- cies eat these smaller diadromous species, but we know little about the magnitude of their role as prey for these oceanic preda- tors,” Link said. “Determining the ecological effects that changes in the abundance of river-run species are having on these marine species is challenging. Some research has been done, but gaps exist in our understand- ing which we hope to fill with this pilot project.”


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Link and colleagues will sample the ocean waters in the vicinity of the Kennebec and Penobscot Rivers August 11-28 from the NEFSC’s 72-foot Research Vessel Gloria Michelle, based at the Woods Hole Labora- tory. Sampling will be conducted several miles offshore, not in the rivers, to determine the extent to which oceanic predators are eating the diadromous species.


“The planned sampling is adaptive and will avoid any fixed gear in the area,” Link said. Local fishermen have been hired to help crew the Gloria Michelle and to provide their expertise in sampling the areas offshore of the two rivers.


Juvenile alewives, blueback herring and American shad migrate to sea during late summer into fall, each species at a different time between the months of July and Novem- ber. Link expects that the late summer sam- pling will detect the early migrating alewives and perhaps other species.


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The NEFSC has also been collaborating with the State of Maine’s Department of Marine Resources (DMR) surveys to collect additional stomach samples. Taken together, the two sets of sampling data should allow an evaluation of the quantity of diadromous species eaten by marine predators in the Gulf of Maine.


NOAA seeks Northeast Region Deputy Regional Administrator


NOAA Fisheries Service is seeking can- didates for the Deputy Regional Administra- tor for the Northeast Region position. The individual in this position will: oversee the operations and management of the Regional Office such as Natural Resource Manage- ment, budget, administration, supervision, and pay pool management; assist the Re- gional Administrator to meet legal mandates for the conservation and management of liv- ing marine resources; direct, manage and supervise a diverse staff of analysts; commu- nicate technical information orally; and inter- pret technical information in writing. The vacancy announcement, NMFS-NER-2010- 0064, Deputy Regional Fish and Wildlife Administrator, ZP-0480-5, is posted on www.usajobs.gov from August 30, 2010 to September 20, 2010.


NOAA Announces Distribution of 2010 Funds to Further Support New England Groundfish Fishermen


Part of Agency’s Ongoing Effort to Help Industry Adapt to New Management System


NOAA Fisheries Service announced that it has awarded an additional $1.4 million to the Gulf of Maine Research Institute (GMRI) in 2010 funds so it can continue to assist the groundfish industry as it transi- tions to a new form of management known as sectors.


“We made a commitment to the industry to provide them with the support they need to make sectors work,” said Eric Schwaab, assistant administrator, NOAA Fisheries Service. “We are also appreciative to GMRI for continuing to work with us to help distrib- ute these funds.”


On May 1, 2010, the groundfish fishery began operating under a dual management system. Vessels had the option of fishing together under a quota in groups called sec- tors, or fishing under the existing system of restrictions on the number of days a vessel can fish, catch per trip, and area that can be fished. For the first time, all catch is being governed by quotas on total catch, including all landings and discards. The vessels that opted to join a sector represent about 98% of the historic groundfish catch.


In October, 2009, NOAA awarded an initial $1.7 million to GMRI to administer and support sector implementation, mostly through the distribution of small grants to sectors to help them offset start up costs. This year’s funding will be used to provide more direct support for sector operations (e.g., sector manager salary, office and equip- ment rental, etc.) and cover dockside moni-


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