November 2012 MAINE COASTAL NEWS Page 13. Commercial Fishing News
Statement from John Bullard: Decision to Temporarily Shift the Gillnet Fishery Closure to Protect Harbor Porpoise to February 2013 To provide greater protection to harbor porpoise, I have decided that NOAA is go- ing to take steps to shift, for one year, the gillnet fi shery closure in the coastal Gulf of Maine slated for October and November to February and March. The closure will be implemented on February 1, 2013. The loca- tion and duration of the closure will remain the same.
MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS
and November. It is critical that gillnet fi sh- ermen use the appropriate number of pingers (acoustic deterrent devices developed by fi shermen) and ensure that they are properly working in all required areas. Proper pinger use is especially important in the Massachu- setts Bay and Stellwagen Bank Management Areas beginning October 1 (a month earlier than otherwise required). By using pingers effectively in the past,
Since 2010 harbor porpoise bycatch appears to be higher during February and March when compared to historical bycatch, which was highest in October and Novem- ber. Adjusting the closure to begin in Feb- ruary should result in fewer harbor porpoise entanglements in commercial gillnet gear, if fi shing behavior is consistent with recent years.
With the closure scheduled to begin soon, I felt it was imperative that we act quickly to evaluate this new information given the benefi ts to both harbor porpoise and fi shermen. Normally we would have waited to share this information with the team of fi shermen, environmentalists, sci- entists and managers who developed the original harbor porpoise/gillnet fi shery plan when they meet in late October. My decision in no way refl ects a lack of appreciation for the partnership we have with this team. We very much value this partnership and will continue to rely on their collective knowl- edge and expertise to identify long-term solutions to reduce fi shery/harbor porpoise interactions. Our goal, like that of the team, is to protect harbor porpoise, and this action helps accomplish that goal.
I want to express my appreciation to the members of the Northeast Seafood Coalition for their offer to do more to help reduce har- bor porpoise entanglements during October
fi shermen were able to reduce harbor por- poise entanglements from a high of nearly 1500 animals per year to 310 animals per year. We need that same amount of focused attention to reduce harbor porpoise entan- glements now. Working together, we can protect harbor porpoise and keep fi shermen on the water.
John K. Bullard, NOAA Fisheries Northeast Regional Administrator
Coral Hotspots Found in Deepwater Canyons off Northeast US Coast Model Helps Predict Coral Locations For the fi rst time in decades, researchers have conducted an extensive exploration for deep-sea corals and sponges in submarine canyons off the northeastern coast of the US. The survey revealed coral “hotspots,” and found that a new coral habitat suitability model could help predict where corals are likely to occur. The model is being devel- oped by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) and the National Ocean Service’s Biogeography Branch. Among the canyons surveyed during the July 6-18 cruise aboard the NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow were Toms, Middle Toms, and Hendrickson canyons off New Jersey, and Veatch and Gilbert canyons off Georges Bank. All of these were known or suspected habitats of deep-sea corals. More than 70 deepwater canyons, ranging in depth from 100 meters (about 330 feet) to more
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than 3,500 meters (about 11,500 feet), exist along the Northeast US continental shelf and slope. Few are well studied.
“The deep-sea coral and sponge hab- itats observed in the canyons are not like those found in shallow-water tropical reefs or deep-sea coral habitats in other regions,” said Martha Nizinski of NEFSC’s National Systematics Laboratory in Washington, DC, a zoologist and deep-sea coral specialist who served as the chief scientist on the recent research cruise aboard the NOAA ship Bigelow. “We know very little about the distribution and ecology of corals in the canyons off the Northeast coast,” she said. “Although our explorations have just begun, we’ve already increased our knowl- edge about these deepwater coral habitats a hundred times over.”
Findings from this cruise will not only improve knowledge about deep-sea life off the Northeastern US, but will also aid the New England and Mid-Atlantic fi shery management councils in their efforts to man- age these habitats, which support a variety of fi sh species and other marine life. The July survey on the Bigelow was the culmination of a larger mission to explore deepwater canyons, and gain increased knowledge of deep-sea corals. The Bigelow
was one of three NOAA ships involved in the Atlantic Canyons Undersea Mapping Expeditions (or ACUMEN), which has been used to document the deepwater canyons on the continental shelf and slope from Norfolk, Virginia, to New England. During Febru- ary-June 2012, the NOAA ships Okeanos Explorer and Ferdinand R. Hassler exten- sively mapped offshore areas designated as priorities by the NEFSC deepwater coral research team and external partners. Using high-quality multibeam sonar maps, NEFSC scientists and collaborators explored the deepwater canyons in the Northeast. Cruise objectives included gain- ing a better understanding of deep-sea coral diversity and distribution in the region, and testing the accuracy of a habitat suitability model to predict where deepwater corals exist in the Northeast. Bottom topography, as well as various other environmental factors, historical coral records, and model predictions helped guide the search and sampling of coral habitats. The science team aboard the Bigelow, using TowCam, a towed deep-sea digital imaging system operated by researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
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