Preliminary estimates of cetacean abundance in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and of selected cetacean species in the U.S. Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zone from vessel surveys

The Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) initiated annual, vessel-based visual sampling surveys of northern Gulf of Mexico marine mammals in 1990 and conducted a similar survey in U.S. Atlantic Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) waters from Miami, Florida, to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, in 1992. The primary goal of these surveys was to meet Marine Mammal Protection Act requirements for estimating abundance and monitoring trends of marine mammal stocks in United States waters. The surveys were designed to collect: 1) marine mammal sighting data to estimate abundance and to determine distribution and diversity; and 2) environmental data to evaluate factors which may affect the distribution, abundance and diversity of marine mammals. The preliminary analyses for abundance estimation from the 1990-1993 surveys are presented in this report.

An assessment of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediments and bivalves of the U.S. coastal zone

NOAA’s Mussel Watch Program was designed to monitor the status and trends of chemical contamination of U.S. coastal waters, including the Great Lakes. The Program began in 1986 and is one of the longest running, continuous coastal monitoring programs that is national in scope. NOAA established Mussel Watch in response to a legislative mandate under Section 202 of Title II of the Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA) (33 USC 1442). In addition to monitoring contaminants throughout the Nation’s coastal shores, Mussel Watch stores samples in a specimen bank so that trends can be determined retrospectively for new and emerging contaminants of concern. In recent years, flame retardant chemicals, known as polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), have generated international concern over their widespread distribution in the environment, their potential to bioaccumulate in humans and wildlife, and concern for suspected adverse human health effects. The Mussel Watch Program, with additional funding provided by NOAA’s Oceans and Human Health Initiative, conducted a study of PBDEs in bivalve tissues and sediments. This report, which represents the first national assessment of PBDEs in the U.S. coastal zone, shows that they are widely distributed. PBDE concentrations in both sediment and bivalve tissue correlate with human population density along the U.S. coastline. The national and watershed perspectives given in this report are intended to support research, local monitoring, resource management, and policy decisions concerning these contaminants.

Bowhead and white whale migration, distribution, and abundance in the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas, 1975-78

From September 1975 to September 1977 we conducted field research on bowhead, Balaena mysticetus, and white, Delphinapterus leucas, whales in the U.S. Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas. The objectives were to determine the general distribution and migration of these whales in spring and autumn and to estimate abundance. We also surveyed the literature beginning in June 1975 through March 1978 to augment our empirical results. (PDF contains 48 pages)

Ecosystem science capabilities required to support NOAA’s mission in the year 2020

The mission of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s environment and conserve and manage coastal and marine resources to meet our nation’s economic, social and environmental needs (NOAA, 2004). In meeting its marine stewardship responsibilities, NOAA seeks to ensure the sustainable use of resources and balance competing uses of coastal and marine ecosystems, recognizing both their human and natural components (NOAA, 2004). Authorities for executing these responsibilities come from over 90 separate pieces of Federal legislation, each with unique requirements and responsibilities. Few of these laws explicitly mandate an ecosystem approach to management (EAM) or supporting science. However, resource managers, the science community, and increasingly, the public, are recognizing that significantly greater connectedness among the scientific disciplines is needed to support management and stewardship responsibilities (Browman and Stergiou, 2004; 2005). Neither NOAA nor any other science agency can meet the increasing demand for ecosystem science products addressing each of its mandates individually. Even if it was possible, doing so would not provide the integration necessary to solve the increasingly complex array of management issues. This focus on the integration of science and management responsibilities into an ecosystem view is one of the centerpieces of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy’s report (USCOP, 2004), and the Administration’s response to that report in the U.S. Ocean Action Plan (CEQ, 2004). (PDF contains 100 pages)

The economic importance of marine angler expenditures in the United States.

In 1998, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) began a series of marine angler expenditure surveys in the coastal regions of the United States (U.S.) to evaluate marine recreational fishing expenditures and the financial impacts of these expenditures in each region and the U.S. as a whole. In this report, we use the previously estimated expenditure estimates to assess the total financial impact of anglers’ saltwater expenditures. Estimates are provided for sales, income, employment, and tax impacts for each coastal state in the U.S. Aggregate estimates are also provided for the entire U.S., excluding Alaska, Hawaii, and Texas. Direct, indirect, and induced effects associated with resident and non-resident angler expenditures were estimated using a regional input-output modeling system called IMPLAN Pro. Nationwide, recreational saltwater fishing generated over $30.5 billion in sales in 2000, nearly $12.0 billion in income, and supported nearly 350,000 jobs. Approximately 89 cents of every dollar spent by saltwater anglers was estimated to remain within the U.S. economy. At the state level, many of the goods anglers purchased were imports, and, as such, as little as 44 cents of every dollar stayed in Rhode Island and as much as 80 cents of every dollar stayed in Georgia. In the Northeast, the highest impacts were generated in New Jersey, even though recreational fishing expenditures in Massachusetts and Maryland were considerably higher. In the Southeast, the highest impacts were generated in Florida, and on the Pacific Coast, the highest impacts were generated in California. Expenditures on boat maintenance/expenses generated more impacts than any other expenditure category in the U.S. Expenditures on rods and reels was the single most important expense category in terms of generating impacts in most of the Northeast states. Expenditures on boat expenses generated the highest in most Southeast states, and expenditures for boat accessories produced the highest impacts in most Pacific Coast states.(PDF file contains 184 pages.)

Population structure, long-term connectivity, and effective size of mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis) in the Caribbean Sea and Florida Keys

Genetic structure and average long-term connectivity and effective size of mutton snapper (Lutjanus analis) sampled from offshore localities in the U.S. Caribbean and the Florida Keys were assessed by using nuclear-encoded microsatellites and a fragment of mitochondrial DNA. No significant differences in allele, genotype (microsatellites), or haplotype (mtDNA) distributions were detected; tests of selective neutrality (mtDNA) were nonsignificant after Bonferroni correction. Heuristic estimates of average long-term rate of migration (proportion of migrant individuals/generation) between geographically adjacent localities varied from 0.0033 to 0.0054, indicating that local subpopulations could respond independently of environmental perturbations. Estimates of average longterm effective population sizes varied from 341 to 1066 and differed significantly among several of the localities. These results indicate that over time larval drift and interregional adult movement may not be sufficient to maintain population sustainability across the region and that there may be different demographic stocks at some of the localities studied. The estimate of long-term effective population size at the locality offshore of St. Croix was below the minimum threshold size considered necessary to maintain the equilibrium between the loss of adaptive genetic variance from genetic drift and its replacement by mutation. Genetic variability in mutton snapper likely is maintained at the intraregional level by aggregate spawning and random mating of local populations. This feature is perhaps ironic in that aggregate spawning also renders mutton snapper especially vulnerable to overexploitation.

Activity in the pallial nerve of knobbed (Busycon carica) and channeled (Busycotypus canaliculatum) whelks recorded during exposure of the osphradium to odorant solutions

Adult horseshoe crabs (Limulus polyphemus) are the preferred bait in the U.S. east coast whelk pot fishery, but their harvest is being restricted because of severe population declines in the Chesapeake and Delaware bays. To identify other baits, the activity in the pallial nerve of whelks was determined during exposure of the osphradium to odorant solutions prepared from horseshoe crab eggs, horseshoe crab hemolymph, and hard clam (Mercenaria mercenaria) tissue. All three elicited significant responses; bait based on them may provide an alternative to the use of adult horseshoe crabs, although extensive behavioral testing remains to be done. Channeled whelk did not respond to molecular weight fractions (>3 kDa and <3 kDa) prepared from horseshoe crab egg odorant solutions but did respond when the molecular weight fractions were recombined. Whelks appear to have broadly tuned chemoreceptors and manufactured baits may need to mimic the complex mixture of odorants derived from natural sources.

Evaluating methods for estimating rare events with zero-heavy data: a simulation model estimating sea turtle bycatch in the pelagic longline fishery

Estimating rare events from zero-heavy data (data with many zero values) is a common challenge in fisheries science and ecology. For example, loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) and leatherback sea turtles (Dermochelys coriacea) account for less than 1% of total catch in the U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline fishery. Nevertheless, the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is charged with assessing the effect of this fishery on these federally protected species. Annual estimates of loggerhead and leatherback bycatch in a fishery can affect fishery management and species conservation decisions. However, current estimates have wide confidence intervals, and their accuracy is unknown. We evaluate 3 estimation methods, each at 2 spatiotemporal scales, in simulations of 5 spatial scenarios representing incidental capture of sea turtles by the U.S. Atlantic pelagic longline fishery. The delta-log normal method of estimating bycatch for calendar quarter and fishing area strata was the least biased estimation method in the spatial scenarios believed to be most realistic. This result supports the current estimation procedure used by the SEFSC.

Descriptions of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Bottom Longline and Vertical Line Fisheries Based on Observer Data

In July 2006, a mandatory observer program was implemented to characterize the commercial reef fish fishery operating in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico. The primary gear types assessed included bottom longline and vertical line (bandit and handline). A total of 73,205 fish (183 taxa) were observed in the longline fishery. Most (66%) were red grouper, Epinephelus morio, and yellowedge grouper, E. flavolimbatus. In the vertical line fishery, 89,015 fish (178 taxa) were observed of which most (60%) were red snapper, Lutjanus campechanus, and vermilion snapper, Rhomboplites aurorubens. Based on surface observations of discarded under-sized target and unwanted species, the majority of fish were released alive; minimum assumed mortality was 23% for the vertical line and 24% for the bottom longline fishery. Of the individuals released alive in the longline fishery, 42% had visual signs of barotrauma stress (air bladder expansion/and or eyes protruding). In the vertical line fishery, 35% of the fish were released in a stressed state. Red grouper and red snapper size composition by depth and gear type were determined. Catch-per-unit-effort for dominant species in both fisheries, illustrated spatial differences in distribution between the eastern and western Gulf. Hot Spot Analyses for red grouper and red snapper identified areas with significant clustering of high or low CPUE values.

The U.S. Gulf of Mexico Party Boat Industry: Activity Centers, Species Targeted, and Fisheries Management Opinions

In addition to providing an overview of the party boat fishery in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, a management-oriented methodology is presented that can be used elsewhere to assess regulatory impacts. Party boat operators were interviewed to determine species targeted, percent time committed to targeting each species, and opinions on current catch restrictions. Over two-thirds of the fieet was located on the west coast of Florida. Overall, most boats targeted <5 species. Four species accounted for 90 percent of the estimated effort by party boats in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico: Snapper; Lutjanus sp.; grouper, Epinephelus sp. and Mycteroperca sp.; amberjack, Seriola dumerili; and king mackerel, Scomberomorus cavalla. Party boat effort in Texas was devoted primarily to snapper, whereas in Florida most effort was devoted to snapper and grouper collectively. Party boat operators were diverse in their opinions of management regulations in force when interviewed. Results revealed why major opposition would he expected from Texas party boat operators for red snapper bag limits and other restrictions proposed by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.

Human use pharmaceuticals in the estuarine environment: a survey of the Chesapeake Bay, Biscayne Bay, and Gulf of the Farallones

The assessment of emerging risks in the aquatic environment is a major concern and focus of environmental science (Daughton and Ternes, 1999). One significant class of chemicals that has received relatively little attention until recently are the human use pharmaceuticals. In 2004, an estimated 2.6 billion prescriptions were written for the top 300 pharmaceuticals in the U.S. (RxList, 2005). Mellon et al. (2001) estimated that 1.4 million kg of antimicrobials are used in human medicine every year. The use of pharmaceuticals is also estimated to be on par with agrochemicals (Daughton and Ternes, 1999). Unlike agrochemicals (e.g., pesticides) which tend to be delivered to the environment in seasonal pulses, pharmaceuticals are continuously released through the use/excretion and disposal of these chemicals, which may produce the same exposure potential as truly persistent pollutants. Human use pharmaceuticals can enter the aquatic environment through a number of pathways, although the main one is thought to be via ingestion and subsequent excretion by humans (Thomas and Hilton, 2004). Unused pharmaceuticals are typically flushed down the drain or wind up in landfills (Jones et al. 2001).

Preliminary results from the Caribbean Acoustic Tracking Network (CATn): a data sharing partnership for acoustic tracking and movement ecology of marine animals in the Caribbean Sea

We have recently exchanged and integrated into a single database tag detections for conch, teleost and elasmobranch fish from four separately maintained arrays in the U.S. Virgin Islands including the NMFS queen conch array (St. John nearshore), NOAA’s Biogeography Branch array (St. John nearshore & midshelf reef); UVI shelf edge arrays (Marine Conservation District, Grammanik & other shelf edge); NOAA NMFS Apex Predator array COASTSPAN (St. John nearshore). The integrated database has over 7.5 million hits. Data is shared only with consent of partners and full acknowledgements. Thus, the summary of integrated data here uses data from NOAA and UVI arrays under a cooperative agreement. The benefits of combining and sharing data have included increasing the total area of detection resulting in an understanding of broader scale connectivity than would have been possible with a single array. Partnering has also been cost-effectiveness through sharing of field work, staff time and equipment and exchanges of knowledge and experience across the network. Use of multiple arrays has also helped in optimizing the design of arrays when additional receivers are deployed. The combined arrays have made the USVI network one of the most extensive acoustic arrays in the world with a total of 150+ receivers available, although not necessarily all deployed at all times. Currently, two UVI graduate student projects are using acoustic array data.