Ocean acidification impacts on food webs and fisheries
January 12, 2017 —
Ocean acidification will reverberate through the West Coast's marine food web, but not necessarily in the ways you might expect, new research shows. Dungeness crabs, for example, will likely suffer as their food sources decline. Dungeness crab fisheries valued at about $220 million annually may face a strong downturn over the next 50 years, according to the research published today in the journal Global Change Biology.
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Winter hake survey to begin
January 9, 2017 —
The 2017 winter hake survey is gearing up to embark from Newport, Oregon on January 11. Scientists from the Center's Fisheries Engineering and Acoustic Technologies (FEAT) Program will be aboard the NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada for a month-long cruise to survey spawning hake along the West Coast. Follow the action as FEAT scientists share what they are seeing on their new blog, the Main Deck.
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Aerial images document J2 in final months before death
January 6, 2017 —
Aerial images by our colleagues at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and the Center for Whale Research documented the final months of J2, the iconic Southern Resident killer whale that has been recently presumed dead. J2's presumed death follows that of four other whales from her extended family group ("J-pod") since last summer, and highlights continued concerns about the impact of limited prey resources and other threats to the population.
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Puget Sound eelgrass beds holding steady
January 4, 2017 —
The NWFSC and partners recently uncovered 40 years worth of data on Puget Sound's ecosystem changes, with some surprising results. The researchers found that overall, eelgrass beds in the region remained stable over those four decades, suggesting its resilience to long-term changes like climate fluctuations. Eelgrass serves as vital nursery habitat for many marine species such as salmon and herring.
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