The Council will meet February 8-10, 2022 in Durham, NC.
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Meeting Venue: Durham Convention Center, 301 W. Morgan St, Durham, NC 27701
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Sleeping Rooms: Marriott Durham Hotel, 201 Foster St, Durham, NC 27701
Additional details will be posted at a later date here.
Over the past year, East Coast fishery management bodies have been collaborating on a climate change scenario planning initiative designed to prepare fishing communities and fishery managers for an era of climate change. The goals of this project are to assess how climate change might affect stock distribution and availability of East Coast marine fisheries over the next 20 years and to identify the implications for fishery management and governance. The next step in the scenario planning process is the Exploration phase. Building on the input gathered during scoping, this phase will include a series of three webinars which will focus on identifying and analyzing the major drivers of change in greater depth.
Each of the three webinars will address a different category of forces driving change in East Coast fisheries (see schedule below for details). Participants are encouraged to attend all three webinars, if possible, to take in the full range of issues being explored. The webinars will contain a keynote address, a panel discussion, and a limited opportunity for comments, questions, and discussion. Three background documents are being developed with specific information to support each webinar. Once completed, these documents will be posted here. Participants are encouraged to review these backgrounders before the webinars begin and come prepared to share comments on the primary drivers of change for East Coast fisheries.
Webinar Schedule and Topics
Click on the webinar titles below to view webinar registration details. Note that it may take up to 24 hours after registering to receive a confirmation email for the webinar.
Webinar #1: Oceanographic Drivers of Change – February 14, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This webinar will look in detail at the trends in oceanography that are poised to shape East Coast fisheries over the next 20 years, such as changing ocean temperature, acidification, sea level rise, ocean currents and other developments. How predictable are these trends, and what impact might they have?
Webinar #2: Biological Drivers of Change – February 23, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This webinar will explore expected and possible biological trends, including changes in the geographic range, distribution, and productivity of stocks, as well as changes in habitat, predator/prey relationships, and other ecosystem dynamics. What are the prospects for how these factors might develop and interact over the next 20 years?
Webinar #3: Social and Economic Drivers of Change – March 2, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This webinar will focus on social and economic trends that may affect fisheries, such as changing consumer demand and food production, other competing ocean uses (e.g., offshore energy and aquaculture), loss of working waterfronts, and other developments. How important will these developments be in shaping fisheries in the next 20 years?
Learn More
Additional information is available on the Climate Change Scenario Planning Web Page and in the Introductory brochure.
Over the past year, East Coast fishery management bodies have been collaborating on a climate change scenario planning initiative designed to prepare fishing communities and fishery managers for an era of climate change. The goals of this project are to assess how climate change might affect stock distribution and availability of East Coast marine fisheries over the next 20 years and to identify the implications for fishery management and governance. The next step in the scenario planning process is the Exploration phase. Building on the input gathered during scoping, this phase will include a series of three webinars which will focus on identifying and analyzing the major drivers of change in greater depth.
Each of the three webinars will address a different category of forces driving change in East Coast fisheries (see schedule below for details). Participants are encouraged to attend all three webinars, if possible, to take in the full range of issues being explored. The webinars will contain a keynote address, a panel discussion, and a limited opportunity for comments, questions, and discussion. Three background documents are being developed with specific information to support each webinar. Once completed, these documents will be posted here. Participants are encouraged to review these backgrounders before the webinars begin and come prepared to share comments on the primary drivers of change for East Coast fisheries.
Webinar Schedule and Topics
Click on the webinar titles below to view webinar registration details. Note that it may take up to 24 hours after registering to receive a confirmation email for the webinar.
Webinar #1: Oceanographic Drivers of Change – February 14, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This webinar will look in detail at the trends in oceanography that are poised to shape East Coast fisheries over the next 20 years, such as changing ocean temperature, acidification, sea level rise, ocean currents and other developments. How predictable are these trends, and what impact might they have?
Webinar #2: Biological Drivers of Change – February 23, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This webinar will explore expected and possible biological trends, including changes in the geographic range, distribution, and productivity of stocks, as well as changes in habitat, predator/prey relationships, and other ecosystem dynamics. What are the prospects for how these factors might develop and interact over the next 20 years?
Webinar #3: Social and Economic Drivers of Change – March 2, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This webinar will focus on social and economic trends that may affect fisheries, such as changing consumer demand and food production, other competing ocean uses (e.g., offshore energy and aquaculture), loss of working waterfronts, and other developments. How important will these developments be in shaping fisheries in the next 20 years?
Learn More
Additional information is available on the Climate Change Scenario Planning Web Page and in the Introductory brochure.
Please join us February 28, 1pm-2pm for our first webinar of the season: “Creating a Coastal Acidification Module for Mid-Atlantic Teachers“. Sarah Nuss, Education Coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay NERR in Virginia, and Greta Olsen, NOAA Hollings Scholar, are excited to share work underway on this new educational resource for K-12 teachers.
To Register: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/1132105970982526988
After you have registered, you’ll receive a confirmation email containing information about how to join the webinar.
Abstract: Teachers on the Estuary (TOTE) workshops are held at each National Estuarine Research Reserve site every year. In an effort to include habitat change and impacts to our local environment, TOTE educators look to include coastal acidification into the information provided to K-12 teachers at these workshops. Come and learn about a new coastal acidification module underway for the Mid-Atlantic, created by a regional network of educators, and pilot tested with teachers last summer. We’ll include the current phase of the module, as well as next steps in its development and testing.
Speaker Information:
Greta Olsen is a 2020-2022 NOAA Hollings Scholar. Through the Hollings program, she worked virtually as an education intern at the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (CBNERR) in Virginia this summer. During Greta’s time with the reserve, she designed and implemented an evaluation for a marine science camp, created a learning module on coastal acidification specific to the Mid-Atlantic region, and served as an instructor at the camp and workshop hosted by CBNERR. Greta is a senior at the University of Kansas and will graduate this spring with a B.S. in chemical engineering. After graduation, Greta will work as an environmental engineer at a Phillips 66 refinery.
Sarah Nuss is the Education Coordinator for the Chesapeake Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Virginia, located at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science (VIMS). An experienced environmental educator, Sarah has worked at VIMS for the past 16 years where she provides meaningful watershed educational experiences for students, builds capacity for future MWEEs by providing professional development opportunities for teachers, and coordinates an extensive summer camp program for the general public. Sarah is a Ph.D. candidate at the College of William & Mary, studying curriculum and learning design, specifically focused on environmental education. Sarah lives in Williamsburg, VA with her husband and twin daughters.
Over the past year, East Coast fishery management bodies have been collaborating on a climate change scenario planning initiative designed to prepare fishing communities and fishery managers for an era of climate change. The goals of this project are to assess how climate change might affect stock distribution and availability of East Coast marine fisheries over the next 20 years and to identify the implications for fishery management and governance. The next step in the scenario planning process is the Exploration phase. Building on the input gathered during scoping, this phase will include a series of three webinars which will focus on identifying and analyzing the major drivers of change in greater depth.
Each of the three webinars will address a different category of forces driving change in East Coast fisheries (see schedule below for details). Participants are encouraged to attend all three webinars, if possible, to take in the full range of issues being explored. The webinars will contain a keynote address, a panel discussion, and a limited opportunity for comments, questions, and discussion. Three background documents are being developed with specific information to support each webinar. Once completed, these documents will be posted here. Participants are encouraged to review these backgrounders before the webinars begin and come prepared to share comments on the primary drivers of change for East Coast fisheries.
Webinar Schedule and Topics
Click on the webinar titles below to view webinar registration details. Note that it may take up to 24 hours after registering to receive a confirmation email for the webinar.
Webinar #1: Oceanographic Drivers of Change – February 14, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This webinar will look in detail at the trends in oceanography that are poised to shape East Coast fisheries over the next 20 years, such as changing ocean temperature, acidification, sea level rise, ocean currents and other developments. How predictable are these trends, and what impact might they have?
Webinar #2: Biological Drivers of Change – February 23, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This webinar will explore expected and possible biological trends, including changes in the geographic range, distribution, and productivity of stocks, as well as changes in habitat, predator/prey relationships, and other ecosystem dynamics. What are the prospects for how these factors might develop and interact over the next 20 years?
Webinar #3: Social and Economic Drivers of Change – March 2, 2022, 3:00 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
This webinar will focus on social and economic trends that may affect fisheries, such as changing consumer demand and food production, other competing ocean uses (e.g., offshore energy and aquaculture), loss of working waterfronts, and other developments. How important will these developments be in shaping fisheries in the next 20 years?
Learn More
Additional information is available on the Climate Change Scenario Planning Web Page and in the Introductory brochure.
Ocean acidification has subtle and complicated effects on fish because it often affects only the earliest life stages and interacts with other stressors. This project pulled together several types of data from multistressor experiments on Atlantic silversides, an abundant fish along the East Coast, to model their energy budget throughout the life cycle. Using Dynamic Energy Budget theory (DEB) we are able to incorporate different effects at each life stage to reflect the increased tolerance adults have relative to embryos and larvae. Energy budgets can help us test hypotheses about how energy is allocated to needs like homeostasis and reproduction under acidification, and ultimately estimate population-level effects.
Using Gene Silencing to Validate the Role of Perlucin Gene in Oyster Resilience to Ocean Acidification
Caroline Schwaner, Stony Brook University
We previously investigated the molecular mechanisms associated with resilience to ocean acidification in Crassostrea virginica. There were significant differences in SNP and gene expression profiles among oysters reared under normal and OA conditions. Both of these approaches showed similar results, particularly in genes related to biomineralization, including perlucin. In this study, we used RNAi or gene silencing to validate findings and confirm the protective role of perlucin associated with resilience to OA. Silenced oysters under acidification stress were the smallest, had shell abnormalities, and had significantly reduced shell mineralization, thereby indicating that perlucin does help larvae mitigate the effect of OA.
Impacts of extreme events on carbonate system variability in the York River Estuary: a numerical model study
Fei Da, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
Better understanding the carbonate system variability during extreme events will help predict future changes and provide critical information for the local shellfish aquaculture industry. In this study, a coupled hydrodynamic-biogeochemical 3-D high-resolution model is used to investigate the primary controls of the carbonate system in a small sub-estuary of the Chesapeake Bay: the York River Estuary. Net horizontal advection, air-sea CO2 flux, and net community production all play crucial roles in controlling dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) and pH, while total alkalinity is relatively conservative. During extreme high discharge events, pH reductions are associated with net heterotrophy and net advection of high DIC upstream water, with increased outgassing playing a counteracting role.
Influence of water quality history on future ocean acidification tolerance in larval eastern oysters in Chesapeake Bay
Anthony Himes, Virginia Institute of Marine Science
One species of calcifying organisms that could be pushed beyond their physiological limits due to future acidification is the eastern oyster, C. virginica, which provides the basis for an expanding aquaculture industry. Previous studies have shown that oyster larvae are negatively impacted by acidification, but less is known about what level of acidification initiates a stress response and how well larvae can modulate these mechanisms. Additionally, little is known about potential differences in stress tolerance among different oyster populations. Therefore, larvae were compared between two different reefs within Chesapeake Bay to assess the hypothesis that reefs exposed to lower salinity conditions will be more tolerant to future acidification due to overlap in the cellular mechanisms responsible for osmoregulation and acid-base regulation.
Development and applications of pH glider technology in the Mid-Atlantic Bight
Liza Wright-Fairbanks, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow, NOAA OAP
Currently, productive coastal systems lack vertically-resolved high-resolution ocean carbonate system measurements on timescales relevant to organism ecology and life history. To address this issue, a newly developed deep ISFET (Ion Sensitive Field Effect Transistor)-based pH sensor system was modified and integrated into a Slocum G2 profiling glider. From Spring 2018 to Fall 2019, seasonal pH glider deployments were conducted in Atlantic surfclam (Spisula solidissima) and Atlantic sea scallop (Placopecten magellanicus) commercial management zones in the Mid-Atlantic Bight. Here, we present seasonal cycles and drivers of carbonate chemistry in the Mid-Atlantic Bight based on seasonal glider deployments. Additionally, we discuss the use of glider data in conjunction with larval dispersal models to identify times and locations where shellfish stock may be at high risk of acidification.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) contracted with Industrial Economics, Incorporated (IEc) and the RPS Group to model possible oil spill scenarios off the Delaware coast and the resulting economic impacts.
In partnership with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) DNREC is hosting two webinars, March 24 and March 31. that will provide attendees a high-level overview of the report results and an opportunity to ask questions of the IEc and RPS staff who completed the work.
Although the results are Delaware specific DNREC and MARCO are hopeful that the results and processes used in the analysis can be used to support other states in the Mid-Atlantic to conduct their own analyses.
Integrated Oil Spill and Transport Modeling
Thursday, March 24, 2022
11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
The Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control (DNREC) contracted with Industrial Economics, Incorporated (IEc) and the RPS Group to model possible oil spill scenarios off the Delaware coast and the resulting economic impacts.
In partnership with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) DNREC is hosting two webinars, March 24 and March 31. that will provide attendees a high-level overview of the report results and an opportunity to ask questions of the IEc and RPS staff who completed the work.
Although the results are Delaware specific DNREC and MARCO are hopeful that the results and processes used in the analysis can be used to support other states in the Mid-Atlantic to conduct their own analyses.
Economic Impacts from an Offshore Oil Spill
Thursday, March 31, 2022
11 a.m. to 12 p.m.
