Good news for fishing crews and marine conservationists: Large fishing grounds are reopening, while other areas receive new protections. Some 4,500 miles of ocean fishing grounds off Southern California are now open to recreational and commercial fishing for bottom-dwelling species, and 428 miles of coral and sponge habitat are closed. Geoff Shester, California campaign director and senior scientist for the nonprofit Oceana, said his organization has spent years mapping the seafloor, discovering colorful coral beds he said are "right out of a Dr. .
Bull Kelp in South and Central Puget Sound has declined more than 90% over the last 150 years - and eelgrass meadows severely declined as well, according to a new report just delivered to lawmakers. The Washington Department of Natural Resources new plan aims to reverse the losses. The DNR s Co-lead on the Kelp and Eelgrass Health and Conservation Plan Cynthia Harbison said the goal is to conserve and recover at least 10,000 acres of kelp and eelgrass habitat by 2040. .
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife just announced a marine warden discovered an endangered Pacific leatherback sea turtle dead, drowned by old crab-fishing gear left off the Farralon Islands near San Francisco. Today, the agency s Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group is meeting to discuss how to respond. Geoff Shester, California campaign director and senior scientist for Oceana, said sea turtles and whales can get trapped in vertical ropes extending from a buoy on the water s surface to the trap on the ocean floor. .
Lawmakers and scientists in Massachusetts are working to bolster the state s growing "blue economy." Several pieces of legislation aim to create a "blue workforce pipeline" in marine biotechnology, commercial fishing and more. Wally Fulweiler, professor of earth, environment and biology at Boston University, said a healthy ocean makes for healthier coastal communities and "blue jobs," such as oyster reef restoration will stick around as long as coastal ecosystems are cared for. "Humans are part of the system, and I think we have to figure out a way that we can all kind of work within that system," Fulweiler urged. " .
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