NOAA Ribbed Mussel Urban Water Quality Study

ribbed mussels

Ribbed mussels can remove nitrogen and other excess nutrients from an urban estuary and could help improve water quality in other urban and coastal locations, according to a study in New York City’s Bronx River.

The findings, published in Environmental Science and Technology, are part of long-term efforts to improve water quality in the Bronx River Estuary.

Researchers at NOAA Fisheries Milford Laboratory in Milford, Connecticut began the two-year pilot project in June 2011.

They used a 20 x 20-foot raft with mussel growing lines hanging below as their field location in an industrial area near Hunt’s Point in the South Bronx, not far from a sewage treatment plant.

The waters were closed to shellfish harvesting because of bacterial contamination. Scientists monitored the condition of the ribbed mussels (Geukensia demissa) and the water quality over time to see how each responded.

“Ribbed mussels live in estuarine habitats and can filter bacteria, microalgae, nutrients and contaminants from the water,” said Julie Rose, a research ecologist at the Milford Laboratory, part of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, and co-author of the study. “They are native to the East Coast so there are no concerns about invasive species disturbing the ecosystem, and they are efficient at filtering a variety of particles from the water. Ribbed mussels are not sold commercially, so whatever they eat will not be eaten by humans.”

Farming and harvesting shellfish to remove nitrogen and other excess nutrients from rivers, estuaries and coastal waters is known as nutrient bioextraction, or bioharvesting.

Mussels and other shellfish are filter feeders, and as the organisms grow, they take up or assimilate nutrients in algae and other microorganisms filtered from the surrounding waters.

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and other nutrients occur naturally in the environment and are needed by plants and animals to grow, but too much of any of them is harmful.

Excess amounts from human activities often end up in rivers, streams and coastal environments, causing algal blooms, loss of sea grass and low oxygen levels in the water, which can kill large numbers of fish and other organisms.

Researchers found that the Bronx River mussels were generally healthy, and their tissues had high amounts of a local nitrogen isotope, indicating that they removed nitrogen from local waters.

They also had lower amounts of trace metals and organic contaminants than blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) collected from the seafloor nearby.

An estimated 138 pounds of nitrogen was removed from the river when the animals were harvested.

The researchers estimate that a fully populated 20 x 20 foot mussel raft similar to the one used in this study would clean an average of three million gallons of water and remove about 350 pounds of particulate matter, like dust and soot, daily.

The Bronx study is the first to examine the use of ribbed mussels for nutrient bioextraction in a highly urbanized estuarine environment.

source: Northeast Fisheries Science Center

2017 North Carolina Coastal Conference

2017 North Carolina Coastal Conference
April 4 - 5, 2017
McKimmon Center
Raleigh, NC

North Carolina Sea Grant will host North Carolina’s Coastal Conference, April 4 - 5, 2017, at the McKimmon Center in Raleigh, North Carolina.

The 2017 Coastal Conference will energize partnerships to develop solutions that can benefit the state’s coastal communities, economies, and ecosystems.

“Many communities from central North Carolina to the coast found their resilience tested in 2016,” notes Susan White, executive director of North Carolina Sea Grant and the Water Resources Research Institute of the University of North Carolina system. “They continue to need information and resources to respond to, recover from and anticipate both urgent and long-term coastal challenges.”

Coastal Conference sessions will include:

weather, storms and climate;

community and ecosystem health;

fisheries and aquaculture; and

planning and economics.

Experts from the fields of economics, transportation, energy, environment, industry, and health will lead interdisciplinary sessions designed to bring together diverse perspectives.

The program includes a networking reception on April 4 at the N.C. Museum of Natural Sciences’ Nature Research Center in Raleigh.

Registration and other details are available at ncseagrant.ncsu.edu/nc-coastal-conference.

source: North Carolina Sea Grant

Mississippi Red Tides 2015

Along the Mississippi Coast, unusual red tides (harmful algae blooms) are affecting commercial fishing, outdoor recreation, and other activities.

In December, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ), through its Beach Monitoring Program, issued a preemptive closure for all beach segments along the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

In addition, officials with the Mississippi Department of Marine Resources (MDMR) closed oyster reefs. The decision was made as a precautionary measure due to the proximity of potentially harmful algae blooms in the Mississippi Sound.

The Mississippi Department of Marine Resources has information for the public about harmful algal blooms, or red tide, on its website, dmr.ms.gov.

source: Mississippi Department of Marine Resources

NOAA Guidance for Considering the Use of Living Shorelines

NOAA has released a Guidance for Considering the Use of Living Shorelines, which outlines how the agency promotes living shorelines as a shoreline stabilization technique.

Living shoreline is a broad term that encompasses a range of shoreline stabilization techniques. While methods may vary, a living shoreline generally incorporates vegetation or other living, natural “soft” elements.

These can be used alone or in combination with “harder” shoreline structures, like oyster reefs or rocks, for added stability. Living shorelines reduce erosion while providing habitat value and enhancing coastal resilience. 

Living shorelines are an alternative to traditional shoreline stabilization techniques, like seawalls and bulkheads. These techniques create a barrier between land and water and can actually increase erosion.


Along sheltered coasts, living shorelines can preserve and improve habitats and the benefits they provide.

For more living shorelines information, consult the Guidance:

http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/pdf/noaa_guidance_for_considering_the_use_of_living_shorelines_2015.pdf

Puget Sound Oyster Restoration

The Washington Shellfish Initiative is working towards native oyster restoration efforts in Puget Sound. A new shellfish restoration hatchery at NOAA’s Manchester Research Station received aid from both the National and Washington Shellfish Initiatives.

“The intent from the beginning of this effort two years ago was to support PSRF work on Olympia oyster restoration,” according to Walton Dickhoff at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

The Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife updated the Olympia oyster Rebuilding Plan in May 2012 to lay the groundwork for focused, strategic restoration at 19 priority locations in Puget Sound where core populations existed historically.

To further implementation, NOAA directed funding through the Northwest Straits Commission to produce genetically-diverse seed for Sequim Bay (with the Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe) and Drayton Harbor.

Soon thereafter, Washington Department of Natural Resources provided funding for native oyster enhancement on aquatic reserve lands in Fidalgo Bay in July 2012, and Washington Department of Ecology funded a large-scale, 10-acre restoration project in Port Gamble Bay in 2013 that will include the production of 5,000,000 restoration-grade seed at the new shellfish restoration hatchery.

In 2013, the Governor’s office provided capital funds to purchase seawater monitoring equipment for the new hatchery.

The coordinated efforts are the result of an initiative that brought singular focus to the job of protecting and enhancing shellfish resources in Washington State.

At the suggestion of Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW), and with funding and support from NOAA, The Nature Conservancy, USDA, National Fish & Wildlife Foundation, and the Suquamish Tribe, PSRF and a multitude of partners spread shell 2005-2011 across almost 20 acres of tideflats in Liberty Bay to provide settlement structure for native oyster larvae.

According to Brady Blake with WDFW, “extensive monitoring has shown that remnant native oysters scattered in the bay have rapidly re-colonized the restored shell-based habitat exhibiting significant reproductive success, survival, increased abundance including multiple year classes, and colonization of new habitat.   Based on these observations, the results of focused native oyster restoration efforts in Liberty Bay have achieved the minimum thresholds for determining successful restoration identified in WDFW’s 2012 updated Olympia oyster rebuilding plan.  That plan emphasizes re-establishing native oysters at key locations to a threshold where they are naturally self-sustaining, viable populations exhibiting the ability to continue expanding their presence and abundance locally and throughout Puget Sound. By that measure, Liberty Bay provides the model for continued native oyster restoration and research in Washington State.”

For more information, visit: http://restorationfund.org/news/articles/2013.11shellfishinitiative

source: restorationfund.org

Alaska Sea Grant Receives Research Grants

Federal and state grants totaling over $1 million will be used by Alaska Sea Grant to establish a statewide network of citizen scientists to track the spread of marine invasive species; conduct an instruction and training program aimed at jump-starting the shellfish farming industry; and launch an effort to collect better information about marine mammals that strand on the state’s coast.

Ray RaLonde, the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program (MAP) aquaculture specialist, received a two-year, $284,000 grant from the National Sea Grant Program and Alaska Sea Grant to reinvigorate the state’s sluggish shellfish farming industry.

Gary Freitag, the Alaska Sea Grant MAP agent based in Ketchikan, received a two-year, $599,975 grant from the National Sea Grant Program, Alaska Sea Grant, the Aquatic BioInvasion and Policy Institute, and the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center. The grant will be used to train local citizen scientists in 30 coastal communities who will serve as the backbone to a new statewide marine invasive species monitoring and detection program. The citizen scientists will conduct field-based observations, using standardized and established protocols, to search for invasive marine species.

Kate Wynne, Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program marine mammal specialist based in Kodiak, received a two-year, $137,000 grant from the NOAA Fisheries Office of Protected Resources and Alaska Sea Grant. Wynne will use the grant to train and equip MAP agents to respond to marine mammal strandings and to collect data and tissue samples over the next two years.

Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold

In Shrimp: The Endless Quest for Pink Gold (FT Press Science, ISBN-13: 9780137009725, $24.99, hardcover, 272 pages, January 2010), renowned nature writers Jack Rudloe and Anne Rudloe reveal a hidden history that has spanned millennia, the book uncovers the stories and the heritage behind centuries of shrimping all around the world. 

The all time high in demand is creating problems, however. Once an expensive dish, shrimp has become easily accessible to almost all consumers, but the result may be adversely impacting the sea. 

“Because of aquaculture, and modern shrimp trawlers people are eating more shrimp than ever,” state the Rudloes. “That is causing huge changes for the marine environment, endangered species, and the ocean’s water quality, potentially changing the lives of thousands of people around the world who make their living on shrimp.”

Check out excerpts from Shrimp http://www.ftpress.com/store/product.aspx?isbn=0137009720