Fisheries and Climate Workshop Summary Report

1) Characterize physical parameters in three dimensions, including Gulf Stream and eddy features and relate this information to where fish are found.
2) Incorporate environmental data, derive innovative new models, and incorporate episodic events (e.g. red tide mortalities) into/for the stock assessments.
3) Evaluate 20 “priority” (e.g. red snapper) umbrella indicator species in terms of bio-climatic variability.

1) Increase biological monitoring specifically to include zooplankton – ichthyoplankton, pelagics, marine mammals, invasive species, and birds include using a variety of tagging experiments and listening surveys.
2) Enhance ongoing physical oceanographic monitoring to include three-dimensional sampling where the marine resources occur including in the Gulf Stream and eddy features.
3) (Tie) Increase remote sensing with broad coverage from satellites (high spatial and temporal resolution), autonomous underwater vehicles, acoustics, and drones.
3) (Tie) Characterize reef fish species distribution and habitat in three dimensions along with tagging.

1) Fishery management councils
2) Academic institutions
3) States: fish and wildlife services, departments of natural resources, departments of environmental protection, Sea Grant
4) Federal: NOAA including IOOS, NASA, EPA, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife.
5) IOOS Regional Associations (SECOORA, GCOOS, and CariCOOS)
6) Fishermen and fishing communities
7) South Atlantic Landscape Conservation Cooperative
8) For-profit consultants and other non-profit organizations

1) South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Fisheries Ecosystem Management Plan ll
2) NMFS research and stock assessments
3) IOOS research and operational projects
4) Other collaborative research (e.g. NASA – NOAA/NMFS/SEFSC highly migratory species and climate change projects, SECOORA – SCDNR – SAFMC Chevron trap habitat classification project, NASA – NOAA marine biodiversity networks in Florida Keys, BP oil spill restoration research projects, and NCSU circulation modeling)
5) State monitoring and assessment projects
6) Joint fishing industry-academic research (e.g. SK Funds projects)

No specific information regarding connection to management was provided by this group. Since there were many fisheries managers participating in the workshop, no additional work to engage managers was discussed.

1) Better habitat and species modeling including thermal and other tolerances, as well as physiological data from research.
2) Improve stock assessment models using environmental data, socio-economic data, recruitment mechanisms, biological reference points (BSSB), and missing landings data from Mexico and Cuba.
3) Fish community vulnerability assessments.

1) Physical and chemical oceanography.
2) (Tie) Biological oceanography.
2) (Tie) Socio-economic data.

1) Restore/NRDA partners including various agency and state partners, e.g. National Academy of Sciences
2) Private endowed groups
3) Sea Grant (national and state)
4) Citizen science for monitoring
5) Cooperative academic research groups
6) Galveston Bay Commission
7) Other Bay entities around the Gulf of Mexico
8) IOOS
9) Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM)
10) Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council
11) Gulf States Marine Fisheries Commission
12) The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE)
13) Industry
14) Fishing communities
15) Other federal agencies, e.g. USGS, USFWS
16) Water Management Districts, e.g. Florida, Texas
17) Water Institute of the Gulf
18) Army Corps of Engineers

1) Develop case studies as a teaching tool to assess fishery management responses.
2) Collaborate with managers for needed oceanographic products.
3) Direct presentations at Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council.
4) Informational white papers.
5) Develop more innovative communication tools, particularly for risk communications.
6) Get involved in the Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management process.
7) Need different government structure in some cases to integrate and apply information, but understand tradeoffs.
8) Build stronger climate relationships with fisheries scientific committees.
9) Connect dispersed data via IOOS DMAC.

1) Need holistic baseline data for all species including forage/ecosystem services species.
2) Derive common goals and coordinate efforts.
3) Formulate a unified strategy for dealing with climate, fish and management issues.

1) Dedicated annual cruise as part of a broader observation strategy to include oceanographic survey, local partners, time series of data that already exists and to create new time series.
2) Higher resolution coastal ocean models that are climate forced.
3) Build local capacity, e.g. NSF – EPSCOR.

1) EPA (Clean Water Act, Biocriteria, and Environmental Quality Boards)
2) National Coral Reef Program
3) Puerto Rico Fisheries Research Laboratory
4) UVI-EPSCOR University of Virgin Islands
5) LCC – Climate Resilience Hub
6) The Nature Conservancy
7) IOOS
8) US Fish and Wildlife Service
9) Congressional support
10) National Park Service
11) USGS
12) NOAA (NOS, NMFS)
13) Various Department of Natural Resources
14) Virgin Islands Coral Reef Monitoring Project
15) Fishers and other users of the resource

No specific information regarding connection to management was provided by this group. Since there were many fisheries managers participating in the workshop, no additional work to engage managers was discussed.

1:00 – 1:45pm

• Debra Hernandez, SECOORA | PDF of Presentation
• Mitch Roffer, Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service Inc. | PDF of Presentation

1:45 – 2:45pm

Opening Plenary:
How Is Changing Climate Impacting Fisheries of the South Atlantic, Gulf of Mexico and Caribbean Regions?
What are the Science Needs to Inform Management?

• Sang-Ki Lee, Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies, University of Miami | PDF of Presentation
• Mitch Roffer, Roffer’s Ocean Fishing Forecasting Service Inc. | PDF of Presentation
• Mike Jepson, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service | PDF of Presentation

2:45 – 3:00pm

Break

3:00 – 3:40pm        

• Ben Hartig, South Atlantic Fishery Management Council Member and Commercial Fisherman | PDF of Presentation
• Ken Lindeman, Florida Institute of Technology | PDF of Presentation
• George Sedberry, NOAA National Marine Sanctuaries | PDF of Presentation

3:40 – 4:20pm

• Sean Powers, Univ. of South Alabama, Dauphin Island Sea Lab | PDF of Presentation
• James Tolan, Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, Coastal Fisheries Division | PDF of Presentation
• Social and Ecological Informatics

4:20 – 4:35pm

Break

4:35 – 5:15pm

• Tyler Smith, University of the Virgin Islands | PDF of Presentation
• Graciela Garcia-Moliner, Caribbean Fishery Management Council 
• Julio Morell, University of Puerto Rico

5:15 – 5:40pm

Group Discussion: Similarities and Differences Across Regions, and Management Implications of Potential Climate Change Impacts

5:40 – 5:45pm

Wrap Up Day 1, Preview Day 2

6:00pm

Social Event

8:30 – 8:40am

Welcome and Review of Agenda Day 2 | PDF of Presentation
 

8:40 – 9:30am            

9:30 – 9:40am

Break

9:40 – 10:45am

Breakout Groups: Research and Monitoring/Observing Needs to Track, Understand and Project Climate-related Changes in Fish Populations
 

10:45 – 11:00am

Break

11:00 – 12:15pm

Breakout Groups: Research and Monitoring/Observing Needs to Track, Understand and Project Climate-related Changes  in the Fisheries

12:15 – 1:15pm

Lunch

1:15 – 2:25pm

Breakout Groups: Other Information and Decision-Support Needs to Support Climate-Informed Fisheries Management

2:25 – 2:45pm

Breakout Groups: Reflecting on Overall Priorities

2:45 – 3:00pm

Break

3:00 – 3:30pm

Report Out

3:30 – 4:55pm

Breakout Groups by Region

4:55 – 5:00pm

Wrap Up Day 2, Preview Day 3
 

8:30 – 8:40am

Review of Agenda Day 3

8:40 – 9:45am

Breakout Groups by Region (continued)

9:45 – 10:15am

Report Out from Regional Breakouts

10:15 – 10:30am

Break

10:30 – 11:30am

• Woody Turner, NASA
• Lora Clarke, The Pew Charitable Trusts  | PDF of Presentation
• Richard Merrick, NOAA Fisheries, Scientific Programs and Chief Science Advisor
• Robin O'Malley, US Geological Survey

11:30 – 12:20pm

Large Group Discussion: Next Steps

12:20 – 12:30pm

Wrap Up and Adjourn