Author: US Harbors

Florida Red Tide Mid-Week Update for May 12, 2021

5/12/2021 - Current Conditions The red tide organism, Karenia brevis, persists in Southwest Florida, where it was detected in 56 samples over the past week. Bloom concentrations (>100,000 cells/liter) were observed in two samples from Charlotte County, three samples from Lee County, and one sample from Collier County. K. brevis was also observed at background concentrations in one… SEE MORE

Recreational Crabbing in New York

Fishing

5/12/2021 - Recreational Crabbing in New York New York State has hundreds of miles of shoreline that provide abundant crabbing opportunities in the Marine and Coastal District, including the Hudson River and it's tributaries. Crabbing is an inexpensive family fun activity that all ages can participate in. No permit or license is… SEE MORE

Puget Sound Recreational Shrimp Fishing Opens May 19

Fishing

5/12/2021 - OLYMPIA – Puget Sound will open for recreational spot shrimp fishing beginning May 19, shellfish managers with the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) announced. Coordinating and finalizing dates last year was very challenging as the COVID-19 pandemic unfolded; ultimately, participation was notably higher than in past seasons, said Don Velasquez, a shellfish biologist for WDFW. “The dates selected for the 2021 season reflect anticipated high… SEE MORE

Hurricane coming to shore on Key West, CA

Forecasters Expect Another Overactive Hurricane Season

5/12/2021 - By Allison Chinchar and Haley Brink. After last year's record-breaking hurricane season, forecasters are expecting another overactive season. Colorado State University (CSU) released its 2021 Atlantic hurricane season forecast on Thursday morning and is predicting another above-average season this year. CSU is calling for 17 named storms, 8 hurricanes and 4 major hurricanes (Category… SEE MORE

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Arctica_islandica_(Ocean_quahog)_-_Flickr_-_S._Rae.jpg

NOAA Announces Specs for Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog

5/12/2021 - NOAA Fisheries is setting 2021 and projecting 2022-2026 commercial harvest quotas for Atlantic surfclams and ocean quahogs. The final quotas, which have remained unchanged since 2004, are: Atlantic surfclams: 3.4 million bushels Ocean quahogs: 5.36 million bushels Maine ocean quahogs: 100,000 Maine bushels In addition, the Atlantic surfclam minimum size… SEE MORE

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Itajara.JPG

Florida Weighs Allowing Limited Harvest of Goliath Grouper

Fishing

5/11/2021 - By Terry Spencer. FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (AP) — Florida may lift its three-decade ban on catching and killing goliath groupers, with wildlife officials saying the coastal fish’s numbers have rebounded from when they were driven to near-extinction by overfishing and environmental damage. The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission will… SEE MORE

Hatteras Shoreline by Ann Tihansky, USGS

How to Prepare Your Coastal Property for Sea-Level Rise and Weather Extremes

5/10/2021 - By JAN ELLEN SPIEGEL. Your yard can be part of the solution. People who live along the Atlantic seaboard are accustomed to dealing with environmental extremes: salt spray that can kill just about anything green; relentless wind that whips vegetation into Leaning Tower of Pisa shapes; sand, shells, rocks and… SEE MORE

Sharks Use Earth’s Magnetic Field to Navigate the Seas

5/9/2021 - By Nikk Ogasa. Most Uber drivers need a smartphone to get to their destinations. But sharks, it seems, need nothing more than their own bodies—and Earth’s magnetic field. A new study suggests some sharks can read Earth’s field like a map and use it to navigate the open seas. The… SEE MORE

https://apnews.com/article/brood-x-cicadas-emerging-c8b67952ac321c8bbbfb62af48efebf0/gallery/68358641d905496a82218d394f160ae9

Nature at its Craziest: Trillions of Cicadas About to Emerge

5/8/2021 - By Seth Borenstein. Sifting through a shovel load of dirt in a suburban backyard, Michael Raupp and Paula Shrewsbury find their quarry: a cicada nymph. And then another. And another. And four more. In maybe a third of a square foot of dirt, the University of Maryland entomologists find at… SEE MORE

https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/behind-scenes-most-consumed-seafood

Reduction of Ghost Fishing from Derelict Blue Crab Traps

5/7/2021 - By Leigh Perry, Project Manager, Coastal Bend Bays & Estuaries Program. Most of us in coastal communities know the term “ghost fishing” and why it is bad, but to get a handle on the problem here in the Texas Mid-Coast area local scientists are diving deeper into the issue by looking… SEE MORE