NOAA Fisheries is bolstering our survey enterprise and accelerating our data collection efforts. This will allow us to better manage protected species such as ice seals, Hawaiian monk seals, and green sea turtles, along with cetaceans such as whales and dolphins off the West Coast. These surveys are increasing the number and types of protected marine resource observations we can make.
An investment of $7.4 million in Inflation Reduction Act funds during the 2023–2024 fiscal year for these surveys is helping to fund research. It is also ensuring we can collect and analyze broader and more accurate data in key marine ecosystems.
Importance of Research Surveys
The key to our science mission is collecting and using the best available data to understand what actions are needed to safeguard America’s valuable marine resources and coastal communities. For marine life facing the effects of climate change, this research marks a vital step in analyzing changing conditions and informing management decisions.
Our at-sea research vessels are an integral part of this effort. In extremely remote locations like the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, securing ship time is challenging. In Alaska, only certain ships can reach distant locations on the ice.
With Inflation Reduction Act funding, we conducted three at-sea surveys for protected resources on charter vessels in three regions this year:
- Alaska (R/V Norseman II)
- Pacific Islands (M/V Imua and M/V Kahana II)
- West Coast (R/V Bold Horizon)
With these surveys, we are taking a fresh approach among the three science centers to collaborate on planning and prioritizing rotating support for protected resource surveys. This new approach allowed our teams to reach otherwise inaccessible areas of sea ice in Alaska and arrive at the ideal time for research. The flexibility of charter vessels also enabled us to plan safer, more efficient trips.
Ice Seal Research in Alaska
More than $936,000 in Inflation Reduction Act funding supported our team of researchers from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Marine Mammal Laboratory. We collected data on the four species of ice-associated seals in Alaska: the bearded seal, the ringed seal, the ribbon seal, and the spotted seal. By tracking their movements and health, we can better understand how changes in the Arctic—such as reduced sea ice—may be affecting them.
Our team used the charter vessel R/V Norseman II to reach the seals where they haul out onto the sea ice in the Bering Sea. We launched small boats to capture seals on the ice. Then we recorded measurements and weights, collected tissue samples, and tagged seals with satellite-linked biologgers. We also attached satellite tags to some seals to track movements and foraging behaviors.
To detect any contaminants or pollutants the seals might have been exposed to, we collected blood, whiskers, fur, and scat. This also helped us study the seals’ health and diet. Our teams then checked blubber thickness to measure body condition. We used technology such as drones to observe and even measure some seals without disturbing them.
This data, collected during many expeditions, suggests that the body condition of spotted and ribbon seal pups and adult ribbon seals in spring has declined since at least 2007. This decline may be related to observed changes in their environment, including climate change-related reductions in sea ice cover. The loss of sea ice is important to ice-associated seals that use it as a platform for giving birth, nursing, and molting.
Dr. Michael Cameron, Polar Ecosystems Program manager, shared his insights into the survey: “There is so much valuable research work to be done throughout the agency, and not enough time available on NOAA’s research ships, requiring difficult decisions. This year, with the help of Inflation Reduction Act funding, we were able to plan and conduct our ideal research expedition with a dedicated charter vessel for the first time. We extended our expedition to more than 40 days, which allowed us to encompass the periods of both seal pupping and molting. Essentially, we got to plan the cruise that we’ve always wanted.”
“Our repeated presence in this remote area has provided important data for research on issues that are also a great concern to Alaskan native hunters and fishermen,” said Heather Ziel, Chief Scientist for the research cruise from the Polar Ecosystems Program. “It is crucial that we continue conducting these surveys to monitor the environment as it continues to change.”
Green Sea Turtle and Monk Seal Research in the Pacific Islands
In the Pacific Islands, we used $1.5 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding to charter the M/V Imua and M/V Kahana II. We deployed these vessels to recover field camps and collect data for NOAA Fisheries’ annual monk seals and sea turtle population assessment. Our team carried out research in the remote and vulnerable Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument. It takes a full 30 days to deploy our research teams, and these vessels are a critical part of carrying out this mission.
Hawaiian monk seals are only found in Hawai’i with the vast majority residing in the monument. NOAA Fisheries has surveyed and monitored Hawaiian monk seals throughout this area for 40 years. Between 2013–2022, their population increased at a rate of 2 percent per year. Christy Kozama, Marine Biologist for the Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program, explained: “A vital part of our job is to conduct life-saving interventions, such as helping disentangle seals and reuniting pups with their mothers. In 2022, there was a population of slightly more than 1,600. We are happy to share that approximately 30 percent of seals alive today are thanks to these intervention efforts. However, we’ve witnessed firsthand critical breeding grounds and entire islands disappear overnight due to climate change. We’re doing everything we can to help.”
For the last 50 years, we have conducted Hawaiian green sea turtle surveys at Lalo, a low-lying atoll highly vulnerable to climate change. Around 96 percent of all Hawaiian green sea turtles reproduce on the sandy, dynamic islets of the atoll. These atolls are increasingly at risk due to sea level rise and erosion from large storms. In addition, the warming climate is leading to an imbalance of the sex ratio of hatchlings, which is determined by the temperature of the nest. Even though Lalo is in the remote Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, Tern Island was developed for military use in World War II. The buildings and seawalls that remain have deteriorated and become entrapment hazards for wildlife. Our marine turtle researchers often find nesting females and hatchlings trapped in the hazards at Lalo and work daily to ensure healthy outcomes for the animals.
Marylou Staman, Marine Biologist for the Marine Turtle Biology and Assessment Program, shared: “With the huge area of the Pacific Islands Region and the many important missions we do out here, time on NOAA ships isn’t always guaranteed. These funds to charter vessels allowed us the flexibility to deploy our camps and optimize the precious time we needed to conduct our life-saving research.”
Cetacean Research off the West Coast
Off the West Coast, $2.3 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding supported data collection on cetaceans—whales, dolphins, and porpoises—to update our stock assessments. The survey began in late July on the chartered R/V Bold Horizon and will continue through December, covering the entire U.S. West Coast.
The main objective is to collect data on whales, dolphins, and seabirds using visual line-transect surveys, in which observers count species along predetermined paths in the ocean. Continued funding can boost research and development avenues to improve survey efficiencies with new technologies.
We are gathering information on species type, group sizes, and distances from the vessel to estimate population sizes. We scan for animals on the top deck of the vessel using binoculars to count species. For environmental DNA, we collect water samples and filter them to analyze species diversity from DNA traces.
Our team is using drones to fly over groups of animals to observe their body condition. We are also attaching passive acoustic arrays to buoys to gather more detailed information such as underwater sounds, which will help detect marine mammals.
The survey is increasing our understanding of how marine species interact with their environment by analyzing long-term data and detecting trends. For example, we can observe how changes in ocean conditions, such as sea temperature, affect species' habitats and behavior.
With data from this survey, we can make predictions about how environmental changes, such as ocean warming, will impact marine life. The long-term data will also help identify areas of biological importance and inform government agencies about potential environmental impacts on wildlife.
Dr. Jeff Moore, California Current Marine Mammal Assessment Program Leader for the Marine Mammal and Turtle Division, explained: “Funding from the Inflation Reduction Act made this survey possible—without it, this survey would not have happened. It allowed us to charter a vessel, get the ship time we needed, and carry out a passive acoustic monitoring glider survey, which is a new and quieter method for monitoring marine life.”
These three surveys were funded by the previously announced $107.5 million in Inflation Reduction Act funding for us to transform our science enterprise and accelerate data collection.
