1. COSA Committee Meeting
June 23, 2017
--Jeff Reidenauer introduced the MMP’s approach to studies yesterday morning
--next three studies are for the MMP
--diverse issues in our work
Deena Hansen
Oceanographer
Marine Minerals Program – Office of Environmental Programs

2. Fish, Fisheries, and Sand Features: Improving Knowledge of Demersal and Benthic Organisms’ Habitat Use, Impacts of Dredging at Offshore Sand Sources, and Time Series of Recovery in the New York Bight
BOEM Information Need:
Evaluate potential sand borrow areas in federal waters off New York Bight (NYB)
Improve understanding of regional demersal and benthic organisms’ use of sand habitats
Monitor impacts and recovery post-dredging
Date Information is Required:
Immediately for use in NEPA/EFHA analyses and to coincide with dredging activity
--strategic Q: effect of landscape alteration
--fill info gap with stakeholder input and field surveys of geology, biology, and chemistry of potential borrow areas
--state resources historically used
--new interest in NYB OCS area post-Hurricane Sandy
--need 10.7 Mcy, likely in the next 2-3 years
--a lot of commercial and rec fishing activity in region so need better understanding of use and impacts
(most recent) landings: NJ: $166 million; NY: $51 million
--pre-dredge surveys would improve understanding of what resources might be affected for NEPA and EFHA
--monitoring during and after dredging will improve future analyses

3. New York Bight (NYB) --NYB are waters off of NY/Long Island and NJ
--a lot of sand, but those in shoal areas are usually the most compatible/accessible, but these are also areas of high fishing interest
--dredging is limited to less than 100 ft of water, so our area of interest is generally 3-8 nm from shore, just within the gray line
--some federal borrow areas have been used, but we anticipate an increase in the near future

4. Background Relationship with Previous Work/ Efforts:
Many studies focus on recovery of infauna
BOEM workshop synthesized the value of
shoal habitat to fish and fisheries
--Infauna surveys are cheaper and easier and are often used as a proxy to fish and fisheries impacts
--BOEM workshop identified shoal-associated species for Mid and South Atlantic, and GOM; like the lizardfish

5. Background Review of biological and biophysical impacts of dredging
--A literature review and gap analysis from 2013 prioritized research, and the first priority was investigating shoal usage by fish and inverts

6. Background Relationship with Concurrent/Future Efforts:
Fish habitat use studies
Gulf of Mexico
--Once shoal-associated species were summarized, BOEM then used field research to determine site-specific use of shoals used in dredging
--Cape Canaveral study started in 2013 and is still ongoing
--A new start this year in the Gulf of Mexico, and located on one of the largest sand resources, is modeled after the South Atlantic study
--Have had major success with Cape Canaveral
South Atlantic

7. Cape Canaveral Study Fish tracking Longline FACT/ACT arrays
632 total animals tagged
96 fish detected outside of region, documenting migration cycles
Longline
Stratified random sets
2522 animals from 34 species
--Leveraged existing telemetry arrays, while adding new receivers around borrow areas
--Now have seasons and years of movement data
--Information on local and regional occurrence of many species
--Data in South Atlantic, soon to be Gulf, but have a gap in Mid-Atlantic

8. Background New Jersey Fisheries Stakeholder Meeting July 26, 2017
Explain BOEM’s role
Hear concerns
July 26, 2017
Will strengthen network and inform study
--With the anticipated increase in OCS sand need in the NJ/NY area, the MMP is hosting a stakeholder meeting
--Focus on BOEM issues within fishing community
--Many sand resources for dredging are also resources for fishing
--$166 million in fishing revenue in NJ; major ports: Point Pleasant, Barnegat Light, Cape May
--First outreach effort specific to MMP/NJ fishermen

9. Background Other Relevant Information:
Mid-Atlantic Ocean Action Plan outlines a BOEM action item to engage fishing communities in project planning
--Outreach meeting and this proposed study aim to support this action item
--BOEM has a representative on the regional planning body for the mid-atlantic

10. Study Objectives
Obtain and expand baseline data on seafloor morphology, substrate type, and diversity and abundance of demersal and benthic organisms, especially around NYB sand resources
Monitor conditions before, during, and after dredging to understand the affected environment, impacts, and recovery
--establish baseline to improve NEPA/EFHA before dredging
--use during and post-dredging monitoring to refine analyses

11. Methods
Review fish and benthic datasets to identify methods and gaps of region
Use stakeholder input to further inform field survey methods and priorities
Before-after-control-impact (BACI) design, repeated 4-6 times before, during, and after dredging over 2-3 years, and all seasons

12. Methods Geological (e.g., side-scan sonar, grabs)
Biological (e.g., trawls, dredges, acoustic tagging)
Physical/chemical (e.g., current flow, temperature, dissolved oxygen)
--major components of comprehensive survey

13. Methods Leverage existing funding and research
Internal: OREP’s seafloor mapping offshore NY
Federal: USACE, NOAA
State: NY DOS
--OREP: 100% multibeam coverage of WEA
--federal partners have past/existing projects in the area; USACE has direct interest in research
--NY DOS has invested in offshore research and may be interested in partnering

14. Study Outcomes
Fill gaps in NEPA documents and EFHA for anticipated increase in requests for OCS sand in next five years
Better understanding of NYB affected environment
Measure responses of NYB sand resources to dredging activity
Data useful to other programs
--more robust NEPA immediately
--refined by results of during/post-dredging monitoring
--build relationships with stakeholders

15. Relationship to Strategic Science Questions
Most directly relates to the effect of habitat or landscape alteration
Dredging may impact physical, chemical, or biological aspects of habitat
These habitat impacts can affect dependent organisms and industries
Also relates to: cumulative effects, future ocean conditions and dynamics, and long-term monitoring
--direct and indirect effects of habitat alteration need to be understood
--this proposed project aims to capture information on multiple resource conditions, impacts, and recovery

16. Thank You! Deena Hansen Oceanographer
Sterling, VA – Environmental Programs