Up to 17% of New England's Cod Stock Decline Attributed to North Atlantic Oscillation  A new climate change study on North Atlantic waters found the climatological phenomenon known as the North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) may be responsible for as much as a 17 percent of the decline in New England's cod stock since 1980. The NAO is a periodic occurrence that, like El Niño, causes changes in water temperatures, although the mechanism is different and affects the North Atlantic rather than the Pacific. "In the 1980s, the North Atlantic was stuck in a positive phase of NAO," said Kyle Meng, an economist at UC Santa Barbara's Bren School of Environmental Science & Management who led the study. "We show not only that positive NAO conditions diminish a few consecutive cohorts of cod larvae but also that this effect follows a cohort as it matures." The researchers also found that the NAO can be used to predict the future size of the cod stock, which would allow for improved management. The Fishing Company of Alaska has formed a unified command to try and salvage the sunken F/V Alaska Juris. The salvage vessel Resolve Pioneer and the trawler Alaska Endeavor are making their way to the remote location in the Bering Sea, about 41 miles northeast of Segula Island in the Aleutian Islands. The ship was abandoned by its crew earlier this week after it started taking on water. The condition of the vessel is unknown. In other news, John Sackton writes of the current state of the embattled tuna industry, which has faced criticism as stocks are being fished at their maximum rate, while in the US, a retailer lawsuit accuses the top three tuna companies of price fixing. Sackton writes that NGO’s, both the Marine Stewardship Council and Greenpeace, have seized on these issues to try and build their own commercial success on the industry’s problems. But in recent years the WWF-backed ISSF has attempted to use sound science to try and define globally acceptable tuna management strategies. Sackton warns retailers not get caught up in emotional, anti-science campaigns intended to boost bottom lines for NGOs when it comes to their tuna purchasing strategies. Meanwhile, ongoing declines in Japanese seafood consumption coupled with shifts in foreign exchange rates contributed to declines in Japan’s seafood import volumes and values in June. Japan posted double-digit declines in its seafood imports by volume and by value for the first time since 2014 and 2012, respectively. Indications are that the ongoing decline in seafood consumption among Japan’s younger consumers is hurting seafood demand in the market. Additionally, volatile foreign exchange rates in global markets, brought on by Britain’s vote to leave the European Union, contributed to the decline Japan’s imports. Finally, New York State conservation officers seized more than 800 undersized lobsters from two Price Chopper supermarkets and the company’s distribution center. The Department of Environmental Conservation said an investigation was launched in March when officers found short lobsters at two Price Chopper stores in Binghamton. Price Chopper spokeswoman Mona Golub said the company’s Cape Cod lobster supplier violated its product specification, and the retailer has since switched to another supplier. Have a great weekend.