HIGHLIGHTS
Celebrating Habitat Month
NOAA Names Coastal Resilience Grant Recipients NOAA is recommending 19 projects for
funding through the Coastal Resilience Grant
Program, totaling $13.8 million. The grants will improve state and
local governments’ abilities to prepare for and recover from a variety of
coastal threats, including hurricanes, tsunamis, and sea level rise.
In this video, residents and scientists
envision a healthier Chesapeake Bay. The Choptank River Complex, a major
tributary to the Chesapeake, is one of NOAA Fisheries’ Habitat Focus Areas.
NOAA Fisheries is focusing resources toward habitat protection and restoration,
scientific studies to inform management, and community engagement.
The Tidmarsh restoration project in coastal Massachusetts
has so far restored 225 acres of a former commercial cranberry bog to
functioning wetland habitat. Additional restoration, public access, and
long-term monitoring will follow. Now 15 years in the making, the project
results from a successful partnership of state and federal agencies,
nonprofits, and private landowners that can serve as a model for future
restoration efforts.
Announcing
the 2017 MAFAC Appointments Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross appointed
five new advisors to NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee. MAFAC advises
the Secretary and NOAA on all living marine resource matters that are the
responsibility of the Department of Commerce.
Tuna Exempted
Fishing Permit – Comments Request By August
1, please submit your comments on an application from the Cape Cod
Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance for an exempted fishing permit. The Alliance
seeks an exemption from the regulation that prohibits having unauthorized gear
on board while fishing for bluefin tuna, arguing that electronic monitoring can
be used to verify that bluefin tuna are caught with authorized gear.
A Teacher's View of the Alaska Pollock Survey NOAA scientists’ field season is underway,
with research conducted on land, by air—and at sea. NOAA’s Teachers at Sea
(TAS) bring a fresh perspective to these annual surveys. TAS ’17 Sian Proctor, a
community college instructor from Arizona, joined the most recent leg of the
Gulf of Alaska pollock survey on NOAA Ship Oscar
Dyson and created a video explaining the Acoustic Trawl Survey.
Reminder:
Seafood Import Monitoring Roundtables The next roundtable to discuss the Seafood
Import Monitoring Program’s traceability and record-keeping requirements will
be held tomorrow, July 20, in Newark, New Jersey. The last one will take place next week in Miami.
Alaska
Field
Dispatch: Fur Seals and Saildrones NOAA Fisheries scientists are back for a second year of exciting
research on the relationship between fur seals and their prey, Alaska pollock. Scientists from NOAA
Research's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory and NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska
Fisheries Science Center are teaming up to use the Saildrone to measure pollock
abundance and distribution in the fur seals’ feeding range.
Field
Dispatch: Beluga Whale Aerial Survey NOAA Fisheries scientists wrapped up the
aerial survey of the Eastern Bering Sea stock of beluga whales at the end of
June. The last survey in this area was conducted in 2000. Aerial images
collected in this survey will be used to update the estimate of the stock’s
abundance.
Pacific Islands
NOAA Honors Pacific Leatherback “Recovery Hero” At the U.S. Embassy in Jakarta, NOAA
Fisheries honored Dr. Fitry Pakiding, of the State University of Papua (UNIPA),
as a “recovery hero” for her work in Pacific leatherback sea turtle
conservation. The Species in the Spotlight Recovery Hero Award recognizes people helping to recover NOAA Fisheries'
eight Species in the Spotlight. Dr.
Pakiding accepted the award on behalf of the all of those at UNIPA working to
recover the sea turtles.
Program Review of Economics, Human Dimensions To ensure that we use the best-available science, NOAA Fisheries conducts a standardized 6-year
cycle of peer review and evaluation of our fundamental science programs. In
2017, the focus will be on our economics and human dimensions
science in each region. The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center will host
their regional program review, which is open to the public, July 31–August 2.
July’s Monk
Seal of the Month The Monk Seal of the Month for July is R5AY,
also known as Honey Girl. At least 20 years old, Honey Girl is a long-time
resident of Oahu. In 2012, she was seriously injured (and nearly starved) by an
interaction with fishing gear, but NOAA, the Waikiki Aquarium, and the Honolulu
Zoo were able to rescue, treat, and rehabilitate her.
Southeast
Abandoned, Derelict Vessels Become Marine Debris Abandoned and derelict vessels are a marine
debris problem in many places around the United States, but they pose a
particular problem in Florida and the Caribbean. The region’s beautiful weather
and waters draw a high number of recreational and commercial boaters—which
unfortunately leads to a high number of derelict vessels.
Greater Atlantic
GARFO
Administrator Announces Retirement NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional
Administrator John Bullard formally announced his plans to retire in January
2018. Bullard, who assumed the role in 2012, will leave a legacy of improved
relationships with industry, researchers, environmentalists, and a host of
federal and state partners.
Continue to
Watch Out for Whales The voluntary vessel speed restriction zone
south of Nantucket, Massachusetts, has been extended to protect an aggregation
of three right whales sighted on July 16. The zone is now in effect through July 30.
Harris Creek
Oyster Restoration Shows Success The newly-released 2016 Oyster Reef
Monitoring Report indicates that 97% of oyster reefs restored in Harris Creek
in 2013 met requirements for oyster density and biomass in 2016. The 30 reefs studied, totaling 90
acres, were constructed as part of the 350-acre Harris Creek oyster restoration
project. Harris Creek was one of the first areas selected for large-scale
restorations under the 2014 Chesapeake Bay Watershed Agreement.
Thermal
Habitat Key for Northern Shrimp Off the northeastern U.S. coast, northern
shrimp—a cold-water species—are mainly found in the western Gulf of Maine,
where water temperatures are coolest.
During the past decade, ocean temperatures in the western Gulf of Maine
have warmed. This warming is likely playing a role in keeping stock abundance
low, and the northern shrimp fishery has now been closed for several years.
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