HIGHLIGHTS
State
Management of Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper – Open for Public Comment
By February 16, please submit your comments on NOAA Fisheries’ intent
to prepare a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for an amendment considering
a state management program for recreational red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico.
The amendment proposes management alternatives for individual Gulf states.
2018 Coastal
Resilience Grants Funding Available
Today, NOAA announced the
availability of up to $15 million to support coastal resilience grants that
benefit coastal ecosystems and communities. Since 1980, the United States has
sustained more than 200 weather and climate disasters with damages of at least
$1 billion. Improving coastal resiliency helps make our communities and our
economy more secure. Pre-proposals are due March
7.
Natural Infrastructure Improves Coastal Resilience
NOAA and partners have published
a new report presenting case studies of natural infrastructure shoreline
projects in coastal California. In addition to helping restore habitat, these
shoreline projects protect coastal communities from flooding and erosion.
Managers are already applying lessons learned from these examples to new areas.
Stellar
Progress on Steller Watch
Last year, NOAA Fisheries
launched Steller Watch, a crowdsourcing site that invites members of the public
to help scientists with Steller sea lion photo identification research. To
date, 8,000 volunteers from 70 countries have reviewed more
than 340,000 images, making a valuable contribution to the ongoing study.
Species for
CITES Candidates – Open for Comment
By March 26, please submit information and recommendations on animal
and plant species for consideration as candidates for U.S. proposals to amend
Appendices I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered
Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
Alaska
Rescued Beluga
Calf Cannot be Released
NOAA Fisheries determined that a
male Cook Inlet beluga whale calf found stranded last September is not capable
of surviving on his own, and cannot be released back into the wild. The
decision comes after 3 months of round-the-clock care at the Alaska SeaLife
Center. NOAA will place the calf in permanent care at a U.S. facility.
Pacific Islands
Printable 2018
Hawaiian Monk Seal Calendar
The Pacific Islands Regional
Office’s 2018 Hawaiian Monk Seal Calendar is available for download in a
tabloid (11” x 17”) format pdf. The calendar features winning photos from the
2017 Hawaiian Monk Seal Photo Contest, and it includes monk seal facts and
natural history.
Southeast
Gulf Council
Seeks Executive Director
The Gulf of Mexico Fishery
Management Council is accepting applications for the position of Executive
Director. The position is chiefly responsible for conducting the business of
the Council and implementing its policies, actions, fishery management
activities, and decisions. Applications are due February 2.
South
Atlantic Council Seeks Advisory Panel and Workgroup Members
The South Atlantic Fishery
Management Council is soliciting applicants for open advisory panel seats as
well as positions on a newly formed workgroup to address the future needs of
managed areas in the federal waters of the South Atlantic. There are 17 open
seats in five advisory panels, and 15 positions in the new workgroup.
Applications are due February 9.
Osprey
Nesting Platforms Installed in Alabama
The Alabama Coastal Foundation
installed five new nesting platforms in Mobile and Baldwin counties to help
mitigate the injuries the osprey population suffered from the 2010 Deepwater
Horizon oil spill. Funding for the platforms comes through an Early Restoration
Project approved by the Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees.
Greater Atlantic
Watch Out
for Whales South of Nantucket
NOAA Fisheries established a
voluntary vessel speed restriction zone 30 miles south of Nantucket to protect
an aggregation of 22 right whales sighted in the area on January 23. This zone
is in effect through February 5.
Canada Announces New
Protections for Whales
Canada's
Minister of Fisheries, Oceans and the Canadian Coast Guard announced new
fishery management measures designed to protect critically endangered North
Atlantic right whales. The measures relate to gear configuration for the snow
crab fishery in the Southern Gulf of St. Lawrence, aiming to reduce whale
entanglements and better track lost gear. Vessel collisions and fishing gear entanglements
are the leading known causes of North Atlantic right whale deaths in the United States and
Canada.
Icy Waters
and Chesapeake Bay Critters
Record cold weather in early
January led to significant icing in large areas of the Chesapeake Bay.
Icebreaking ships worked to keep shipping lanes free, and NOAA technicians
responded to protect the Chesapeake Bay Interpretive Buoy System buoys and sensors
from ice. But the effects of this icing on the bay’s crabs,
oysters, and finfish may take longer to play out.
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