HIGHLIGHTS
Commerce Trusted Trader Program Webinars Join NOAA Fisheries next Wednesday, February
28, for a presentation on our proposed rule to establish a voluntary
Commerce Trusted Trader Program for U.S. seafood importers—a valuable
complement to the U.S. Seafood Import Monitoring Program. We will also host a public meeting at the Seafood
Expo in Boston March 12.
"Informed
Compliance” for Seafood Import Monitoring Program Ends April 7 NOAA Fisheries announced that,
beginning April 7, all filings for seafood products covered by the Seafood
Import Monitoring Program must comply with the electronic filing requirements
in order for an entry to receive a “may proceed.” NOAA Fisheries’ transitional
“informed compliance” approach will end at that time.
Atlantic
MRIP Regional Implementation Plan The Atlantic Coastal Cooperative
Statistics Program is the state-federal partnership that collects, manages, and
disseminates Atlantic commercial and recreational fisheries data. This week,
the program released a Marine Recreational Information Program (MRIP) Regional
Implementation Plan summarizing the data needs and funding priorities for
improving recreational fishing data on the Atlantic Coast.
Restoring
Our Coasts after Industrial Pollution In 2017, NOAA’s Damage Assessment,
Remediation, and Restoration Program worked across the country and in the
Caribbean to restore our coasts from hazardous waste, oil pollution, and ship
groundings. From Oregon to South Carolina, and New Jersey to Puerto Rico, NOAA
works with partners in and outside of government to rebuild valuable ecosystems.
New
Committee to Study Coral Reef Resilience In January, the National Academies
of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine appointed a new committee to study
interventions to increase the resilience of coral reefs. Over the next year,
the committee will evaluate novel intervention strategies and their potential
ecological benefits. Their findings will include a decision-making framework
and recommendations on the most promising paths forward.
Alaska
Video: North
Pacific Right Whales With only 30 individuals
remaining, North Pacific right whales are among the most critically endangered
whales in the world. In this interview, NOAA Fisheries marine mammal scientist
Jessica Crance describes joining an International Whaling Commission survey to
track down and document these whales.
Video: Cook
Inlet Beluga Whales Watch this new video to learn
more about Cook Inlet beluga whales, one of NOAA Fisheries’ Species in the
Spotlight. Though subsistence hunting for these whales ended in 1999, the
population is still declining. NOAA Fisheries uses a variety of strategies to
monitor the population and understand the threats they face.
West Coast
Charting
Progress for West Coast Species at Risk NOAA Fisheries recently submitted
our biennial Report to Congress on the status of threatened and endangered
species listed under the Endangered Species Act, including five West Coast
species at high risk of extinction. Read about NOAA Fisheries’ recent work
toward recovering Southern Resident killer whales, Pacific leatherback sea
turtles, Central California coho salmon, Sacramento winter-run Chinook salmon,
and white abalone.
Webinar
Series on Climate Change and Fisheries The Pacific Fishery Management
Council is sponsoring a series of webinars regarding the Fishery Ecosystem Plan
Initiative on Climate and Communities. Learn about changes in West Coast
species distribution on February 22,
and forecasts of fishery participation under different climate scenarios on February 27.
Pacific Islands
Green Sea
Turtles of the Northern Mariana Islands A new study by NOAA Fisheries and
regional partners found that endangered green sea turtles in the Northern
Mariana Islands are threatened both by poaching of adult females and by rising
temperatures that skew sex ratios and increase egg mortality.
Southeast
Impacts of
Invasive Lionfish Populations of invasive lionfish
continue to expand, threatening the well-being of coral reefs and other marine
ecosystems, as well as the species that depend on them. NOAA Fisheries and our
partners are working hard to develop ways to prevent further spread and control
existing populations of lionfish.
Funding to Improve Mississippi Water Quality The Mississippi Trustee
Implementation Group recently approved the Upper Pascagoula Water Quality
Enhancement Project for funding. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural
Resources Conservation Service is now requesting applications from those
interested in participating, with a March
1 deadline for the first ranking period.
Mutton
Snapper and Gag Measures – Open for Public Comment By March 17, please submit your comments on a proposed rule for
commercial and recreational mutton snapper and commercial gag management
measures in the Gulf of Mexico. Reductions in mutton snapper harvest limits are
necessary to ensure that overfishing does not occur, while changes to gag
measures will achieve consistency between federal and state regulations.
Greater Atlantic
Caribbean
Waters May Hold Clues to Humpbacks From January through June 2017, researchers
from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center and their colleagues in the
Caribbean deployed underwater recording devices throughout the Caribbean to
record whale sounds. Preliminary analysis of the recordings has revealed new
insights into humpback whale behavior.
Woods Hole
Science Organizations Involve Students in Real-Time Whale Research An
undergraduate research voyage in the Caribbean presents a perfect opportunity
for scientists from the Northeast Fisheries Science Center to continue their
research on humpback whales. Genevieve Davis, a marine mammal scientist in the
passive acoustics research group, will join the Sea Education Association
voyage as a guest scientist. She’ll work with the students to record humpback
whale sounds.
Proposed Sea Scallop Rule – Open for
Comment By March 7, please submit your comments on a proposed rule to set
specification and management measures for the 2018 Atlantic sea scallop
fishery, as well as default measures for the 2019 fishing year. The rule will
include opening new areas to scallop fishing and developing accountability
measures for three flatfish stocks.
2018
Chesapeake Bay Fisheries Science Grants NOAA’s Chesapeake Bay Office
released details of the FY 2018 Request for Proposals on fisheries science
topics related to the Chesapeake Bay. Approximately $500,000 may be available
to fund new projects, with a particular interest in funding research on habitat
impacts on black sea bass and summer flounder. Applications are due April 26.
|