HIGHLIGHTS
Visit
NOAA at the Seafood Expo North America
NOAA Fisheries has
a full agenda of open meetings and conference sessions planned for the Seafood
Expo North America, which will take place in Boston, March 11–13. If you are in
the area and can attend a session, be sure to drop by Booth #181.
Story Map:
Farming in Water
Aquaculture is a steadily growing American industry,
and NOAA is on the front lines. NOAA’s
pioneering science, techniques, and technologies are putting more U.S. seafood
on our nation’s tables, stimulating economic growth, and expanding the
frontiers of American ingenuity. Working with partners, NOAA’s
Aquaculture Program helps to pass our nation’s seafaring heritage on to new
generations that farm in water.
 Reminder: Sea Grant Aquaculture Initiative
Applications for NOAA National Sea Grant College Program's 2018 National Aquaculture Initiative funding are due to state programs this Friday, March 2.
Story Map:
African American History Month in National Marine Sanctuaries
The African American maritime
tradition is an important part of our nation's history. A new story map
remembers and honors the African American men and women who faced the horrors
of slavery and generations of systemic racism to help build our sanctuary communities
and our maritime nation.
Proposed
Rule to Revise Shark Closure – Open for Public Comment
By March 26, please submit your comments
on a proposed rule that would revise the regulations related to closures of the
Atlantic commercial shark fisheries. The proposed revisions address
requests received in earlier public comments. NOAA Fisheries will hold a public
hearing on these changes on March 2.
Project to Improve Mammal Stranding Response
Marine mammal scientists from
NOAA Fisheries and partner organizations are working to develop a model for
establishing marine mammal stranding networks. The first phase of this program,
the Global
Marine Animal Stranding Training Toolkit,
aims to provide widespread access to best practices and protocols for investigating
and rescuing of stranded marine mammals.
2017
Report to Congress on Management Councils
NOAA Fisheries is required to submit an annual report to Congress regarding
membership representation on the regional fishery management councils as well
as financial disclosure recusal requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
The 2017 report is now available.
Alaska
Decades
after Exxon Valdez, Special Journal Issue Compiles a Wealth of Science Information
What does the Prince William
Sound ecosystem look like more than two decades after the Exxon Valdez oil
spill? A recent special-issue journal, including work by several NOAA Fisheries
scientists, explores the status of the ecosystem as well as the long-term
effects of the spill on marine life.Two studies are highlighted below:
Dall’s
Porpoise Expands Territory
Dall’s
porpoises may be moving into new waters in response to the decline of the local
pod of killer whales (their predators) since the Exxon Valdez oil spill.
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West Coast
Saving the
Southern Residents
Southern Resident killer whales
are among the most at-risk marine mammals in the world. Noise and crowding by
boat traffic, chemical contaminants, and a scarcity of their preferred
food—Chinook salmon—pose serious threats to this endangered population. Check
out this new story map to learn more.
Petition
Prompts Review of Chinook Populations
Over the next year, NOAA
Fisheries will weigh whether Chinook salmon in the Upper Klamath and Trinity
Rivers in Northern California need protection under the Endangered Species Act,
as sought by a petition from the Karuk Tribe and Salmon River Restoration Council.
Story Map:
Restoring the Feather River Watershed after Dam Emergency
In 2017, record rains and
snowmelt damaged the Oroville Dam Spillways. After public safety was ensured,
NOAA Fisheries and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife worked to
address the ecological impacts on the Feather River and its threatened fish
populations.
Japanese
Fish Hitch a Ride Across the Pacific
Four years after a devastating
earthquake and tsunami struck Japan, a derelict Japanese vessel washed up on
the Oregon coast with some surprising cargo: 21 yellowtail jack, found swimming
in the hold. Genetic tests by
researchers at the Southwest Fisheries Science Center confirmed that the fish
were native to Japan.
Pacific Islands
Latest Hawaii Deep 7 Bottomfish Stock Assessment
Seven popular species of bottomfish remain abundant in Hawaii
waters and can continue to be sustainably harvested, according to a new stock
assessment from the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center.
A Big
Picture for the Big Island
The
ocean off the west coast of Hawai‘i Island is home to vibrant coral reefs and
marine life. But the West Hawaii ecosystem is also particularly vulnerable to
the pressures of an increasing human population, coastal development, fishing,
pollution, and climate change. A recent
study provides a range of options to protect and restore this valuable marine
ecosystem.
A Career Dedicated to Hawaii Sea Turtles
After 48 years studying green sea turtles in Hawaii, George
Balazs, a senior scientist at the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center,
recently retired from NOAA service—but not from sea turtle research. Learn more
about his work and how life in the Hawaiian Islands has changed for green
turtles since the late 1960s.
Southeast
Gulf
IFQ Programs – Open for Public Comment
By April 23, please submit your comments on a proposed action designed
to improve compliance and flexibility in the Gulf of Mexico Individual Fishing
Quota Programs. Among other adjustments, the action will require advance notice
prior to landing commercially caught, federally managed reef fish.
Florida
Trustees Release Next Phase of Restoration Plan
The Florida Trustee
Implementation Group approved the final plan for their latest phase of
restoration efforts following the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. Consistent with the Trustees’ Programmatic
Restoration Plan, this phase will fund projects to compensate for a
portion of lost recreational use in Florida.
Greater Atlantic
NOAA
Fisheries at Maine Fishermen’s Forum
The annual Maine Fishermen’s
Forum opens tomorrow, March 1, and
NOAA Fisheries will be there. Join Fisheries leaders for an open forum, attend
one of many science presentations, and visit the booth at the Trade Fair. The
forum brings together a variety of people interested in healthy, sustainable
fisheries, seafood businesses, and coastal communities.
Proposed
Scup Measures – Open for Comment
By March 13, please submit your comments on a proposal to adjust the
dates of the current Summer and Winter II Scup Commercial Quota Periods. The
action is intended to increase landings without changing the current possession
limits or amount of quota allocated to each period.
Workshop
Tackles Ecosystem-Based Management
For more than a decade, the
Marine Resource Education Program has hosted workshops designed to help bridge
the gap between science and industry in New England. This year, scientists from
the Northeast Fisheries Science Center will lead workshop participants in
exploring an ecosystem framework for fishery management.
Mariners Are
Needed to Work on NOAA Ships
NOAA ships provide a wide range
of mission support for the agency, from collecting weather data to charting the
ocean floor to monitoring fishery stocks, corals, and marine mammals. Civilians
fill many important roles on NOAA vessels. NOAA currently has job openings for
qualified wage mariners to serve as able-bodied seamen, fishermen, and general
vessel assistants.
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