HIGHLIGHTS
 
NOAA
Fisheries Celebrates Habitat Month
This July, dig into Habitat Month
and learn how healthy habitat depends on the power of partnerships.
The Power of
Partnerships
Our habitat
conservation efforts are collaborative and use sound science in support of
sustaining fisheries and recovering protected species.
|
Coastal Restoration Summit NOAA is
teaming up with Restore America’s Estuaries and the Coastal States Organization
to co-host the National Summit on Coastal and Estuarine Restoration and
Management in December.
|
.
NOAA
Fisheries Releases Revised MRIP Recreational Catch and Effort Estimates
NOAA Fisheries released revised
Marine Recreational Information Program catch estimates (1981-2017) as part of
our recent transition from the old household telephone survey to the new,
mail-based Fishing Effort Survey. We will host two public webinars to provide
an overview and answer questions on July
13 and 18.
$9 Million for 2018 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grants
NOAA Fisheries announced
recommendations to fund 38 projects at almost $9 million under the 2018
Saltonstall-Kennedy Competitive Grants Program. For more than 40 years, NOAA
has awarded grants through this program to projects around the country aimed at
supporting resilient and sustainable fisheries.
New Report on
Shellfish Aquaculture Permitting
NOAA Fisheries has a long history
of supporting shellfish aquaculture development. A new report reviews 22
federal, state, and local shellfish aquaculture permitting systems and makes
recommendations to improve permitting efficiencies.
Symposium
Recap: Climate Change and Oceans
In a recent leadership message,
NOAA’s Chief Science Advisor Dr. Cisco Werner discusses NOAA Fisheries’ efforts
to help businesses, communities, and nations sustain fish stocks and other
marine resources in a changing world. In June, NOAA hosted scientists from 51
nations for the 4th International Symposium on the Effects of
Climate Change on the World’s Oceans.
U.S.-India
Summit on Harmful Algal Blooms
During World Oceans Month in June
2018, scientists from the United States and India met in Goa, India, to address
the issues facing our changing ocean ecosystems and share responses. Jointly
operated ocean observing systems have allowed for global advances in
understanding phenomena such as harmful algal blooms.
Atlantic
Bluefin and Albacore Regulations –
Open for Public Comment
By August 6, please submit your comments on modifications to the
baseline quotas and subquotas for U.S. bluefin tuna and U.S. northern albacore.
The action would also modify the Atlantic tuna size limit regulations for tunas
damaged by shark bites. A public hearing will be held via webinar on July 17.
Final Rule to
Revise Atlantic Shark Closures
NOAA Fisheries announced a final
rule to revise the regulations related to closures of the Atlantic commercial
shark fisheries.
Alaska
Science
Blog: Young Cod Provide Clues about Future Populations
This summer, researchers from the
Alaska Fisheries Science Center will conduct a series of studies to learn more
about Pacific cod born in the Gulf of Alaska in 2018. Studying the survival and
behavior of these juvenile fish throughout the year will give us clues to the
health of future Pacific cod populations.
Science
Blog: Saildrones Head to the Arctic
At the end of June, four
Saildrones left Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and headed north, embarking on a
700-nautical-mile trip to the Bering Strait, Chuckchi and Beaufort Seas, and
Arctic Ocean. Researchers from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center are using
two of these ocean-going robots to measure the abundance of Arctic cod in
Alaska.
West Coast
Why You
Should Care about White Abalone
Learn more about white abalone,
one of NOAA Fisheries’ eight Species in the Spotlight. At first glance, white
abalone may just look like a colorful rock. In fact, it’s an endangered marine
snail with a rich history.
Organizations
Rally for Orca Awareness Month
The governors of Oregon and Washington declared
June to be Orca Awareness Month. Although the whales are identified with Puget
Sound and the Salish Sea, recent research has revealed that orcas spend their
winters as far south as the San Francisco Bay Area.
Pacific Islands
NOAA Tracks Cetaceans in the Mariana Archipelago
This month, NOAA scientists will
depart Guam on board NOAA Ship Oscar
Elton Sette to conduct the Mariana Archipelago Cetacean Survey. Researchers
will use acoustic recorders to track whales and dolphins in the offshore areas
and compare their populations to recent nearshore counts.
NOAA Invites
Citizen Scientists to Honu Count 2018
NOAA invites citizen scientists
of Hawaii to help us count returning green sea turtles by reporting all
encounters with turtles with numbers written on their shells. During last
year’s “Honu Count” (“honu” is Hawaiian for sea turtle), volunteers provided 70
reports.
Southeast
Attend a
Community Outreach Workshop on Restoration Planning
The Deepwater Horizon Natural
Resource Damage Assessment Trustees will host a two-part education and outreach
workshop on July 18. The Trustees,
which include NOAA, encourage community members and organizations familiar with
Gulf restoration, as well as those who want to learn more or get involved, to
attend.
Gulf of
Mexico Coral Habitat Protections – Extended Comment Deadline
By July 20 (formerly July 5), please submit your comments on a draft
environmental impact statement for Amendment 9 to the Gulf of Mexico Coral and
Coral Reef Resources fishery management plan. The proposed action would
establish 22 new habitat areas of particular concern in the Gulf of Mexico—15
with fishing regulations and seven without.
Lionfish
Exempted Permit – Open for Comment
By August 1, please submit your comments on an application for an
exempted fishing permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation
Commission. The applicant proposes to test various modifications of wire spiny
lobster traps in their effectiveness at capturing invasive lionfish.
Notice of
Intent to Draft Louisiana Restoration Plan
The Louisiana Trustee
Implementation Group for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage
Assessment has begun drafting the second-phase plan for six previously
identified restoration projects. The public will have the opportunity to
comment on proposed plans before the Trustees release any final restoration
plan.
Greater Atlantic
Watch Out
for Whales South of Nantucket
NOAA Fisheries established a
voluntary vessel speed restriction zone to protect a group of four right whales sighted two nautical miles south of Nantucket,
Massachusetts. This zone is in effect through July 15. Mandatory speed
restrictions are also in effect in the Great South Channel through July 31.
Management at New Jersey Artificial Reef Sites
NOAA Fisheries announced a file
rule to designate 13 New Jersey artificial reef sites as special management
zones. The action will allow only handline, rod and reel, or spear fishing in
these areas year-round. These changes are designed to minimize gear conflicts
at the reef sites.
Northeast
Skate Complex – Open for Comment
By August 6, please submit your comments on proposed modifications to
the Northeast Skate Complex fishery management plan. NOAA Fisheries proposes
catch and landing limits for the 2018-2019 fishing season, as well as Skate
Framework 5, which includes measures to provide additional flexibility to
fishermen.
Councils
Launch Northeast Offshore Wind Page
The New England and Mid-Atlantic
Fishery Management Councils have jointly launched a new webpage to serve as a
one-stop-shot for information about offshore wind development activities in the
Northeast Region. The Councils worked closely with NOAA Fisheries to create a
resource for fishermen interested in better understanding the impacts of
offshore wind development on commercial and recreational fisheries.
|
