HIGHLIGHTS
Wrapping Up Habitat Month at NOAA Fisheries July was Habitat Month at NOAA Fisheries, and even though today is the first day of August, we didn't want you to miss these great Habitat Feature Stories.
$1.2 Million for Habitat Focus Area Projects NOAA recommends $1.2 million in
FY 2018 funding to partners working in our Habitat Focus
Areas, which are targeted places where we collaborate with
communities on strategic habitat restoration for lasting improvements. The
funding would support seven existing multi-year projects in Habitat Focus Areas
across the nation.
The
National Fish Habitat Partnership at 10 Years The National Fish Habitat
Partnership is a science-based, state-led initiative to protect, restore, and
maintain America’s aquatic ecosystems. The national partnership unites a
network of diverse partners with a wide array of expertise to protect, restore,
and enhance the nation’s fish and aquatic communities. Learn more about their
first 10 years of success.
2018
Habitat Month Photo Contest Winners NOAA and partners are working to
conserve habitat for sustainable fisheries, protected species, and resilient
coastal ecosystems and communities. To help celebrate that work during NOAA’s
Habitat Month, we invited NOAA staff and the public to submit photos that
captured these habitats. Check out the 2018 winning photographs.
Explore
NOAA’s Veteran and Conservation Corps Veteran and Corps programs are
enhancing workforce development and opportunities for higher education in the
natural resources field, while restoring coastal habitat to support healthy
fisheries, fishing communities, and NOAA trust resources.
Alaska
Video:
Restoring Kachemak Bay Ecosystem Alaska’s Kachemak
Bay Habitat Focus Area supports important recreational, subsistence,
and commercial fishing. The region has experienced significant declines in
shrimp and crab populations that have not recovered despite fishery closures.
NOAA is working with many partners to study the bay ecosystem, monitor invasive
species, and develop risk assessment tools.
Innovative
Technology for Fish Age Data Collection NOAA Fisheries scientists are
evaluating the use of machine-based technology in determining fish age from
otoliths. Initial results using Bering Sea walleye pollock otoliths suggest the
technology could greatly increase the speed and cost-effectiveness of determining
fish ages, which would more efficiently generate critical data for stock
assessments.
North Pacific Council
Seeks Analyst/Economist The North Pacific Fishery
Management Council seeks a Fishery Analyst/Fishery Economist to work in the
identification and analysis of economic, social, and environmental issues
pertaining to fisheries management off Alaska. Applications are due August 24.
Southeast
South
Atlantic Red Grouper Final Rule NOAA Fisheries announced a final
rule for red grouper in the South Atlantic. This rule will reduce annual catch
limits for South Atlantic red grouper in response to the latest population
assessment, which found that the stock is overfished and undergoing
overfishing.
Partnering
on Coral Reef Restoration As part of our Habitat Month
focus on partnerships, we interviewed Jessica Levy from the Coral Restoration
Foundation, an organization that partners with NOAA to rehabilitate and restore
coral reef habitat in the Florida Keys.
International
Mangrove Conservation Day Most commercially and
recreationally important fish species in south Florida and the U.S. Caribbean
spend some part of their life cycles near mangroves. In honor of International
Mangrove Conservation Day (last Thursday, July 26), we highlight the ecology
and ecosystem services of these special habitats.
Designating
Habitat Areas of Particular Concern The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act defines Essential Fish Habitat as the waters
and substrate necessary for fish to spawn, breed, feed, and grow to maturity. A
subset of Essential Fish Habitat are Habitat Areas of Particular Concern, which
cover locations or habitats that are particularly rare, important, or stressed.
Learn more about the process for identifying and designating these special
areas.
Trustees’ Outreach Materials Now Available Outreach materials from the July
18 and 19 Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Trustees’ public events are now
available online. The events were held to educate and update the public on
restoration activities in the Gulf of Mexico.
Greater Atlantic
2019–2021
Herring Research – Call for Proposals NOAA Fisheries announced a call
for proposals for Atlantic herring research support under a program unique to
Northeast fishery management—the Research Set-Aside Program. Projects selected through the competition are
awarded fishing quota rather than dollars, and they use the proceeds from
catching or selling their quota to fund their research. Proposals are due September 20.
Horseshoe Crabs, an Important Resource Horseshoe crabs (which are more
closely related to scorpions than to crabs) are an important food source for
shorebirds. Humans use the animals as bait in the eel and conch fisheries and
their blood for pharmaceutical testing. To ensure that horseshoe crab
populations remain healthy, their harvest is carefully managed.
New
Insight Revises Shark Ageing Techniques For decades, researchers have
counted growth band pairs in shark vertebrae—thought to be similar to tree
rings—to estimate the ages of sharks. However, recent research demonstrates
that the band pairs are more closely linked to growth than to time, indicating
that previous methods underestimated the ages of older sharks.
More
Options for Selecting Scallop Vessel Observer Providers Atlantic sea scallop vessels that
qualify for the industry-funded sea scallop observer program will soon have a
fourth provider option to consider. This month, MRAG Americas, Inc., will have
certified observers available for hire. NOAA Fisheries is working to improve
observer availability during peak fishing periods.
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