HIGHLIGHTS
 True’s
Beaked Whales: Secret No Longer
This summer, researchers from the
Northeast Fisheries Science Center and their colleagues surveyed the waters
south of Cape Cod along the continental shelf and farther offshore looking for
True’s beaked whales, an elusive deep-diving species. Their successful
observations, and the first-ever True’s beaked whale tagging, will lay
the groundwork for our understanding of the species.
 NOAA Announces 2018 Species Recovery Grant
NOAA announced $6.4 million in FY
2018 funding for 14 new projects and the continuation of 15 multiyear projects through
Species
Recovery Grants to States and
Species
Recovery Grants to Tribes. These grants support high-priority recovery
actions for threatened and endangered species. Applications for FY 2019 grants
are now being accepted through October
30 (for Tribes) and November 1
(for States).
 Atlantic Shark Rule – Open for Public Comment
By October 11, please submit your comments on proposed quota levels,
opening dates, and retention limits for the 2019 Atlantic commercial shark
fisheries. The proposed rule uses landings data received as of July 13, but the
final rule will incorporate updated data received as of October.
 Updated HMS Mobile Catch Reporting
App
Highly migratory species
fishermen using the HMS Mobile App to report their Atlantic tuna, billfish, and
swordfish catch should download the latest version (version 2.0.1) if they have
not already done so. This version fixes a bug related to bluefin tag number
reporting.
 Oceanic
Whitetip Shark Recovery Outline
NOAA Fisheries developed an
interim guidance document to direct recovery efforts for the oceanic whitetip
shark until a full recovery plan is developed. This recovery outline presents a
preliminary strategy and priority actions for recovering the species.
 NOAA
Scientists Receive Climate Adaptation Award
A team of NOAA Fisheries
scientists has received recognition for developing the nation’s first framework
to assess the climate vulnerability of marine mammals to help coastal managers,
researchers, and others safeguard these animals in a changing world. Read more
about the Climate Adaptation Leadership Awards, sponsored by the Association of
Fish and Wildlife Agencies and other partners.
 Sea
Grant’s Work in NOAA’s Habitat Focus Areas
Sea Grant, a partnership between
NOAA and 33 university-based programs across the country, is a natural partner
for many of NOAA’s Habitat Focus
Areas. Take a look at their collaborations supporting habitat
restoration and education at the Penobscot River, the Choptank River, the
Russian River, Biscayne Bay, and Western Hawaii.
 2012
National Survey Shows Ocean, Coastal Recreation Is Big Business
A new report
by social scientists at NOAA Fisheries provides the results of our first
National Ocean Recreation Expenditure Survey. The survey found that in 2012
nearly 49 million adults participated in ocean and coastal recreation
nationwide, spending more than $141 billion in related goods and services.
West Coast
 NOAA Hosts Public Meetings on Orca Response
Orca J50’s poor condition in
recent weeks has underscored the urgency of recovering the endangered Southern
Resident killer whale population. NOAA Fisheries wants to know what people in
the region think about our response efforts and potential steps, and we invite
the public to meetings this weekend in Friday Harbor and Seattle, September 15 and 16.
 Proposed Revisions to Trawl
Gear Regulations – Open for Public Comment
By October 9,
please submit your comments on a proposal to
eliminate restrictions on groundfish bottom and midwater trawl gear for vessels
fishing in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery’s Trawl Rationalization
Program. These revisions are possible because the program, first implemented in
2011, has achieved a substantial reduction in fish discards and the rebuilding
of five previously overfished species.
 Endangered
Killer Whale Nighttime Behavior
This month, NOAA Fisheries
researchers will begin studying the nighttime behavior of Southern Resident
killer whales to better understand how much time they spend foraging and their
use of sound. The research will inform policies that might better protect the
whales from vessel noise, which can disrupt their use of echolocation.
Pacific Islands
 False
Killer Whales in the Main Hawaiian Islands
False killer whales are naturally
rare within their range, and for the endangered insular population in the main
Hawaiian Islands it can be particularly challenging to locate the animals to
monitor their population size. A recently published study highlights NOAA
Fisheries’ collaboration with a nonprofit organization and citizen scientists
to estimate the size of this endangered population using photo-identification.
Southeast
 Island
Restoration and the Brown Pelican
Queen Bess Island was key to the
reintroduction of the brown pelican, Louisiana’s state bird, in the 1970s. But
both the island and its pelican population were badly injured in the Deepwater
Horizon oil spill. Now, the Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group’s first
post-settlement restoration plan includes funds to evaluate options for
restoring Queen Bess Island.
Greater Atlantic
 NOAA
and Partners Kick Off Bloede Dam Removal
More than a decade in the making,
the removal of the Bloede Dam on Maryland’s Patapsco River is one of the
largest and most complicated in NOAA’s history. When it is completed, river
herring, shad, American eel, and other migratory species will have access to a
free-flowing natural river for the first time in a century.
 Reward
Offered for Information on Sea Turtle Injury
NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement
seeks information related to an injured loggerhead sea turtle found along
southern Core Sound near Smyrna, North Carolina. The turtle sustained what
appeared to be a deliberate head injury, and ultimately veterinarians had to
euthanize it.
 Young
Right Whale Likely Died from Entanglement
The carcass of a young North
Atlantic right whale was reported floating off Martha’s Vineyard in late
August. Results from a recent necropsy suggest that the whale likely died as a
result of entanglement in fishing gear and drowning. This is the second North
Atlantic right whale mortality confirmed this year, from a population of only
about 450 animals.
 Groundfish At-Sea Monitor Provider Applications
If you would like to provide
at-sea monitoring services to groundfish sectors in fishing years 2019 and
2020, please submit your application by October
1. Final decisions will be published in the Federal Register in November.
 Surfclam
Distribution Study Request for Proposals
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery
Management Council seeks a highly qualified contractor to document the
distributions of surfclams in the nearshore waters of the U.S. Northwest
Atlantic. Proposals are due October 31.
 What
GARFO Interns Did This Summer
In 2018, the Greater Atlantic
Regional Fisheries Office took on eight summer interns through three different
programs: the Woods Hole Partnership Education Program, the Hollings
Undergraduate Scholarship Program, and the Pathways Program. The interns worked
for 8 to 10 weeks on a variety of marine science and education projects.
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