NOAA Fisheries and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management recently announced efforts to mitigate potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on NOAA Fisheries’ Surveys. Both agencies are seeking public comment on a draft federal survey mitigation implementation strategy. This joint strategy underscores our shared commitment to advance offshore wind energy production responsibly while protecting marine biodiversity and promoting cooperative ocean use.

NOAA Fisheries selected 15 projects for 2022-2023 awards through the Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program. The selected projects focus on research priorities identified by the New England Fishery Management Council, which established the program in 1999. The council sets priorities, and NOAA Fisheries manages the competition and administers the program. Research set-aside programs are unique to Northeast federal fisheries. Grant recipients partner with the fishing industry to conduct research and to harvest their set-aside award, generating funds for the research.

As part of the research track stock assessment, the black sea bass working group will hold a virtual stakeholder engagement meeting on Monday, May 16 from 1:00 – 4:00 p.m. The meeting will overview the black seas bass assessment process and provide stakeholder input before opening up for a discussion on, but not limited to the following topics: 

• Changes over time in availability, distribution, landings, and discards 
• Ecosystem drivers
• Selectivity by gear type 
• Socioeconomic impacts on fishing operations

To join this session, please register using this RSVP link no later than May 13, 2022. If you are unable to attend but would like to submit a question or comment you can do so using the RSVP link. The WebEx meeting link can be found on the working group webpage.

Later this spring we will release a public solicitation with a request for quotes for vessel support  for the Cooperative Research Study Fleet Program. Commercial fishing vessels participating in longfin squid, shortfin squid, mackerel, butterfish, scup, black sea bass, summer flounder, whiting, haddock, and tilefish fisheries are needed to provide long-term, tow-by-tow data using our Fisheries Logbook Data Recording Software (FLDRS), automated oceanographic sensors, and real-time data transmission. Contracts will be awarded in August 2022 with a start date in September 2022. Be on the lookout for more details or contact Katie Burchard for updates.

NOAA Fisheries now requires permitted scallop vessels fishing in federal waters to call the Industry-Funded Scallop (IFS) Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system at (508) 495-2100 to declare their intent to fish before starting their trip(s). This requirement includes Limited Access (LA), Limited Access General Category (LAGC) Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ), and LAGC Northern Gulf of Maine (NGOM) permit holders. A call in-guide outlining all steps involved is available outline.

We work with collaborators to examine the use of passive acoustic monitoring to remotely monitor vessel presence in protected, closed, or sensitive marine areas. Vessels produce distinctive underwater acoustic signatures. Changes to these signatures can represent a range of vessel behaviors such as transiting, maneuvering, or fishing. By analyzing passive acoustic recordings, we are able to find patterns in vessel presence, which can help managers more effectively understand the level of vessel activity and vessel behavior within a given area. Check out our passive acoustic cetacean detections map for the Northwest Atlantic Ocean and our proposed framework for regional monitoring.

Offshore wind energy development is rapidly growing in the United States. Our research supports data collection for baseline monitoring along the East Coast and provides recommendations for passive acoustic monitoring best practices. Our nation’s goal is to generate 30 gigawatts of wind-generated power by 2030. Alongside this goal is protecting biodiversity and promoting ocean co-use. Together, NOAA and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management have created a series of recommendations for baseline monitoring as well as monitoring during offshore windfarm construction and operation for mitigation efforts.

We provide data and information systems, analysis, and management to support fisheries monitoring and research. Our team develops, tests, debugs, delivers, and maintains data information systems for several high-profile regional fisheries monitoring and research efforts. These programs include the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program, the Northeast Multispecies At-Sea Monitoring Program, the Electronic Monitoring Program, the Study Fleet Program, and the Gulf of Maine Bottom Longline Survey. 

Save the date! Join New Jersey Sea Grant Consortium, New Jersey Natural Gas, and the Northeast Fisheries Science Center for Ocean Fun Days on May 21 and 22. This is a free outdoor event for children of all ages to celebrate our coasts and ocean. There will be games, prizes, and opportunities to connect with New Jersey's environmental organizations and learn how you can help our planet.

Wrapping up our 150th anniversary, we present the ships that have served as platforms for research by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center since the 1960s. The ships represented in the gallery, both surface and submersible, were mostly foreign vessels involved in the period of international cooperative research from 1967 to 1979.

The Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Management and Conservation Act (1976) is 46 years old on April 13. The landmark fisheries management law came during a period of environmental consciousness in our country: National Environmental Policy Act (1970), Clean Water Act (1972), Marine Mammal Protection Act (1972), Endangered Species Act (1973). The brilliance of Magnuson is the framework for regional participatory management that it established. From this example, we must continue to build and improve participatory and collaborative science. There are many examples here at the science center: our cooperative research program, the research track stock assessment process, our offshore wind activities, and cooperative shark tagging program, among others. Through participation, involvement, and collaboration we can keep sustainability, conservation, and a love for the ocean in our national consciousness.