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WEEK'S HIGHLIGHTS
National – Annual NOAA Report Shows Record Number of Rebuilt Fisheries |
| A record six fish populations were rebuilt to healthy levels in 2011, bringing the number of rebuilt U.S. marine fish populations in the last 11 years to 27, according to a report to Congress out today from NOAA Fisheries. This report documents historic progress toward ending overfishing and rebuilding our nation's fisheries, due to the commitment of fishermen, fishing communities, non-governmental organizations, scientists, and managers. NOAA's Status of U.S. Fisheries report declares Bering Sea snow crab, Atlantic coast summer flounder, Gulf of Maine haddock, northern California coast Chinook salmon, Washington coast coho salmon, and Pacific coast widow rockfish fully rebuilt to healthy levels. Two indicators of stock health increased slightly over 2011: • 86 percent of the populations examined for fishing activity (222 of 258) were not subject to overfishing, or not fished at too high a level, compared to 84 percent in 2011; • 79 percent of assessed populations (174 of 219) are not overfished, or were above levels that require a rebuilding plan, compared to 77 percent in 2011. These data continue a long-term trend in rebuilding U.S. fisheries to sustainable and more productive levels that NOAA began tracking in 2000. Read more |
National - NOAA Fisheries Seeks Director, Office of Protected Resources |
| NOAA Fisheries seeks a dynamic, innovative leader as the Director, Office of Protected Resources. This is a Senior Executive Service position located in Silver Spring, Maryland, with a salary range of $119,554 to $179,700, and is limited to U.S. citizens. The Office of Protected Resources provides oversight, national policy direction and guidance on the conservation of those marine mammals, endangered species and their habitats and the scientific aspects of managing protected species and marine protected areas. The Director serves as the leader for NOAA's protected species program and is the primary source of advice and counsel for the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries on all matters dealing with marine mammals and marine species listed as endangered or threatened under the Department of Commerce jurisdiction. The Director reviews, evaluates and makes recommendations on all NOAA Fisheries programs authorized by the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, the Fur Seal Act, Whaling Convention Act and other relevant statutes. The vacancy is now open through June 1, 2012, and can be accessed viahttp://www.usajobs.gov/GetJob/ |
National – NOAA Seeks Comments on Potential Adjustments to the National Standard 1 Guidelines of the Magnuson-Stevens Act; Comments due Aug. 1 |
| NOAA Fisheries has issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking to provide background information and request public comment on potential adjustments to the National Standard 1 Guidelines, one of 10 national standards for fishery conservation and management contained in Section 301 of the Magnuson Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Since the guidelines were last updated in 2009, a number of issues regarding the application of the guidelines were identified by stakeholders and managers that may warrant their revision. This action provides the public with a formal opportunity to comment on the specific ideas mentioned in this advance notice, as well as any additional ideas and solutions that could improve provisions of the National Standard 1 Guidelines. Written comments regarding these issues must be received by August 1, 2012. Read more or submit a comment. |
National – U.S. Fishery Managers Act to Address Endangered Species, Foreign Fishing Concerns |
| The chairs and executive directors of the nation's eight Regional Fishery Management Councilsrecently concluded their three-day Council Coordination Committee (CCC) meeting. The CCC is convened annually to enable NOAA and others to exchange information with the councils. Key concerns addressed by the U.S. fishery managers at this year's CCC were the Endangered Species Act (ESA) process, leveling the playing field between domestic and imported seafood markets, stock assessments, and preventing overfishing while achieving optimum yield from domestic fisheries. Discussion on advancing sustainability of the nation's fisheries will continue at the third Managing Our Nation's Fisheries conference being organized by the councils in partnership with NOAA Fisheries. The conference will be held the first week of May 2013 in Washington, DC. Read more |
National – NOAA and Partner Scientists Discover Way to Detect Low-Level Exposure to Seafood Toxin in Marine Animals; Discovery has Potential Human-Health Benefits |
| NOAA scientists and their colleagues have discovered a biological marker in the blood of laboratory zebrafish and marine mammals that shows when they have been repeatedly exposed to low levels of domoic acid, which is potentially toxic at high levels. While little is known about how low-level exposure to domoic acid affects marine animals or humans, high-level exposure through eating contaminated seafood can be toxic, and can lead to amnesic shellfish poisoning, with symptoms such as seizures, short-term memory loss, and, in rare cases, death. Domoic acid is produced by particular species of marine algae and accumulates in marine animals such as clams and mussels. The findings were reported in a study published in Public Library of Science journal (PLoS ONE), a peer-reviewed scientific journal. Up until now, the absence of a marker for such chronic exposure has been a barrier to accurately assessing possible effects to humans. Read more |
National – Voices from the Waterfront: Meet a Scallop Fisherman, Fishermen and Purveyors of Fresh, Local Catch, and a Fisheries Observer |
| • Meet Bob Keese, a scallop fisherman out of Chatham, Massachusetts, on Cape Cod. Scalloping is a big and growing business in the United States. It's also a sustainable fishery. Watch a video to hear Bob's story, how he makes his living harvesting scallops, and why he loves fishing in Cape Cod. • Meet Ann and Capt. Richard Cook of Charlestown, Rhode Island. Capt. Cook fishes for summer flounder, striped bass, sea bass and lobster from the Sandra Lynn, his 35-foot fiberglass boat. Together, the Cooks founded the Local Catch, selling locally caught, fresh seafood at Rhode Island and Connecticut farmers markets, restaurants and through their community supported fishery program.Read more about the niche business they created to maximize the price for every fish they catch. • Ever wonder what a fisheries observer does? These NOAA-trained biologists monitor commercial fisheries nationwide, collecting data on catch and bycatch as well as biological samples, information on fishing gear, and economic data. This data is critical for smart fishery management. Read moreabout their essential role in providing information to manage the nation's fisheries. |
National - Fund Focuses on Community Innovation and Knowledge Transfer to Support Sustainable Fisheries Management |
| The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation recently awarded 18 grants from its Fisheries Innovation Fund for a total $1.55 million. Grantees will match the funds more than $1.2 million. These awards represent the second round of grants from Fisheries Innovation Fund, a program first launched 2010 to support sustainable fisheries in the United States, with the goal of sustaining fishermen and rebuilding fish stocks. The fund targets local innovation and knowledge transfer to sustain coastal communities and the fisheries upon which they depend. The most recent grant recipients focus on improving access to fish, capital, and shore-side infrastructure. NOAA Fisheries recognizes the value of effective participation of fishermen and fishing communities in the design, implementation, and improvement of fisheries management, and has invested $1.5 million over the last two years in a public-private partnership to issue grants for fisheries innovations. The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation created the Fisheries Innovation Fund with additional financial support from the Walton Family Foundation and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation. Read more |
Northeast - NOAA Fisheries Announces Steps to Assist Fishing Industry Facing Georges Bank Yellowtail Flounder Quota Reductions |
| NOAA will take several steps that may help minimize the economic loss for commercial fishermen who face cuts in Georges Bank fishery quotas, which are jointly fished and managed with Canada. In particular, the overall U.S. allocation of the Georges Bank yellowtail flounder stock will be reduced by 61 percent this fishing year due to poor stock conditions. The U.S. yellowtail flounder allocation is divided between the scallop and groundfish fisheries. (Yellowtail flounder are bycatch in the high value scallop fishery.) Under existing regulations, the yellowtail flounder allocation to the scallop fishery will increase by 53 percent to approximately 679,024 pounds in 2012. The allocation to the groundfish industry, however, will be reduced by 80 percent to roughly 480,608 pounds. NOAA has just approved management plan revisions giving NOAA the authority to reallocate any projected unused portion of the scallop fishery's Georges Bank yellowtail flounder allocation to groundfish fishing vessels. These new management measures also authorize mid-sized fishing vessels to use a new type of trawl fishing gear that may enable fishers to reduce their bycatch of yellowtail flounder while they target other groundfish species. NOAA and the New England Fishery Management Council, through the scallop research set-aside program and other NOAA Cooperative Research Program funds, will also support several new research projects in 2012 aimed at reducing yellowtail bycatch on Georges Bank and in other areas. NOAA and the council also announced the formation of a new working group, modeled after the successful Gulf of Maine Cod Working Group that plans to work closely with the fishing industry to explore how to advance these current initiatives and to identify other ideas and management alternatives that may ease the impact of the new regulations on the fishing industry. Read more |
Northeast - Thirteen Cooperative Research Projects to be Funded through Atlantic Sea Scallop Research-Set Aside Program |
| NOAA announces the selection of 13 new cooperative research projects between fishermen and scientists. This marks the 14th anniversary of a unique program, which was initiated by the scallop fishing industry in 1998. The scallop industry opted to set aside a portion of their total annual scallop catch in order to promote greater industry involvement in scientific research. Now, each year when the New England Fishery Management Council sets the annual catch limits for the fishing industry, a portion is reserved for cooperative research projects. The 2012 projects include research to survey the scallop resource, better understand and reduce unintended catch of yellowtail flounder, skates and sea turtles in the commercial scallop fishery, improve vessel fuel efficiency, and minimize effects on habitat. This year's research set-aside is approximately three percent of the total allowable scallop catch. Approximately 60 vessels will participate in the program this year, and share in the sale proceeds of an estimated 1.2 million pounds of scallops in 2012, worth an estimated $12 million. Read more |
Northeast - NOAA Partners with "Marine Mammals of Maine" to Respond to Stranded Whales, Dolphins, Porpoises and Seals |
| NOAA recently welcomed Marine Mammals of Maine, a non-profit organization based in Portland, ME, as its new member of NOAA's Northeast Region Marine Mammal Stranding Response Network. Marine Mammals of Maine is authorized to respond to reports of stranded seals, dolphins, porpoises and whales in the southern and mid-coast areas of Maine, Kittery to Rockland, and provide public education about these creatures and their environment. Read more |
Northeast - Public-Private Partnership Provides Elementary School Students with Opportunity to Learn Ocean Science onboard Historic Fishing Schooner |
| A new collaborative effort, called the Ocean Explorers Program, will provide more than 600 Gloucester elementary school students a chance to learn first-hand what it is like to be a marine or physical scientist. This NOAA-supported informal educational program is being conducted by Maritime Gloucester at their waterfront museum/educational facility and onboard the Schooner Ardelle, a 55-foot pinky schooner. Students enrolled in the Ocean Explorers Program split their day between shore-based lessons at Maritime Gloucester focused on marine ecology and vessel-based applied scientific studies such as conducting plankton tows, using underwater vehicles equipped with cameras, and habitat sampling experiments. Maritime Gloucester educators, Ardelle captain Harold Burnham and his crew, and NOAA scientists and staff, will sail with students, sharing their expertise as students conduct sampling and observations. Read more |
Northeast/Southeast – NOAA Proposes Rule to Adjust Atlantic Swordfish Quotas and Other Measures; Seeks Public Comment through June 5 |
| NOAA Fisheries proposes to implement a recommendation from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which maintains the U.S. North Atlantic swordfish base quota allocation, limits the annual underharvest carryover to 25 percent of the base quota, and requires an annual quota transfer to Morocco. ICCAT's recommendation also includes an alternative swordfish minimum size of 25-inches cleithrum-caudal keel (CK). This proposed rule considers changes to swordfish minimum size requirements, including the 25-inch CK alternative swordfish minimum size and whether the bill of a swordfish must be attached when measuring swordfish using the existing lower jaw fork length minimum size requirement. The rule also includes regulatory modifications and clarifications regarding swordfish fishery season closures and the North Atlantic swordfish quota reserve category. Finally, this proposed rule would adjust the North and South Atlantic swordfish quotas for the 2012 fishing year to account for 2011 underharvests and landings, as required by ICCAT. This proposed rule could affect commercial and recreational fishing for swordfish in the Atlantic Ocean, including the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico. Comments on the proposed rule are due June 5, 2012. Read more or submit a comment. |
Mid-Atlantic - Lafayette River Event Celebrates Restoration; Funding for Oyster and Wetlands Restoration Projects Announced |
| Partners and friends of NOAA, along with state and local elected officials, gathered at the Hermitage Museum and Gardens on the banks of the Lafayette River in Norfolk on April 27 to celebrate NOAA's support for oyster and wetland restoration in the river. At the event, head of NOAA Fisheries Sam Rauch announced $435,000 in NOAA funding to support oyster and wetlands restoration projects in the Lafayette River. The NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office and NOAA Restoration Center are providing approximately $300,000 to the Chesapeake Bay Foundation and the Elizabeth River Project to support the construction and placement of oyster reef balls and other oyster restoration projects in the Lafayette River. And the NOAA Restoration Center is awarding $135,000 to the City of Norfolk to support the construction of a living shoreline along the banks of the Colley Bay portion of the river. Both of these activities support the goals of the Lafayette River Restoration Plan, which calls for a ten-acre increase of both wetlands and oyster reefs in the river by 2014. Read more |
Southeast - NOAA Seeks Public Comment on Amendment 11 for Spiny Lobster in the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic; Comments due June 26 |
| NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on Amendment 11 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Spiny Lobster Resources of the Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic Fishery Management Plan. The amendment proposes prohibiting commercial spiny lobster trap fishing in certain areas of the Florida Keys to protect threatened corals. Written comments on this amendment must be received no later than June 26, 2012. Read more or submit a comment. |
Southeast – NOAA Seeks Information on Dwarf Seahorse for Status Review for Potential Listing under Endangered Species Act; Comments due July 3 |
| NOAA Fisheries recently announced a 90-day finding on a petition to list the dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) as threatened or endangered and designate critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). NOAA Fisheries found that the petition and information in agency files present substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted. NOAA Fisheries will conduct a status review of the species to determine if the petitioned action is warranted. To ensure that the status review is comprehensive, NOAA Fisheries is soliciting scientific and commercial information regarding this species. Information and comments on the subject action must be received by July 3, 2012. Read more or submit a comment. |
Southeast - Public Comment Period Begins for Court Ordered NOAA Proposal Designed to Protect Sea Turtles from Certain Trawling Activities |
| NOAA Fisheries is accepting public comment on a proposed rule requiring turtle excluder devices (TEDs) for skimmer, pusher-head, and wing-net shrimp trawls in Gulf of Mexico and South Atlantic shrimp fisheries. NOAA Fisheries is releasing this proposed rule, in compliance with a court agreement, to ensure public input on whether a final rule is warranted. No decision has been made, and any final rule would be informed by important public and stakeholder feedback and would provide industry time to comply with a new standard. The next step in the rule-making process includes a public comment periods and hearings. NOAA Fisheries will hold five public hearings in May and June: • Morehead City, N.C.: May 30 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Crystal Coast Civic Center, 3505 Arendell Street • Larose, La.: June 4 from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. at the Larose Regional Park and Civic Center, 307 East 5th Street • Belle Chasse, La.: June 5 from 4 p.m. – 6 p.m. at the Belle Chasse Community Center, 8398 Highway 23 • D'Iberville, MS: June 6 from 4 p.m. - 6 p.m. at the L.H. "Red" Barnett Senior Center, 10450 Lamey Bridge Road • Bayou La Batre, Ala.: June 13 from 2 p.m. – 4 p.m. at the Bayou La Batre Community Center, 12745 Padgett Switch Road Public comment on the proposed rule may also be submitted in writing until July 9. Read more or submit a comment. |
Alaska - NOAA Issues Science-Based Measures to Protect Marine Mammals during Shell's Proposed Oil and Gas Exploratory Programs in the Beaufort and Chukchi Seas |
| NOAA Fisheries is issuing two incidental harassment authorizations to Shell for energy exploration activities in shallow waters in the Arctic during a limited period this summer. The authorizations specify measures to protect marine mammals and the subsistence interests of Alaskan Natives, and are informed by the latest science as well as lessons learned from the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. While the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) has primary responsibility to authorize exploratory activities on the Outer Continental Shelf, DOI's conditional approvals of two Shell exploration plans for activities beginning in 2012 in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas each required Shell to seek incidental harassment authorizations under the Marine Mammal Protection Act from NOAA as one of a series of conditions prior to commencing any activity. Upon review of Shell's application, NOAA does not expect Shell's exploratory drilling activities to result in serious injury or death to marine mammals if mitigation measures are implemented. Additionally, NOAA does not expect these activities to alter the availability of marine mammals for Alaska Native subsistence hunters. Under the authorization, Shell is required to follow several measures to minimize effects to marine mammals. Read more |
Northwest - NOAA Works with Partners to Prevent Polluted Runoff from Entering Lake Washington and Endangering Fish |
| When stormwater runoff is not properly treated and enters our waterways, it compromises the health of the aquatic environment and the species that live there—for example, Puget Sound's Chinook salmon and steelhead runs. It can limit a salmon's ability to detect prey, evade predators, fully mature, and can even cause them to die before they spawn. It is important to understand these effects because in Puget Sound, Chinook salmon and steelhead trout are threatened with extinction and protected by the Endangered Species Act. NOAA is working diligently to protect and recover these species by addressing the threats they face, such as contaminated stormwater runoff. NOAA recently partnered with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) to treat toxic runoff from Lake Washington's State Route 520 bridge before it enters Lake Washington and Puget Sound. Staff consulted on a project that widened the highway from two to four lanes in each direction, creating additional risk for toxic runoff entering associated waterways, and worked with the FHWA and WSDOT to design new stormwater treatment facilities to collect and treat the polluted runoff. Today, stormwater runoff from the highway enters a media filter drain, a treatment device that directs stormwater across a forested buffer. The polluted runoff seeps into the subsurface where it is cleaned by natural materials like compost-amended soils. These methods allow the earth to naturally filtrate the contaminated runoff before it reaches the waters of Lake Washington. By engaging in efforts like this, NOAA is committed to keeping toxic runoff out of our waters to protect listed species. Read more |
EVENTS AND ANNOUNCEMENTS
NOAA Fisheries Announces Workshops on Atlantic Shark Identification and Protected Species Release, Disentanglement, and Identification in May and June of 2012
Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops and Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in May and June of 2012. Certain fishermen and shark dealers are required to attend a workshop to meet regulatory requirements and maintain valid permits. Specifically, the Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop is mandatory for all federally permitted Atlantic shark dealers. The Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshop is mandatory for vessel owners and operators who use bottom longline, pelagic longline, or gillnet gear, and who have also been issued shark or swordfish limited access permits. Additional free workshops will be conducted during 2012 and will be announced in a future notice. Click here for dates, times, and locations.May 20: Northeast Fisheries Science Center Sandy Hook Lab Holds Open House
NOAA Fisheries staff cordially invites the public to visit the lab for a self-guided tour of the facility to view and hear about some of the lab's ongoing research. Parking and admission are free. Read moreFEDERAL REGISTER ACTIONS
For a list of only those actions open for public comment, go to http://www.regulations.gov and scroll search for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
For a list of all daily actions, check the Federal register online
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