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| Highlights - March 13, 2013 |
According to a new economic report released by NOAA Fisheries, U.S. commercial and recreational saltwater fishing generated more than $199 billion in sales and supported 1.7 million jobs in the nation's economy in 2011. Commercial revenues from rebuilt species are up 92 percent. The report, Fisheries Economics of the United States 2011, is published annually on a two-year lag to allow time for data collection, analysis, and peer review.
FishWatch.gov has added profiles on farmed fish and shellfish to the nearly 100 existing profiles on wild-caught species. Also, there's a new Toolbox with some initial outreach items for partners to use. Stay tuned for more new profiles and tools to come soon.
Unmanned aircraft might soon offer a more cost-effective alternative to traditional aerial surveys for collecting whale information. NOAA scientists aboard a research vessel off the coast of New Zealand used aerial drones to collect heath and physiology data from sperm whales up close using these new safe, non-invasivemethods.
National Standard 1 requires conservation and management measures to prevent overfishing while achieving optimum yield in U.S. fisheries. NOAA Fisheries posted a report summarizing comments received on our 2012 Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to potentially revise the National Standard 1 Guidelines.
New Guide for Shark Fin Identification
U.S. Atlantic coastal sharks are harvested in several mixed-species fisheries, frequently for their fins for export to Asia. Species-level data, necessary for managing these fisheries, remain a challenge to collect because of the difficulty in identifying detached fins to species. NOAA Fisheries' Highly Migratory Species Division released a Guide to Visual Identification of Fins from Common Elasmobranchs in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean.
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To accommodate the new directed butterfish fishery, NOAA Fisheries is revising the butterfish mortality cap methodology, effective March 5, 2013.
By March 27, submit your comments on a proposed rule specifying catch limits, commercial quotas, and possession limits for the spiny dogfish fishery for fishing years 2013 to 2015. The proposed action is expected to result in positive economic impacts for the fishery while maintaining conservation objectives.
NOAA Fisheries Northeast Region's unique Research Set-Aside (RSA) programs are funded annually by the sale of Set-Aside allocations for certain fisheries. NOAA Fisheries announces that two projects-a near-shore trawl survey and an industry-based black sea bass survey-received 2013 Mid-Atlantic RSA funding. The agency is accepting applications for the 2014 program through May 6.
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A modern Minto Fish Trap on the North Santiam River will protect listed steelhead and spring Chinook salmon as well as provide a safer environment for the biologists.
Scientists have long wondered where the Southern Resident killer whales go in the winter. This winter, researchers on the NOAA ship Bell M. Shimada were able to track a satellite-tagged male orca to discover the pod's winter feeding habitats and prey.
An international Scientific Review Group approved the Northwest Fisheries Science Center's 2013 Pacific Whiting stock assessment and other science recommendations. The assessment showed a likely increase in whiting spawning biomass this year, in part due to a greater-than-normal recruitment of young fish.
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By May 3, submit your comments on proposed Amendment 9 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Shrimp Fishery of the South Atlantic Region. The amendment would change the procedure for states to request shrimp closures and
would update the criteria for determining the status of pink shrimp.
By April 10, submit your comments on proposed management measures described in Regulatory Amendment 4 to the Reef Fish Fishery Management Plan for Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The rule would establish minimum size limits for parrotfish in the exclusive economic zone off St. Croix.
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Following final action by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council at their February meeting, NOAA scientists will be keeping a close watch on six skate nurseries in the Bering Sea. The Council designated these sites as Habitat Areas of Particular Concern.
By May 13, submit your comments on proposed Amendment 42 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs. The amendment would revise the annual economic data reporting requirements to reduce redundancies and costs.
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By April 4, submit your comments on proposed regulations for U.S. purse seine vessels, including limits on fishing effort, restrictions on the use of Fish Aggregating Devices, and requirements to carry observers. These regulations are necessary for the U.S. to comply with measures adopted by the Commission on Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean.
The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council convenes its 156th meeting this week in Pago Pago, American Samoa. Among the key issues the Council is addressing are American Samoa South Pacific Albacore, False Killer Whale assessments and listings, and the proposed rule to list 66 species of coral as endangered or threatened.
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March 14: Bevan Seminar Series on Sustainable Fisheries.
March 19 and 26: 2013 RACE Seminar Series, Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
March 11-14: Open public meeting of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council.
March 25-26: Public hearings on proposed ocean salmon fishery management alternatives adopted by Pacific Fishery Management Council.
April, May, June: Three Atlantic Shark Identification and six Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops; all are free.
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May 7-9, 2013: Managing Our Nation's Fisheries-3 conference in Washington, DC.
Webinar, 2nd Thursday of Every Month: National Marine Protected Areas Center Announces MPA Webinar Series focused on Building and Strengthening Marine Protected Area Networks on the second Thursday of each month, produced in partnership with EBM Tools and OpenChannels. |
Click here for a list of only those actions open for public comment. Scroll search for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
For a list of all daily actions, check the Federal Register online.
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