HIGHLIGHTS
Celebrate Migratory Fish This Saturday
World Fish Migration Day is a global event to create awareness of the importance of open rivers and migratory fish. Join us in celebrating World Fish Migration Day this Saturday, April 21, and learn more about how NOAA Fisheries works to remove barriers to fish migration.
Fisheries Innovation Fund Request for Proposals
Through a partnership with NOAA, the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation solicits proposals for up to $950,000 in grants awarded through the 2018 Fisheries Innovation Fund. The grants are intended to support innovative and effective participation of fishermen and fishing communities in achieving sustainable fisheries in the United States. Pre-proposals are due May 14.
Power of the Crowd: Citizen Science
Last Saturday, April 14, was Citizen Science Day. Citizen science has helped shape NOAA since the 1800s, when the rise of the telegraph allowed volunteers around the nation to transmit weather reports to the National Weather Service. Today, citizen scientists participate in more than 40 projects to help NOAA monitor the oceans and atmosphere.
West Coast
NOAA Approves Skagit River Steelhead Fishery Management Plan
NOAA Fisheries approved a management plan for threatened Skagit River steelhead that includes both tribal fisheries and a catch-and-release sport fishery—the first spring recreational fishery on the Skagit since steelhead numbers began to recover nearly a decade ago.
Stranded Whale Likely Died from Entanglement
Researchers completed a necropsy on a yearling male gray whale that stranded on Washington’s Long Beach Peninsula after becoming entangled in lines from a crab trap. The researchers determined that the trap lines likely caused the whale’s death. NOAA Fisheries has observed an increase in whale entanglements on the West Coast in recent years.
California Clean-Air Mandates May Reduce Ship Strike Risk for Whales
California’s clean-fuel standards and coastal low-emission zones required ship traffic to slow down. According to a new NOAA Fisheries analysis of regional ship traffic, this may have reduced the risks ship traffic poses to whales, because whales are less likely to be killed by ships traveling at lower speeds.
Southeast
Commerce Secretary Commends Gulf Recreational Red Snapper Pilot Program
Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross commends an innovative, 2-year pilot program for state management of the recreational red snapper fishery in the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA Fisheries approved exempted fishing permits for each of the five Gulf states to allow them to demonstrate the effectiveness of state management of recreationally caught red snapper and to test data collection methods during the 2018 and 2019 fishing seasons.
2018 Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper For-Hire Season
NOAA Fisheries announced that the 2018 Gulf of Mexico red snapper for-hire season in federal waters will open on June 1 and last 51 days. This action is independent of the private angling season, which will be set by each of the Gulf of Mexico states for both state and federal waters.
Louisiana Trustees Release Draft Restoration Plan
The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group released its Draft Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment #4, which proposes projects to restore lost public recreational uses and reduce agricultural nutrient runoff in Louisiana’s coastal watersheds injured by the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill. A public meeting will be held April 24, and public comments are due May 21.
Greater Atlantic
Atlantic Circulation System Shows Weakening
In a recent study, NOAA researchers and partners used computer model simulations to reconstruct changes over time in the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation—a large-scale system of ocean currents. Comparisons of the models with recent direct ocean measurements suggest the AMOC has weakened since the 1950s. This weakening, along with warming temperatures, is likely to impact fisheries and other living marine resources.
Catch Limits for Small-Mesh Multispecies Fishery – Open for Public Comment
By April 27, please submit your comments on proposed new 2018–2020 catch limits for the small-mesh multispecies fishery, which includes northern red hake, southern red hake, northern silver hake, and southern whiting. In general, the proposed specifications would increase the annual catch limits for the northern stocks and decrease them for the southern stocks.
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Events
April 19
Last day of the New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Mystic, Connecticut.
April 19
Public scoping meeting on North Atlantic shortfin mako shark measures in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
April 19–20
Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Councilmeeting in Gulfport, Mississippi.
April 21
World Fish Migration Dayevents in the Greater Atlantic Region.
April 23
Free Protected Species Safe Handling, Identification, and Release workshop in Revere, Massachusetts.
April 24
Public meeting on Louisiana Trustees’ Fourth Draft Restoration Plan.
April 30 – May 4
Georges Bank Ecosystem Strategy Peer Review in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
May 3
Free Atlantic SharkIdentification Workshop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
May 7–21
Three free Protected Species Safe Handling, Identification, and Release workshops in Louisiana, South Carolina, and Florida.
May 10 and 29
Two informational webinars on federal for-hire permit holders, hosted by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
May 21–23
Save the Date for NOAA Habitat’s Fish Passage Program Review in Silver Spring, Maryland.
June 4Save the Date for a workshop on community resilience in the Northeast region, to be held in Cape May, New Jersey.
Announcements
April 20
Applications due for open seats on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Advisory Panels.
April 25
Applications due for the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee.
April 26
Applications due for 2018 Chesapeake Bay Office Fisheries Science grants.
May 4 Applications due for proposals for recreational fishing education, outreach, and conservation projects in Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.
May 14Pre-proposals due for 2018 Fisheries Innovation Fund.
Federal Register Actions
Visit regulations.gov 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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