HIGHLIGHTS
The Power of Partnerships
Our habitat conservation efforts are collaborative and use sound science in support of sustaining fisheries and recovering protected species.
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Coastal Restoration SummitNOAA is teaming up with Restore America’s Estuaries and the Coastal States Organization to co-host the National Summit on Coastal and Estuarine Restoration and Management in December.
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$9 Million for 2018 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grants
NOAA Fisheries announced recommendations to fund 38 projects at almost $9 million under the 2018 Saltonstall-Kennedy Competitive Grants Program. For more than 40 years, NOAA has awarded grants through this program to projects around the country aimed at supporting resilient and sustainable fisheries.
New Report on Shellfish Aquaculture Permitting
NOAA Fisheries has a long history of supporting shellfish aquaculture development. A new report reviews 22 federal, state, and local shellfish aquaculture permitting systems and makes recommendations to improve permitting efficiencies.
Symposium Recap: Climate Change and Oceans
In a recent leadership message, NOAA’s Chief Science Advisor Dr. Cisco Werner discusses NOAA Fisheries’ efforts to help businesses, communities, and nations sustain fish stocks and other marine resources in a changing world. In June, NOAA hosted scientists from 51 nations for the 4th International Symposium on the Effects of Climate Change on the World’s Oceans.
U.S.-India Summit on Harmful Algal Blooms
During World Oceans Month in June 2018, scientists from the United States and India met in Goa, India, to address the issues facing our changing ocean ecosystems and share responses. Jointly operated ocean observing systems have allowed for global advances in understanding phenomena such as harmful algal blooms.
Alaska
Science Blog: Young Cod Provide Clues about Future Populations
This summer, researchers from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center will conduct a series of studies to learn more about Pacific cod born in the Gulf of Alaska in 2018. Studying the survival and behavior of these juvenile fish throughout the year will give us clues to the health of future Pacific cod populations.
Science Blog: Saildrones Head to the Arctic
At the end of June, four Saildrones left Dutch Harbor, Alaska, and headed north, embarking on a 700-nautical-mile trip to the Bering Strait, Chuckchi and Beaufort Seas, and Arctic Ocean. Researchers from the Alaska Fisheries Science Center are using two of these ocean-going robots to measure the abundance of Arctic cod in Alaska.
West Coast
Why You Should Care about White Abalone
Learn more about white abalone, one of NOAA Fisheries’ eight Species in the Spotlight. At first glance, white abalone may just look like a colorful rock. In fact, it’s an endangered marine snail with a rich history.
Organizations Rally for Orca Awareness Month
The governors of Oregon and Washington declared June to be Orca Awareness Month. Although the whales are identified with Puget Sound and the Salish Sea, recent research has revealed that orcas spend their winters as far south as the San Francisco Bay Area.
Pacific Islands
NOAA Tracks Cetaceans in the Mariana Archipelago
This month, NOAA scientists will depart Guam on board NOAA Ship Oscar Elton Sette to conduct the Mariana Archipelago Cetacean Survey. Researchers will use acoustic recorders to track whales and dolphins in the offshore areas and compare their populations to recent nearshore counts.
NOAA Invites Citizen Scientists to Honu Count 2018
NOAA invites citizen scientists of Hawaii to help us count returning green sea turtles by reporting all encounters with turtles with numbers written on their shells. During last year’s “Honu Count” (“honu” is Hawaiian for sea turtle), volunteers provided 70 reports.
Southeast
Attend a Community Outreach Workshop on Restoration Planning
The Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment Trustees will host a two-part education and outreach workshop on July 18. The Trustees, which include NOAA, encourage community members and organizations familiar with Gulf restoration, as well as those who want to learn more or get involved, to attend.
Gulf of Mexico Coral Habitat Protections – Extended Comment Deadline
By July 20 (formerly July 5), please submit your comments on a draft environmental impact statement for Amendment 9 to the Gulf of Mexico Coral and Coral Reef Resources fishery management plan. The proposed action would establish 22 new habitat areas of particular concern in the Gulf of Mexico—15 with fishing regulations and seven without.
Lionfish Exempted Permit – Open for Comment
By August 1, please submit your comments on an application for an exempted fishing permit from the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. The applicant proposes to test various modifications of wire spiny lobster traps in their effectiveness at capturing invasive lionfish.
Notice of Intent to Draft Louisiana Restoration Plan
The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment has begun drafting the second-phase plan for six previously identified restoration projects. The public will have the opportunity to comment on proposed plans before the Trustees release any final restoration plan.
Greater Atlantic
Watch Out for Whales South of Nantucket
NOAA Fisheries established a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone to protect a group of four right whalessighted two nautical miles south of Nantucket, Massachusetts. This zone is in effect through July 15. Mandatory speed restrictions are also in effect in the Great South Channel through July 31.
Management at New Jersey Artificial Reef Sites
NOAA Fisheries announced a file rule to designate 13 New Jersey artificial reef sites as special management zones. The action will allow only handline, rod and reel, or spear fishing in these areas year-round. These changes are designed to minimize gear conflicts at the reef sites.
Northeast Skate Complex – Open for Comment
By August 6, please submit your comments on proposed modifications to the Northeast Skate Complex fishery management plan. NOAA Fisheries proposes catch and landing limits for the 2018-2019 fishing season, as well as Skate Framework 5, which includes measures to provide additional flexibility to fishermen.
Councils Launch Northeast Offshore Wind Page
The New England and Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils have jointly launched a new webpage to serve as a one-stop-shot for information about offshore wind development activities in the Northeast Region. The Councils worked closely with NOAA Fisheries to create a resource for fishermen interested in better understanding the impacts of offshore wind development on commercial and recreational fisheries.
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