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Editor's Note: We're rolling out our new, more mobile-friendly FishNews design this week! Scroll all the way to the end to read about upcoming Events and Deadlines.
Highlights
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This coming Friday is Endangered Species Day. Two new videos developed in partnership with Preserve America and Aquarium of the Pacific recall the importance of steelhead trout and abalone to the history and culture of southern California and the Chumash people. Today these species are endangered and nearly forgotten treasures.
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NOAA Fisheries released nine Implementation Plans that identify priority actions and milestones for Ecosystem-Based Fisheries Management for the next 5 years. Region-specific milestones will help the agency meet sustainable fisheries goals under multiple mandates by more holistically considering social, economic, and biological trade-offs across fisheries.
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The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, with support from NOAA, released several new reports and an online mapping tool focused on assessing resilience along the coastline of the contiguous United States. The mapping tool allows planners and the public to visualize the assessment results in five coastal regions and eight targeted watersheds.
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Meet NOAA fisheries biologist Thomas Piecuch, who works as a liaison for the North Pacific Fishery Observer Program in Alaska’s remote Dutch Harbor—America’s biggest and busiest fishing port.
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At the 30th Annual National Wetlands Awards last week, NOAA honored Dr. Joel Gerwein of the California State Coastal Conservancy with a National Wetlands Award in the category of Conservation and Restoration. The award recognized his efforts over the past 11 years to protect and restore wetlands along the Northern California coast.
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Alaska
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A new NOAA Fisheries study suggests that climate-driven changes in sea ice and currents could lead to smaller, less nutritious zooplankton in the Chukchi Sea. Shifts in zooplankton communities could cascade through the food web to affect other marine life.
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Did you know Alaskan halibut can grow to be 8 feet long and 5 feet wide? Discover some fantastic facts about the world’s largest flatfish.
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Meet NOAA Fisheries biologist Jay Orr of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center. A taxonomist, he’s made some remarkable discoveries in the deep waters off Alaska, formally describing 20 new fish species.
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West Coast
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The basking shark, the largest shark in the waters off Southern California, is also the most elusive. A satellite tagging study will allow NOAA Fisheries researchers to track their movements and behavior as they roam the waters around the Channel Islands and beyond.
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Ocean upwelling, the movement of nutrient-rich water from the deep ocean toward the surface, is a major driver of productivity on the West Coast. Now, new “upwelling indices” allow scientists to use satellite images, research buoys, ocean models, and other tools to describe and compare this phenomenon.
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A recent study shows that kelp rockfish born in marine protected areas around central California’s Monterey Peninsula recruit to areas outside of protected areas, including conservation areas where some recreational fishing is allowed as well as non-protected areas where commercial and recreational harvest is allowed.
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Southeast
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The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment has released their Draft Restoration Plan 2 and Environmental Assessment. The draft plan proposes 18 projects focused on wide-ranging and migratory oceanic species. Public comments are due July 1.
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Greater Atlantic
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NOAA Fisheries established a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone south of Martha’s Vineyard to protect a group of three right whales sighted in the area on May 8. This zone is in effect through May 23.
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NOAA and partners recently completed the first phase of a salt marsh restoration project at Quonochontaug Pond in southern Rhode Island. By elevating the sinking marsh with a new layer of sediment, partners hope to restore habitat for fish and wildlife while increasing local community resilience to sea level rise and coastal storms.
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By May 28, please submit your comments on proposed 2019 recreational measures for cod and haddock in the Gulf of Maine and Georges Bank. The measures would allow for two short seasons for Gulf of Maine cod, and increased fishing opportunities for haddock. Controlling recreational catch is important to rebuilding cod stocks and sustainably harvesting haddock.
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By June 12, please submit your comments on proposed 7-year regulations and subsequent Letters of Authorization to the U.S. Navy allowing the incidental harassment of marine mammals during training and testing activities in the Atlantic Fleet Training and Testing Study Area. As part of our stewardship mission, NOAA Fisheries monitors and mitigates incidental take and harassment of marine mammals.
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NOAA Fisheries announced the final 2019 and projected 2020–2021 specifications for the spiny dogfish fishery.
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Upcoming Deadlines
May 15: Letters of intent due for projects supporting Sea Grant’s Highly Migratory Species research initiative.
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Upcoming Events
May 18: Endangered Species Day celebration at the Woods Hole Science Aquarium.
May 20: Assessment Oversight Panel meeting for 2019 monkfish, scup, bluefish, and black sea bass stock assessments in Woods Hole, Massachusetts.
May 21: Public meeting on the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s 2020–2024 Strategic Plan in Fort Monroe, Virginia.
May 21–23: Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel meeting in Silver Spring, Maryland.
May 23: Free Atlantic Shark Identification workshop in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
June 3–6: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting in Miramar Beach, Florida.
June 3–10: North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Sitka, Alaska.
June 4: Deepwater Horizon Open Ocean Trustees’ public engagement opportunities in Pensacola, Florida.
June 4–6: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in New York City.
June 6: Deepwater Horizon Trustee Council annual public meeting in Pensacola, Florida.
June 7 and 10: Two free Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification workshops in Massachusetts and Maryland.
June 10–14: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Stuart, Florida.
June 11–13: New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Portland, Maine.
June 19–25: Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in San Diego.
June 20: Free Atlantic Shark Identification workshop in Manahawkin, New Jersey.
June 24–27: Western Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Honolulu.
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