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Highlights
Today, the U.S. Department of Commerce announced the appointment of 21 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA Fisheries to manage ocean fish stocks. Each year, the Secretary appoints approximately one-third of the total membership, selecting from nominations submitted by the governors of fishing states, territories, and tribal governments.
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The 2020 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant competition is now open through July 30. To learn more about how to apply, attend our webinar tomorrow, June 27, at 2:30 pm ET. You can find details on how to join the webinar at the bottom of this grant announcement. |
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Alaska
NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region received reports of three additional dead gray whales last week, bringing the total number of gray whale mortalities in Alaska to 10 (as of June 20). NOAA Fisheries declared the elevated gray whale strandings along the West Coast an Unusual Mortality Event on May 31. |
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West Coast
Beginning in 2021, a new NOAA Fisheries rule will allow West Coast fishermen to use cameras in place of observers to meet the 100 percent at-sea monitoring requirements of the Pacific Coast groundfish catch share program. This innovative opportunity is expected to reduce individual vessels’ monitoring costs and increase their flexibility.
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For the 2019 season, the International Pacific Halibut Commission recommended seven 10-hour fishing periods. NOAA Fisheries Law Enforcement will conduct patrols during this very short commercial Pacific halibut season to ensure fishery sustainability.
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At Mario Rivera and Stefanie Worwag’s invitation, marine mammal stranding responders towed the 40-foot carcass of a stranded gray whale to their rocky beach property south of Port Townsend, where it will decompose naturally. NOAA Fisheries seeks other waterfront landowners willing to host whale carcasses.
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Pacific Islands
Results from a new assessment of 12 Guam reef fish species suggest that overfishing is likely occurring for four of the species—that is, the rate of fishing is likely too high for those populations to sustain. This assessment, the first of its kind, will help fisheries managers in their decision-making.
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Southeast
Scientists employ loggerhead sea turtles raised in captivity to test the effectiveness of turtle excluder devices (TEDs) in shrimp trawls. After participating in the brief trials, the turtles are released to the wild off the coast of Florida.
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The Florida Trustee Implementation Group for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment released a draft restoration plan proposing the third phase of the Florida Coastal Access Project. Please submit your comments by July 22. A corresponding public meeting will be held July 18.
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Deepwater Horizon Trustees Material Available Online
Outreach materials from the June 5 and 6 Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Trustees’ public events are now available online. Additionally, meeting materials for the Open Ocean Trustees’ June 4 public meeting and June 11 and 13 public webinars is now online.
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Greater Atlantic
Researchers suggest scientists and resource managers need to focus on the whole ecosystem rather than solely on individual populations, and they propose an international standard for tracking the status of overfishing in global fisheries.
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The 2019 Northeast sea scallop survey, a combination of dredge sampling and camera surveys, took place this year from mid-May to mid-June, covering stations in the Mid-Atlantic and the on Georges Bank. HabCam, the towed underwater camera array, was briefly lost on an uncharted boulder, but commercial divers recovered it in a few days and found the cameras undamaged.
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This year, NOAA Fisheries celebrates the 10th anniversary of Whale SENSE, a program that promotes responsible whale watching practices and ocean conservation. Founded in partnership between NOAA Fisheries’ Greater Atlantic Region, the nonprofit Whale and Dolphin Conservation, and Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, the program has since been adopted in other regions.
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This month, a team of scientists from the United States and Canada are spending two weeks at sea aboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow exploring deepwater habitats and searching for deep-sea corals off the coasts of the U.S. Northeast and Atlantic Canada. Follow their mission blog here.
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The 2019-2020 Northeast Fisheries Observer sea-day requirements are now available online. Three new reports and an observer sea-day schedule outline how many days the Northeast Fisheries Observer Program needs to obtain the necessary data and how these days are to be allocated.
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NOAA Fisheries’ Greater Atlantic Regional Office is conducting a survey of northeast groundfish fishermen to gauge information needs and communication preferences of the industry. The online survey, which should take 5-10 minutes to complete, is open through July 21.
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The New England Fishery Management Council is seeks applicants for seats on its various advisory panels. Panel members serve 3-year terms. Applications for open seats are due August 31, and current members interested in serving a second term must reapply.
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Upcoming Deadlines
July 15: Full proposals due for 2019 Electronic Monitoring and Reporting grants.
July 30: Pre-proposals due for 2020 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grants.
August 31: Applications due for open seats on New England Fishery Management Council advisory panels.
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Upcoming Events
June 27: Last day of the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Honolulu.
June 27: Applicant webinar for the FY 2020 Saltonstall-Kennedy grant competition (scroll down for webinar details.)
June 27–September 30: Free tours every weekday at NOAA Fisheries’ Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute in Juneau, Alaska.
July 2 and 10: Two free Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification workshops in Texas and New York.
July 9–30: Public scoping meetings for three Atlantic Highly Migratory Species actions.
July 18: Public meeting on the Florida Draft Phase V.3 Restoration Plan in Navarre, Florida.
July 25: Free Atlantic Shark Identification workshop in Rosenberg, Texas.
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