NOAA Fisheries FishNews – July 17, 2019

JULY 17, 2019

NOAA Celebrates Habitat Month 2019 Join us as we celebrate Habitat Month and see how NOAA works to support healthy habitat, which provides numerous benefits to our communities and our economy. Estuaries – Working for You During Habitat Month, NOAA Fisheries is celebrating estuary habitat and its benefits for our coastal communities, supporting commercial fish species and valuable tourism. Learn more about how NOAA is restoring and protecting estuary habitat around the United States. Enter Our 2019 Habitat Photo Contest As part of our Habitat Month celebration, NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation is hosting a Habitat Photo Contest, open to everyone.  Submit your coastal and marine habitat photo entries by July 22. NOAA Announces Funding for Six Habitat Focus Areas NOAA announced $950,000 in funding for habitat restoration in six Habitat Focus Areas. The funded projects will build on work initiated in 2017 to restore habitat, support sustainable fisheries and resilient communities, and educate coastal residents. Read more about the ongoing efforts around the nation. Announcing NOAA Great Lakes Habitat Restoration Partnerships NOAA is recommending $8.9 million in Great Lakes Restoration Initiative funding for two new multi-year partnership cooperative agreements and two ongoing multi-year awards. These investments will restore habitat for Great Lakes species by opening river systems to fish passage, reconnecting rivers to their floodplains, and enhancing river, stream, and wetland habitats.

Highlights U.S. Joins Caribbean Nations to Address Fishing Challenges The United States is meeting with the partner nations and organizations of the Western Central Atlantic Fishery Commission in Miami this week to promote the conservation and sustainable management of the living marine resources of the wider Caribbean region. Pelagic Longline Bluefin Tuna Rule – Open for Public Comment By September 30, please submit your comments on a proposed rule modifying the management of pelagic longline closed areas and gear restricted areas for bluefin tuna, as well as the year-round requirement for the use of weak hooks in the Gulf of Mexico. NOAA Fisheries will host a series of public hearings and conference calls on this proposed rule, July 19–August 13. NOAA Scientists Receive Presidential Early Career Awards This month, three NOAA Fisheries scientists received Presidential Early Career Awards: Dr. Elizabeth Siddon of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Dr. Michelle Barbieri of the Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center, and Dr. Melissa Soldevilla of the Southeast Fisheries Science Center. Learn more about their contributions to our agency’s cutting-edge science in different regions around the country.

West Coast First Reintroduced Salmon Return to California Rivers At least 25 threatened spring-run Chinook salmon have returned to the San Joaquin River so far this year, the first spring-run salmon to swim up the river in more than 65 years. Farther north, at least 50 endangered winter-run Chinook reintroduced to Battle Creek last year have also returned, the first to do so since the early 1900s. These crucial returns demonstrate the success of recent restoration and reintroduction efforts. Recommendations from the Columbia Basin Task Force The Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee convened the Columbia Basin Partnership Task Force to develop a long-term vision and goals for the recovery of Columbia Basin salmon and steelhead. Recently, the task force released their Phase I Recommendations Report. NOAA Fisheries will use the recommended goals to align our responsibilities to conserve salmon and steelhead.

Southeast NOAA Enforcement Seeks Tips about Slain Dolphin In May, one of NOAA’s stranding network partners recovered an adult male dolphin found dead along Florida’s Upper Captiva Island. A necropsy revealed the dolphin died of impalement, perhaps by a spear. NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement seeks tips from anyone with more information about the incident. Louisiana Trustees Initiate Next Restoration Plan The Louisiana Trustees for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment have initiated development of draft Restoration Plan #5, focused on oysters and marine mammals. In the draft, the trustees will consider projects submitted in response to the August 2017 request for project ideas.

Greater Atlantic Watch Out for Whales South of Nantucket NOAA Fisheries established a voluntary vessel speed restriction zone south of Nantucket to protect a group of right whales sighted in the area on July 15. This zone is in effect through July 29. Camera-Based Scallop Survey Expanded on Georges Bank While the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s 2019 sea scallop survey ended in mid-June, the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth will build on that effort by conducting additional drop-camera surveys around Georges Bank. The university survey is funded by the sale of scallops set aside from the annual catch limit through the Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program. Aerial Survey Team Assists with Whale Disentanglement This summer, NOAA Fisheries’ aerial whale survey team is flying over Canadian waters to photograph right whales using habitat in the Gulf of St. Lawrence. When the team sighted a known entangled whale, they worked with Canadian rescuers to locate the whale from the air and report on disentanglement progress. 2019 Spring Ecosystem Monitoring Survey Completed The 2019 Northeast Spring Ecosystem Monitoring Survey aboard NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow achieved nearly complete coverage of Gulf of Maine, Georges Bank, and Southern New England waters.  EcoMon surveys collect samples of zooplankton, fish eggs, and larval fish, and measure physical and chemical ocean conditions to learn about the state of the ecosystem.

Upcoming Deadlines July 22: Entries due for NOAA Habitat Photo Contest. 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.

Upcoming Events July 18: Public meeting on the Florida Draft Phase V.3 Restoration Plan in Navarre, Florida. July 18–September 30: Free tours every weekday at NOAA Fisheries’ Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute in Juneau, Alaska. July 19 and 31: Two public hearings via conference call on a proposed rule for pelagic longline bluefin tuna. July 24–August 13: Three in-person public hearings on a proposed rule for pelagic longline bluefin tuna, in Louisiana, New Jersey, and North Carolina. July 25: Free Atlantic Shark Identification workshop in Rosenberg, Texas. July 25 and 30: Public scoping meetings for three Atlantic Highly Migratory Species actions. August 1–September 10: Four public hearings on the proposed Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Excessive Shares Amendment, hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council. August 6 and 14: Two free Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification workshopsin North Carolina and Florida. August 12–15: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting in New Orleans. August 13–15: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Philadelphia. August 22: Free Atlantic Shark Identification workshop in Bohemia, New York.

Federal Register Actions Visit NOAA Fisheries' Rules & Regulations web page to learn more about recently proposed and finalized regulations in your region.

Corrections or technical questions should be sent to the FishNews Editor at editor.fishnews@noaa.gov. www.fisheries.noaa.gov

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