NOAA Fisheries FishNews – July 3, 2019

JULY 3, 2019

Highlights The FishNews staff wish you a happy 4th of July Independence Day celebration and remind everyone to follow NOAA safety guidelines while outdoors and at the beach. From sharing the shore with marine life to preparing for weather, riptides, and more, please enjoy our nation’s coastlines safely!  Habitat Working for You: Habitat Month 2019 Join us this July as we celebrate Habitat Month and see how NOAA works to support healthy habitat, which provides numerous benefits to our communities and our economy. Skokomish River Restoration Helps Fish Return Home A collaborative project in recent years has worked to restore vital fish habitat in Washington’s Skokomish River estuary in the Puget Sound region. Last year, spring Chinook salmon that were reintroduced to the river by the Skokomish Tribe in 2016 returned to the watershed to spawn for the first time in nearly a century. Immediate Action Needed to Save Right Whales Chris Oliver, head of NOAA Fisheries, explains the urgency of protecting North Atlantic right whales and why we are reaching out to Canada for immediate action to help protect these critically endangered whales. Experiencing Hurricanes from Land, Sea, and Sky In this interview, Chris Oliver, head of NOAA Fisheries, recounts riding out hurricanes from every vantage point. A native of coastal Texas and a former merchant mariner, Chris has experienced hurricanes from land, at sea, and in one of NOAA’s Hurricane Hunter airplanes. He shares advice for fishermen and coastal residents.

Alaska Incidental Take of Marine Mammals – Open for Public Comment By July 29, please submit your comments on NOAA Fisheries’ proposal to issue 5-year regulations and Letters of Authorization to Alaska Gasline Development Corporation for take of marine mammals incidental to constructing liquefied natural gas facilities in Cook Inlet.

West Coast 2018 West Coast Whale Entanglement Summary According to a new report, a total of 46 whales were confirmed as entangled in fishing gear along the West Coast in 2018. This continues an increasing trend in large whale entanglements over the last few years. NOAA Fisheries is working with the fishing industry and other stakeholders to better understand entanglements involving various types of fishing gear. Willamette Basin Review Final Biological Opinion NOAA Fisheries issued a final biological opinion on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Willamette Basin Review. The opinion concluded that proposed changes in the Willamette Valley System stored water use would have adverse effects on threatened Willamette River Chinook salmon and steelhead. NOAA Fisheries worked with USACE to develop an acceptable alternative.

Pacific Islands Hawaii Shallow-Set Longline Final Biological Opinion NOAA Fisheries released a final biological opinion on the Hawaii shallow-set longline fishery, finding that its continued operation should not jeopardize the existence of any species listed as endangered or threatened. In the opinion, NOAA Fisheries identified several measures necessary to minimizing the impacts of the fishery on protected species.

Southeast Filling Data Gaps in Gulf Sturgeon Restoration Gulf sturgeon inhabit coastal waters in the northern Gulf of Mexico from Louisiana’s Pearl River to Florida’s Suwannee River. The Open Ocean Trustee Implementation Group for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment announced two monitoring and adaptive management activities to fill critical information gaps to support Gulf sturgeon restoration.

Greater Atlantic Diversifying New England’s Seafood Marketplace Many of us are familiar with eating lobster, sea scallops, cod, and haddock but not so familiar with eating dogfish, monkfish, scup, or sea robin. Diversifying the seafood choices we make and eating a much wider variety of local marine life will help the ecosystem and the people who depend on it for a living and for food. Final 2019 Summer Flounder Recreational Measures NOAA Fisheries increased the 2019 summer flounder recreational harvest limit based on results of a recent benchmark assessment. This action continues “conservation equivalency” for summer flounder, which waives federal measures in lieu of conservationally equivalent state measures. Reminder: Federal Requirements for For-Hire Vessels NOAA Fisheries’ Greater Atlantic Region reminds owners and captains of for-hire vessels (party and charter vessels) about federal permitting and reporting requirements when fishing in federal waters.

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.

Upcoming Events July 5–September 30: Free tours every weekday at NOAA Fisheries’ Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute in Juneau, Alaska. July 9–30: Public scoping meetings for three Atlantic Highly Migratory Species actions. July 10: Free Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification workshop in Ronkonkoma, New York. July 10: 2019 Ambrose Jearld Jr. Lecture on Diversity and Inclusion in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, featuring climate scientist Warren Washington. 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. 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.

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