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Highlights
In a new leadership message, Chris Oliver, head of NOAA Fisheries, announces the release of the annual Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries. By the end of 2018, the number of stocks experiencing overfishing dropped to 28 (9% of managed stocks) and the number of overfished stocks dropped to 43 (18% of managed stocks.) Since 2000, we have rebuilt 45 fish stocks, with Gulf of Maine smooth skate (declared rebuilt in 2018) the most recent addition. |
Today, NOAA announced $6.5 million in funding for 15 new projects and the continuation of 17 multiyear projects through the Species Recovery Grant Program. These grants to states and tribes support the implementation of high-priority recovery actions for listed species, particularly our Species in the Spotlight. Proposals for 2020 Species Recovery Grants are due October 31. |
No one likes to see a fish float away or sink to the bottom dead. NOAA Fisheries’ Recreational Fishing Initiative, the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, and the Atlantic states are working together to help anglers access tools such as circle hooks and descending devices that are designed to reduce mortality of caught-and-released fish.
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Atlantic spiny dogfish is a small shark species that makes up a major proportion of U.S. seafood exports—a popular choice for British “fish and chips” and other European dishes. Following population declines in the 1980s, NOAA Fisheries and the regional fishery management councils took successful action to rebuild the spiny dogfish stock. It was officially declared rebuilt in 2010.
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After dam removals and fish passage improvements, endangered Atlantic salmon are returning to the Penobscot River in encouraging numbers. Some of this year’s returning fish will be taken to a hatchery as broodstock, one element of the new Atlantic Salmon Recovery Plan. NOAA Fisheries will continue to work with the state agencies, dam owners, and tribes to improve river habitat.
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Alaska
NOAA Fisheries is pleased to announce the selection of Dr. Lyle Britt for the position of Bering Sea Bottom Trawl Survey Group Supervisor for the Groundfish Assessment Program. Britt is a fisheries research biologist who has worked for the Alaska Fisheries Science Center for the past 23 years.
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Two rare, deep-dwelling skate species have been recorded for the first time in Alaska and British Columbia waters: the fine-spined skate and the Pacific white skate. Only a few specimens of these two species have ever been collected by scientists, and none this far north. American and Canadian scientists partnered to identify the rare skates captured during trawl surveys.
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West Coast
NOAA Fisheries presented a Species in the Spotlight Partner Award to diver Amanda Bird of Paua Marine Research Group, in recognition of her help locating some of the few remaining white abalone off Southern California. NOAA partners at the Bodega Marine Laboratory have recently begun breeding white abalone in captivity, and the specimens Bird collected will aid that project.
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Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center has surveyed Pacific coral reef ecosystems since the early 2000s, and for the 2019 field season they are surveying reefs in both the main Hawaiian Islands and the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and atolls. Follow along with the scientists on a story map and a photo blog. |
Last month, a fisherman reeling in his line realized there was an endangered Hawaiian monk seal at the end of it. He cut the seal loose and then called the Hawaiian monk seal response line. Information he provided helped responders quickly locate and eventually unhook and release the animal.
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Southeast
By September 30, please submit your comments on a notice of availability of an amendment for the Gulf of Mexico commercial shrimp fishery. The proposed amendment would increase the allowable commercial shrimp trawl fishing effort in certain federal waters and revise the management plan framework to allow expedited changes to allowable fishing effort in the future.
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In August, the Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review (SEDAR) Steering Committee will discuss a region-specific white paper that documents NOAA Fisheries’ recommendations regarding the most appropriate source of marine recreational catch statistics for the upcoming assessment of gray triggerfish, vermillion snapper, and other Gulf of Mexico reef fish stocks.
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This summer, NOAA Fisheries and the Marine Megafauna Foundation collaborated on manta ray satellite-tagging expeditions in southeast Florida. In June, researchers successfully photographed, measured, and attached a satellite tag to a young male manta ray they named Leo. You can follow Leo’s movements online.
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The Louisiana Trustee Implementation Group for the Deepwater Horizon Natural Resource Damage Assessment has launched the process of drafting a sixth restoration plan, this one focused on restoring and conserving wetlands and coastal and nearshore habitat injured by the 2010 oil spill. The group is reviewing project ideas submitted by the public this summer.
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Greater Atlantic
The future and sustainability of the Greater Atlantic region’s fisheries depend on collaboration. The Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Cooperative Research Branch wants to hear from the region’s fisheries stakeholders. We invite you to join an engagement session to discuss regional fisheries research projects. Sessions will be held in locations from Maine to Virginia, August 13–September 24.
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For more than a century, the Bloede Dam was the first barrier fish encountered when they tried to migrate into Maryland’s Patapsco River from the Chesapeake Bay. Now, after more than 10 years of planning and 18 months of construction, the removal of Bloede Dam is complete, opening a significant portion of the Patapsco to migratory fish species for important spawning habitat.
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This summer, the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office hosted Rebekah James, a NOAA Hollings Scholar. During her internship, she analyzed white shark tagging data to learn where young white sharks spend the winter months. She also spent a week at sea tagging more sharks to help build the dataset.
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Two species of seals and several species of sharks inhabit the waters around Cape Cod. Learn how sharks and seals are important to the ecosystem, and some surprising facts about each.
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Upcoming Deadlines
August 9: Applications due for Executive Director of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
August 31: Applications due for open seats on New England Fishery Management Council advisory panels.
September 20: Proposals due for the 2020–2021 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program.
October 31: Proposals due for 2020 Species Recovery Grants to States.
October 31: Proposals due for 2020 Species Recovery Grants to Tribes.
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Upcoming Events
August 8–9: Western Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting to be held via teleconference.
August 8–21: Public scoping meetings on modifications to the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan in Rhode Island, Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts.
August 8–September 30: Free tours every weekday at NOAA Fisheries’ Ted Stevens Marine Research Institute in Juneau, Alaska.
August 12–15: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council meeting in New Orleans.
August 13: In-person public hearing on a proposed rule for pelagic longline bluefin tuna, in Manteo, North Carolina.
August 13–15: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Philadelphia.
August 13–September 24: Eight engagement sessions hosted by the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s Cooperative Research Branch in locations from Maine to Virginia.
August 14: Free Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification workshop in Largo, Florida.
August 22: Free Atlantic Shark Identification workshop in Bohemia, New York.
September 4 and 17: Two free Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification workshops in Rhode Island and Florida.
September 9–10: Two public hearings on the proposed Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog Excessive Shares Amendment, hosted by the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council.
September 11–18: Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Boise, Idaho.
September 12: Free Atlantic Shark Identification workshop in Panama City Beach, Florida.
September 16–20: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Charleston, South Carolina.
September 24–26: New England Fishery Management Council meeting in Gloucester, Massachusetts.
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