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| Highlights - March 20, 2013 |
REMINDER - The 60-day public comment period on NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement Draft priorities for 2013 will close on March 24. If you are interested in reviewing and sharing your comments, there is still time. The document and details on how to e-mail or mail your comments are available on the Office of Law Enforcement's website.
At this year's Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) Conference of Parties meeting in Bangkok, countries agreed to increase protection for five commercially exploited species of sharks and manta rays. CITES member nations voted to list oceanic whitetip shark, three species of hammerhead sharks, the porbeagle shark, and manta rays under Appendix II, which increases protection while allowing legal and sustainable trade.
The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act sets the standards for conservation, management, and sustainable use of our nation's fisheries resources. It was last reauthorized in 2006 and is set to expire at the end of September 2013. Stay informed on reauthorization activities, including transcripts of testimony at congressional hearings, by visiting our website.
On Tuesday, March 19, Eric Schwaab, Acting Assistant Secretary for Conservation and Management, testified before the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard. Entitled "Developments and Opportunities in U.S. Fisheries Management," the hearing's primary focus was on the critical role states play in the management of marine fisheries through the interstate marine fisheries commissions and pending reauthorization of the Interjurisdictional Fisheries Act. Testimony and video of the hearing are available online.
On March 15, NOAA Fisheries released the 60-day Regional Impact Evaluation of Sandy as required under the Magnuson-Stevens Act. The report is the preliminary assessment of impacts from Sandy to fishing communities in New York and New Jersey-two of the hardest hit states. It provides information specific to the fishing industry in each state to help the governors assess the damage caused by this storm, and it will supplement ongoing work the states are doing to assess similar damages.
U.S. Atlantic coastal sharks are harvested in several mixed-species fisheries, frequently for their fins for export to Asia. Species-level data, necessary for managing these fisheries, remain a challenge to collect because of the difficulty in identifying detached fins to species. In addition, five species of sharks were recently listed on Appendix II of CITES, which will require fin identification at the species level for successful implementation. NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center (correction from March 13 FishNews issue) released a Guide to Visual Identification of Fins from Common Elasmobranchs in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean (fourth link on web page). Although the guide focuses on the Northwest Atlantic, it has applicability to species common to all oceans.
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By March 29, submit your comments on the proposed approval of 18 sector operation plans and contracts for fishing year 2013, and on the proposed allocations of the Northeast multispecies quotas. The Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan allows limited access permit holders to form "sectors" with operation plans and contracts subject to NOAA Fisheries approval.
By April 1, submit your comments on proposed Framework Adjustment 24 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan, which would set specifications for the fishery for the 2013 fishing year, including days-at-sea allocations, individual fishing quotas, and access area trip allocations. |
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NOAA Fisheries Northwest Region works with the Federal Highway Administration in Idaho, Oregon, and Washington to ensure that highway programs adequately address the needs of Northwest fish listed under the Endangered Species Act. Transportation projects funded through the Federal-Aid Highway Program that address fish passage and floodplain habitat concerns are approved by NOAA in a streamlined review process.
NOAA Fisheries was a partner in the 2009 reopening of Oregon's Deschutes River to migrating fish. Now that tag-and-release studies have proved that fish can complete their entire migratory life cycle, NOAA Fisheries has begun reintroducing hatchery-reared steelhead in hopes of establishing a self-sustaining population.
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At their March meeting, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved several amendments concerning vermilion snapper, red porgy, captain and crew bag limit retention, crew size on dual-permitted vessels, reporting requirements for headboats, and requirements for electronic reporting for seafood dealers, among others.
By May 3, submit your comments on a proposed regulation to require all commercial snapper-grouper fishing vessels with a South Atlantic Federal Unlimited or Trip-Limited Permit to be equipped with vessel monitoring systems. Public hearings are scheduled for April 15-25, 2013.
By May 13, submit your comments on proposed Amendment 28 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region. The amendment would establish a process for determining whether the limited harvest and possession of red snapper from the South Atlantic could occur during a given fishing year.
Effective March 17, 2013, commercial fishing by commercial hook-and-line vessels for Gulf group king mackerel in the Florida southern subzone is closed for the remainder of the fishing year. NOAA Fisheries determined that the 2012-2013 commercial quota from this subzone would be met by that date.
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By May 13, submit your comments on whether additional management measures are necessary to preserve the function and productivity of tidewater glacial habitat in Alaska and to reduce the disturbance of harbor seals by vessels. This advance notice of proposed rulemaking follows a NOAA Fisheries study examining vessel-seal interactions.
Effective March 17, 2013, directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 620 of the Gulf of Alaska is prohibited. This is to prevent exceeding the B season allowance of the 2013 quota.
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Lt. Governor Lemanu Peleti Mauga of American Samoa welcomed the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council's March meeting by acknowledging the cultural clashes among agencies and organizations invested in Pacific fisheries and by expressing hope that the groups would work together going forward. During the meeting's public testimonies, many called for the removal of the expanded Fagatele Bay National Marine Sanctuary.
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March 26: 2013 RACE Seminar Series, Alaska Fisheries Science Center.
March 25-26: Public hearings on proposed ocean salmon fishery managementalternatives adopted by Pacific Fishery Management Council.
April 15-25: Public hearings on South Atlantic Fishery Management Council's proposed use of Vessel Monitoring Systems in Snapper Grouper Fishery
April, May, June: Three Atlantic Shark Identification Workshops will be held in North Carolina, New York, and Florida. All are free.
April, May, June: Six Protected Species Safe Handling, Release, and Identification Workshops will be held in Florida and New Jersey, Maryland and Rhode Island, and North Carolina and Mississippi. All are free.
Thursdays in April: 2013 Fish and Fisheries Public Seminars at Maritime Gloucester
May 7-9, 2013: Managing Our Nation's Fisheries-3 conference in Washington, DC.
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| Webinar, 2nd Thursday of Every Month: National Marine Protected Areas Center Announces MPA Webinar Series focused on Building and Strengthening Marine Protected Area Networks on the second Thursday of each month, produced in partnership with EBM Tools and OpenChannels. |
Click here for a list of only those actions open for public comment. Scroll search for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
For a list of all daily actions, check the Federal Register online.
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