December 14, 2016
EVENTS
December 15Last day of Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council meeting in Baltimore. December 15Quantitative Ecology and Socioeconomics Training (QUEST) webinar on "FishStats" toolbox. December 15 - 16Two public webinars on the final rule to implement a Seafood Import Monitoring Program. December 15 and 17Public scoping meetings on the newly expanded Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument, hosted by the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council in Honolulu and Molokai. December 15 - January 19Four public webinars exploring the science of deep sea coral ecosystems. December 16
Free Protected Species Safe Handling, Identification, and Release workshop in Ronkonkoma, New York.January 12Free Atlantic Shark Identification Workshop in Kenner, Louisiana. January 17 and 20Two free Protected Species Safe Handling, Identification, and Release workshops in Louisiana and North Carolina. January 19Public hearing in St. Petersburg, Florida, on the proposed listing of Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whale under the Endangered Species Act.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
December 19Proposals due for 2017 Marine Debris Researchgrants. December 21Nominations due for 2017 National Wetlands Awards. January 19Applications due for NOAA Chesapeake Bay Office's FY 2017 Fisheries Research Program federal funding opportunity. January 30Applications due for NOAA Climate Program Office's Climate Impacts on Fish Stocks and Fisheries federal funding opportunity. February 2Applications due for multiyear Habitat Focus Area federal funding opportunity.March 2Applications due for RESTORE Act-supported GulfCorps Program federal funding opportunity.
FEDERAL REGISTER ACTIONS
Visit regulations.gov for a list of only those actions open for public comment. Scroll search for National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
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Last week, NOAA Fisheries announced a final rule establishing the Seafood Import Monitoring Program, which will work to curb illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing practices and to identify misrepresented seafood imports before they enter the U.S. market. This program will strengthen protections for the national economy, global food security, and the sustainability of our shared ocean resources. Join us for some initial public webinars about the new program this Thursday, December 15, and Friday, December 16.
The bipartisan Joint Ocean Commission Initiative congratulates the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Bodies on the finalization of their regional ocean plans. Both regional plans represent remarkable progress in coordinating efforts among all sectors to better manage, protect, and restore our oceans and coasts.
Today, NOAA Fisheries and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council announced the designation of the Frank R. Lautenberg Deep-Sea Coral Protection Area. The area extends from the continental shelf/slope break off the Mid-Atlantic states (New York to North Carolina) to the border of the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone. To protect the corals, the use of bottom-tending commercial fishing gear in the designated area is prohibited.
NOAA Fisheries and nine West African countries have developed recommendations to further strengthen shark and ray conservation in the region. NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service provided support for the international workshop, which focused on implementation of the shark and ray listings in Appendix II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES).
By January 30, please submit your comments on NOAA Fisheries' determination that the Gulf of Mexico Bryde's whale is a subspecies of Bryde's whale and that, based on its small population and limited distribution, it warrants listing as "endangered" under the Endangered Species Act.
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Mirabel Dam in California's Sonoma County is unusual - it is made out of rubber and inflated to create reservoirs seasonally. When the dam is up, water caught by the dam is piped to overflow ponds and then on to municipalities. Recent NOAA-funded improvements to the dam ensure that salmon and steelhead are not accidentally siphoned into the overflow ponds and that adult fish can better navigate the raised dam.
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NOAA Fisheries announced that up to $7 million in funding will be provided under the RESTORE Act to enhance conservation corps activities along the Gulf Coast. Grants funded through this opportunity will provide labor to support on-the-ground restoration through a new "GulfCorps" program. Applications for funding are due March 2.
By February 13, please submit your comments on proposed Amendment 26 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagics Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region. Amendment 26 would adjust the management boundary for the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic migratory groups of king mackerel and revise specifications for each group.
The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council approved measures to implement an electronic reporting program for federally permitted charter vessels. Reporting fishing activities-landings and discards-will be voluntary in 2017 and mandatory in 2018 for federally permitted charter vessels. Read about other actions the Council took at their December meeting.
Members of the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council awarded their annual Officer of the Year recognition to Special Agent Richard Chesler, a criminal investigator based in Port Orange, Florida. The award, established in 2010, recognizes distinctive service, professionalism, and dedication to enforcing fisheries regulations in the South Atlantic.
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Read a message from John Bullard, Regional Administrator of the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Office, regarding the recent increase in the number of large whales in nearshore waters of New York and New Jersey. He discusses the decision behind the professional response to the Moriches Bay humpback whale stranding.
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