NOAA Fisheries FishNews—September 14th

SEPTEMBER 14, 2023 Highlights Emily Menashes Selected as New Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations at NOAA Fisheries Ms. Emily Menashes has been selected as the new Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations at NOAA Fisheries. She will assume her new role on September 25, 2023. In this role, she will provide oversight of the agency’s budget as well as its facilities operations nationally. She will also oversee NOAA Fisheries’ headquarters offices of Human Capital Management; International Affairs, Trade and Commerce; Law Enforcement; Aquaculture; Policy; Communications; Equal Employment Opportunity and Diversity; and the implementation of the National Seafood Strategy. NOAA Fisheries Awards $4 Million in Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grants We awarded 50 Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance grants worth more than $4 million to 44 marine mammal health partners. These grants aid partners in responding to marine mammal strandings or entanglement cases and conducting scientific investigations into marine mammal health. We are accepting applications for the 2024 Prescott Grant competition through October 19, 2023. Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program Awards NOAA Fisheries awarded $2.5 million under the Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program. The awards support partners in the research and development of innovative approaches and strategies for reducing bycatch in our nation’s fisheries. NOAA Selects Members to New Advisory Committee to Advance Area-based Conservation NOAA announced the selection of 20 members to serve on the inaugural Marine and Coastal Area-based Management Advisory Committee. It will advise agency leadership on science-based approaches to area-based protection, conservation, restoration, and management of coastal, Great Lakes, and marine places. Alaska Whale-Watching Operators Around Alaska Commit to Having Whale SENSE The whale-watching industry is an important economic driver in many of Alaska’s coastal communities. The Whale SENSE program debuted in Juneau in 2015. Now, nearly all of Juneau’s whale-watching companies participate. Whale SENSE offers recognition for operators who voluntarily adopt increased standards for education, marine stewardship, and responsible whale-watching practices. West Coast Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza Found in Seals on Marrowstone Island in Puget Sound Three adult harbor seals in Puget Sound have tested positive for the Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza H5N1 strain. This marks the first incidence of the virus in marine mammals on the West Coast. RecFIN, NOAA Fisheries Release Plan to Improve Recreational Fisheries Data on West Coast The Pacific Coast Recreational Fisheries Information Network released its plan outlining regional priorities to enhance data for recreational fishing management and science along the West Coast over the next several years. NOAA Fisheries Supports West Coast States’ and Pacific Fishery Management Council’s Fishing Gear Marking Efforts Marking fishing gear helps us understand the origin of gear entangling whales and prevent entanglements of whales and other marine mammals. Southeast A New Marsh in Western Louisiana Takes Shape for Fish, Birds, and People NOAA is collaborating with federal and state partners on a large-scale marsh creation project.. Construction is now underway to build a nearly 400-acre tract of new marsh in Long Point Bayou in western Louisiana. Louisiana Living Shoreline to Protect Levees, Restore Wetlands, and Reconnect People to the Coast NOAA is providing $4.5 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act for the construction of a mile-long living shoreline in Bucktown, Louisiana. The project, led by Jefferson Parish, will add native aquatic vegetation behind jetties to create nursery habitat for juvenile fish and species such as blue crabs, threatened Gulf sturgeon, and rangia clams. New England/Mid-Atlantic NOAA and Community Offshore Wind to Partner on Environmental Monitoring Program NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center and Community Offshore Wind have signed a 5-year cooperative research and development agreement to inform the development of an environmental monitoring program for Community Offshore Wind’s project off New York and New Jersey. The partnership will support NOAA’s ongoing environmental monitoring across the region while new offshore wind projects are constructed. It will also help to inform best practices for establishing environmental observation systems on offshore wind infrastructure. Final Incidental Take Regulations for the Ocean Wind 1 Project NOAA Fisheries is publishing the final incidental take regulations to govern the incidental harassment of marine mammals related to the Ocean Wind 1 offshore wind energy project offshore of New Jersey. These regulations are effective from October 13, 2023, through October 12, 2028. Upcoming Deadlines September 22: Comments due for Proposed Rule to Designate Critical Habitat for Rice’s Whale October 17: Comments due for Proposed Rule to Designate Critical Habitat for Green Sea Turtles October 19: Applications due for the 2024 John H. Prescott Marine Mammal Rescue Assistance Grant Program October 30: Comments due for the proposed reclassification of pillar coral from threatened to endangered November 17: Applications due for Transformational Habitat Restoration and Coastal Resilience Grants November 30: Letters of intent due for NOAA’s Climate Ready Workforce Funding Opportunity February 13: Applications due for NOAA’s Climate Ready Workforce Funding Opportunity February 13: Applications due for NOAA Climate Resilience Regional Challenge Funding Opportunity View more news and announcements Upcoming Events September 11–15: South Atlantic Fishery Management Council September 2023 Meeting September 15, 18–20: Western Pacific Fishery Management Council September 2023 Meeting September 20: Listening session on the management strategy for shrimp in the Gulf of Mexico September 23: Alaska 2023 Belugas Count! September 26: Public hearing for the proposed reclassification of pillar coral from threatened to endangered September 26–28: New England Fishery Management Council September 2023 Meeting  September 27: Webinar on using Magnuson-Stevens Act authority for fisheries in the geographic area of more than one council October 3–5: Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council October 2023 Meeting October 5–10: North Pacific Fishery Management Council October 2023 Meeting October 23–26: Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council October 2023 Meeting November 1–8: Pacific Fishery Management Council November 2023 Meeting November 4–5: 2023 Right Whale Festival View more events Federal Register Actions Visit NOAA Fisheries' Rules & Regulations web page to learn more about recently proposed and finalized regulations in your region.  Questions? Visit our website for national and regional contact information

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