May 21, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Healthy habitats are productive habitats. They provide food and shelter for fish and help to maintain sustainable fish populations and fisheries that produce the seafood that we all love and depend on. Everyone benefits when marine habitats are protected from the effects of fishing.
Read our webstory to learn more about what we do to ensure that habitats remain healthy and productive.
May 20, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries collaboratively manages U.S. fisheries with fishery management councils, fisheries commissions, and state partners. The New England Fishery Management Council is developing Amendment 23 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. Through this amendment, the Council is evaluating the current groundfish monitoring program and considering changes to improve the monitoring system. Early discussions during the development of Amendment 23 revealed that industry members wanted more information about our current monitoring system. The groundfish monitoring system is complex, and since the at-sea monitoring program is industry-funded, changes to this program have implications for the industry. Communication is key to our work and we always strive to do a better job communicating about our programs and systems. The development of this amendment presents an opportunity for us to improve understanding about our monitoring programs. We can also help industry and other stakeholders engage in the development of Amendment 23.
Creating a Plan to Improve Communication about Monitoring and Amendment 23
In 2018, we contracted with a team of public outreach specialists from Vision Planning and Consulting, LLC (VPC). They helped us develop a strategic communications plan to improve the way we communicate about groundfish monitoring and Amendment 23. We developed the plan to ensure that members of the industry, particularly those who may not always participate in Council meetings, have the information they need to engage meaningfully in the management process.
May 19, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
You might worry about your toddler chewing on a plastic toy with toxic chemicals. Some orca researchers are beginning to worry about whales ingesting a gut full of microplastics, and what that might mean for their health.
Microplastics are everywhere. Millions of tons of plastic enter our oceans annually, and much of it breaks into tiny pieces. Microplastics are plastic particles five millimeters (about two-tenths of an inch) or smaller. They represent 92 percent of plastic pieces polluting the oceans’ surface waters. Researchers have found microplastics in all major seas and oceans. They’ve also found them in the intestinal tracts of organisms at all levels of the ocean food chain, from zooplankton to fish to marine mammals.
Some scientists are concerned that microplastics and their toxic effects are bioaccumulating in killer whales, the oceans’ top predators. Endangered Southern Resident killer whales spend much of their summers in Puget Sound and the Salish Sea. Chemical contamination from pollution, particularly in young whales, is one of three primary threats to their population. Could microplastics be part of the problem?
A team of scientists with NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center (Center) and the University of Washington have started an investigation. They are looking at what microplastics the Southern Residents are ingesting, at what scale, and whether the whales are being exposed to toxic chemicals associated with microplastics.
May 19, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
KEY MESSAGE:
NOAA Fisheries requests comments on a proposed rule for Framework Amendment 8 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Coastal Migratory Pelagics Fishery of the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Region (Framework Amendment 8), which if implemented, would increase the Atlantic king mackerel trip limit in federal waters off Florida.
Comments are due by June 18, 2020
SUMMARY OF PROPOSED CHANGES:
The proposed rule for Framework Amendment 8 would increase the Season 2 (October-end of February) Atlantic king mackerel trip limit in Federal waters of the Atlantic Southern Zone.
For Season 2 between the Flagler/Volusia, Florida county line and the Miami-Dade/Monroe, Florida county line, the trip limit would be 100 fish.
HOW TO COMMENT ON THE PROPOSED RULE:
The comment period is open through June 18, 2020. You may submit comments by electronic submission or by postal mail. Comments sent by any other method (such as e-mail), to any other address or individual, or received after the end of the comment period, may not be considered by NOAA Fisheries.
FORMAL FEDERAL REGISTER NAME/NUMBER: 85 FR 29916, published May 19, 2020.
Electronic Submissions: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal.
Mail: Submit written comments to Karla Gore, Southeast Regional Office, NMFS, 263 13th Avenue South, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.
May 19, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
We have several new guidance web pages to help stakeholders navigate the Amendment 23 process. Our Draft Environmental Statement (DEIS) participation guide explains the different ways to get involved in Amendment 23 and provide comments, and our DEIS economic analysis guide explains how businesses can read and use the economic analyses to understand how Amendment 23 may affect their operations. For more information about these resources, read our web story explaining how industry helped us develop a plan to improve the way we communicate about Amendment 23 and the groundfish monitoring program.
Stay Up to Date
Visit our Amendment 23 web page, which is updated regularly as new resources and information about the amendment become available.
May 19, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
For over 40 years, NOAA Fisheries has awarded grant funds under the Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) program to organizations nationwide working to address the needs of fishing communities, optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries, and increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable. Of the 30 projects selected nationally for 2020 funding, 8 projects were from the Greater Atlantic Region, requesting approximately $2.25 million in federal funding.
Read more in our webstory or review the list of all proposals recommended for funding.
May 18, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries announces three exemption areas within the Great South Channel Habitat Management Area where dredge fishing for surfclams or mussels will be allowed.
This action allows the surfclam fishery to operate hydraulic dredge gear year-round in two small areas (McBlair and Fishing Rip) and seasonally in a third area (Old South) within the HMA. Mussel dredge fishing is also allowed in these exemption areas. These exemption areas were chosen to allow relatively limited access to some historical surfclam fishing grounds, while protecting the majority of the HMA. The three exemption areas total only 6.9 percent of the total area of the HMA, and do not include areas most clearly identified as containing complex and vulnerable habitats.
You can read the final rule as filed in the Federal Register.
May 15, 2020 — About $10 million in federal funding has been set aside to assist Virginia, Maryland, and Delaware fisheries hurt by the novel coronavirus.
Virginia fisheries are set to receive $4.5 million, Maryland fisheries will receive $4.1 million and Delaware fisheries will receive $1 million, according to the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries division.
Specifically, these funds will help address direct or indirect fishery-related losses as well as negative impacts to subsistence, cultural or ceremonial fishing caused by COVID-19, according to NOAA.
Fishery participants eligible for funding will be able to work with their state marine fisheries management agencies, territories or tribes to apply for these funds. In order to obtain funds, a business must have experienced a revenue loss greater than 35 percent of its prior 5-year average or experienced any negative impacts to subsistence, cultural or ceremonial fisheries
May 15, 2020 — NOAA Fisheries has released the following updates on fisheries observer coverage requirements. The requirements are broken down by region below:
Alaska Region – The region is extending the observer waiver for vessels in the Partial Coverage Category of the North Pacific groundfish and Pacific Halibut fisheries operating from ports other than Kodiak, Alaska. This exemption does not exempt vessels using electronic monitoring, or the requirement that vessels continue to log trips in Observer Declare and Deploy System (ODDS). This limited waiver extension is in effect from May 3, 2020 through May 31, 2020. Waivers of observer coverage will continue as needed on a vessel by vessel basis for all other required fisheries.
West Coast Region – Beginning at 12:00 am on May 1, 2020, fishery observer and catch monitor coverage is again required per existing regulations for all commercial fishing vessels and first receivers in required West Coast fisheries. Waivers of observer coverage will continue as needed on a vessel by vessel basis.
Pacific Island Region – Observer coverage continues in all required fisheries. Waivers of observer coverage will continue as needed on a vessel by vessel. International observer requirements for tuna purse seine vessels have been waived by the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission until May 31, 2020.
Southeast Region – Beginning at 12:00 a.m. on May 5, 2020, observer coverage will again be required per existing regulations for the following fisheries: South Atlantic Penaeid Shrimp, South Atlantic Rock Shrimp, South Atlantic Snapper-Grouper, Southeast Gillnet, Gulf of Mexico Commercial Reef Fish, Gulf of Mexico Shrimp, Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Pelagic Longline, Shark Bottom Longline (Atlantic HMS), Shark Gillnet (Atlantic HMS). Waivers of observer coverage will continue as needed on a vessel by vessel basis.
Greater Atlantic Region – The region is extending the existing observer waiver exemption for all vessels issued Greater Atlantic Region permits from the requirements to carry an observer or at-sea monitor. This waiver is in effect from May 3, 2020, through May 30, 2020.
May 15, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA Fisheries is extending the waiver granted to vessels with Greater Atlantic Region fishing permits to carry human observers or at-sea monitors for an additional two weeks, through May 30, 2020. This action is authorized by 50 CFR 648.11, which provides the Greater Atlantic Regional Administrator authority to waive observer requirements, and is also consistent with the criteria described in the agency’s emergency rule on observer waivers during the COVID-19 pandemic.
NOAA Fisheries will continue to monitor and evaluate this situation. As we have done in other parts of the country, we will use this time to work with the observer service providers to implement adjustments to the logistics of deploying observers, ensuring qualified observers or at-sea monitors are available as soon as safely possible.
Observers and at-sea monitors are an essential component of commercial fishing operations and provide critical information that is necessary to keep fisheries open and to provide sustainable seafood to our nation during this time. We will continue to monitor all local public health notifications, as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) for updates. We are committed to protecting the public health and ensuring the safety of fishermen, observers, and others, while fulfilling our mission to maintain our nation’s seafood supply and conserving marine life.