National

Northeast

Mid-Atlantic

Gulf

Western Pacific

South-Atlantic – Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council Appoints Three New Members

Western Pacific – Eighth Annual Hawaiian Island Humpback Whale Sanctuary Ocean Count Starts This Saturday, January 31, 2004

California – Marine Wildlife Viewing Workshops, February 2004

Gulf - Sedar Assessment Workshop to Develop Stock Assessments for Gulf and Atlantic Group King Mackerel, Miami, Florida, February 16- 19, 2004

Gulf & S.Atlantic - Scoping Meetings on Potential Amendment for Limiting Access in the Commercial Reef Fish and King Mackerel Fisheries & on Potential Generic Amendment for Management of Offshore Marine Aquaculture, February – March

National - U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries Propose Regulations to Improve Endangered Species Consultation Process for Pesticides

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries announced on Wednesday, January 28, 2004, proposed regulations that will for the first time establish a formal, comprehensive multi-agency review process to ensure that pest and rodent control products approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) do not jeopardize threatened and endangered species. The regulations were developed following a comprehensive scientific review of the EPA’s risk assessment methodology.

The agencies are seeking comment on these proposed rules. The public may send comments to:

Assistant Director for Endangered Species
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
4401 North Fairfax Drive - Room 420
Arlington, Virginia 22203

You may also comment via the Internet to PesticideESARegulations@fws.gov. The Federal Register notice announcing this is available http://endangered.fws.gov/consultations/pesticides.

Northeast - Proposed Regulations for New England Groundfish

The New England Fishery Management Council has developed Amendment 13 in order to end overfishing and rebuild all groundfish stocks. Management of this fishery has been the subject of litigation and a Court Order has required that groundfish rebuilding measures be implemented by May 1, 2004. In addition to effort reductions, this proposed rule also contains measures to address fishery impacts on essential fish habitat, to minimize bycatch, and to implement improved recordkeeping and reporting requirements.

The proposed rule published in the Federal Register on January 29, 2004, and is posted on NOAA Fisheries' Northeast Region website: http://www.nero.noaa.gov/ro/doc/com.htm. Amendment 13 is posted on the Council’s website: http://www.nefmc.org/nemulti/index.html.
Copies of three independent peer reviews of the economic analyses are posted at: http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/groundfish/

For further information on the proposed rule, contact Thomas Warren at (978) 281-9347 or by email: thomas.warren@noaa.gov. Written comments should be sent to:

Patricia A. Kurkul, Regional Administrator
National Marine Fisheries Service
One Blackburn Drive
Gloucester, MA 01930

Mark the outside of the envelope, "Comments on the Proposed Rule for Groundfish Amendment 13."

Comments also may be sent via fax to (978) 281-9135. Comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or Internet. Comments must be received by 5 P.M., February 27, 2004.

Mid-Atlantic – Follow-up on Mid Atlantic Fishery Management Council Meeting

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council met in Alexandria, Virginia last week to consider a number of issues. The Council's Demersal Committee met with the ASMFC's Board to consider the alternatives that will be included in Framework 5 to the Summer Flounder, Scup and Black Sea Bass Fishery Management Plan (FMP). Framework 5, which could implement multi-year specifications for all three species, will be presented to the Council in March.

At the meeting, the Council adopted a motion to identify a controlled access program for Atlantic mackerel as the primary purpose of Amendment 10 to the Atlantic Mackerel, Squid and Butterfish FMP. The Council also adopted a motion that Amendment 10 should consider the creation of a separate FMP for Atlantic Mackerel if supported by a cost benefit analysis. Finally, the Council agreed to send a letter to the FDA requesting the retraction of the draft consumer advisory on the risks of methyl mercury in tilefish. Instead, the Council recommended that the FDA use more recent data in order to inform the public of lower concentrations of mercury in tilefish than previously reported.

Gulf - Gag, Red Grouper and Black Grouper Commercial Fisheries in the Gulf of Mexico Federal Waters Will Close February 15 to March 15, 2004

NOAA Fisheries announced that from February 15 until March 15, 2004, the sale or purchase of gag, red grouper, or black grouper harvested from Gulf federal waters is
prohibited, and no person aboard a vessel for which a valid federal commercial Gulf reef fish permit has been issued may possess these species in the Gulf regardless of where harvested. The operator of a vessel with a valid federal commercial Gulf reef fish permit having gag, red grouper, or black grouper aboard must have landed and sold such gag,
red grouper, or black grouper prior to 12:01 a.m. local time, February 15, 2004. This prohibition on sale/purchase does not apply to gag, red grouper, or black grouper that were harvested, landed ashore, and sold prior to February 15 and were held in cold storage by a dealer or processor. Additionally, during the closure, the recreational bag and possession limits for gag, red grouper, and black grouper aboard those vessels which have been issued a valid federal commercial Gulf reef fish permit is zero.

A person aboard a vessel for which the federal permit indicates both charter vessel/headboat for Gulf reef fish and commercial Gulf reef fish may continue to retain gag, red grouper, and black grouper under the recreational bag and possession limit, provided the vessel is operating as a charter vessel or headboat. The recreational bag limit for red, gag, and black grouper is five per person per day in aggregate. Reef fish caught under the recreational bag limit may not be sold. The commercial fishery will reopen at 12:01 a.m. on March 15, 2004.

Western Pacific – Proposed Regulations Would Minimize Bycatch of Sea Turtles in Pelagic Longline Fisheries

This proposed rule would establish new conservation and management measures for pelagic fisheries in the Western Pacific Region. These measures are designed to minimize bycatch of threatened and endangered sea turtles. Species of concern include the green, hawksbill, leatherback, loggerhead, and olive ridley sea turtles.

The rule proposes to eliminate certain prohibitions on longline fishing by vessels with Hawaii longline limited access permits or longline general permits. Instead, the rule would establish an annual limit on the number of shallow sets that may be conducted north of the equator by the Hawaii-based longline fleet; require the use of certain hooks, bait, and fishing times that minimize the bycatch and/or bycatch mortality of sea turtles; and establish annual limits on the numbers of fishery interactions with leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles.

This proposed rule was published in the Federal Register on January 28, 2004. Copies of the supporting analyses are available on the Internet at: http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/pir/ . Written comments should be mailed to:

Dr. Samuel Pooley, Acting Regional Administrator
NMFS, Pacific Islands Regional Office
1601 Kapiolani Blvd., Suite 1110
Honolulu, HI 96814-4700;

or

faxed to 808-973-2941.

Written comments will not be accepted if submitted via e-mail or the Internet. All public comments must be received by February 27, 2004.

Monday, February 2, 2004
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Red Barn
1 Bear Velley Road
Pt. Reyes National Seashore
RSVP: Jennifer.Stock@noaa.gov
Or: 415-663-0314 x104

Thursday, February 5, 2004
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Monterey Beach Resort
2600 San Dunes Drive
Monterey
RSVP: Heather.Cauldwell@noaa.gov
Or: 831-647-4201

Tuesday, February 3, 2004
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Aquarium of the Bay
Pier 39
San Francisco
RSVP: Maryjane.Schramm@noaa.gov
Or: 415-561-6622 x205

Tuesday, February 10, 2004
6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.
Cabrillo Pavillion Arts Center
1118 E.Cabrillo Blvd.
Santa Barbara
RSVP: Shauna.Bingham@noaa.gov
Or: 805-382-6151

January 27, 2004

January 28, 2004

January 29, 2004

January 30, 2004

February 2, 2004