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National - NOAA Fisheries Reopens Comment Period on Essential Fish Habitat Guidelines (EFH)

As part of its continuing commitment to evaluate the efficacy of EFH guidelines, on February 25, 2004, NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation reopened the comment period for an Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (ANPR) soliciting public comment on whether the current EFH guidelines should be revised. The comment period will be opened for an additional 60 days, closing on April 26, 2004.

During the first comment period, which closed January 26, 2004, NOAA Fisheries received several comments expressing opinions about whether the EFH guidelines should be revised. However, the agency also received requests to lengthen the comment period beyond the original 45 days to allow the public and the Councils more time to prepare substantive comments. One of the functions of the EFH guidelines is to assist the Fishery Management Councils (Councils) in identifying and conserving EFH. Only one Council provided substantive comment during the first comment period.

The 1996 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act created the EFH provisions that require fishery management plans to describe and identify EFH and minimize adverse impacts on it that are caused by fishing activities. During the finalization of the guidelines in January 2002, NOAA Fisheries recognized that there remained a great deal of interest from various stakeholders regarding how best to integrate habitat considerations into fisheries management.

Comments may be e-mailed to 0648-AR76@noaa.gov. They may also be mailed to Mr. Rolland A. Schmitten, Director, Office of Habitat Conservation, NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, F/HC - EFH ANPR, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910, or sent via fax to (301) 427-2570. The ANPR can be found on page 8615 in volume 69 of the Federal Register. For further information, contact Karen Abrams or David MacDuffee at 301-713-4300.

National - NOAA Scientists Announce a Free Lecture Series on Marine Mammals and Human Noise

NOAA Fisheries and scientists from various academic institutions are sponsoring a national lecture series on marine mammals and human noise.

How human noises in the sea effect marine mammals has become an issue of considerable public interest. NOAA Fisheries Acoustics Program and other scientific experts in marine mammals and human noise will deliver a series of public lectures at public aquariums and marine laboratories around the country to help increase public knowledge about human noise and marine mammals. The lecture series is called “Marine Animals and Human Noise,” and will run from March through November 2004.

The objective of this unique series is to present current scientific information about human sources and uses of sound in marine environments, the physics of sound and hearing, and biological and behavioral factors that relate to noise impacts. Scientists hope that the lecture series will facilitate constructive discussions among concerned parties.

The first lecture of the series will be at the Mote Marine Laboratory in Sarasota, Florida on March 10^th 2004, 6:00p.m. Speakers include Dr. Doug Nowacek, Dr. David Mann, and Dr. Brandon Southall. For more information contact Molly Harrison, Office of Protected Resources at (301) 713-1401 or Molly.Harrison@noaa.gov. A complete listing of lecture locations and times will be posted on the Protected Resources web page soon.

National - NOAA Seeks Review and Comment For New On-line National Estuary Restoration Inventory

The National Estuary Restoration Inventory (NERI) is an online database of restoration projects. Deployed on February 16, 2004, NOAA is seeking public review and comment to ensure the site is a usable and informative resource.

The purpose of the inventory is to provide information on monitoring and restoration techniques in order to advance the science of restoration, track acres of habitat restored toward the million-acre goal of the Estuary Restoration Act and to provide information for reports transmitted to Congress. In addition, the inventory may be a resource for restoration practitioners to monitor the progress of their own restoration projects. Any restoration practitioner may voluntarily submit eligible restoration projects for entry into the inventory using an online submission form. Eligible projects must aim to provide ecosystem benefits for estuaries and their associated ecosystems and include monitoring to gauge the success of restoration efforts.

NOAA is seeking public review and comment on: (a) the usability of the site for entering, updating, and viewing information on estuary habitat restoration projects; (b) the type of information being tracked, including suggestions for additional/fewer fields; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information presented; and (d) other suggestions that would make the site more user-friendly. Written comments can be submitted via email at neri@noaa.gov or mailed directly to Nancy Lou, NOAA Damage Assessment and Restoration Center, 7600 Sand Point Way, Seattle, WA 98115-6349. Comments must be received by March 26, 2004.

To view the inventory, please visit the NERI website at https://neri.noaa.gov.

National – NOAA Releases New Manual on Coastal Habitat Restoration Monitoring

For the first time, NOAA has compiled key restoration monitoring information applicable to coastal habitats nationwide. Science-Based Restoration Monitoring of Coastal Habitats, Volume One: A Framework for Monitoring Plans Under the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law 160-457) offers technical assistance, outlines steps, and provides useful tools for developing and carrying out monitoring of coastal restoration efforts. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Prepared by NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS),
the manual offers coastal resource managers, practitioners and the public a consolidated set of science-based tools for planning and conducting monitoring associated with restoration in habitats throughout U.S. coastal waters habitats.

A companion volume, Science-Based Restoration Monitoring of Coastal Habitats, Volume Two: Tools for Monitoring Coastal Habitats, is due for release later this year. This document will delve deeper into monitoring approaches for the selected coastal habitats, providing techniques for monitoring them as well as a searchable database of restoration monitoring programs nationwide.

Copies of the manual – Science-Based Restoration Monitoring of Coastal Habitats, Volume One: A Framework for Monitoring Plans Under the Estuaries and Clean Waters Act of 2000 (Public Law 160-457) – can be downloaded as a PDF file by visiting:
http://coastalscience.noaa.gov/ecosystems/estuaries/restoration_monitoring.html.

For additional information and printed copies of the manual, contact, Teresa A. McTigue, Ph.D.; National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (N/SCI); 1305 East-West Highway, Room 8128; Silver Spring, MD 20910; phone: (301) 713-3020 x 186; fax: (301) 713-4353; or by contacting: restoration.monitoring@noaa.gov

Northeast – Right Whale Protections Continue Through March 12 Under Modified Dynamic Area Management (DAM)

On February 12, 2004, NOAA Fisheries Aerial Survey Team reported a sighting of 6 right whales in the proximity of 42° 41.56' N lat. and 70° 02.03' W long. This sighting triggered a DAM under the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Plan.

A temporary rule announced temporary restrictions for lobster trap/pot and anchored gillnet filed February 24 and published February 25. This DAM area totaled approximately 1,896 nm2 east of Portsmouth, New Hampshire and the restrictions are in place for 15 days (February 27 through March 12).

However, this DAM zone overlaps with SAM West which begins on March 1st. Therefore, a correction to the rule modifying the DAM zone to 1,580 nm2 excludes SAM West and will file and become effective March 1st and publish March 2nd.

Northeast - Boreman to Lead Federal Marine Fisheries Science Effort in Northeast

Dr. John Boreman has been named Science and Research Director at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), the scientific arm of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service in the Northeastern U.S.

Boreman has compiled a distinguished career as a federal fisheries scientist with both NOAA Fisheries and the Department of Interior’s U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. He has served as acting director of the NEFSC since 2002.

As director, Boreman will oversee the Center’s broad, interdisciplinary program of marine scientific inquiry, which concentrates primarily on the marine life and habitat, and oceanographic processes of the Northwestern Atlantic from Maine to Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. The Center comprises laboratories in Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Jersey, and Washington, DC. In 2003, the Center’s budget was about $56 million for programs staffed by more than 300 federal and contract employees.

Dr. Boreman is from Wantagh, NY. He received his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York’s College of Environment Science and Forestry, and Syracuse University. He completed his master’s and doctoral work in fisheries science at Cornell University. To view the full press release visit our Northeast Science Center at http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/press_release/news04.03.html

Gulf – Red Snapper Commercial Fishery in Gulf Opens at Noon, March 1, 2004

NOAA Fisheries announces that the commercial fishery for red snapper in Gulf of Mexico federal waters will open at noon, local time, on March 1, 2004, and close at noon, local time, on March 10, 2004. The commercial fishing season is divided into spring and fall seasons. Fishing will be allowed the first 10 days of each month until the quota is caught. A total of 2,617,137 pounds remain in the spring quota. For more information contact Phil.Steele@noaa.gov or at (727) 570-5305.

Southwest – Southern California Cautiously Optimistic Invasive Seaweed Is Under Control

Caulerpa taxifolia is invasive seaweed that quickly, aggressively, and permanently displaces native marine plants and animals. The seaweed was popular in home aquariums and was likely introduced accidentally into California's waters several years ago before legislation in 2001 made it illegal to sell, possess, transfer or release alive, nine species of Caulerpa taxifolia in California.

Caulerpa was detected in 2000 in two separate locations in Southern California; Agua Hedionda Lagoon in San Diego County, and Huntington Harbor in Orange County. Federal, state and local agencies came together to form the Southern California Caulerpa Action Team or SCCAT to try and halt and then eradicate the plant.

This month the SCCAT issued a news release reporting that Caulerpa Taxifolia has not been detected from the Agua Hedionda Lagoon site since September 2002 or within the Huntington Harbor site since November 2002. The SCCAT is cautiously optimistic that Caulerpa has been contained and controlled within the two known infestation sites in Southern California.

The SCCAT continues to be concerned about eradication of the algae given the inherent difficulties in conducting system-wide detection surveys and cannot be 100 percent confident that this invasive species has been eliminated. However, if continued surveys do not detect Caulerpa through fall of 2004, the SCCAT expects to declare these two systems free of Caulerpa. Still, efforts to eliminate this, and similar invasive species, are not over. It is vital to continue surveillance efforts throughout California and other susceptible coastal waters to ensure that other infestation sites do not exist. Likewise, continued public outreach and education is essential to ensure there are no further introductions of this and other noxious invasive species. For more information contact Jim Milbury, Public Affairs Officer for our Southwest Regional Office, 562/980-4006 or Jim.Milbury@noaa.gov.

February 23, 2004

February 24, 2004

February 25, 2004

February 26, 2004

February 27, 2004

March 1, 2004