National

Northeast

Atlantic

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Southeast

Pacific

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Northwest

National – View all Public Comments on the Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking for Essential Fish Habitat; Now Available Online

On December 11, 2003, NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Habitat Conservation published an advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) soliciting public comment on whether the essential fish habitat (EFH) guidelines should be revised. The ANPR asked two questions: (1) whether the EFH guidelines (50 CFR §§ 600.805 to 600.930) should be revised and (2) if revisions are desired, what parts of the guidelines should be revised, how should they be revised, and why. The public comment period closed on January 26, 2004 . The comment period was subsequently reopened on February 25, 2004 , for an additional 60 days. A total of 7,837 comments were submitted in response to the ANPR. To view these public comments, go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/.

Northeast – New Hampshire Students Name Newest Fisheries Research Vessel

A team of five students and their teacher from Winnacunnet High School in Hampton, N.H., has won the “Name NOAA’s New Ship” contest. NOAA selected the entry “Bigelow” for a 208-foot fisheries survey vessel that is currently under construction in Mississippi. The contest, created to encourage interest in scientific studies, was open to students in kindergarten through 12 th grade in the six New England states.

NOAA will name the ship Henry B. Bigelow, using the full name in accordance with agency tradition. Dr. Henry Bryant Bigelow was a renowned oceanographer who worked as a researcher, instructor and professor of zoology at Harvard from 1906 to 1962, and who founded Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1931. He transformed the Gulf of Maine from a scientific unknown to one of the most thoroughly studied large bodies of water in the world. In doing so, he developed the interdisciplinary, ecosystem-oriented approach that characterizes modern oceanography.

Henry B. Bigelow is the second fisheries survey vessel that VT Halter Marine is building for NOAA to either augment or replace aging vessels in the fleet. If funded, an additional two ships of the same class will be built. The ships will support NOAA research, which is the scientific basis for conservation and management of fisheries and marine ecosystems. Bigelow will be home ported in New England, replacing the 43-year-old Albatross IV. The ship will conduct fisheries research primarily in northeastern U.S. waters. A keel-laying ceremony was held last Friday, May 21, 2004 . To view a complete press release and related press release on the keel laying ceremony, visit NOAA's News Story Archive.

Atlantic - Striped Bass in the Exclusive Economic Zone

NOAA Fisheries is preparing a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) in response to an Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission recommendation to remove the moratorium on the harvest of Atlantic striped bass in the EEZ. NOAA Fisheries conducted public meetings, in November and December 2003, to determine the scope and significance of issues to be evaluated in the DEIS. Analyses are underway for development of a comprehensive DEIS, which is expected to be completed by late summer. This DEIS will provide the background for a decision regarding the Commission’s recommendation.

In order to provide the interested public with an opportunity to review and comment on the DEIS, once it is completed, NOAA Fisheries is developing both email and postal mail lists for distribution of the document. When completed, the document will be published on the Web and will be available on CD or in hard copy. Anyone interested in receiving a copy of the DEIS may ask to be added to the distribution list by:

1) sending an email to StripedBass.EEZ@noaa.gov;

2) sending a Fax to 301-427-2590; or

3) mailing a request to:

Anne Lange Chief,
State Federal Fisheries Division
Office of Sustainable Fisheries- F/SF8
National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring , MD 20910

Be sure your request includes: name, state, email and/or postal mail address, and preferred media for receiving the DEIS (Web, CD, or hardcopy). Please note that we cannot accept comments on this action until the public comment period for the DEIS is established, after the document is completed and available for review.

For more information on the development of the striped bass DEIS and details for submission of names to the mail list files, go to: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/state_federal/state_federal.htm.

Southeast – New Design Approved for Turtle Excluder Devices (TEDs)

NOAA Fisheries regulations require shrimp trawlers and summer flounder trawlers operating in the southeastern United States to have an approved TED installed in each net that is rigged to provide for the escape of sea turtles. TEDs incorporate an escape opening, usually covered by a webbing flap, which allows sea turtles to exit the trawl nets. To be approved by NOAA Fisheries, a TED design must be 97 percent effective in excluding sea turtles during testing. 

NOAA Fisheries gear technicians have worked with industry to develop and test a new design. This modified design allows the use of a flap that extends up to 24 inches (61 cm) past the posterior edge of the TED frame. This design addresses fishermen’s concerns about shrimp loss while still meeting the regulatory requirements for efficiency in releasing sea turtles. The final rule allowing the use of this modified design became effective on May 27, 2004. For more information, contact Robert.Hoffman@noaa.gov.

Southeast – Six Habitat Restoration Projects Completed in Louisiana

On May 21, 2004, NOAA Deputy Assistant Secretary, Timothy Keeney, and Office of Habitat Conservation Director, Rolland Schmitten, joined U.S. Senator John Breaux at Fort Jackson in Louisiana to celebrate six habitat restoration projects completed under the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection, and Restoration Act (otherwise known as the Breaux Act). NOAA Fisheries led three of the six projects providing over $8.5 million to help stabilize coastal Louisiana wetlands and provide critical habitat for commercially valuable fish and wildlife.

The NOAA projects showcase three innovative restoration strategies including, planting over 80,000 salt marsh plugs to reduce erosion on a fragile island chain, revamping a water control structure to restore fresh water flow to a 3,800 acre marsh, and deliberately breaching a river bank to allow small flows of water and sediment to reach adjacent wetland and subtidal habitat.

At the ceremony, Senator Breaux, who is retiring in January, announced a proposed bill to reauthorize the Breaux Act for an additional 10 years. The bill would add another $15 million annually for coastal Louisiana wetland restoration.

The projects dedicated on the May 21 represent a small portion of the 26 projects completed by NOAA Fisheries and its partners in the past decade, which have protected and enhanced over 20,000 acres of coastal habitat. For more information, contact Erik.Zobrist@noaa.gov or by phone at (301) 713-0174.

Pacific – NOAA Fisheries Expresses Continued Commitment to Pacific Salmon Recovery with New Hatchery Policy; Public Input Requested

NOAA’s Proposed Policy on the Consideration of Hatchery Origin Fish in Endangered Species Act Listing Determinations for Pacific Salmon and Steelhead was announced by NOAA Administrator VADM Conrad Lautenbacher today in Seattle. A proposed rule was also announced; this rule includes listing determinations for 27 evolutionarily significant units (ESUs). These proposals will publish in the Federal Register next week, and public comments will be accepted for 90 days. A number of public meetings will be held in California, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho to seek input from constituents.

One of the goals of this policy is to promote future scientific research to evaluate and monitor the role of hatcheries' effects, both positive and negative, upon wild populations. It also will help guide needed reforms where hatchery practices currently pose risks to the recovery of naturally spawning salmon.

The proposed policy and the listing reviews may be found at the following website: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/AlseaResponse/20040528/index.html along with other supporting information.

Northwest - Maritime Center Opening in Port Townsend, Washington

Staff from the Northwest Maritime Center (NWMC) and NOAA Fisheries Restoration Center’s Community-based Restoration Program, Congressman Norm Dicks, and a broad coalition of partner organizations, funders and community members celebrated the opening of a very special dock on the waterfront of Port Townsend, Washington, on May 22. The new NWMC dock not only serves as the visionary front door for a regional educational center celebrating the marine economy and ecology of Puget Sound, it also serves as an example for how to build a better dock. Thousands of eelgrass sprouts planted around and under the dock benefit from its high pilings, light-passing gratings, and under-dock reflectors that reduce the shading impacts typically associated with dock development. The ceremony included a lecture on eelgrass ecology, the first among many as the dock and the center serve to exalt and protect the vibrant ecosystem that shaped the history of the Puget Sound region. Representative Norm Dicks congratulated NWMC on their powerful private-public partnerships and renewed his support for the Marine Center, salmon recovery efforts, and the protection and restoration of Puget Sound.

The previous week, volunteers bundled eelgrass seedlings and attached them to landscape stakes a planting methods developed by Battelle Marine Sciences Laboratories designed to reduce damage from mischievous Dungeness crabs. Design and Eelgrass restoration was funded under a cooperative agreement between NWMC and NOAA Restoration Center ’s Community-based Restoration Program. With the dock and restoration complete, the NWMC staff looks forward to the extensive capital campaign to build the educational center buildings, and a new identity for the Port Townsend waterfront. For more information, contact Paul Cereghino at the NOAA Fisheries Restoration Center in Seattle , WA (206-526-4670).

Northwest – NOAA Awards Over $240 Thousand in Partnership to Restore Salmon Habitats

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration awarded a $241,250 grant to the Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership to restore fisheries habitat in the Lower Columbia River and Tillamook estuaries. The funding creates a three-year agreement between the Estuary Partnership and NOAA’s Restoration Center to select and fund habitat restoration projects that benefit living marine resources in the estuaries. The funds will support local, hands on habitat restoration projects in the lower Columbia River and Tillamook Bay . Both are estuaries of national significance and are part of the National Estuary Program administered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

The Estuary Partnership is a collaborative program of the states of Oregon and Washington, federal agencies, non-profit organizations, businesses and economic interests and citizens. The organization works to increase habitat and habitat functions; improve land use practices to protect ecosystems; enhance education opportunities and provide information about the lower river and estuary to build stewardship among all citizens; improve coordination among multi-jurisdictions and interests; and reduce conventional and toxic pollutants. For more information on the Estuary Partnership, please visit their website at http://www.lcrep.org.

May 25, 2004

Notice - Final EIS Addressing EFH Requirements for Caribbean FMPs.
Rule - Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska ; Rock Sole in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Area.

May 26, 2004

Notice - Atlantic Highly Migratory Species (HMS); Issues and Options Paper for Amendment 2 to the Fishery Management Plan for HMS FMP and Amendment 2 to the Billfish FMP; Additional Public Scoping Meeting and Extension of Comment Period.
Notice - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request (Socio-economic Assessment of Marine Protected Areas Management Preferences).
Notice - Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request (Reporting of Sea Turtle Entanglement in Pot Gear Fisheries).
Notice - NOAA Research ITAP; Proposed Information Collection.
Notice - Dr. Nancy Foster Scholarship Program; Proposed Information Collection
Rule - Fisheries Off West Coast States and in the Western Pacific; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Temporary Closure for the Shore-based Whiting Sector.

May 27, 2004

Notice - Endangered Species; File No. 1486 (Harold M. Brundage, Environmental Research and Consulting).
Notice - Marine Mammals; File Nos. 226-1752 (Theater of the Sea) and 116-1742 (Sea World).
Notice - Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Pacific Tuna Fisheries Logbook.
Rule - Fisheries of the Caribbean , Gulf of Mexico , and South Atlantic ; Dolphin and Wahoo Fishery off the Atlantic States.

May 28, 2004

Notice - North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings held June 7-15, 2004.
Notice - New England FMC; Public Meetings
Notice - South Atlantic FMC; Public Meetings
Notice - Pacific FMC; Public Meetings
Notice - New England FMC; Public Hearings (Amendment 2 - Monkfish)
Notice - Sea Turtle Conservation; Activities Related to Fishing.