National

National

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Atlantic & Gulf

Atlantic

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Northwest

Public Meetings - Hearings to be Held on Proposed Listing Determinations for Salmon

Public Meetings - NOAA Fisheries Hosts Two Public Forums on Recreational Fisheries Data Updated!

National - Hydropower Proposed Rule Available for Public Comment

The National Marine Fisheries Service published a proposed rule entitled "Procedures for Review of Mandatory Fishway Prescriptions Developed by the Department of Commerce in the Context of Federal Energy Regulatory Commission's Hydropower Licensing" in the Federal Register on 9/9/04 (50 FR 54615). NMFS proposes a public review process for mandatory fishway prescriptions developed by the agency, pursuant to its authority under the Federal Power Act, for inclusion in hydropower licenses issued by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This proposed rule is intended to supercede and codify NMFS' existing 2001 policy governing review of its prescriptions, to solicit public comments on how the process has worked during the trial period of implementation and to determine whether any further revision is warranted. The public review process will enable the public to comment on the Department's preliminary prescriptions and to provide information to assist the Department in considering any needed modifications of prescriptions to be included in FERC's final license. Written comments must be received no later than November 8, 2004.

You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

• E-mail: NMFS.MCRP@noaa.gov. Include in the subject line the following identifier: RIN 0648-AS55.
• Federal e-Rulemaking Portal: http://www.regulations.gov.
• Mail: Written comments must be sent to:

Thomas Bigford, Chief
Habitat Protection Division
Office of Habitat Conservation
National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910.

To ensure proper identification of your comments, include in the subject line the name, date and Federal Register citation (50 FR 54615) of this document.

For further information contact Melanie Harris at NOAA Fisheries Office of Habitat Conservation at Melanie.Harris@noaa.gov or 301-713-4300, ext. 154.

National - Thirteen Community-Based Habitat Restoration Partnerships Funded in FY04

In response to a June 30, 2003 Federal Register Notice advertising the availability of funds for NOAA’s competitive grant programs, the Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) received thirty-one applications from non-profit organizations, academia, and local and state agencies, to establish multi-year partnerships to cooperatively identify and fund fishery habitat restoration projects. In response to the announcement that closed on December 5, 2003, applicants requested over $13 million for the first year of 3-year habitat restoration partnerships. After a competitive selection process, thirteen regional and national partnerships were selected for funding for a total $5.9M to support first year efforts. The selected partners are expected to leverage each federal dollar invested between 3 to 5 times. With CRP’s financial and technical assistance, these partnerships will support locally driven projects to restore a variety of fishery habitats including: mangroves, salt marshes, coral reefs, submerged aquatic vegetation beds, oyster reefs, and anadromous fish spawning grounds.

Funded partnerships include:
Regional Partners:
• Lower Columbia River Estuary Partnership, $241,250
• Gulf of Mexico Foundation, $386,000
• Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, $96,500
• California Conservation Corps, $193,000
• Association of U.S. Delegates to the Gulf of Maine Council, $386,000
• California Coastkeeper Alliance, $212,155

National Partners:
• Trout Unlimited, Inc., $241,250
• American Rivers, Inc., $531,261
• National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, $853,125
• Restore America’s Estuaries, $1,592,000
• The Nature Conservancy, $580,506
• FishAmerica Foundation, $482,500
• Ocean Trust, $120,625

The NOAA Community-based Restoration Program (CRP) began in 1996 to encourage local efforts to restore fish habitats. Between 1996 and 2004, the CRP has secured funding for over 800 locally-driven restoration projects around the country, and continues to work with existing and new national and regional partnerships to leverage funding available for these activities. The CRP provides technical expertise through NMFS regional staff as needed in addition to funds, and brings together community groups, non-profit organizations, business interests, youth conservation corps and service organizations, academia, watershed groups, local government, state and Federal agencies to implement grass-roots habitat restoration projects of local significance to benefit NOAA trust resources. Additional information on the CRP as well as NOAA Restoration Center (RC) partnerships that are currently accepting applications for grass-roots habitat restoration projects is available on the RC Web site at: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/habitat/restoration. For more information contact Lindsay Rape 301-713-0174 or Lindsay.Rape@noaa.gov

Northeast - Tagged Cod Bring Five Lucky Winners Cash Rewards

The Northeast Regional Cod Tagging Program announced the winners of its 12th cash lottery. Five winners will each receive $200. To be eligible for the lottery, winners reported four critical pieces of information following the recapture of a tagged cod including tag number, recapture location, fish length and date captured.

The Northeast Regional Cod Tagging Program represents the largest cod tagging program initiated to date along the eastern seaboard of the North American continent. The program aims to tag and release over 100,000 Atlantic cod between March 2003 and March 2005. This initiative arose from a need identified by regional groundfish fishermen and scientists to understand current distribution and migration patterns of Atlantic cod as important for management efforts to rebuild cod stocks.

A significant example of collaborative research, the program involves commercial fishermen and research organizations from Nova Scotia, Canada down to Cape Cod, Massachusetts. Fishermen and fish processors are asked to keep an eye open for these tagged cod. To date, over 85,000 cod have been tagged and around 1,600 tags have been recovered.

The Northeast Regional Cod Tagging Program is funded by NOAA Fisheries, Northeast Regional Office through the Cooperative Research Partners Initiative and the New England Fisheries Management Council. The program is coordinated by the Gulf of Maine Research Institute and includes an international team of researchers from the Maine Department of Marine Resources, Canada's Department of Fisheries and Oceans, the Island Institute, Cape Cod Commercial Hook Fishermen's Association, Manomet Center for Conservation Sciences, and University of Massachusetts Dartmouth School for Marine Science and Technology to address these questions.

For more information on the progress of the Program contact Dr. Shelly Tallack, Gulf of Maine Research Institute, (207) 772-2321.

Atlantic – Updated Right Whale Recovery Plan is Available for Public Comment

NOAA Fisheries has recently updated a 1991 Recovery Plan for the North Atlantic Right Whale. Historically depleted by commercial whaling, the North Atlantic right whale population is considered highly endangered, with present numbers of approximately 300 individuals. The population is impacted both directly and indirectly by human activities primarily in the form of vessel collisions and entanglement in fishing gear. These impacts have contributed to a lack of recovery for the species.

The Plan includes the following prioritized objectives to promote recovery of the North Atlantic right whale:
(1) Minimize sources of human-caused death, injury, and disturbance;
(2) develop demographically-based recovery criteria;
(3) identify, characterize, protect, and monitor important habitats;
(4) monitor the status and trends of abundance and distribution of the western North Atlantic right whale population;
(5) and coordinate Federal, state, international, and private efforts to implement the Recovery Plan.

Members of the public are invited to review this draft plan and provide comments. For a copy, please go to www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/PR3/recovery.html. Comments must be received no later than 5 p.m., EST, on November 1, 2004.

Written comments should be sent to:
Chief, Marine Mammal Conservation Division
Attn: North Atlantic Right Whale Recovery Plan
Office of Protected Resources
National Marine Fisheries Service
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910.

Comments may also be sent via e-mail to the following address: Narw.Comments@noaa.gov. To view a copy of the press release, visit our Media Center.

Atlantic – NOAA Fisheries Announces Call for Nominations to the ICCAT Advisory Committee

NOAA Fisheries is soliciting nominations to the Advisory Committee to the U.S. Section to the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT) as established by the Atlantic Tunas Convention Act (ATCA). NOAA Fisheries is also soliciting nominations for technical advisors to the Advisory Committee's species working groups. Nominations are due by October 15, 2004.

Each member of the Advisory Committee serves for a term of two years and is eligible for reappointment. There are currently 20 appointed Advisory Committee members. The terms of these members expire on December 31, 2004. In addition, there are four species working groups advising the Committee and the U.S. Commissioners. Specifically, there is a Bluefin Tuna Working Group, a Swordfish Working Group, a Billfish Working Group, and a BAYS (Bigeye, Albacore, Yellowfin, and Skipjack) Tunas Working Group.

Nominations should include a letter of interest and a resume or curriculum vitae. Letters of recommendation are useful but not required. Self-nominations are acceptable. When making a nomination, please clearly specify which appointment (Advisory Committee member or technical advisor to a species working group) is being sought. Requesting consideration for placement on both the Advisory Committee and a species working group is acceptable. Those interested in a species working group technical advisor appointment should indicate which of the four working groups is preferred.

Nominations should be sent to
Dr. William T. Hogarth, Assistant Administrator,
National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910

A copy should also be sent to
Erika Carlsen
International Fisheries Division
Office of Sustainable Fisheries, NMFS, Room 13114,
1315 East-West Highway
Silver Spring, MD 20910

For more information, contact Erika.Carlsen@noaa.gov.

Atlantic & Gulf - United States to Host Annual ICCAT Meeting

For the first time in the history of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the annual meeting of the parties will be hosted by the United States. This year, ICCAT will meet from November 15-21 in New Orleans, LA. ICCAT is responsible for the conservation and management of Atlantic highly migratory species, including tunas, swordfish and billfish. For more information about the ICCAT meeting, visit http://www.iccat.es/Commission2004.htm.

Please note that this meeting is not open to the public, due to the sensitive nature of the international negotiations. Only individuals who are registered with the Commission will be permitted to enter the meeting room. However, any group that has a direct interest in ICCAT’s mandate can apply for observer status with the Commission. For more information on how to apply, and the rules governing the participation of observers during the meeting, go to http://www.iccat.es/Commission2004.htm. The deadline for applying for observer status is September 24. If you have any questions about participating, please contact Erika.Carlsen@noaa.gov or Rachel.O’Malley@noaa.gov.

Atlantic – Federal Investigation Leads to Seizure of Atlantic Sea Scallops

A federal law enforcement investigation has led to a seizure of illegal Atlantic Sea Scallops that were far in excess of allowable amounts and in violation of the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act.

Last week, special agents from NOAA Fisheries, assisted by the Virginia Marine Resources Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard, boarded three fishing vessels in Chincoteague, Va., and seized 3,869 pounds of scallops. The catch was over the allowable limit by 3,069 pounds. The seizure followed a three-month investigation by NOAA Fisheries’ Office for Law Enforcement (OLE). The investigation also revealed excess landings on eight other occasions.

"The charges are for landings consisting of large overages being taken, transported and sold to dealers in multiple locations," said Special Agent Steven Niemi, NOAA Fisheries OLE – Northeast Division. "These vessels are alleged to have overages exceeding the landing amount of 400 pounds per trip per vessel by thousands of pounds each trip. These were not small overages or mistakes, these overages appear to be a normal course of business for the involved parties."

"It makes the management of any fishery difficult when you have this much product landed and not accounted for," said Niemi.

The alleged scheme entailed the fishing vessels making trips and landing them at a private dock in Chincoteague. The scallops were then off-loaded on different occasions to make it appear as if two trips had occurred. Some of the scallops were sold to a seafood dealer in Crisfield, MD, which is also under investigation.

Penalties can be up to $120,0000 per offense and may include permit sanctions or revocations.

Gulf – Breaux Act Task Force Recognized for Partnership Efforts

On August 18, 2004, the Breaux Act Task Force received the Coastal America 2004 Partnership Award in recognition of its outstanding partnership efforts. The award was received for Task Force projects in Louisiana. These projects were funded under the Coastal Wetlands Planning, Protection and Restoration Act (CWPPRA), also known as the Breaux Act, after Senator John Breaux, who authored the legislation.

One hundred twenty-nine restoration projects are currently authorized through the Breaux Act. Since implementation of the Act in 1991, the Task Force and associated support committees successfully completed more than 60 additional projects in Louisiana. Coastal Louisiana has lost an average of 34 square miles of land, primarily marsh, per year for the last 50 years. Projects completed by the Task Force benefit an estimated 52,000 acres of coastal land.

For more information about Coastal America, visit www.CoastalAmerica.gov. For more information about America’s vanishing wetland and efforts to protect and restore it, visit www.LaCoast.gov.

West Coast – NOAA Funds Research to Develop Harmful Algal Bloom Alert System

NOAA granted $400,000 to the University of California, Santa Cruz to fund research for a harmful algal bloom alert system. The grant is from the Monitoring and Event Response for Harmful Algal Blooms (MERHAB) program, managed by NOAA Ocean Service, National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science. The ultimate objective is to develop an integrated alert system to determine the best way to detect and respond to toxic algal blooms along the California coast. These blooms cause severe illness and even death in humans who consume tainted shellfish. Harmful algal blooms in this region routinely kill sea otters, sea lions and other marine animals, and threaten the economic livelihood of many California coastal communities.

This award initiates a planned five year, $2 Million dollar MERHAB effort that engages key academic and state agency partners in developing harmful algae detection and tracking tools at intensive study sites in Marin, Monterey and San Luis Obispo counties. UCSC and the California Department of Health Service, the state agency charged with ensuring seafood safety, are co-leading this effort to implement an economically sustainable harmful algal bloom monitoring plan for the California coastline that exceeds current CDHS capabilities.

Project partners include the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and NOAA Fisheries Southeast. MERHAB funding leverages existing NOAA and local observation technology investments in moored buoy arrays, shipboard oceanographic studies and long-term environmental assessment.

The NOAA Ocean Service is addressing the national harmful algal bloom threat by developing regional harmful algal bloom observation technology and forecasting systems, like this Central California effort, in other affected coastal ecosystems. For more information go to www.cop.noaa.gov/Fact_Sheets/MERHAB.html. See related research item below.

Northwest - NOAA Fisheries Releases Draft Biological Opinion on Operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System

NOAA Fisheries released and filed with the court on Sept. 9 its draft Biological Opinion on operations of the Federal Columbia River Power System. The new draft opinion comes in response to a decision by a federal court last year that ruled an earlier biological opinion, written in 2000, did not contain sufficient guarantees that certain actions to help salmon would be implemented. This draft provides greater details about habitat improvements and hatchery operations throughout the Columbia River watershed. It incorporates the latest scientific findings on the fundamental biological needs of each salmon species. NOAA Fisheries is seeking comment from its salmon co-managers on the draft BiOp.

Also released was the FCRPS action agencies' Updated Proposed Action, upon which the draft biological opinion is based. All documents are available on the BiOp Remand section of the Federal Caucus Web site at: www.salmonrecovery.gov. For questions, please contact Brian Gorman (206) 526-6613 or Brian.Gorman@noaa.gov Also see below related item on public hearings for Salmon ESA Determinations.

Northwest – ECOHAB Research Cruise Underway To Study Harmful Algal Blooms

From September 8-28, Northwest Fisheries Science Center scientists will be participating in the third ECOHAB (Ecology & Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms) Pacific Northwest cruise aboard the Research Vessel Atlantis. ECOHAB Pacific Northwest is a 5-year multi-disciplinary project that is studying the physiology, toxicology, ecology, and oceanography of toxic Pseudo-nitzschia species off the Pacific Northwest Coast. Toxic Pseudo-nitzschia species produce domoic acid, which can accumulate in razor clams, Dungeness crab, mussels, anchovies, and sardines.

Marine mammals and humans who consume contaminated shellfish or fish can become ill or in some cases die. This year, in addition to the interdisciplinary team of scientists onboard, the ECOHAB cruise will host a Seattle-area teacher through the National Science Foundation's Teacher at Sea Program. Funding for ECOHAB is provided by the NOAA Coastal Ocean Program and the Division of Ocean Sciences of the National Science Foundation; www.ecohabpnw.org/index.html.

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