National

Pacific Coast

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North Pacific

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Southeast

2009 Report on International Agreements for Marine Resources Now Available

New England Council to Meet; June 22-25 in Portland, ME

Data Workshop for Black Grouper and Red Grouper; June 22-26 in North Charleston, SC

Pacific Groundfish Assessment Review Panels Begin; July 13-17 in Santa Cruz, CA

New Online Forum at Regulations.gov

Free Shark Identification and Protected Species Workshops for Fishermen

National - NOAA Proposes 2010 Fishery Classifications, Consistent with Marine Mammal Protection Act

NOAA Fisheries has published its proposed List of Fisheries for 2010, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The proposed List of Fisheries for 2010 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NOAA must categorize each commercial fishery on the List of Fisheries into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of serious injury and mortality of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. This categorization determines whether fishery participants are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan requirements.

Comments may be submitted at www.regulations.gov until August 10, 2009. For more information, read the proposed rule.

Pacific Coast - NOAA Biological Opinion Finds California Water Projects Jeopardize Listed Species

NOAA has released a final biological opinion that finds the water pumping operations in California's Central Valley by the federal Bureau of Reclamation jeopardize the continued existence of several threatened and endangered species. Federal biologists and hydrologists concluded that current water pumping operations in the Federal Central Valley Project and the California State Water Project should be changed to ensure survival of winter and spring-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley steelhead, the southern population of North American green sturgeon and Southern Resident killer whales, which rely on Chinook salmon runs for food.

The water projects included in the opinion are Shasta Dam at the upper headwaters of the Sacramento River, Folsom and Nimbus Dams on the American River, and New Melones Dam on the Stanislaus River. The opinion also covers the state and federal export facilities in the Delta, the Nimbus hatchery on the American River, and the operations of diversion structures, including the Red Bluff Diversion Dam on the mainstem Sacramento and the Delta Cross Channel gates in the Delta. As part of the final opinion, NOAA has described a number of ways the bureau can operate the water system to benefit the species, including increasing the cold water storage and flow rates. These methods can enhance egg incubation and juvenile fish rearing, as well as improve the spawning habitat and the downstream migration of juvenile fish.

North Pacific - Unmanned Aircraft Helping Scientists Learn About Ice Seals

NOAA Fisheries scientists and their partners have launched an unmanned aircraft to mount the vehicle's first search for ice seals at the southern edge of the Bering Sea pack ice during the Arctic spring, in an effort to learn more about these remotely located species. NOAA Fisheries scientists from the Alaska Science Center's National Marine Mammal Laboratory, in cooperation with the University of Alaska's Cooperative Institute for Arctic Research, will use the images to evaluate whether unmanned aircraft could be useful for estimating the abundance and distribution of ice seals. Collecting data on seals and sea ice will improve the agency's understanding of seal habitat preferences and sensitivity to climate change.

There are many potential applications of this technology in the North Pacific. In addition to surveys for ice seals and other easily visible marine mammals such as walrus, the system could potentially be used to study near surface oceanography, sea ice conditions and movements, and to collect information on atmospheric and weather conditions.

North Pacific - Proposed Rule to Implement Arctic Fishery Management Plan

NOAA Fisheries has published a proposed rule that would implement the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Fish Resources of the Arctic Management Area, and Amendment 29 to the Fishery Management Plan for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands King and Tanner Crabs. The Arctic FMP and Amendment 29 to the Crab FMP, if approved, would establish sustainable management of commercial fishing in the Arctic Management Area and move the northern boundary of the Crab FMP out of the Arctic Management Area south to Bering Strait. This action is necessary to establish a management framework for commercial fishing and to provide consistent management of fish resources in the Arctic Management Area before the potential onset of unregulated commercial fishing in the area.

Comments may be sent to www.regulations.gov until July 27, 2009. For more information, read the proposed rule or contact Melanie Brown at 907-586-7228.

Northeast - Federal Agencies Protect More Gulf of Maine Atlantic Salmon to Recover Imperiled Stocks

NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have extended Endangered Species Act protection to more Atlantic salmon by adding fish in the Penobscot, Kennebec, and Androscoggin Rivers and their tributaries to the endangered Gulf of Maine population first listed in 2000. These populations once returned by the hundreds of thousands to most major rivers along the Northeastern U.S., and now return in small numbers only to rivers in Maine.

The endangered listing applies to all anadromous (sea-run) Atlantic salmon whose freshwater range covers the watersheds from the Androscoggin River northward along the Maine coast to the Dennys River, an area that includes the Penobscot and Kennebec Rivers and their estuaries. Hatchery fish used to supplement these natural populations are included under this rule, while landlocked salmon and salmon raised in hatcheries for aquaculture are not included in the listed population. The Atlantic salmon's critical habitat — the area needed to support the fish population's survival and recovery — is contained in about 12,000 miles of river, stream and estuary habitat and about 300 square miles of lake habitat in Maine.

Southeast - New NOAA Fisheries Survey Vessel Delivered

NOAA has accepted delivery of Pisces, the third of four new fisheries survey vessels and a significant achievement in the agency's efforts to modernize its fleet of fisheries, oceanographic, and hydrographic survey ships. The ship's primary objective will be to study, monitor, and collect data on a wide range of sea life and ocean conditions, primarily in U.S. waters from the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and South Atlantic to North Carolina. This region includes important commercial and recreational fisheries, and is one of the world's most productive marine areas. The data collected by the ship will be used by scientists who study variation in ocean conditions and sea life and how they relate to such issues as sustainable fisheries, fish habitat, habitat restoration, coral reefs, and protected species status. Pisces also will observe weather, conduct habitat assessments, and survey marine mammal and bird populations.

Pisces is the third in a series of four planned 208-foot fisheries survey ships replacing aging ships in the NOAA fleet. It was launched in December 2007 and delivered to NOAA by VT Halter Marine Inc. It will be commissioned and placed into operation in October 2009, after several more months of outfitting and shakedown at its homeport in Pascagoula, MS. Foremost among Pisces ' state-of-the-art capabilities is the ship's “quiet” hull, which minimizes underwater sounds made by the ship. This allows scientists to use hydroacoustic methods for surveying marine life, and significantly reduces changes in the natural behavior of animals caused by ship noise.

Southeast - Increased Support for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary

Stakeholder support for management strategies and regulations of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary grew dramatically among key user groups over a 10-year period, according to a study conducted by researchers from NOAA, the University of Miami's Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, and Thomas J. Murray and Associates. The increase in support is particularly significant among commercial fishermen. The peer-reviewed study compared perceptions of key users in a 1995-96 baseline study with users in 2006. It revealed greater support for the sanctuary among the commercial fishing community, with a shift from highly negative responses to a supportive or neutral position. In the original baseline study, 78.4 percent of commercial fishermen were against the sanctuary's creation. However, the 10-year replication survey found only 42 percent were against the sanctuary, 41.7 percent supported it and 14.3 percent were neutral.

The study also found significant movement in a positive direction on management processes, performance and support. For example, dive operators' support for establishing the Keys sanctuary increased from 64 percent to 87 percent after 10 years, and a majority believes that 18 no-take zones within the sanctuary have reduced conflicts among user groups. The full study, with an executive summary and a series of fact sheets for each user group, is available online. Results of a second socioeconomic study of visitors and Keys residents will be released later this year.