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NOAA asks for help locating stranded sea turtles

August 30, 2021 — Federal ocean managers are asking beachgoers in New England and elsewhere to keep an eye out for stranded turtles.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office said several species of sea turtle will still be in the area for a few months. Healthy sea turtles normally should not be out of the water in the region, the office said.

The office asked anyone who sees a turtle on the beach to report it. Species that could be spotted include loggerhead, leatherback, green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, the office said.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

NOAA Asks for Help Locating Stranded Sea Turtles in New England

August 30, 2021 — Federal ocean managers are asking beachgoers in New England and elsewhere to keep an eye out for stranded turtles.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office said several species of sea turtle will still be in the area for a few months. Healthy sea turtles normally should not be out of the water in the region, the office said.

The office asked anyone who sees a turtle on the beach to report it. Species that could be spotted include loggerhead, leatherback, green and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles, the office said.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at NBC Boston

Attention: Fish Online (FOL) eVTR App for iOS users

July 29, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

This notice applies to all vessel operators currently using the iOS FOL app to report eVTR’s. If you have not already done so please update your current version of FOL for iOS to the newly released version 3.1.12. This version provides more information in the alerts when an error occurs during the submission process.

What to Do:

  1. Upon opening the app please note the app version located at the bottom of the screen. If you’re running an older version (anything other than version 3.1.12), there is often a green bar running across the page saying ”Update Available” that you can click to download the current version.
  2. If you’re running an older version and the update bar is not visible, go to the Apple App Store on your device and search for “NOAA Fish Online” and click “Open”. This will update your device to the current version.

Warning: When updating the app there is no need to delete or uninstall the older version before proceeding. Deleting the app will remove all submitted and unsubmitted trips from your device. Deleted unsubmitted trips cannot be recovered. Submitted trips will always reside safely in the GARFO database and are easily accessible and are available for download.

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Fishing Memories: Meet Mike Pentony, Regional Administrator

June 10, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In honor of National Fishing and Boating Week, Mike Pentony, Regional Administrator for the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, shares his fondness for recreational fishing.

What is your earliest fishing memory?

I grew up at the Jersey Shore, so fishing was all around me as a kid. My earliest fishing memory was entering a fishing contest when I was probably 6 years old. We fished in this little pond in Manasquan, New Jersey, and I won the contest for my age group. (Probably because I was the only kid who actually caught a fish.)

After we moved from Manasquan over to Point Pleasant, I spent a lot of time fishing at the Manasquan Inlet. My friends and I would ride our bikes to fish at the Point Pleasant Canal. With just a simple spoon, we could do pretty well fishing for bluefish, which I would bring home and my mom would grill up with tomatoes, lemon, and bacon. I also had a few crab traps and we’d ride our bikes down to the river beach, hop a fence, and catch a few blue crabs to bring home for dinner.

Learn more about his fishing memories in our web story.

MAFMC and ASMFC Postpone Final Action on Potential Changes to Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Allocations

April 8, 2021 — The following was released by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission:

During a joint webinar meeting on Tuesday, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (Commission) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board (Board) voted to postpone a final decision on potential changes to the commercial and recreational allocations of summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass. This delay is intended to allow for further development of the Recreational Reform Initiative before any allocation decisions are made. The Council and Board are now scheduled to take final action on the commercial/recreational allocation amendment at a joint meeting in December 2021.

Summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass are highly sought by both commercial and recreational fishermen throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Southern New England. The commercial/recreational allocations for all three species are currently based on historical proportions of catch or landings. Recent changes in how recreational catch is estimated have resulted in a discrepancy between the current levels of estimated recreational harvest and the allocations to the recreational sector. In response to the revised data, the Council and Board initiated the amendment in 2019 to consider possible changes to the commercial and recreational allocations. This action also aligns with the Council’s policy of reviewing fishery allocations at least every 10 years.

The Council and Commission received 334 public comments from both commercial and recreational fishery participants and organizations during five virtual public hearings and a written comment period earlier this year. In general, comments from the commercial sector favored maintaining status quo allocations, and comments from the recreational sector tended to support the alternatives that would increase allocations to the recreational sector. A more detailed summary of the public comments is available here.

Much of the discussion during this week’s meeting focused on the possibility of postponing an allocation decision to allow for further development of the Recreational Reform Initiative — an approach that has been recommended by stakeholders from both sectors, as well as representatives from the NOAA Fisheries Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO). The Recreational Reform Initiative focuses on management changes to more appropriately account for uncertainty and variability in the Marine Recreational Information Program data and provide stability in the recreational bag, size, and season limits. Proponents of delaying final action have argued that a better sense of potential management changes through the Recreational Reform Initiative may inform the allocation decisions that the Council and Board are considering through this action.

After several hours of discussion, the Council and Board voted to postpone final action until December. This delay is not expected to affect the timing of any allocation changes, as GARFO has advised that implementation of the amendment would be very unlikely to occur until January 1, 2023, regardless of whether approval occurred at this meeting or in December. In the months ahead, staff may incorporate a small number of new alternatives proposed by Council and Board members that fall within the range of alternatives already analyzed within the amendment. The Council and Board are expected to discuss the need for any additional alternatives at their joint meeting in August.

Additional information and updates on this amendment are available at: http://www.mafmc.org/actions/sfsbsb-allocation-amendment.

The press release can also be found at http://www.asmfc.org/uploads/file/606f338cpr21-08_SFSBSB-Allocation-Final-Action-Postponed.pdf

Celebrate Women’s History Month with NOAA Fisheries

March 9, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

In honor of International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month, we are highlighting some of our colleagues who contribute to NOAA Fisheries’ core missions every day. Learn more about them and their careers in science and fisheries management below.

Uvi Ajavon, Fishery Information Specialist

Uvi is the point person for the data access agreement program for the Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) in Gloucester, Massachusetts. She works to make sure our management partners and NOAA grantees have the necessary agreements in place to allow them to access fisheries information for their management and research.

The agreements are also essential to protect the confidentiality of fisheries information. She also plays a main role in implementing GARFO’s Limited Access Qualification and Landings History Programs. She researches ownership and permit changes and provides the landings information that accompany those changes and histories.

Learn more about Uvi Ajavon and her work

Stephanie Haynes, Microbiologist

As a microbiologist for NOAA Fisheries National Seafood Inspection Laboratory, Stephanie Haynes tests seafood byproducts for Salmonella and other disease-causing bacteria. The most common product she tests is fish meal, but the lab also gets samples of bone meal and krill meal through NOAA Fisheries’ Seafood Inspection Program.

Seafood byproducts are a good source of protein and other nutrients, so they are used in aquaculture and livestock feed, pet food, and fertilizer. Additionally, places like the European Union will only accept seafood byproduct imports if we certify that product meets import/export regulations.

Learn more about Stephanie Haynes and her work

Read the full release here

NEFMC Recommends 2021 Recreational Measures for Gulf of Maine Cod and Haddock for GARFO’s Consideration

February 18, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

Recognizing that COVID-19 will continue to impact angler and party/charter boat fishing in the year ahead, the New England Fishery Management Council voted during its late-January 2021 webinar meeting to recommend that NOAA Fisheries, through its Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO), implement status quo recreational fishing measures for Gulf of Maine cod and Gulf of Maine haddock for the 2021 fishing year.

These are the same measures that GARFO implemented on August 13, 2020 during the pandemic to provide additional fishing opportunities for cod and more access to the abundant haddock resource at a time when the recreational fishing community, especially the for-hire fleet, was greatly impacted by the pandemic. In selecting those measures, GARFO considered the Council’s June 2020 request to expand the fall fishing window to help recreational fishermen make up for lost access to the springtime fishery.

The Council received input from both its Recreational Advisory Panel and Groundfish Committee before voting. GARFO will consider the Council’s recommendation, but NOAA Fisheries will make the final decision.

Read the full release here

NEFMC Votes to Submit Groundfish Framework 61 with Universal Sector Exemption for Redfish

February 5, 2021 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Management Council:

The New England Fishery Management Council voted on January 26, 2021 to include a universal sector exemption for redfish in Framework Adjustment 61 to the Northeast Multispecies Fishery Management Plan. If approved by NOAA Fisheries, the exemption would allow groundfish sector vessels to target redfish with 5.5-inch codend mesh within a larger Redfish Exemption Area in the future than was available in the 2020 fishing year.

Following this decision, the Council voted to submit Framework 61 to NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) for review and implementation. The target implementation date is May 1, 2021, the start of the new fishing year.

The Council signed off on all other Framework 61 measures, including 2021-2023 specifications for groundfish stocks based on updated assessment information, during its December 2020 meeting. A recap is available here.

Read the full release here

Fishing monitors not required through May 30; draft rule hearing Thursday

May 20, 2020 — Meanwhile, the New England Fishery Management Council is hosting a webinar public hearing on its draft groundfish monitoring amendment and has extended the public comment deadline to the end of June.

The council, which voted in April to postpone final action on draft Amendment 23 beyond its June meeting, will hold the webinar public hearing Thursday, May 21. One hearing was held May 12. If approved, the council would work with new NOAA to implement the new monitoring rules.

Thursday’s session is scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. and individuals may register through a link on the council’s website, nefmc.org.

More information on Amendment 23 and proposed changes to monitoring can be found at https://bit.ly/2zN4vcR

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NOAA Extends Waiver for Monitors on Fishing Ships

May 19, 2020 — The federal government is continuing to waive the need for some fishing vessels to carry at-sea monitors.

At-sea monitors and fishery observers collect data on board fishing boats that help inform the management of U.S. fisheries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office has waived the requirement for vessels with Northeast fishing permits to carry the monitors through May 30.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at U.S. News

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