Saving Seafood

Save the date, agenda & register: Sept 1-2, 2021, NOAA HSRP virtual public meeting

August 23, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA:

The NOAA HSRP Federal Advisory Committee will have a virtual public meeting via webinar to focus on NOAA’s navigation, observations, and positioning services, data and products. A draft agenda is attached – updates to the agenda and meeting materials will be posted at: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/hsrp.html

PUBLIC COMMENTS:
Public comments directed to the HSRP members and NOAA on the HSRP related topics are encouraged. All comments on the topics of the meeting will become part of the public meeting record. Due to the condensed nature and time limit of the meeting, comments can be submitted in advance via letter or email, should be approximately 2 minutes, and should not repeat other comments. As time allows, public comments will be read into the public record during the meeting. Advance comments will be collated and posted to the meeting website.

Please submit advance comments to: hydroservices.panel@noaa.gov , Lynne.Mersfelder@noaa.gov and Virginia.Dentler@noaa.gov

WEBINAR REGISTRATION:
https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/5627376790601178124

Receive HSRP email notices and additional information:
You can sign up for the email list for HSRP meetings and we’ll provide infrequent HSRP updates including the final meeting agenda. The meeting is public and all are welcome. Email your request to: Virginia.Dentler@noaa.gov and Lynne.Mersfelder@noaa.gov.

NOAA HSRP TOPICS and BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
The HSRP is a Federal Advisory Committee that provides NOAA with independent advice on improving the quality, efficiency, and usefulness of NOAA’s navigation-related products, data, and services. The HSRP advises the NOAA Administrator about its navigation (i.e. nautical charts and ENCs), physical oceanographic (i.e. tides & water levels), geospatial, positioning, and shoreline programs, products, and services. There are two public meetings each year in different port regions at which NOAA seeks public comments from stakeholders and partners.

AGENDA and MEETING DOCUMENTS:
Attached is a draft agenda. The times and speakers are subject to change. The meeting agenda is updated and additional information is available at: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/hsrp.html

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
HSRP WEB: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/hsrp.html
HSRP Meetings: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/meetings.html
HSRP Recommendations: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/recommendations.html
HSRP Panel member bios: https://www.nauticalcharts.noaa.gov/hsrp/panel.html

Hope to “see you” on September 1-2. 2021.

NOAA Fisheries Cancels 2021 Belugas Count!

August 23, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

After careful consideration regarding the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, NOAA Fisheries and partners have decided to cancel the 2021 Belugas Count! event.

Belugas Count! is a citizen science opportunity and festival event usually held in September, when viewing of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales near Anchorage and Kenai is optimal.

“Belugas Count! is a family-focused event that brings together people of all ages,” said Jon Kurland, director of NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region’s Protected Resources Division. “Regrettably, due to the status of the pandemic, NOAA Fisheries and our partners decided to cancel the 2021 Belugas Count! event, as we did in 2020, out of an abundance of caution.”

Read more.

US lawmakers want information on chemical toxic to salmon

August 20, 2021 — More than a dozen members of the U.S. House of Representatives sent a letter to the heads of NOAA and U.S. Fish and Wildlife on Thursday, 19 August, asking them to investigate the effect a toxic chemical has on salmon species.

Led by U.S. Reps. Jared Huffman and Katie Porter, both Califiornia Democrats, a total of 14 lawmakers are seeking answers from NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad and FWS Principal Deputy Director Martha Williams about their agencies’ efforts to examine the deleterious effects of 6PPD-quinone on wild salmon mortality.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

COVID Relief Application Period Open to Hawaii Seafood Industry

August 20, 2021 — Hawaii fishermen and seafood businesses should be ready to apply for more COVID-19 relief funds.

Through the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021, Congress and NOAA allocated an additional $3.6 million to eligible Hawai‘i fishery participants affected by the novel coronavirus. Applications for Round 2 CARES Act assistance were available this week through the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission website, the Hawai‘i Division of Aquatic Resources reported on its website on Aug. 13.

Read the full story at Seafood News

See a Stranded or Entangled Turtle? Call the NOAA Hotline!

August 20, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Report stranded or entangled sea turtles so that network responders can help

Although summer is coming to an end, leatherback, loggerhead, green, and Kemp’s ridley sea turtles are still in our area for another few months.

Beached Turtles

Report any sea turtles you see on the beach. In most of the states in our region, healthy sea turtles should not be out of the water.

Report Distressed Turtles in the Water

When you are boating, report any distressed, entangled, or dead sea turtles in the water. Live turtles in need of medical assistance or wrapped up in rope or other debris need the help of the dedicated, trained responders in our stranding and disentanglement network. Your call will start a potentially life-saving response. Network members have training and experience to assess turtle health, provide medical care if necessary, and safely disentangle turtles. Turtles that are released with line still wrapped around their bodies may later die due to this entanglement. Well-meaning attempts to disentangle turtles without training and experience can put both the people and the turtle at risk.

Make the Call!

  • Call our stranding and entanglement hotline: 866-755-6622 (NOAA Hotline).
  • If out of cell phone range, call the Coast Guard on Channel 16.

Stand By Your Turtle!

After you report a turtle in distress, we need you to keep the animal in sight from a safe distance and wait for responders to arrive. Like any first responders, we need time to get on scene, so please keep an eye on the animal from a safe distance; responders will have a much easier time relocating the turtle with you at its side. Sea turtles are very strong, and a stressed animal can act unpredictably, so give them space.

The Sea Turtle Stranding and Disentanglement Network team includes animal care specialists, researchers, and veterinarians with years of experience disentangling and treating injuries to sea turtles. They will evaluate the animal and determine the best course of action.

Our network of dedicated, trained responders have years of experience in responding to sea turtles in distress. They need your help to stand by turtles without taking action. Just like waiting for an ambulance, please wait for the experienced responders to arrive to assess the turtle’s health and provide the care it needs. Standing by and guiding the responder to the turtle’s location are the two best things you can do to help the animal.

Find out more: Sea Turtle Disentanglement Network

Read the full release here

NMFS planning new whale protections for Atlantic gillnet and trap fisheries

August 20, 2021 — NMFS officials are beginning a second phase in their drive to reduce fishing gear entanglement risks to endangered Atlantic right whales, fin whales and humpback whales, focusing next on East Coast pot and gillnet fisheries.

The first phase, focused on the Northeast lobster and Jonah crab trap fisheries, is under review is currently at the NOAA Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, and agency officials say it will be finalized soon. That part of the plan will bring new requirements for weak links, gear marking, seasonal area closures and minimum number of traps per trawl.

Similar measures would be developed for the other fixed gear fisheries, and NMFS is opening a scoping period Sept. 9 through Oct. 21 to solicit input and information from fishermen and other stakeholders. A schedule released this week sets dates for 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. online webinars.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

THE POST AND COURIER: The feds told us to slow down for right whales; federal vessels should, too

August 20, 2021 — Here’s an instance of the hypocrisy that too often gives the federal government a bad name, and it’s a whale of an example.

On one hand, the federal government has established the vessel speed rule that limits the speed of vessels in certain parts of the Atlantic Ocean to lessen any chance that these ships will strike and harm a critically endangered North Atlantic right whale. On the other hand, the federal government has exempted its own fleet.

In other words, Uncle Sam is telling us: Do as I say, not as a I do. It might seem like a small matter, but it would be easy to change. And important to change, too. Because it’s clear more must be done to protect these creatures.

A recent report from the nonprofit conservation group Oceana found that almost 90% of all vessels passing through the ocean between Wilmington, N.C., and Brunswick, Ga., exceeded the 10-knot speed limit. That was the highest percentage along the East Coast. (The area off the Port of New York and New Jersey was next, with almost 80% of vessels there going more than the speed limit.)

While it’s unclear exactly how many of these speeding vessels are federally owned, some certainly were. The fastest one clocked was a U.S. Navy ship going almost 40 knots.

This much is clear: The faster the vessel, the greater the chance of it colliding with a right whale. Such collisions are among the leading causes of injury and death for the species (another being entanglement with fishing gear).

Read the full opinion piece at The Post and Courier

eVTR Instructional Webinar on Tuesday Afternoon – August 24

August 20, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The next instructional eVTR webinar will be held Tuesday, August 24 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. This webinar will provide vessel operators and others with a walkthrough of the eTrips Mobile 2, Fish Online Apple iOS and Fish Online Web App as options for submitting your eVTRs. This webinar will focus on Virginia and North Carolina vessels, though anyone is welcome to join any webinar.

How Do I Join?

More information can be found on our webpage for this series: How to Use Electronic Vessel Trip Reporting Apps. This page includes webinar login information.

Questions?

Contact your local Port Agent.

Sea Scallop Research Program Seeks Proposals

August 20, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries is soliciting proposals for the 2022-2023 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program, in coordination with the New England Fishery Management Council.

Approved applications are awarded pounds of scallops that have been set aside to pay for research experiments.

No federal funds are provided for research.

The New England Fishery Management Council sets the priorities for the research, and NOAA Fisheries administers the competition, oversees awarded projects and set-aside harvest activities.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

Sea Scallop Research Program Seeks Proposals

August 19, 2021 — NOAA Fisheries is soliciting proposals for the 2022-2023 Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Program, in coordination with the New England Fishery Management Council.

Approved applications are awarded pounds of scallops that have been set aside to pay for research experiments.

No federal funds are provided for research.

The New England Fishery Management Council sets the priorities for the research, and NOAA Fisheries administers the competition, oversees awarded projects and set-aside harvest activities.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com