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NOAA’s Draft Mitigation Policy for Trust Resources Available for Public Comment

May 7, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA is releasing for public comment its draft Mitigation Policy for Trust Resources. The public may review the policy and provide comments through July 12, 2021.

The purpose of the draft Mitigation Policy is to improve conservation of NOAA’s trust resources through more effective mitigation of adverse impacts to those trust resources. In implementing the draft policy NOAA will expand best practices in mitigation across NOAA programs and regions.

The draft policy describes eight principles that will guide NOAA recommendations and decisions about mitigation, with the ultimate goal of achieving environmental benefits consistent with applicable authorities. The eight principles are:

Apply the mitigation sequence appropriately.
Employ the best scientific information available.
Apply a holistic landscape and/or seascape approach.
Promote mitigation strategies that have a high probability of success.
Consider climate change and climate resilience when evaluating and developing mitigation measures.
Implement mitigation that is proportional to impacts to NOAA trust resources and fully offset those impacts.
Use preservation of intact habitat as compensation appropriately, taking into account the high risk of habitat loss in many rapidly developing coastal and marine landscapes and seascapes.
Collaborate with partner agencies and stakeholders.

For more information on how to comment view our web story.

Read the full release here

Biden’s “30 by 30” report calls for expansion of NOAA conservation efforts

May 7, 2021 — A report released by officials from the administration of U.S. President Joe Biden on Thursday, 6 May instructs NOAA to expand the National Marine Sanctuaries System and National Estuarine Research Reserve System.

The report also calls on NOAA to work on conservation efforts to help restore fish populations, and better protect threatened and endangered species. Those recommendations are part of how the administration plans to protect 30 percent of the country’s lands and waters by 2030, a goal put forth in an executive order signed by Biden early in his presidency.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Massachusetts waters remain closed to lobstermen

May 6, 2021 — The state Division of Marine Fisheries is reminding lobstermen and other trap fishermen that state waters north and east of Cape Cod remain closed to all commercial harvesting because of the continued presence of North Atlantic right whales.

DMF and the Provincetown Center for Coastal Studies continue to fly aerial survey flights to gauge the scale of right whale presence in state waters as the imperiled stock continues its northward feeding migration.

The agency said its most recent flight, on April 28, 2021, observed 86 right whales in the waters of northern Cape Cod Bay, southern Massachusetts Bay, and Stellwagen Bank, a fishing ground located about 15 miles southeast of Gloucester to about six miles north of Provincetown.

“Additional surveillance flights are anticipated to occur over the next several days,” DMF stated. “DMF will reevaluate the status of this closure based on the presence or absence of whales. Should observational data demonstrate right whales have migrated out of Massachusetts waters, DMF may lift the trap gear closure prior to May 15.”

Also, the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute’s Slocum underwater glider on Sunday acoustically detected the presence of North Atlantic right whales north of Cape Cod and NOAA Fisheries on Monday instituted a voluntary right whale slow zone north of Cape Cod until May 17.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

National Fish Habitat Partnership Projects to Enhance Recreational Fishing and Restore Habitat

May 6, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA is funding four projects designed to enhance recreational fisheries engagement and restore habitat through the coastal National Fish Habitat Partnerships. Saltwater recreational fishing is a part of the fabric of coastal communities, and anglers make critical contributions to the conservation of fish habitat nationwide. NOAA Fisheries is committed to collaborating with the recreational fishing community and supporting access to sustainable saltwater recreational opportunities. These projects will actively involve anglers in habitat restoration efforts that will benefit coastal communities and economies.

Recreational Engagement and Ecological Learning Series in Louisiana

Sponsoring Partnership: Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership

Anglers Bettering Louisiana’s Estuaries, Louisiana Sea Grant, and the Southeast Aquatic Resources Partnership will work with local charter boat captains. They will provide an experiential learning program about Louisiana habitat restoration and coastal planning. The program will include classroom sessions, field days, and time on the water. During the field days, the charter captains will pot, plant, and monitor black mangroves to improve habitat for juvenile fish, shrimp, and crabs. The program will also recruit local high school students to participate in the field days. At the end of the program, the charter boat captains will take these students on two recreational fishing trips. They will teach the students to fish and share what they have learned about Louisiana habitats and their connection to fish.

Outreach and Education at Bill Burton Fishing Pier in Maryland

Sponsoring Partnership: Atlantic Coastal Fish Habitat Partnership

As part of its Living Reef Action Campaign, Coastal Conservation Association Maryland will expand outreach and education efforts at the Bill Burton Fishing Pier. The pier is frequently visited by a diverse community in Dorchester County, Maryland, and is an access point to the Choptank River Habitat Focus Area. In 2014 and 2015, oyster reef balls were successfully deployed off the pier to provide habitat for striped bass, drum, shad, blue crab, and other species. In this project, CCA Maryland will host several public oyster reef ball building events to construct and deploy more reef balls at the site. The project will also add six bilingual (English and Spanish) signs to inform recreational anglers of the new and previously deployed reef balls at this site. The signs will describe their purpose, the habitat types along the pier, fishing regulations, gear disposal instructions, and seafood consumption safety. An underwater web camera will be installed at the reef and live video will be displayed at the nearby visitor center. A video about the resources at the pier will also be produced and shared with the local community.

Read the full release here

Hawaiian Monk Seals Join the Animal Telemetry Network

May 6, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

For more than two decades, NOAA has been tracking monk seals throughout the Hawaiian Archipelago as part of their larger effort to study and protect this endangered seal. And now you can see all of those tracks online! We have shared our entire archive of satellite telemetry locations through the Animal Telemetry Network. The public can view maps of seal travels and access data using this web portal. NOAA’s Hawaiian Monk Seal Research Program is looking forward to the collaborative research opportunities this opens up.

Hawaiian Monk Seals Tracked for Many Purposes

Research projects include learning about seal space use, travel distances, energy expenditure, habitat use, and foraging behaviors
Monitoring efforts include tracking seal survival and movement patterns after an intervention such as a veterinary surgery or rehabilitation
Management concerns include seals that may be translocated to avoid human-seal interactions or moved out of dangerous habitats

Studying how these animals use their environment is a crucial part of NOAA’s larger effort to understand the ecology of Hawaiian monk seals, identify and mitigate threats to survival, and work toward the recovery of this endangered species.

Read the full release here

Reminder: Update your Fish Online Account by June 1

May 6, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

As part of our conversion to online permitting and eVTR, we are changing the way that vessel owners and operators login to Fish Online starting June 1.

To access Fish Online, instead of entering your permit number and PIN combination, you must now login using your personal Fish Online user account. We made this change to increase your account security and to enable vessel owners to give access, or “entitlements,” to their vessel records to other trusted people while managing multiple vessels in one account. We began implementing this process in 2020 and continue to reach out to vessel owners and operators to provide information and offer technical assistance.

Vessel Owners

Earlier this year, in anticipation of our annual vessel permit renewal season, we mailed instructions to vessel owners on how to update their accounts. Owners must use their user accounts to:

Use services such as permit renewals and electronic reporting.
Review landings data submitted by operators and dealers.
Provide account access to other trusted people.
Manage multiple vessels in one account.

If you are a vessel owner and have not yet created your login credentials, we strongly encourage you to do so by going to the How to Create an Account in Fish Online instructions located on our Vessel Trip Reporting web page. These step-by-step directions demonstrate how to create a validated Fish Online account by using either a Credential Security Code (CSC) or by calling our Help Desk.

Vessel Operators

Vessel operators also need a Fish Online account to use any of GARFO’s eVTR applications and to view their previously submitted eVTRs. Starting last month, we began sending notices to vessel operators and will continue this process throughout the summer. Once vessel operators receive a letter in the mail, if they have not already, they should create their user accounts as soon as possible by going to the How to Create an Account in Fish Online instructions located on our Vessel Trip Reporting web page. These step-by-step directions demonstrate how to create a validated Fish Online account by using either the Credential Security Code (CSC) in the letter we mailed to you or by calling our Help Desk.

Questions?

For assistance with obtaining your CSC code, entitling vessels, or creating your Fish Online user account:

Call our Vessel Reporting Help Desk at 978 -281-9188 from the phone number listed on your vessel permit. This is needed to verify your identity.
Contact your local Port Agent.

New Web Tool Aims to Reduce Whale Entanglements on the U.S. West Coast

May 5, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

NOAA scientists have combined the latest data on ocean conditions and marine life off the West Coast on a new data tool. It gives fishermen and fishery managers up-to-date ecosystem information that may help reduce the risk of whale entanglements. They hope it will also help the public understand how environmental factors influence the marine food web in a time of climate change.

“Resource managers and stakeholders can refer to the page for the latest information like prey abundance or sea surface temperatures before considering a season delay or other management options,” said Jarrod Santora, a research biologist at the NOAA Fisheries Southwest Fisheries Science Center who helped develop the new system.

Increase in Whale Entanglements

Between 2014 and 2019, NOAA Fisheries confirmed 163 large whale entanglements off Washington, Oregon, and California. By comparison, 64 whale entanglements were confirmed in the same region from 2008 to 2013. Humpback whales are the most common species entangled, but NOAA also confirmed gray, blue, fin, and minke whales entanglements. NOAA is responsible for recovering and protecting these whales under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act.

Read the full release here

Celebrating Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month

May 5, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

May is Asian American Pacific Islander Heritage Month, which pays tribute to generations of Asian and Pacific Islanders who have enriched our nation’s history and are instrumental to its future. Join us in celebrating this month by meeting some of our colleagues from coast to coast who help NOAA Fisheries ensure sustainable fisheries, conserve and recover protected species, conduct scientific research, and conserve important habitats.

Jui-Han Chang, Research Biologist

Growing up in Taiwan, Jui-Han was surrounded by spectacular oceans and rugged mountains. Her father is an amateur ecologist and her mother is an environmental advocate, so it seemed she was destined for a career in science. But it took her a while to find her path.

Now she works at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center on multiple scallop-related projects, including data collection, stock assessment, climate change, and artificial intelligence. All of these things influence sea scallop management. She loves her work at the center because she’s very passionate about fisheries science. Most importantly, it really excites her that the work she does has a real impact on marine resource management and sustainable fisheries.

Learn more about Jui-Han and her work

Kristen Koyama, National Endangered Species Recovery Coordinator

Kristen Koyama grew up on the west side of Los Angeles, California near the ocean. The ocean was always a presence in her life and she visited the beach on weekends. However, she still struggled to connect to the natural world even though she was fascinated by it. Living in an urban area made her seek out nature more, and her interest in marine science and the ocean continued throughout her education and career.

Kristen’s interest in nature led her to a multifaceted career in ecology, public policy, and international conservation issues. Today, she plays an important role at NOAA Fisheries as the national recovery coordinator for species listed as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act.

Learn more about Kristen Koyama and her work

Read the full release here

NOAA Fisheries Announces Closure of the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area

May 5, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

Effective 0001 hr May 6

NOAA Fisheries is closing the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area to all federally permitted limited access general category scallop vessels effective 0001 hr, on May 6, 2021.

As of May 6, 2021, no scallop vessel fishing under federal scallop regulations may fish for, possess, or land scallops in or from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area. The scallop regulations require that we close this area once we project that 100 percent of the 2021 default total allowable catch for this area will be taken. The closure will be in effect until the end of the fishing year, March 31, 2022.

Framework Adjustment 33 to the Scallop FMP is currently under review and will implement a 2021 NGOM LAGC TAC of 119,222 lb when finalized. Because the Framework Adjustment 32 default TAC will be harvested by May, 6, a closure is required before Framework Adjustment 33 is finalized. After Framework Adjustment 33 is in place, the difference between the 2021 NGOM LAGC final catch and the Framework Adjustment 33 TAC will be deducted pound-for-pound from a future fishing year.

If you have declared a trip into the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area using the correct Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) code and have crossed the VMS demarcation line before 0001 hr, May 6, 2021, you may complete the trip and retain and land scallops caught from the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area.

Exemption for Maine and Massachusetts Vessels Fishing Exclusively in State Waters

If you have a valid Maine or Massachusetts state scallop permit, you may continue to fish in Maine or Massachusetts state waters within the Northern Gulf of Maine Scallop Management Area under the State Waters Exemption program. If you are fishing under an Individual Fishing Quota scallop permit (Limited Access General Category A), any pounds landed under a state waters only trip will still be deducted from the vessel’s allocation.

Exemption for Limited Access Vessels Fishing Compensation Trips Under the Scallop Research Set-Aside Program

This closure does not affect the Limited Access fleet that was allocated a separate Total Allowable Catch of 97,500 lb for the 2021 fishing year under Framework 32 to the Atlantic Sea Scallop Fishery Management Plan. The Limited Access Total Allowable Catch will be harvested by vessels that are participating in the 2021 scallop Research Set-Aside Program.

Read the full release here

More than 60 seafood organizations ask Congress to resurrect National Seafood Council

May 5, 2021 — More than 60 leading seafood organizations have signed a letter to congress to support appropriations to resurrect the National Seafood Council in the United States.

The letter has been delivered to members of Congress, with a request that appropriations be made to support a national seafood marketing campaign, as recommended by NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Council (MAFAC). The initial request is for USD 25 million (EUR 20.8 million) to fund the marketing efforts, according to the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP).

Read the full story at Seafood Source