NOAA Archives - Page 486 of 527

Study finds ship noise disrupting humpback whale feeding

August 12, 2016 — One of the biggest threats to humpback whales spending their summers in New England is being hit by a passing ship.

But a collision isn’t all they have to fear. A study published Wednesday found that low-frequency noise from passing freighters and cargo ships near the coast could be disrupting their ability to feed.

A team of researchers examining the foraging behavior of 10 whales in the Gulf of Maine found that some of these 40-ton cetaceans descended more slowly in the presence of ships, giving them less time to find the food they’d normally consume. The whales also conducted fewer side-roll maneuvers — a technique they use to feed on a type of fish known as a sand lance that’s found just above the sea floor.

“Overall, I was kind of surprised that we were able to detect any response statistically just because these humpback whales are very adaptable,” said Hannah Blair, a graduate student at Stony Brook University in New York who led the analysis on the data.

Whales, dolphins and other marine life depend heavily on sound to communicate with one another and to search for food. A growing body of evidence in recent decades suggests noise caused by humans, including ship noise, is wreaking havoc on marine life. It masks sounds produced by prey and alters the behavior of prey.

Findings like these prompted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in July to announce a project to address noise that impacts aquatic species and their habitat over the next 10 years. The goals include educating the public about the problem and “minimizing the acute, chronic and cumulative effects of noise on marine species and their habitat.”

The study offers the first evidence that noise could be harming the feeding behavior of humpback whales.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Gloucester Times

NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comments on Proposed Rule to Modify the Current Seasonal Prohibition on Fishing with Black Sea Bass Pots and Enhance Gear Marking

August 12, 2016 — The following was released by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council:

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on the proposed rule for Regulatory Amendment 16 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic Region (Regulatory Amendment 16). The proposed rule for Regulatory Amendment 16 published in the Federal Register on August 11, 2016 (81 FR 53109). The comment period ends on September 12, 2016.

Currently, fishermen may not fish with black sea bass pots from November 1 through April 30, each year, in the entire management area for black sea bass in the South Atlantic. The seasonal prohibition was established in 2013 as a precautionary measure to prevent interactions between black sea bass pot gear and whales during periods of large whale migrations, and during the right whale calving season off the U.S. southeastern coast. Regulatory Amendment 16 would retain a November 1 through April 30 seasonal prohibition but would reduce the size of the prohibited area. The goal is to reduce the adverse socioeconomic impacts to fishermen resulting from the current seasonal prohibition while continuing to provide the necessary protection to large whales in the South Atlantic region.

Regulatory Amendment 16 would also require an additional 12-inch wide purple band in three locations on black sea bass pot lines. The goal is to enhance current gear marking requirements for black sea bass pots to distinguish black sea bass pot lines from other fishing lines.

More information, including Frequently Asked Questions for Regulatory Amendment 16, can be found online here.

Request for Comments

Comments on the regulatory amendment must be received no later than September 12, 2016, to be considered by NOAA Fisheries. See the Addresses section for information on where and how to submit comments.

Electronic copies of Regulatory Amendment 16 may be obtained from the NOAA Fisheries website here, the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal here, the Council’s Web site here.

Addresses

You may submit comments by the following methods:

Electronic Submission: Submit all electronic public comments via the Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go here, click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.

Mail:

NOAA Fisheries

Southeast Regional Office

Sustainable Fisheries Division

c/o Nikhil Mehta

263 13th Avenue South

St. Petersburg, Florida 33701

All personal identifying information (for example, name, address, etc.) voluntarily submitted by the commenter may be publicly accessible. Do not submit confidential business information or otherwise sensitive or protected information. NOAA Fisheries will accept anonymous comments. Attachments to electronic comments will be accepted in Microsoft Word, Excel, WordPerfect, or Adobe PDF file formats only. Comments received through means not specified in this bulletin (such as e-mail), may not be considered.

NOAA Fisheries Southeast is pleased to announce the introduction of our Text Message Alert Program. The program will allow you to sign up to receive important fishery related alerts via text message.

Text alerts you may receive include:

Immediate fishery openings and closures

Any significant changes to fishing regulations that happen quickly

How to opt-in

South Atlantic Recreational Fisheries Related Alerts

Text SATLRECFISH to 888777

South Atlantic Commercial Fisheries Related Alerts

Text SATLCOMMFISH to 888777

Sweden delivers salvo in lobster ban fight

August 12, 2016 — NOAA Fisheries will brief staff from the Massachusetts congressional delegation Friday on Sweden’s response to the joint U.S.-Canadian scientific effort to keep the American lobster from being included on the European Union’s list of invasive species.

Carrie Rankin, spokeswoman for U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, said the Salem congressman’s office was informed Thursday of the briefing, but was not yet made privy to the Swedish response to the scientific analysis mounted in June by the U.S. government, trade officials, marine scientists and lobster stakeholders.

“We don’t know what the official response is yet because we haven’t seen it,” Rankin said Thursday. “We’ll know a lot more (Friday) after the briefing.”

Kate Brogan, a spokeswoman for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, confirmed Sweden has responded to the North American scientific analysis that strongly rebuts Sweden’s claims that the American lobster, also known as Homarus americanus, is an invasive threat to the indigenous lobsters living in Swedish waters.

Brogan, however, declined to provide details of the response from the European Union member.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

New rules require fish imports to meet U.S. standards

August 12, 2016 — Nations selling seafood to the U.S. must maintain higher standards for protecting whales, dolphins and other marine mammals, according to new regulations announced Thursday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

Other countries will be required to meet standards equal to what is required of U.S. fishermen under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, NOAA Fisheries officials said, a change local fishermen groups applauded.

“It’s fantastic,” Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance CEO John Pappalardo said.

While the U.S. has some of the most conservation-minded fisheries laws in the world, American fishermen are selling in a global marketplace, Pappalardo said.

The cost of domestic regulations to U.S. fishermen cuts into their competitive edge, he said.

“It costs more money to produce that fish,” he said.

Massachusetts Lobstermen’s Association members find it difficult to compete with fishermen from other countries because of gear modifications and fishing ground closures required under U.S. law, said Beth Casoni, executive director for the organization.

The association has about 1,800 members from Maine to New Jersey who fish lobster, scallop, conch, groundfish and more.

Read the full story at the Cape Cod Times

CALEB MCMAHAN: Expanding the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument Would Set A Dangerous Precedent

August 12, 2016 — The National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently held a public meeting to discuss the proposed expansion of the Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument.

Proponents of the expansion stand behind the request of Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz and a group of seven Native Hawaiians for President Barack Obama to consider invoking the Antiquities Act of 1906 to expand the existing 50 mile monument boundary four-fold. The new monument would include nearly all of the Exclusive Economic Zone surrounding the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands and a whopping 60 percent of the greater Hawaiian Islands EEZ.

Proponents argue that the expansion is necessary and justified on a variety of accounts. But the invocation of the Antiquities Act would mean that nearly 1.3 million square kilometers of U.S. waters would be made off-limits to American fishermen without public review or scientific analysis of the impacts or potential benefits.

Given the permanence of such a designation and the ramifications for the affected user groups, it’s no surprise that the recent meeting included a lively debate between those for and against expansion.

Read the full story at the Honolulu Civil Beat

NOAA Fisheries Announces Management Measures for 2016-2018 Spiny Dogfish Fishery

August 12, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA Fisheries announces the 2016-2018 final management measures for the spiny dogfish fishery.

We are increasing the spiny dogfish federal trip limit from 5,000 lb to 6,000 lb. Increasing the trip limits will help an underutilized fishery better achieve optimum yield.

Commercial Spiny Dogfish Quotas Through FY 2018

2016: 40.4 million pounds (-20% from 2015)

2017: 39.1 million pounds (-23% from 2015)

2018: 38.2 million pounds (-25% from 2015)

While these quotas are lower than the 2015 quotas, the limits are substantially higher than actual landings in the fishery since 2000, and approximately twice the 2014 landings. We are reducing the quota due to a biomass decline of spiny dogfish.

These changes are effective August 15, 2016.

Read the permit holder bulletin and the final rule as published in the Federal Register.

Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary seeking advisory council applicants

August 11, 2016 — NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for one business/industry alternate seat on its advisory council.

The council ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

“Each of the members brings a unique perspective to the council based on their long experience in the New England area,” said Craig MacDonald, sanctuary superintendent. “Since its establishment, the council has played a vital role in advising the sanctuary and NOAA on critical issues. We are very pleased that council members offer their considerable talents to help us manage the resources of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary.”

Read the full story at Wicked Local

Sharing survey work signals positive shift in government, fishermen relationship

August 9, 2016 — The announcement from NOAA on Tuesday that they will begin to transition the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s bottom trawl surveys from their research ship, the Henry B. Bigelow, to fishing industry vessels is a cause for celebration on the waterfront and represents a real opportunity to get the fishing industry in New England out of disaster mode. It is a bold decision but it is undoubtedly the correct one and, from an industry perspective, one that is long overdue.

Science Center director Dr. Bill Karp deserves enormous credit for setting this process in motion. It is a clear signal that NOAA wants to build trust and transparency, qualities that have not always been in evidence in its long and difficult relationship with the commercial fishing industry in New England.

The problems facing our fisheries are well documented. But amidst all the controversy, litigation and hard feelings surrounding fishery management, there is general agreement on one point: the need for better fishery science, to enable timelier, more accurate and more useful stock assessments. Maintaining healthy, sustainable fish stocks to support a robust commercial fishing industry are goals shared by all. Of course fishermen should be actively involved in the collection of survey data since the results determine how much fish they are permitted to catch.

We hear a great deal in the media about overfishing but the value of groundfish landings has declined by almost 50 percent since 2011. Yet the catch for several of our stocks is less than 50 percent of the quota because of regulatory constraints and catch limits that do not reflect what fishermen see out on the water. It is a fact that more fish are dying of old age in our waters than are coming ashore, largely as a result of scientific uncertainty. Fishermen continue to pay a heavy price for such uncertainty and many understandably feel as though they have become merely objects of regulation.

Read the full op-ed at the New Bedford Standard-Times

Scallop RSA proposals now being solicited for 2017 and 2018

August 9, 2016 — The following was released by the New England Fishery Managment Council:

Scallop industry members and partners have until 5 p.m. on Oct. 7, 2016 to submit applications for the latest round of funding available through the Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program.

The program was established through the Scallop Fishery Management Plan (FMP) to address scallop research priorities identified by the New England Fishery Management Council. The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in coordination with the Council, is now soliciting proposals for the 2017 and 2018 Atlantic Sea Scallop Federal Funding Opportunity (FFO).

To apply, go to www.grants.gov and use the following funding opportunity number: NOAA-NMFS-NEFSC-2017- 2004963.

NMFS emphasized, “Projects funded under the Scallop RSA Program must enhance the understanding of the scallop resource or contribute to scallop fishery management decisions. Priority is given to funding research proposals addressing the list of 2017 and 2018 Atlantic Sea Scallop Research Priorities listed in the FFO.”

Read the full release from the New England Fishery Management Council

NOAA Announces New Fisheries Allocation Policy

August 8, 2016 — The following was released by NOAA:

NOAA and our partners at the Fisheries Management Councils have taken an important step to clarify how allocations of fish harvest among recreational, commercial, and subsistence fishermen should be made.

Today, NOAA is issuing an agency Fisheries Allocation and Review Policy (pdf). We are issuing two complementary procedural directives to provide guidance for implementing the policy: Recommended Practices and Factors to Consider When Reviewing and Making Allocation Decisions (pdf) and Criteria for Initiating Fisheries Allocation Reviews (pdf).

We’ll also host a conference call on Tuesday, August 2 at 4 pm (EDT) to discuss the policy and answer any questions for the recreational community.

Join the call:

Phone number: 1-800-369-1932

Passcode: 42334

You’ve told us in the past that allocations can seem locked in place, unable to keep pace with changing fisheries. We appreciate your perspective and that is why we included a commitment to examine allocations in our National Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Policy Implementation Plan.

Over the last couple of years, we worked with the Council Coordination Committee to create a more transparent mechanism to ensure fisheries allocations are periodically evaluated to remain relevant to current conditions.

These new documents provide guidance to Fishery Management Councils on when to revisit allocations and what factors to consider when making allocation decisions.

The policy and associated guidance are positive steps that bring some clarity to a longstanding and complicated issue.