September 12, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries: 

Today, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA released a draft management plan and environmental assessment for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, as directed by Presidential Proclamation 9496 and reiterated by President Biden in Presidential Proclamation 10287, which restored protections significantly cut back by the previous Administration. The development of a management plan will advance the Biden-Harris Administration’s America the Beautiful Initiative, which is supporting conservation efforts across the country with a goal to conserve and restore at least 30% of U.S. lands and waters by 2030. Since taking office, President Biden has protected more than 21 million acres of public lands and waters, and is on track to conserve more lands and waters than any president in U.S. history.

The proposed plan includes agency management roles and responsibilities, and lays out the goals, objectives and management activities needed over the next 15 years to provide proper care for the Monument’s unique ecosystem and natural resources, with a focus on research, education and community engagement. The draft plan also includes an environmental assessment to evaluate the potential impacts of implementing the proposed management actions.

“President Biden’s reaffirmation of the need to develop a management plan for the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument further solidifies his commitment to protecting our most vital waters and the marine life that thrives in it,” said Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries Janet Coit. “The management plan will also advance the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration’s America the Beautiful Initiative by safeguarding this special place for years to come.”

In addition to developing a Monument management plan, NOAA Fisheries will undertake rulemaking later this year to incorporate the Monument boundaries and commercial fishing prohibition into the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act regulations in response to the Presidential proclamations. Consistent with Proclamation 9496, recreational fishing in the National Monument may continue.

“The Administration’s continued commitment to the establishment of this Monument helps safeguard its unique ecosystem, rich marine life and natural and historical resources for future generations,” said U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams. “Input from the public and a wide range of partners and other interested parties on this draft plan will help ensure Monument managers can protect and conserve resources, engage the community as stewards of this dynamic system and better understand Monument ecosystems in a changing climate.”

Located 130 miles off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, the Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument was established by Presidential Proclamation in 2016, under the Antiquities Act, to protect and conserve its unique and pristine habitats, historic objects and features of high scientific interest for current and future generations of Americans. As the first marine monument in the Atlantic, it is renowned for its rich and unique biodiversity, including deep-sea coral communities and concentrations of marine wildlife. 

The draft Monument management plan, environmental assessment and planning updates can be found on the Monument management planning website. The public can submit written comments on the priorities and objectives described in the Monument’s proposed management plan and environmental assessment through Oct. 26, 2023 via the Federal eRulemaking Portal or by mail to: Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument, USFWS, 300 Westgate Center Drive, Hadley, MA 01035.

Following the 45-day public comment period, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA will consider comments and determine if a revision to the draft plan is necessary. The Monument’s management plan and environmental assessment is expected to be finalized in early 2024.

September 10, 2023 — The following was released by the NOAA Fisheries:

Today, NOAA Fisheries is issuing the final Biological Opinion under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) considering the effects of the proposed Empire Wind offshore energy project off the coast of New York on threatened and endangered species.

The agency has concluded that the proposed action is likely to adversely affect, but is not likely to jeopardize, the continued existence of any species of ESA-listed whales, sea turtles, or Atlantic sturgeon or destroy or adversely modify any designated critical habitat. This conclusion was based on NOAA Fisheries evaluation of BOEM’s analysis of the effects of this project on endangered and threatened species, and in consideration of  the best scientific and commercial data available. 

The proposed project includes a number of measures designed to minimize, monitor, and report effects to ESA-listed species, and additional measures are included through the Biological Opinion’s Incidental Take Statement. No serious injury or mortality of any ESA-listed whale is anticipated as a result of the proposed project. All effects to North Atlantic right whales will be limited to temporary behavioral disturbance.

NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Protected Resources is also proposing to issue regulations and an associated Letter of Authorization pursuant to the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which was evaluated through the Biological Opinion. A notice of the proposed regulations was published in April 2023.

Other authorizations or permits will be required from a number of other federal agencies. BOEM is the lead federal agency for approving the construction, operation, and decommissioning of the proposed Empire Wind offshore energy project.

We will continue working closely with BOEM and other federal agencies to ensure effects from the Empire Wind offshore energy project to NOAA Fisheries’ trust resources are minimized.

The Biological Opinion will be available online upon publication in our libraryin approximately 10 days.

September 7, 2023 — The National Seafood Strategy report from National Oceanic and Atmospheric focuses on climate change, global market disruptions and new ocean uses like offshore wind energy.

The paper outlines four goals. At the top, it ranks “maintain or increase sustainable U.S. wild capture production.”

Climate shifts are forcing fish populations to gradually move – such as the decline in Mid-Atlantic lobster and northward shift of black sea bass into New England waters. Ocean “heat waves” of higher water temperatures and bigger storms “are affecting access to fishing opportunities, production of seafood, and fishing to support local dietary needs, cultural traditions and tribal treaty rights,” according to a NOAA summary of the plan.

The report ranks its second goal as increasing “sustainable U.S. aquaculture production.”

Read the full article at the National Fisherman