May 26, 2023 — NOAA Fisheries released its first Equity and Environmental Justice Strategy on 22 May, with the goal of ensuring the agency is treating all communities equitably.
“The federal government recognizes that barriers to equity have left many communities underserved, and they are often the most vulnerable to environmental issues, such as climate change,” the strategy reads.
May 25, 2023 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
Marine animals—like whales, dolphins, seals, and sea turtles—depend on a functioning ocean ecosystem for their survival. They are also important indicators of overall ocean health. NOAA Fisheries scientists are finding that climate change is leading to rapid changes in our oceans, often harming protected species, many of which are already threatened or endangered.
Climate-driven changes such as higher ocean temperatures, and more frequent and extreme weather events like marine heatwaves and hurricanes, can directly affect the health and condition of these animals. They can also impact the availability of the habitat and prey they rely on to survive and reproduce.
May 25, 2023 — The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Council) has called on the U.S National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to ensure that the “Governors of the U.S Pacific Territories are consulted with” as the National Marine Sanctuary designation process begins for the Pacific Remote Island Areas.
The call is outlined in the Council’s letter last month signed by Council chairman, John Gourley and Executive Director, Kitty M. Simonds to NOAA Administrator, Richard W. Spinrad, who was informed that the Council at its 194th Meeting in March this year, discussed this particular issue.
In the letter, the Council requests that NOAA, and all other involved agencies, consult with the U.S. Pacific Territories beyond the public comment opportunity on this proposed sanctuary.
The Council also requests that the National Ocean Service (NOS) provide a presentation to the Council on the proposed sanctuary, so that the Council may ascertain its responsibilities and role in the process, as outlined by the federal National Marine Sanctuaries Act.
May 25, 2023 — The U.S. Mid-Atlantic region saw its lowest year of seafood production by volume on record in 2021, paired with its lowest commercial revenue for seafood sales since 1987.
“When we look at performance relative to management objectives in the Mid-Atlantic, we see that both seafood production and profits as indexed by revenues have a long-term downward trend and are currently below the long-term average,” NOAA NMFS Research Fishery Biologist Sarah Gaichas said.
May 25, 2023 — Plastic, wood, fishing nets and buoys are just some of the waste that washes up on even the most remote parts of Alaska’s coastline. Now, programs aimed at cleaning up that marine debris are getting a funding boost from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – thanks to an influx of grant money from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
Nearly $14 million in federal funding is earmarked for two separate programs aimed at cleaning up marine debris in the state. The money is distributed through NOAA’s Marine Debris Program and funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed in 2021.
Peter Murphy is Alaska’s regional debris coordinator with NOAA. He said the new programs go beyond just cleaning up existing debris.
May 24, 2023 — The Gulf of Maine is now on a federal overfishing watchlist after a group of scientists found the haddock population is on the decline.
As a result of the population decline showed in the survey, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has limited the amount of haddock New England fishermen can catch this season.
Now, the New England Fishery Management Council estimating fishing season will close as early as August.
But fishermen said they are seeing an increase in the highly demanded fish this season, not a decrease, and they are questioning the science behind the survey.
In an effort to protect the fish and the fishermen, the New England Fishery Management Council has asked NOAA to increase the limit.
May 23, 2023 — Commonwealth Professor of Fisheries Oceanography Kevin Stokesbury was recently awarded four grants totaling $1,462,427 for sea scallop research through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Scallop Research Set-Aside (RSA) Program. Co-principal investigators from the School for Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) include post-doctoral research fellow Adam Delargy and research associate Amber Lisi.
In RSA programs, researchers apply for funding through a competitive federal grant process managed by NOAA Fisheries. No federal funds are provided to support the research; instead, funds are generated from the sale of sea scallops “set-aside” annually for this purpose. Selected researchers partner with the fishing industry to conduct research and to harvest their set-aside award.
May 22, 2023 — As NOAA celebrates the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, created to conserve endangered species and their habitats, the organization releases its 2023 edition of the State of the Ecosystem.
Developed annually for the New England and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Councils, the State of the Ecosystem reports provide the current status of the Northeast Shelf marine ecosystems. These annual, collaboratively produced reports inform the councils about ecological, oceanographic, and socioeconomic aspects of the ecosystem—from fishing engagement to climate conditions.
You may think that these reports do not have much to do with the fishing industry, but in fact they do, and large sections of each document – the 52-page 2023 Mid-Atlantic report and 55-page 2023 New England report – are dedicated to fishing management and how changes in the ecosystem reflect in the industry. In fact, the reports are organized into two sections:
May 22, 2023 — Fishing groups and tribes in the U.S. state of Alaska are eyeing potential updates to federal fishing guidelines as a chance to change how several hallmark fisheries in the state are regulated.
Last week, NOAA Fisheries issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking, welcoming public input on a number of topics, including climate change, equity in the representation of local fishing communities, and trawl bycatch. The agency will be accepting public comments offering suggestions on how to improve national standards to address those issues until 12 September, 2023.
May 22, 2023 — THE local opposition to a proposed expansion of a marine national monument in the Pacific Remote Islands was clear Friday, as most public commentators expressed their frustrations and aired their concerns to representatives of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
NOAA was on island to collect public comments regarding a proposal to expand the boundaries of marine protections at Howland and Baker Islands, and Kingman Reef and Palmyra Atoll, as well as encompass the areas under one marine national monument.
Most speakers against the expansion of the national marine monument shared one or more of the following basic arguments: the NOAA process to establish the sanctuary was too unilateral, in that it came from the federal government with not enough input from the Pacific; Pacific peoples were already conserving marine resources prior to NOAA’s establishment; and American Samoa’s fish canning industry will be damaged if the PRI national monument is expanded.