Tag: cookinlet

NOAA Fisheries Issues Final Rule on Cook Inlet EEZ
1May By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA Fisheries Issues Final Rule on Cook Inlet EEZ

NOAA Fisheries on April 29 announced publication of the final rule implementing federal management of commercial salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone Area. Under federal management, which goes into effect 30 days after publication, commercial fishing vessels must obtain a federal permit, maintain a fishing logbook, have a vessel monitoring system (VMS) installed on their vessels, and comply with all other federal regulations laid out in the final rule. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) uses VMS in most federally managed fisheries in Alaska. NOAA Alaska spokeswoman Julie Fair said that the VMS requirement will be new for many Cook Inlet drift gillnet vessels that choose to fish in the EEZ fishery. “NMFS uses VMS to provide vessel location to make sure...
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NOAA Seeks Comment on Federal Management of Cook Inlet Fisheries
25Oct By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA Seeks Comment on Federal Management of Cook Inlet Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a proposed rule to implement federal management of commercial and recreational salmon fishing in Alaska’s Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone. NOAA published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on Thursday, Oct. 19. Previously, salmon management in the federal waters was deferred to the state of Alaska and fishing occurred without respect for the EEZ boundary. Amendment 16 and the proposed rule would result in separate federal management of salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet EEZ, with the state continuing to manage all salmon fishing within state waters. Federal management would implement new requirements for commercial drift gillnet vessels that are fishing in the Cook Inlet EEZ, which would occur from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and T...
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Decision on Fishing in Cook Inlet EEZ Goes to Feds
12Apr By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Decision on Fishing in Cook Inlet EEZ Goes to Feds

Members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council took no action during its April meetings regarding amending the fishery management plan for salmon in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters off of Cook Inlet. The inaction now puts the decision in the hands of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). NMFS’ Alaska Regional Administrator Jon Kurland said his agency is now tasked with coming up with a plan to revise that fishery management plan, which was written by the federal fisheries council. Marine Fisheries Service members had intended to amend the salmon management plan for management of all salmon fishing in the federal waters of upper Cook Inlet. Federal management must be consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, consistent with...
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Interior Department Cancels Oil and Gas Lease Sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet
18May By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Interior Department Cancels Oil and Gas Lease Sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet

U.S. Interior Department officials have cancelled an oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, citing “a lack of industry interest in leasing in the area.” The announcement prompted kudos from environmentalists and fishermen and strong criticism from Alaska’s two Republican senators. “(D)ue to lack of industry interest in leasing in the area, the department will not move forward with the proposed Cook Inlet OCS oil and gas lease sale 258,” the official announcement from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management on not holding the lease sale in Lower Cook Inlet states. The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management previously canceled Cook Inlet lease sales in 2007, 2008 and 2011, also citing a lack of industry interest. Veteran journalist Larry Persily, a former ...
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