nmfs – Fishermens News

3Jan

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Public Comment Sought on Trident Seafoods Plan For Bunkhouse Dock Replacement

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is accepting public comment through Jan. 25 on a request from Trident Seafoods Corp. to take marine mammals incidental to pile driving and removal events associated with replacement of its Bunkhouse Dock in Kodiak, Alaska. The project involves removing over 200 pilings, many of them wooden, and replacing them with about 80 steel pilings. The pile driver to be used to remove old pilings and install new ones makes a lot of noise and can disturb marine mammals. Species that may possibly be impacted range from humpback whales and killer whales to harbor seals. In a notice published in the Federal Register on Dec. 26, NOAA Fisheries said comments were requested in advance of its proposal to issue an incidental harassment authorization. ...

NMFS, Others to Appeal Decision Halting SE Alaska Salmon Troll Fishery

10May

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

NMFS, Others to Appeal Decision Halting SE Alaska Salmon Troll Fishery

A commercial salmon troll fishery in Southeast Alaska that contributes millions of dollars to the regional economy is uncertain, with federal fisheries managers and harvesters pitted against an environmental group that contends endangered orca whales need those fish more. The state of Alaska on May 3 served notice of its intent to appeal a two-page ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Jones to close the salmon troll fishery to provide more food for endangered Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound. A day earlier, the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the Washington State-based Wild Fish Conservancy, in its three-year-old battle to secure more Chinook salmon for the Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound. Emma Helverson, executive director of the Wild Fis...

NMFS’ Furuness Honored with Distinguished Service Award

19Apr

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

NMFS’ Furuness Honored with Distinguished Service Award

Federal fisheries managers have honored Mary Furuness, a supervisory fish management specialist with the agency’s Alaska regional office, with the Bob Mace Distinguished Service Award for her years of work moving in-season management forward to the electronic system used today. During its April meeting, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council cited her day-to-day management of some of the most complex and controversial fishery management programs in Alaska over the past 33 years, including community development quota, rockfish, Amendment 80 programs and salmon bycatch management. The award, which is only occasionally bestowed by the council, is named for Bob Mace, who represented the state of Oregon on the council for 23 years. Since 2009, when she became chief of the Inseason Ma...

Decision on Fishing in Cook Inlet EEZ Goes to Feds

12Apr

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

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...

Down Nominated for Reappointment to NPFMC

29Mar

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Down Nominated for Reappointment to NPFMC

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has nominated seafood industry veteran Kenny Down for reappointment to one of two obligatory Washington state seats on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Inslee made his recommendation on March 7 to Janet Colt, assistant administrator for Fisheries with the National Marine Fisheries Service. Down has served as a voting member of the council since 2015 and is eligible for reappointment for a final term. Inslee also named Becca Robbins-Gisclair and Jamie Goen as his second and third choices respectively. Down is the president and owner of Seaquest Ventures, described as a leader in revolutionary innovations for the utilization and stewardship of marine resources. Prior to founding Seaquest in 2018, Down was president and chief executive officer fro...

15Mar

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

2023 Commercial Ocean Troll Salmon Fishery Cancelled

Commercial ocean troll salmon fishery seasons that were scheduled to open between March 15 and May 15 in all areas from Cape Falcon to the Oregon-California border have been cancelled for 2023, officials with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced March 9. They said the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), in consultation with the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) and the states of Oregon and California, met to take the action on scheduled commercial troll Chinook salmon openings off Oregon. It was noted that multiple stocks of California Chinook salmon are at extremely low abundance and are projected to potentially fall below target spawning escapements. Officials with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) said that for ocean salmon seasons f...

NMFS Opens Comment on Proposed BSAI Groundfish Management Plan Amendment

15Feb

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

NMFS Opens Comment on Proposed BSAI Groundfish Management Plan Amendment

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) is seeking comment through March 13 on a proposed rule that would establish a program allocating Pacific cod harvest quota to a limited access group of harvesters and processors in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI). The proposed rule would implement Amendment 122 to the fishery management plan for groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area. It would establish the Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program (PCTC) to allocate Pacific cod harvest quota to qualifying groundfish License Limitation Program (LLP) license holders and qualifying processors. The program would be a limited access privilege program for the harvest of Pacific cod in the BSAI trawl catcher vessel sector. According to NMFS, the propos...

Financial Support for Trollers Pours in from Southeast Alaska

8Feb

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Financial Support for Trollers Pours in from Southeast Alaska

Financial support from local governments, nonprofits and the seafood industry is pouring in to help Southeast Alaska salmon trollers, a small boat hook and line fishery, battle litigation that would bring their summer and winter commercial troll fisheries to a halt. The fishery, which provides a substantial number of harvesting and processing jobs, contributes significantly to the economy of Southeast Alaska. The litigation was brought by the Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) in Seattle, which contends that an end to the trollers summer and winter fisheries would benefit Chinook salmon and Southern Resident killer whales, for whom these salmon are a diet staple. According to the WFC, the government has failed to address the impact of Alaska’s Chinook harvests on these killer whales. The WFC...

NOAA Fisheries Reinstates Consultations on Groundfish Management Plans

30Nov

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

NOAA Fisheries Reinstates Consultations on Groundfish Management Plans

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries) has reinstated steps in the Endangered Species Act (ESA) to evaluate effects of fisheries managed under the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands and Gulf of Alaska, on ESA-listed species and designated critical habitats. State of Alaska parallel groundfish fisheries are also subject to evaluation. North Pacific Fishery Management Council Chairman Simon Kinneen was notified of the change in late November by NOAA Regional Administrator for Alaska Jonathan Kurland. Kurland said that NMFS determined that allowing groundfish fisheries to continue to operate during this reinitiation period would not violate ESA sections 7(a) (2) or 7(d). He advised that the consultations would be a significant undertaking and require considerable NMFS staff ti...

Report Recommends That Fisheries Service Share Climate Resilience Information

24Aug

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Report Recommends That Fisheries Service Share Climate Resilience Information

A report prepared for Congress by the federal Government Accountability Office (GAO) recommends that National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) work with regional fishery management councils to identify and prioritize opportunities to enhance climate resilience of federal fisheries. The report to congressional committees, released Aug. 18, found that many fisheries managers are leading initiatives that could advance the use of climate information in operations, such as addressing distributional shifts in species. Initiatives include the creation of a special task force to identify actions and tools to better incorporate climate information in fisheries management. Several fisheries managers from the eight regional councils told GAO that they were not aware of climate-related fisher...