NOAA – Page 4 – Fishermens News

Indian Tribes File Amicus Brief in Wild Fish Conservancy Lawsuit

21Jun

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Indian Tribes File Amicus Brief in Wild Fish Conservancy Lawsuit

An amicus brief filed June 16 with the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals by the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes in Juneau is the latest development in a lawsuit in which Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) in Seattle is seeking to halt the commercial king salmon troll fishery this summer in Southeast Alaska. WFC has said the salmon are needed by endangered Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW) in Puget Sound. Backers of the Southeast Alaska harvesters contend that halting the fishery won’t help the orcas in Puget Sound at all, but would devastate Southeast Alaska’s economy. The tribal amicus brief supports a state of Alaska motion stopping a district courts order from going into effect while the appeal is pending before the Ninth Circuit. The Tlingit & Haida statement released ...

3May

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NOAA’s 2022 Status of Stocks Report Show Slight Improvement Over 2021

NOAA Fisheries has released its 2022 Status of Stocks report, showing a slight improvement over the previous year in terms of overfishing. According to the latest report, released during a NOAA Fisheries teleconference on April 27, 93% of stocks were not subject to overfishing in 2022 and 81% were not overfished. Those numbers compared with data showing that 92% of stocks were subject to overfishing in 2021 and 80% were not overfished. NOAA officials said positive trends were seen this year with the number of stocks on the overfishing list decreasing by two stocks to 24, and overfished stocks decreased by three to 48. NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said the latest annual report reveals the U.S. remains a global leader in maintaining the sustainable fisheries that drive the blue econo...

NOAA Schedules Hearing on Management of Upper Cook Inlet EEZ Salmon Fishery

3May

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NOAA Schedules Hearing on Management of Upper Cook Inlet EEZ Salmon Fishery

NOAA Fisheries has announced a public webinar hearing for 5 p.m. Alaska time (6 pm PT) on May 18 to hear comments on amending the fishery management plan (FMP) to establish federal management for salmon fisheries in federal waters off Alaska’s upper Cook Inlet. NOAA Fisheries officials said they would provide a brief opening statement before accepting public testimony for the record, and that the hearing would be recorded in order to prepare transcripts of all oral comments received. The hearing is to close 15 minutes after the conclusion of public testimony and after responding to any clarifying questions from hearing participants, concluding no later than 8 p.m. Those wishing to make an oral statement during the public hearing are encouraged to also submit a written statement. The de...

NOAA Recommends Millions to Fund West Coast Habitat Restoration Projects

26Apr

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NOAA Recommends Millions to Fund West Coast Habitat Restoration Projects

Federal officials are recommending over $265 million in funding for new projects nationwide, including salmon habitat in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington state, to help strengthen climate resilience of coast ecosystems and communities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in an April 21 announcement that the projects are supported by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure law, with funds leveraged from the Inflation Reduction Act. NOAA said these projects would reconnect rivers to their historic floodplains, outplant corals to rebuild reefs, build living shorelines to protect coasts from erosion and sea level rise, and more. Beneficiaries identified by NOAA include endangered Southern Resident killer whales by benefitting...

Inbreeding a Factor in Decline of Endangered Orcas, NOAA Study Finds

5Apr

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Inbreeding a Factor in Decline of Endangered Orcas, NOAA Study Finds

Fisheries scientists, using a combination of modern genomics and field observations, have determined that the small population and isolation of endangered Southern Resident killer whales in the Pacific Northwest has led to inbreeding – a contributing factor to their demise. The study by researchers at NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle was published in mid-March in the online journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. It adds new data to the question of why this group of 73 orcas is declining, and whether the major factor in the problem is solely the lack of a sufficient amount of Chinook salmon. The researchers also attempted to find out if several other factors have contributed. The Washington state-based environmental group Wild Fish Conservancy is suing in fe...

NMFS Opens Comment on Proposed BSAI Groundfish Management Plan Amendment

15Feb

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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...

15Feb

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Bipartisan Legislation Would Enhance Effectiveness of Marine Debris Program

New legislation amending the 2020 Save Our Seas (SOS) 2.0 Act and the 2006 Marine Debris Act would give NOAA greater flexibility to provide federal resources and enter into cooperative agreements to conduct marine debris prevention and clean-up. The legislation, which passed the Senate by unanimous consent in the previous Congress, also clarifies the function and responsibilities of the congressionally chartered Marine Debris Foundation. Sponsors include Rep. Suzanne Bonamici, D-Ore. and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. Bonamici said that marine debris threatens the health of the ocean and that the Save Our Seas 2.0 Act took a big step toward addressing this pollution, but that Congress now has the opportunity to build on that success by making it easier to use resources provided by law. ...

25Jan

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NOAA Fisheries Denies Emergency Action Request For Red King Crab Savings Area

NOAA Fisheries has denied a request to institute emergency action closing the red king crab savings area in Alaska to all fishing gears through June 30, 2023. The decision was made on the grounds that the petition did not meet criteria necessary to determine that an emergency exists. According to the federal agency, the available information does not support a finding that the proposed emergency regulations would address the low abundance and declining trend of mature female Bristol Bay red king crab. The decision was issued in mid-January. In response, Jamie Goen, executive director of Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers (ABSC) said she was dismayed and disappointed. She noted that the need for protection of crab stocks was denied on the same day that NOAA Fisheries opened pollock fisheries w...

NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rule to Expand Seafood Import Monitoring

4Jan

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NOAA Fisheries Announces Proposed Rule to Expand Seafood Import Monitoring

NOAA Fisheries has announced a proposed rule that would expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), a risk-based program for targeted species of seafood imported into the United States. SIMP currently includes reporting and recordkeeping requirements for nearly half of all seafood imported, in order to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing and misrepresented seafood from entering US commerce. SIMP would provide a screening and deterrent tool for IUU fish and fish products and misrepresented seafood products seeking entry into domestic markets. The rule proposes to expand the species currently subject to SIMP, including red snapper and tuna, to include all species in the snapper family and additional tunas, to minimize the risk of mislabeling and product sub...

NOAA Backs $16M+ in Fish Passage Funds, Including in Alaska, Washington, Oregon

21Dec

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NOAA Backs $16M+ in Fish Passage Funds, Including in Alaska, Washington, Oregon

NOAA Fisheries has recommended spending more than $16 million for 13 tribal priority fish passage projects in seven states, including Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In Alaska, the allocations include $1,558,006 to the Chickaloon Native Village, $425,920 to Sealaska Corp., and up to $2.9 million to The Eyak Corp. to remove fish passage barriers and for stream-crossing barriers. In California, the Round Valley Indian Tribes are allocated $1.3 million to engage in dam removal at the Potter Valley Project on the Eel River. Idaho’s Shoshone-Bannock Tribes on the Fort Hall Reservation are receiving over $1 million to restore fish passage and habitat connectivity in the Yankee Fork watershed. The Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation in Oregon are to recei...