Tag: NOAA

Comment Period on Bering Sea Halibut Management Proposal Opens
14Dec By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Comment Period on Bering Sea Halibut Management Proposal Opens

NOAA Fisheries is seeking comment through Feb. 7 on a plan for abundance-based management of halibut in the Bering Sea. The proposed rule would implement Amendment 123 to the fishery management plan for groundfish within the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area for the Amendment 80 trawl sector prohibited species catch limit for Pacific halibut. NOAA Fisheries said in its request for comment that Amendment 123 balances interests of the two largest halibut user groups in the Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands Fishery Management Area. The Amendment 80 sector is a fleet of nearly 20 trawl catcher-processor boats targeting Pacific cod, Pacific Ocean perch, Atka mackerel and rock, yellowfin and flathead sole in the Bering Sea. The action was initiated at the December 2021 meeting of t...
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NOAA Examines Poor Chinook, Chum Salmon Runs in Alaska
14Dec By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA Examines Poor Chinook, Chum Salmon Runs in Alaska

An updated research report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is providing new insight into historically poor chinook and chum salmon runs in Alaska. A report published in early December in SeafoodSource says the latest research from NOAA indicates poor diet, changes in metabolism and increases in parasitic infection are contributing to poor runs of chinook salmon in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers. Those factors plus warming water temperatures are proving disastrous to salmon and people dependent on them. Scientists have observed that in warm water conditions fish typically grow faster and need more food to survive the winter. The fish are also maturing at an earlier age, resulting in them producing fewer eggs, according to the report. NOAA has conducted s...
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NOAA, BOEM Develop Joint Strategy for Fisheries Surveys
7Dec By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA, BOEM Develop Joint Strategy for Fisheries Surveys

A Federal Survey Mitigation Strategy developed by NOAA Fisheries and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is the new vehicle for the two agencies to address potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on NOAA Fisheries’ scientific surveys. An announcement from NOAA on Monday, Dec. 5 stated that the new strategy underscores both agencies’ commitment to the Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy goals of responsibly advancing offshore wind energy production while protecting biodiversity and promoting mutual use of the ocean. NOAA Fisheries scientists have been collecting survey data that forms the basis of science-based management of America’s federal fisheries for 150 years. This new strategy is expected to ensure the quality of NOAA’s fisheries surveys and data are maint...
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NOAA Fisheries Reinstates Consultations on Groundfish Management Plans
30Nov By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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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...
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NOAA Releases Five-Year Strategy for Combating IUU Fishing
26Oct By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA Releases Five-Year Strategy for Combating IUU Fishing

Federal fisheries officials and their partners have released their National Five-Year Strategy for Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, a global problem impacting ocean ecosystems, the economy and food security.  The strategy, announced in mid-October, details U.S. priorities and plans for the next five years to promote maritime security worldwide. The strategy includes a U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing, composed of 21 member agencies building an expanding toolbox for partners to combat IUU fishing. Over the next five years, the working group plans to engage with five priority flag states and administrations: Ecuador, Panama, Senegal, Taiwan and Vietnam, focusing on helping them in their ongoing efforts to combat IUU fishing and related threats. ...
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NOAA Hosts First Responder Training on Responding to Entangled Whales
12Oct By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA Hosts First Responder Training on Responding to Entangled Whales

NOAA Fisheries, which leads the Alaska Large Whale Entanglement Response Program, held workshops in four Alaska communities this fall on how to best respond to entangled whales. The training sessions in Metlakatla, Auke Bay and Gustavus in Southeast Alaska, and Cordova, on Prince William Sound, taught safety skills needed to approach whales in distress, especially entangled whales. Participating NOAA employees and partner agencies included a team of advanced, authorized responders and trainers who use specialized equipment to safely and legally respond to entangled whales. The program emphasized the importance of assessment and documentation from a safe, legal distance from the on-water communities. The response program includes a team of advanced, authorized responders and tr...
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Mature Snow Crab Struggling in Eastern Bering Sea, But Immature Numbers Rising
14Sep By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Mature Snow Crab Struggling in Eastern Bering Sea, But Immature Numbers Rising

A NOAA Fisheries analysis of the summer survey of Bering Sea crab stocks has concluded that in the wake of consecutive years of record warm temperatures numbers of mature male and female snow crab are still down, but there’s a significant increase in immature snow crab abundance, NOAA revealed Sept. 2. “Depending on how many of these young crabs actually survive to adulthood, this could be one bright spot for the fishing industry in a few years,” said Mike Litzow, survey lead and director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Kodiak Laboratory. “We are providing these early results to stock assessment scientists and resource managers to inform science and management discussions that will occur over the next few months to identify fishery management measures for the 2023 fishin...
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Salmon, Steelhead Still Face Threats in Interior Columbia Basin
24Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Salmon, Steelhead Still Face Threats in Interior Columbia Basin

NOAA Fisheries researchers have determined that salmon and steelhead species in the Interior Columbia Basin protected under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) still need such protection, due to the impact of climate change and the need for further recovery actions. The five-year review, released in mid-August, focuses on species in the Snake River and upper and middle Columbia River systems. It recommends further improving the passage of these fish through hydropower dams, restoring tributary and estuary habitat, controlling predators and modifying hatchery practices to improve the resilience of these species. The review of Snake River spring/summer-run Chinook salmon noted an increased level of concern for the species, based on declining population trend and the impacts of climate...
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NOAA Study Recommends Steps to Support Young Fishermen
24Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA Study Recommends Steps to Support Young Fishermen

New research compiled by NOAA Fisheries supports equipping beginning fishermen facing start-up challenges with tools that have been successful in helping young farmers. The study, led by Marysia Szymkowiak at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, notes the similarities between the two professions, both of which ensure food security, provide jobs and support the well-being of rural communities. “The parallels are really stark,” said Szymkowiak. “Given that, we can really learn a lot from how these issues are being addressed in farming.” For both new fishermen and farmers there are formidable challenges to entry and success, as they are highly risky businesses, subject to weather, variable harvests, uncertain markets, climate change and high start-up costs, plus constantly evolvi...
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NOAA Seeks Applicants for American Fisheries Advisory Committee
17Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA Seeks Applicants for American Fisheries Advisory Committee

NOAA Fisheries is seeking applications through Sept. 24 for the new American Fisheries Advisory Committee, which will make recommendations for Saltonstall-Kennedy priorities and grand award funding. The committee, with three representatives from each of six regions, was established in May by the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act. The trio is to include one seafood harvester or processor, a recreational or commercial fisherman or seafood farmer, and one representative of the fisheries science community or a relevant regional fishery management council. There will also be four at-large members, with experience in food distribution, recreational fishing and commercial fishing, plus a NOAA Fisheries employee with expertise in fisheries research Members will represent seafood ...
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