National

National

Atlantic

Atlantic

New England

South Atlantic

South Atlantic

Pacific

National – NOAA Fisheries Congratulates This Year's National Wetlands Awardees

Six wetlands educators, scientists, and conservationists were selected as recipients of the 2004 National Wetlands Awards for exemplary contributions in conserving or restoring the Nation's wetlands. They will be honored at a presentation on May 20th in the United States Senate Caucus Room in Washington, DC.

This year's awardees are: Peg Bostwick (Michigan), Jack Branning (Mississippi), Norman Brunswig (South Carolina), Francis Golet (Rhode Island), Sky Lewey (Texas) and Barbara Salzman (California). For more information, please contact Erica Pencak
at the Environmental Law Institute at 202-939-3822 or wetlandsawards@eli.org. You can also visit the awards Web site at www.eli.org/nwa/nwaprogram.htm.

The National Wetlands Awards Program celebrates individuals who have demonstrated extraordinary dedication, innovation or excellence in wetlands conservation. Their work covers programs or projects on the regional, state and local levels. NOAA Fisheries is a co-sponsor of the award.

National – NOAA Talks With Stakeholders: Tell Us How to Improve

NOAA will host a national stakeholder forum on April 16 in Washington, D.C., to identify ways to improve agency programs and make them more effective and responsive. Forum input will shape the upcoming strategic plan for 2004.

The interactive forum, titled “Moving NOAA into the 21st Century,” will be hosted by Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher, Ph.D., and NOAA Deputy Under Secretary John J. Kelly, Jr., Brigadier General, USAF (Ret.). The forum will consist of facilitated breakout sessions organized around NOAA’s four mission goals and several cross-cutting themes.

The breakout sessions will be conducted by members of NOAA leadership. The morning sessions will cover NOAA’s mission goals and include: ecosystems led by Michael P. Sissenwine, climate led by Chester J. Koblinsky, weather and water led by Frank P. Kelly and commerce and transportation led by Charles Challstrom. The afternoon sessions will address NOAA cross cutting themes: integrated observation and data management led by Gregory W. Withee and Richard W. Spinrad, environmental literacy, outreach and education led by Marlene A. Kaplan and research led by Richard D. Rosen.

Atlantic – NOAA Fisheries Seeks Public Comment on a Proposed International Trade Permit for Tuna and Swordfish

NOAA Fisheries has proposed modifications to its international trade tracking programs. These changes are necessary to implement conservation and management recommendations from the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas and the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission.

The proposed rule would require that trade-tracking statistical documents accompany all imports and/or exports of bigeye tuna, swordfish, and southern bluefin tuna. A re-export certificate would be required for re-exports of these species, and would be added to the existing bluefin tuna statistical document program. Export and re-export documentation would need to be validated. This program would replace the existing swordfish certificate of eligibility. In addition, NOAA Fisheries has proposed a new international trade permit for import, export, or re-export of northern and southern bluefin tuna, bigeye tuna, and swordfish.

To obtain a copy of the proposed rule, visit theHighly Migratory Species Web site. For more information, or to find out the dates and locations of public hearings, contact Dianne Stephan at (978) 281-9260 or Dianne.Stephan@noaa.gov. The deadline for submitting comments on this proposal is May 10, 2004. Written comments should be sent to Dianne Stephan, Highly Migratory Species Management Division, Office of Sustainable Fisheries (F/SF1), NOAA Fisheries, One Blackburn Dr, Gloucester, MA 01930 by May 10, 2004. Comments also may be sent via fax to 978-281-9340. Electronic comments may be submitted by email to the following address: NeroHMSTrade@noaa.gov; include in the comment subject line the following identifier: NERO HMS Trade Rule.

Atlantic – Entangled Right Whale Update

The satellite telemetry buoy attached to a line trailing the whale continues to function and indicates the whale is still swimming, and generally moving northward. It is currently off the coast of Virginia. Weather in this area continues with high seas (6-8 feet) including rain and fog, with similar conditions expected for the next couple of days only to worsen later. The whale, commonly referred to as Kingfisher, is anticipated to move out of the mid-Atlantic region before a weather window opens for another disentanglement attempt. The emergency response team is regrouping, and considering if, when, where, and how a new mission can be mounted. For the latest on where the whale is, visit the Center for Coastal Studies Web site: www.coastalstudies.org/rescue/latest.htm.

For frequent updates on the status of the rescue attempt, photos, and more information about right whales, visit our media center at www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mediacenter.

New England – $1000 Prize to be Awarded in Yellowtail Tag Lottery

NOAA Fisheries and the Massachusetts Bay Inshore Commercial Groundfish Association will host a tag return lottery April 6 at Pier 44 in Scituate, Massachusetts. One tag will be pulled from among more than 600 returned since a large research project began last summer to track movements of yellowtail flounder off New England and the Mid-Atlantic. The winning tag is worth $1,000 to the returner.

During 2003, nearly 10,000 yellowtail flounder were captured, tagged and released off Cape Cod, in the Gulf of Maine, on Georges Bank, and off Southern New England in this, the largest tagging study ever conducted for yellowtail. Some tags are instant $100 winners and others are entered into the lottery for a $1000 prize.

Westport, Massachusetts, fisherman Peter Collins was the winner in the first lottery drawing last December at the New Bedford Fishermen’s Center. He returned a pink disk tag from a fish caught on August 12, 2003 from Cultivator Shoals, approximately 8 miles southeast of the original release location. The fish was a female, tagged on July 16, 2003 on the northern edge of Georges Bank.

The tagging project is a joint effort among NOAA Fisheries, commercial fishermen, state fisheries agencies in Massachusetts and Rhode Island, the University of Massachusetts School for Marine Science and Technology, the Canadian government, and the University of Maryland. The project is intended to gather data on both vertical and horizontal movements of these fish over time.

South Atlantic – Public Scoping Meetings Scheduled for Mackerel Fishery

The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a series of scoping meetings from April 20-29 throughout the Atlantic to solicit public input on options regarding the current moratorium on the issuance of commercial king mackerel permits. The moratorium is scheduled to expire on October 15, 2005. The Council is asking for public comment on whether the current moratorium should be extended or allowed to expire. In addition, input is being solicited regarding possible changes to the fishing year for both king mackerel and Spanish mackerel in the Atlantic.

These informal scoping meetings are designed to allow input on issues prior to the Council taking any position on management options. When the Council is considering the need for management, scoping meetings provide an opportunity for members of the public to make suggestions before the Council has made any decisions.

Additional details and the scoping meeting schedule is available by contacting the Council office at 843-571-4366 or online at www.safmc.net. Written comments are also being solicited and must be received before 5:00 p.m.

E-mail comments to: mackerelcomments@safmc.net.

South Atlantic – Oculina Closure Extended

NOAA Fisheries has published a final rule for Amendment 13A to the Fishery Management Plan for the Snapper-Grouper Fishery of the South Atlantic. This rule extends regulations that prohibit fishing for and retention of snapper-grouper species within the Oculina Experimental Closed Area for an indefinite period, with a 10-year re-evaluation by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council. The council will also re-evaluate the configuration and size of the closed area within three years. The final rule will become effective April 26, 2004. As current measures do not expire until June 27, 2004, there will be no break in the closed period.

The Oculina Bank is a 90-mile strip of coral reefs located near the continental shelf edge off central eastern Florida. These reefs consist of delicate, slow-growing ivory tree coral and support dense and diverse invertebrate and finfish communities. The measures in the final rule will continue to protect snapper-grouper populations, Oculina coral and associated habitat. For more information, contact Kim Iverson at 843-571-4366.

Pacific – Swordfish Fishery Re-Opened in Western Pacific with Measures to Protect Sea Turtles

This week, NOAA Fisheries joined the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council in announcing a final rule that re-opens the Hawaii-based pelagic longline swordfish fishery. The final rule will publish in the Federal Register on April 2, 2004. This final rule was developed in a collaborative fashion with a Council-formed Working Group that included industry, environmental, and government representatives.

While the swordfish fishery has been re-opened, this is being done with the utmost caution to ensure continued sea turtle conservation. New safeguards include a strict cap on the number of sea turtle interactions and a limit on the number swordfish sets that can be made each season. 100% observer coverage is also required. This will enable the continued collection of scientific data and provide assurance that sea turtle interactions are properly monitored and appropriate handling and release techniques used for those interactions.

More than three years ago, NOAA closed the directed swordfish fishery in the western Pacific due to interactions with endangered sea turtles. Since that time NOAA has worked with industry to intensify research efforts on various types of fishing hooks, bait, and deployment of longlines. In January 2004, NOAA Fisheries held a press conference with fishing industry and NGO constituents to announce the promising results: that certain hook and bait combinations can lead to significant reductions in sea turtle bycatch and injury.

NOAA Fisheries is committed to continually improving our knowledge of sea turtles and their interactions with fishing gear. This research continues today on many fronts - in Hawaii, the Atlantic, the Azores, and elsewhere.

For more information on the experiment, click here and read the scientific report: www.mslabs.noaa.gov/mslabs/docs/watson4.pdf.

Or visit the website of the Western Pacific Council to read about the press event: www.wpcouncil.org/press/PressReleaseSwordfishLonglineFisheryReopened.pdf

March 26, 2004

Rule. Fisheries of the EEZ off Alaska; Pacific Cod by Catcher Vessels Using Trawl Gear in the BS&AI Management Area, a closure

March 29, 2004

Proposed Rule. International Fisheries; Atlantic HMS
Rule. NE Summer Flounder, Scup and BSB; Amendment 4.
Notice. Small Takes of Marine Mammals off Northern Yucatan Peninsula.
Notice. Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs).

April 1, 2004

Notice. Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; General Provisions for Domestic Fisheries; Application for Exempted Fishing Permit

April 2, 2004

Rule. Fisheries Off West Coast States. Limit on Swordfish Fishing Effort, Gear Restrictions, and Other Sea Turtle Take Mitigation Measures
Notice. Marine Mammals; Photography Permit Application No. 946-1747;
Notice. Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request