Page 12. MAINE COASTAL NEWS March 2012
Commercial Fishing News Obama Administration Releases Action
Plan to Address Ocean Challenges The National Ocean Council released the draft National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan for public comment. This action plan addresses the most pressing challenges facing ocean, coastal, and Great Lakes resources. Marking an important step in implementing the Nation’s first comprehensive ocean policy, the draft Implementation Plan details more than 50 actions the Federal Government will take to improve the health of the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes. These actions reflect ideas and input received by the National Ocean Council through extensive public and stakeholder engagement during two previous public comment periods, numerous listening sessions, and face to face meetings around the country. An electronic copy of the draft Implementation Plan can be read by visiting
www.whitehouse.gov/oceans.
NOAA Posts Results from Gulf of Maine Cod Meetings; Seeks Additional Input from Fishermen and Other Stakeholders in Jan. and Feb.
In November 2011 the Gulf of Maine cod stock assessment underwent a peer review by a team of independent scientists at the 53rd Stock Assessment Workshop at the Northeast Fisheries Science Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The final feedback from that peer review process is expected in January. The preliminary results indicate that the stock is overfished and overfishing is occurring and that it will not rebuild by the 2014 deadline.
Given the preliminary results and the implications for groundfish fishermen and communities across the region, after consultation with industry leaders, NOAA Fisheries convened a working group consisting of council members and NOAA staff to explore potential management options for reducing disruption to the fishery while responding to the new
MISCELLANEOUS COMMERCIAL FISHING NEWS
assessment. This working group met with members of the fishing community, environmentalists, scientists and other interested parties during an open meeting on December 9, 2011 to discuss the preliminary findings and potential management responses.
There were a number of opportunities for fishermen and other stakeholders to provide additional input on Gulf of Maine cod management options including: • The New England Fishery Management Council’s Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) meeting January 25, in Providence, RI, to review the cod assessment, identify information that may influence the interpretation of the assessment results, and review a range of catch levels for GOM cod.
• The Council met on January 31- February 2, in Portsmouth, NH. On Wednesday February 1, it will discuss a course of action for GOM cod and possibly request that NOAA Fisheries take emergency action for the 2012 fishing year. • NOAA Fisheries and the Council also plan to hold another public meeting in February. This meeting will be an opportunity for the public to learn and comment on any action the Council has taken before agency action. Further details about the meeting date and agenda will be available shortly.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries Extend Comment Period on Proposed Policy to Improve Implementation of Endangered Species Act; Comments Now Due March 8 The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NOAA Fisheries, the two federal agencies responsible for administering the Endangered Species Act, recently announced a 30-day extension of the public comment period on a draft policy interpreting the phrase “significant portion of its range” in the Act’s definitions of “endangered species” and “threatened species.” Considering the complexity of the issues addressed in the draft policy and the level of public interest, the agencies determined that additional time for public comment will be particularly valuable for this action. The public comment period on the draft policy will now close on March 8, 2012. Information about this policy and how it will improve administration of the Act can be found online.
NOAA Honors the Regional Fishery Management Councils
On January 30, 2012, NOAA and NOAA Fisheries honored the eight fishery
management councils for their role in shaping the science-based management of U.S. fisheries and the historic milestone to be achieved this year with the implementation of annual catch limits on all federally managed fisheries. These eight councils and the challenges unique to each of their regions, have developed the diverse innovations in management and science that defines U.S. fisheries. Presided over by the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Jane Lubchenco, Ph.D., recognized each council with a plaque for their unique contributions to managing the nation’s fisheries.
New Method Improves Recreational Catch Estimates As part of NOAA’s ongoing work to improve the accuracy of and confidence in recreational fishing data, NOAA Fisheries and leading experts in the field have developed a new peer-reviewed method for calculating recreational catch estimates. The new technique addresses a major recommendation made by the National Research Council for improving our recreational data collection program and fulfills an important mandate of the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
The new catch methodology fixes a “mismatch” between the way we collect information from anglers during dockside interviews, and how we use that data to generate catch estimates. There are no consistent trends either in size or direction of change between the improved Marine Recreational Information Program estimates and what has been previously reported. On a species-by-species basis, some estimates go up, some go down, and some remain about the same. However, in all cases, the numbers are more accurate.
New Probiotic Bacteria Shows Promise for Use in Shellfish Aquaculture Researchers at NOAA’s Milford Laboratory in Milford, Conn. have shown that naturally-occurring bacteria isolated from the digestive glands of adult eastern oysters (Crassostrea virginica) and northern bay scallops (Argopecten irradians irradians) may be used as potential probiotic candidates in oyster larviculture. The use of probiotic bacteria, isolated from naturally- occurring bacterial communities, is gaining in popularity in the aquaculture industry as the preferred, environmentally-friendly management alternative to the use of antibiotics and other antimicrobials for disease prevention. Known to the public for their use in yogurt and other foods to improve human digestion and health, probiotic bacteria isolated from other sources can also be used to improve
survival, nutrition and disease prevention in larvae grown in shellfish hatcheries.
NOAA Fisheries Seeks Public Comment on Revising Guidelines for Preparing Marine Mammal Stock Assessment Reports; Comments due March 26 The Marine Mammal Protection Act provides only general guidance on assessment methods and on the content of the Reports. As a result, NOAA Fisheries and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have held a series of workshops since 1994 to develop guidelines that may be consistently applied nationally to marine mammal stock assessments. NOAA Fisheries is currently seeking public comments on draft revisions to these guidelines. Comments must be received by March 26, 2012.
NOAA Fisheries Seeks Public Comment on Exempted Fishing Permit for Atlantic Surfclam and Ocean Quahog NOAA Fisheries is soliciting public comment on an exempted fishing permit application that would exempt up to three commercial fishing vessels from the Atlantic surfclam and ocean quahog Georges Bank Closure Area. This would continue research to assess the performance of an approved sampling protocol and to allow for continued sample collection and testing to obtain additional data in locations where toxin levels may be higher than were present during the pilot phase of the study. Comments had to have been received on or before February 21.
NOAA lists five Atlantic sturgeon populations under Endangered Species Act
NOAA’s Fisheries Service announced today a final decision to list five distinct population segments of Atlantic sturgeon under the Endangered Species Act. The Chesapeake Bay, New York Bight, Carolina, and South Atlantic populations of Atlantic sturgeon will be listed as endangered, while the Gulf of Maine population will be listed as threatened.
It has been illegal to fish for, catch or keep Atlantic sturgeon for more than a decade. The listing decisions will not have an immediate effect on fishing. NOAA will work with fishery management councils, interstate fisheries managers, state agencies, and the fishing industry to find ways to further reduce bycatch of Atlantic sturgeon in federal and state waters without unduly hampering fishing activities. For example, NOAA continues to fund research to test modifications to fishing gear that can reduce bycatch of fish, including Atlantic sturgeon.
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