Category: Government Agencies

Mayors on both coasts speak out against marine monument designation process

NEW BEDFORD, MA – In letters sent in late August to President Obama and the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ), New Bedford Mayor Jon Mitchell and Monterey, CA Mayor Clyde Roberson each expressed “serious concerns” about the potential economic harm to their ports  from the use of executive action by the Obama Administration …

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Efforts to manage herring quota create bait crisis;

Maine DMR takes emergency action, explains why If you walked down any dock or into any diner where fishermen gather, you already know that the talk in early July was all about bait.  More specifically the potential lack of it and the impact on bait prices. On July 8, Meredith Mendelson, Maine Dept. of Marine …

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Mid-Atlantic council set to take final action on forage fish omnibus amendment

DOVER, DE – In August, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is on schedule to adopt preferred alternatives for an Unmanaged Forage Fish Omnibus Amendment, the first on the East Coast, and only the second in the nation. The effort stems from the Mid-Atlantic council’s 2014-2018 strategic plan’s ecosystem planning component. The goal of the Unmanaged …

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Industry-based Gulf of Maine cod survey now in progress

GLOUCESTER, MA – Using  a portion of the federal Groundfish Disaster Relief funds for Massachusetts, the MA Div. of Marine Fisheries (DMF) initiated a three-year Gulf of Maine Atlantic cod industry-based survey (IBS) in April to better inform management decisions and enable minimum estimates of swept area biomass. Last fall, Massachusetts chose to spend $700,000 …

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NMFS rolls out new National Bycatch Reduction Strategy; Proposed rule sets SBRM requirement

SILVER SPRING, MD –  NOAA Fisheries (NMFS) has rolled out a new National Bycatch Reduction Strategy that it says will help move forward in its mission to promote productive and sustainable fisheries. The strategy calls for monitoring and estimating bycatch, researching new ways to reduce it through bycatch reduction engineering, enforcement of bycatch laws and …

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New England council sponsoring two-day Feb. 22-23 inshore scallop workshop in RI

GLOUCESTER, MA – Due to concerns raised about the potential impacts of increased effort on the nearshore scallop fishery over the past few years, the New England Fishery Management Council has set up a two-day inshore scallop workshop to be held Feb. 22-23 in Warwick, RI. The fishery is comprised of two fleets: •  About …

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NEFSC’s Gloria Michelle undergoes a major overhaul

WOODS HOLE, MA – NOAA Corps LTJG Douglas Pawlishen, the officer-in-charge of the 72’ fisheries research stern trawler Gloria Michelle, says he had no problem finding help renovating this venerable mainstay of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center’s fleet. “It was a real team effort,” said Pawlishen,  who took command in December 2014. “I did get …

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Real people who help shape the process: fisheries liaison Meghan Lapp – a new voice

NARRAGANSETT, RI – When Meghan Lapp was a teenager, she wanted to own her own boat. The opportunity didn’t arise, although she lived on Long Island for part of her childhood and on the Gulf of Mexico for the second half, following her naval architect father around as he designed propellers for commercial fishing boats, …

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$8.8 million in S-K grants awarded to projects throughout the region

WASHINGTON, DC – On Sept. 30, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) finalized $8.8 million in Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) grants to fund 33 research projects in the Greater Atlantic Region Fisheries Office (GARFO) as part of $25.1 million in grants approved nationwide. The 1954 Saltonstall-Kennedy Act was authored by US Senators Leverett Saltsonstall and John …

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New England Council approves Draft EIS for AMD 18 to Groundfish FMP

MYSTIC, CT – Four years after its initiation, the New England Fishery Management Council (NEMFC) has approved the Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for Amendment 18 to the Northeast Multispecies (Groundfish) Fishery Management Plan. The action, taken during the council’s April meeting here, was not without controversy.  See Guest Column, page 6. The council also …

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