Noaa Fisheries Service News

The White House yesterday awarded three NOAA scientists with Presidential Early Career Awards for Scientists and Engineers. The award is the highest honor given by the federal government to outstanding scientists and engineers in the early stages of their careers. Laboratory. The NOAA scientists are part of a group of 102 scientists from across federal agencies that received the prestigious award. “NOAA is home to some of the world’s leading scientific research and our scientists strive each day to tackle some of the biggest challenges facing our planet,” said NOAA Administrator Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D. “Through their research on improving sustainable fisheries management…

The NOAA Fisheries Service has established a Dynamic Management Area near Savannah, Ga. to protect an aggregation of three whales sighted on January 23. Mariners are requested to route around this area or transit at a maximum speed of ten knots if rerouting is not possible. This voluntary zone will remain active through February 7, 2014. The previous Dynamic Management Area established off Palm Coast, Fla. is no longer active.

The right whale migration and calving season will soon begin along the Atlantic seaboard. The Mid-Atlantic Seasonal Management Areas and the associated speed restrictions of 10 knots will become effective for Mid-Atlantic coast ports from Long Island Sound to Savannah on November 1, 2013 and will remain in place through April 30, 2014. The Southeast U.S. Seasonal Management Area which includes the ports of Brunswick, Fernandina and Jacksonville, will become effective on November 15, 2013 and will remain in place through April 15, 2014.

NOAA is seeking comments on a supplemental draft environmental impact statement (EIS) for oil and gas activities in the Arctic Ocean. The draft, developed in collaboration with the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), includes analysis on how a broader range of potential offshore oil and gas activities could affect the environment, with a specific focus on marine mammals and the Alaska Native communities that depend on the animals for food and cultural traditions.

Krill Systems Inc. have installed their Vessel Fuel Measurement and Monitoring Systems (VFMMS) in 6 NOAA Fisheries survey vessels. Installations on NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, NOAA Ship Oscar Dyson and NOAA Ship Ferdinand R. Hassler represent the final fittings of a multiple vessel NOAA contract awarded in a competitive bid, on an unrestricted basis, to Krill Systems to implement VFMMS (Vessel Fuel Measuring and Management Systems) within their fleet. “We were very pleased, initially…

Professional mariners have a unique responsibility as they transit the world’s oceans. Mariners see a part of this earth that the vast majority of humanity will never witness and, in turn, they become stewards of the ocean by following the numerous regulatory measures aimed at reducing the impact of shipping on the environment. These regulations include, but certainly are not limited to, the use of AIS to avoid collisions and harmful oil spills, ballast water discharge controlling the introduction of invasive species, ship emissions control, and a ban on dumping of plastics at sea.

Krill Systems Inc., a provider in advanced Vessel Fuel Measurement and Monitoring Systems (VFMMS), is pleased to announce successful installation and sea trial of two systems on-board the NOAA research vessels Henry B. Bigelow and Pisces. NOAA Ship Henry B. Bigelow and NOAA Ship Pisces represent the first two fittings of a multiple vessel NOAA contract awarded in a competitive bid, on an unrestricted basis, to Krill Systems to implement VFMMS (Vessel Fuel Measuring and Management Systems) within their fleet. The Bigelow and the Pisces are 208’ LOA NOAA fisheries survey vessels operating as part of the NOAA Atlantic Fleet. They are both actively engaged in research missions.

Ithaca, N.Y. – Mariners along the U.S. east coast can now download a new iPad and iPhone application which warns them when they enter areas of high risk of collision with critically endangered North Atlantic right whales. The free Whale Alert app provides one source for information about right whale management measures and the latest data about right whale detections, all overlaid on NOAA digital charts. “Whale Alert represents an innovative collaboration to protect this critically endangered species,” said David Wiley, NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary research coordinator and project lead. A key feature of Whale Alert is a display linking near real-time acoustic buoys…

West Coast groundfish fleet sees higher revenue, lower bycatch in catch shares’ first year. West Coast commercial fishermen who trawl for whiting and other valuable groundfish saw their revenues and efficiency increase substantially over the last year under a new fishery management system known as catch shares, according to preliminary data from NOAA’s Fisheries Service. Gross revenues increased in 2011 compared to the five-year average for the West Coast groundfish fleet, which targets either whiting or other groundfish.

Years of study and effort by NOAA and the U.S. Coast Guard will pay off this summer when two changes to shipping lanes into Boston are implemented. Both changes significantly reduce the risk of collisions between large ships and whales. Beginning on June 1, ships 300 gross tons and above will be asked to avoid an area in the Great South Channel from April through July, when right whales face the highest chance of being struck by ships. The channel is a feeding area for the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale. Also, ships transiting primarily from the south and entering Boston Harbor in shipping lanes will travel a slightly different path. The north-south traffic lanes have been modified to reduce the threat of ship collisions with endangered right whales and other whale species.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reminded mariners to keep a sharp lookout for North Atlantic right whales in southeast US waters from November 15 through April 15. North Atlantic right whales are among the most endangered marine mammal populations in the world. Vessel strikes and entanglement in fixed fishing gear are the two greatest threats to their recovery. This species is protected under the U.S. Endangered Species Act of 1973 and the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972…

NOAA ship John N. Cobb, the oldest and only wooden hulled ship in the NOAA fleet, was decommissioned in after 58 years of service. The 93-ft. fisheries research vessel began service in 1950 with the Bureau of Fisheries, predecessor to NOAA's Fisheries Service, conducting albacore tuna surveys in , , and . Homeported in , Cobb has operated primarily in Alaskan waters for much of her service life, most recently in support of the fisheries service's Auke Bay Laboratories in . "The John N. Cobb has been an extremely productive platform for NOAA.

The newly constructed National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration fishery survey vessel Henry B. Bigelow has exceeded international standards as an acoustically quiet vessel, according to a report released by the U.S. Navy. NOAA received the results from a battery of underwater acoustic tests done by the Navy on the ship at the Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center on Andros Island in the Bahamas. “Henry B. Bigelow is one of only a handful of research ships in the world that have met this high standard as a quiet research vessel,” said retired Navy Vice Adm. Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and NOAA administrator. The noise radiated by the 208-ft.

The National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration Fisheries Service and the U.S. Coast Guard announce the availability of "A Prudent Mariner's Guide to Right Whale Protection" - an interactive, multi-media CD program that serves as a guide and voluntary training resource for commercial mariners operating in right whale habitats along the U.S. Atlantic coast. The CD, distributed free-of-charge upon request, provides a comprehensive collection of right whale information delivered in a compact and user-friendly format. The program includes: crew training information about right whales, recommended navigational actions when operating in right whale habitat, a guide to reporting sightings of dead or injured right whales, an informative video presentation, and a short follow-up quiz.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently took delivery of Henry B. Bigelow, one of a new class of fisheries survey vessels being built under contract with VT Halter Marine Inc., in Pascagoula, Miss. Henry B. Bigelow will support NOAA research efforts in conservation and management of fisheries and marine ecosystems primarily in northeastern U.S. waters, replacing the 45-year old Albatross IV. The ship will be home ported in New England, although a permanent base has not been named. The ship will be based temporarily at Naval Station Newport, in Newport, R.I. U.S. Senator and Mrs. Judd Gregg attended the keel-laying ceremony with students from Winnacunnet High School, who submitted the winning vessel name through a NOAA educational outreach contest. Mrs.

NOAA's Fisheries Service is proposing guidelines for future government-backed buyouts of F/Vs and permits to reduce excess fishing capacity, the Commerce Department's National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced. "As is the case around the world, many U.S. fisheries have too many fishing vessels chasing too few fish," said Terry Garcia, assistant secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and deputy NOAA administrator. "We are creating general guidelines to allow the U.S. fishing industry to voluntarily set an example of reducing excess fishing capacity in our waters. Congress amended the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 1996 to provide for voluntary fishing capacity reduction - commonly known as a "buyout." The proposed rule addresses matters common to all buyouts…