NOAA News - SouthCarolina-Offshore.Com

Bill Hogarth Departs NOAA

Monday, December 31, 2007 was Bill Hogarth’s last day as Assistant Administrator for Fisheries after 7 years as leader of NOAA Fisheries and more than 13 years of Federal service to the Nation.  He will continue to serve as the U.S. Commissioner and Chair of the International Whaling Commission through the end of the next annual meeting in June 2008. On January 15, 2008, he will begin his new job as the Interim Dean at the College of Marine Science, University of South Florida, in St. Pete FL.  A reception to honor Bill will be held in Silver Spring, MD on January 9, 2008.

Measures for Recreational Summer Flounder Fisheries Announced

NOAA Fisheries is implementing interim coastwide summer flounder recreational management measures to prevent overfishing and improve the health of the summer flounder fishery. This action also ensures that appropriate management measures are in place on January 1, 2008, when the 2007 rules are longer effective. The rule implements a 4-fish bag limit, a minimum fish size of 18.5 inches, and a year-round season as the interim measures. The interim measures will remain effective until replaced by final 2008 measures. The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will meet on December 11-13, 2007, in Secaucus, New Jersey, to review the updated 2007 recreational fishery information and to recommend measures to manage the 2008 summer flounder recreational fishery. The final measures once developed and implemented by NOAA Fisheries, will replace or revise this interim measure.

For more information, please contact Michael P. Ruccio, (978) 281-9104.

NOAA Fisheries Calls for Temporary Ban on Eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean Bluefin Tuna

The United States last week proposed a temporary fishing ban on eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna to allow these fisheries to begin to recover from severe overfishing and to allow countries to put monitoring measures in place. Despite strong support from Canada at the annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), the measure was not adopted by the members of the international body charged with conserving Atlantic tunas and tuna-like species. Instead, ICCAT adopted a proposal put forward by Japan requesting nations that fish for eastern Atlantic and Mediterranean bluefin tuna to submit to the ICCAT Secretariat a detailed report on how their current regulations are being implemented to comply with a fishing plan adopted in 2006. The reports are to be submitted before next year’s annual ICCAT meeting where a new bluefin tuna stock assessment will also be presented. ICCAT also acted on an earlier U.S. initiative to track every Atlantic bluefin tuna from the moment it is caught until it reaches its final market. Providing ICCAT with a concrete account of how many fish are landed will be a crucial part of improving control over this fishery. In other issues, the Commission reduced total allowable catch for northern and southern Albacore, adopted its first measure to reduce the unintentional catch of seabirds in longline fishing gear, and agreed to reduce mortality on porbeagle and North Atlantic shortfin mako sharks. The annual ICCAT meeting concluded on November 18 in Antalya, Turkey.

For additional information, please contact Kelly Denit (301) 713-2276 x 202 or kelly.denit@noaa.gov.

Comment Sought on Pelagic Longline Experimental Fishing off Florida and South Carolina

NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments on the Environmental Assessment analyzing the impacts of conducting research with pelagic longline vessels in portions of the East Florida Coast and Charleston Bump closed areas. Given the nearly rebuilt status of north Atlantic swordfish and recent bycatch reduction measures implemented throughout the U.S. pelagic longline fishery, NOAA Fisheries is proposing to collect baseline data in the closed areas to evaluate the effectiveness of existing bycatch reduction measures. NOAA Fisheries invites comments from interested parties on the Environmental Assessment. Comments must be received by November 20, 2007.

Contact: Russell Dunn (727)824-5399.

Proposed Limits for Three Fisheries to End Overfishing

NOAA Fisheries proposed limits on fishing for three key species in order to end overfishing and promote rebuilding of the stocks. The proposal is based on scientific analysis and recommendations of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission.

The proposed 2008 total allowable landing limits are:

• Summer Flounder – 15.77 million pounds, 8 percent less than the 2007 limit of 17.11 million pounds;
• Scup – 7.34 million pounds, 39 percent less than the 2007 limit of 12 million pounds; and
• Black Sea Bass – 4.22 million pounds, 16 percent less than the 2007 limit of 5 million pounds.

While all three species support commercial and recreational fisheries, summer flounder is the most prevalent of the three throughout the New England and Mid-Atlantic regions. The summer flounder stock has increased since 2000, when the rebuilding effort started. However, it is still subject to overfishing and still remains short of being rebuilt. Federal law requires that overfishing end and the stock stay on track with its new rebuilding schedule. The proposed rule, which includes recreational and commercial fishery and state allocations, may be viewed online at http://www.nero.noaa.gov/nero/regs/com.htm.

Public comments on the proposed rule will be accepted through December 3, 2007. NOAA will implement the 2008 annual landing limits in December.

For more information, please contact Susan Buchanan, susan.buchanan@noaa.gov.

NOAA Fisheries Names Top Research Priorities

NOAA Fisheries has published the top science and research priorities its scientists will follow for the next three years. Documented in the latest Strategic Plan for Fisheries Research, the agency places an increased emphasis on managing fish stocks not as isolated populations, but rather linked together and influenced by the marine ecosystems that they inhabit. Additionally, the plan stresses the need for continued development of advanced technologies such as acoustic techniques, remotely operated vehicles, autonomous underwater vehicles, and submersible research to directly evaluate deepwater fisheries and their habitat. The plan depends on state-of-the-art research vessels to support data collection activities. The plan renews NOAA’s commitment to monitor climate change and its impact on sustainable fisheries as well as ways to proactively address seafood safety issues. Contact Stephan.K.Brown@noaa.gov