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What's New? (Last Updated: 7/21/08 )
Notice of Availability of Grant Funds for Fiscal Year 2009 (7/17/08)
This notice provides the public with a consolidated source of program and application information realted to NOAA's competitive grant and cooperative agreement award offerings for fiscal year 2009. Many of these programs, including the Monkfish and Sea Scallop Research Set-Aside Programs, Cooperative Research Program, Marine Fisheries Initiative, and Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Program, have funded bycatch research.
Comment Period for Gulf of Mexico Bycatch Reduction Device (BRD) Rule Reopened (7/17/08)
Due to a request from the Gulf of Mexico shrimp industry, and based on new information collected through a NOAA Fisheries-funded cooperative research proposal, NOAA Fisheries is reopening the comment period on the proposed rule that would revise the list of allowable BRDs certified for use in the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery. Comments must be received by August 6, 2008.
Meetings and Extended Comment Period for Amendment 3 to the Consolidated HMS FMP (7/17/08)
NOAA Fisheries has announced public meetings from July to October, 2008, and has extended the comment period, regarding options for Amendment3 to the Consolidated Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan. Comments are requested on, among other things, shark bycatch in shrimp trawl fisheries. Comments must be received by October 31, 2008.
Final Rule to Allow Haddock Rope Trawl for Use in Two Special Access Programs of the NE Multispecies FMP
New NOAA Fisheries Stranding and Disentanglement Program Website (7/17/08)
Entanglement of marine mammals in fishing gear and/or marine debris along the eastern seaboard of the United States primarily affects humpback whales and North Atlantic right whales. This website describes NOAA Fisheries disentanglement efforts.
Final Rule to Implement Amendment 2 to the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species Fishery Management Plan (6/25/08)
This rule, designed to rebuild overfished species of Atlantic sharks, should reduce bycatch through establishment of a shark research fishery, closing areas to bottom longline fishing, and a requirement for commercial vessels to maintain all fins on shark carcasses through offloading.
NOAA Fisheries Renews Permits for SeaShare for Prohibited Species Donation Program (6/25/08)
These permits authorize SeaShare to distribute Pacific salmon and Pacific halibut to economically disadvantaged individuals under the protected species donation program. Salmon and halibut are caught incidentally during directed fishing for groundfish with trawl gear off Alaska.
Proposed Rule for Regulations to Implement the Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Plan (6/25/08)
This proposed rule includes regulatory and non-regulatory measures, including a special research area, gear modifications, outreach material, and observer coverage. Comments on this rule must be received by September 22, 2008.
Final Rule to Create Incidental Monkfish Catch Limits in the Northeast (6/25/08)
This rule is intended to allow small scallop dredge vessels to land monkfish that currently are being discarded, consistent with National Standard 9 of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act.
Marine Mammal Protection Act Proposed List of Fisheries for 2009 (6/25/08)
The proposed 2009 List includes several changes to the 2008 List, including reorganization and elevation of various West Coast trap/pot fisheries, addition of high seas fisheries to the List, and splitting the Hawaii longline fishery into two fisheries. Comments on this rule must be received by August 12, 2008.
Northwest Atlantic Loggerhead Sea Turtle Recovery Plan Announced (6/25/08)
NOAA Fisheries has announced that the draft Recovery Plan for the Northwest Atlantic Population of the Loggerhead Sea Turtle is available for public comment. The plan includes natural history, current status, and the known and potential threats to the loggerhead turtle in the Northwest Atlantic and lays out a recovery strategy. Comments on this plan must be received by July 29, 2008.
NOAA Fisheries Study Indicates Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean Dolphin Populations May Be Improving (6/25/08)
Bycatch of dolphins in the purse-seine fishery for tropical tuna in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean has been a marine conservation issue for decades. Due to various conservation and management actions, the number of dolphins killed in the international fishery has been greatly reduced. New population estimates in this study are the first indications that a dolphin recovery may be underway.
Eliminator Trawl Demonstrated at Fish Expo Atlantic (5/21/08)
The Eliminator is designed to target haddock and reduce bycatch of cod and other groundfish species by capitalizing on differences in fish behavior. The net has large mesh openings on the bottom and smaller mesh on the top, allowing cod, which swim downward when encountering a net, to escape, while capturing haddock, which swim upward when encountering a net.
Related Sites
Fishery management councils and commissions. NOAA Fisheries relies on a diverse array of partnerships to help reduce fisheries bycatch, and this site contains links to some of our most prominent partners.
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