Washington DC Update

NOAA Blue Book 2014

NOAA Update

Fisheries Economics of the United States 2012 (NOAA Fisheries, February 2014)

Electronic Catch Reporting

National EM Workshop held in Seattle, Washington (January 2014)

Hatcheries

Surviving the wilderness: hatchery fish and fitness (NWFSC, July 2014)
Conservation Groups Threaten Lawsuit Over Elwha Hatchery Ops (July 2014)
Wild Fish Conservancy Files Intent-To-Sue Notice Challenging Operations At Leavenworth Hatchery (July 2014)
Wild Fish Folks Block Hatchery Releases In Puget Sound (May 2015)
Nearly All CRB Hatchery Fish Sport Clipped Fins, Says New Report (June 2014)

Columbia River

States To Issue Lower Columbia Purse/Beach Seine Permits As Part Of Effort To Phase Out Gill-Nets (July 2014)
Reintroducing Chinook to Okanogan River (July 2014)
BPA Fish Costs Total Nearly $14 Billion (June 2014)
Spring Chinook Losses Above Bonneville Remain (June 2015)
Groups File Challenge Against New Federal Columbia Basin Salmon/Steelhead Recovery Plan (June 2014)
Tribes Quash Science Review of Draft F&W Program (June 2014)

Climate Change – Artic

White House Releases National Climate Assessment (May 2014)
NOAA Releases Arctic Action Plan (April 2014)

California Drought

California Drought helps coho salmon set migration record (June 2014)

Invasive Species

Noisy boats help spread invasive pests (July 2014)
WI DNR drops plan to use bacteria to kill zebra mussels on northern lake (July 2014)
Chinese market could help rid rivers of invasive Asian carp (April 2014)

Ocean (Conditions, Bering Sea, Acidity, Dead Zones)

Alaska Fish Factor: Glaciers May be Intensifying Acidity in Prince William Sound ((July 2014)
Oceanographers Discover the Headwaters of Puget Sound (June 2014)
NOAA Salmon Predictors Do More With Less (May 2015)

Brad Gilman / Rick Marks Update

change text of title to “Senate subcommittee MSA draft (July 2014)
Department of State Hosts “Our Ocean” 2014
NOAA Sanctuary System Business Advisory Council
NOAA announces updated process for nominating new national marine sanctuaries (June 2014)
The Land Based Marine Debris Reduction Act of 2014 (July 2014)
The Tsunami Warning, Education, and Research Act (August 2014)
Renewable Energy Environmental Research Act of 2014 (July 2014)
Begich Bill Takes Steps to Spur Renewable Marine Energy and Create Jobs in Alaska (July 2014)
H.R. 4998 - To establish requirements for declaration of marine national monuments, and for other purposes (June 2014)
S. 2530 - Protecting Lakes Against Quaggas Act of 2014 (June 2014)
H.R. 1823 Protecting Lakes Against Quaggas Act of 2013 (April 2013)
H.R.1459 - Ensuring Public Involvement in the Creation of National Monuments Act (March 2014)
S.2094 - Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (March 2014)
H.R.4315 - 21st Century Endangered Species Transparency Act (March 2014)
H.R.3994 - Federal Lands Invasive Species Control, Prevention, and Management Act (February 2014)
H.R.1308 - Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act (March 2013)
President Obama announces new executive actions to preserve and protect the oceans (June 2014)
NOAA announces updated process for nominating new national marine sanctuaries (June 2010)

OTHER ARTICLES OF INTEREST

KLAMATH RIVER

Sen. Ron Wyden tries new legislative route for stalled Oregon timber, Klamath Basin bills (July 2014)
Landmark Agreement Near in Upper Klamath Basin: Implementation Uncertain (April 2014)

CENTRAL VALLEY

Recovery Plan for Sacramento River winter-run Chinook salmon, Central Valley spring-run Chinook salmon, and Central Valley steelhead (July 2014)

FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Departments of State and Commerce Co-Chair Presidential Task Force on Combating Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing and Seafood Fraud (July 2014)
FAO: The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (2014)
Notice Of Receipt Of Rulemaking Petition To Prohibit Pacific Bluefin Tuna Fishing And Request For Comments (July 2014)
The Global Ocean from Decline to Recovery: A Rescue Package for the Global Ocean (Global Ocean Commission, June 2014)

TSUNAMI MARINE DEBRIS - RADIATION

Study: Plastic Debris Widespread on Ocean Surface (June 2014)
Analyses Confirms that Alaska’s Seafood is Safe from Fukushima Radiation (June 2014)
Tsunami debris confirmed in Washington state; skiff washed ashore in January (May 2014)
FDA Response to the Fukushima Dai-ichi Nuclear Power Facility Incident (March 2014)

PROTECTED SPECIES (Mammals, Birds, Turtles)

Comment Period Extended For Corps Plan To Cull 16,000 Cormorants From Columbia River Estuary (July 2014)
Fisheries Off West Coast States; the Highly Migratory Species Fishery; Closure (July 2014)
Suit Filed to Ensure Foreign Fisheries Meet American Standards for Dolphin and Whale Safety (July 2014)
NOAA announces positive finding on State of Alaska’s petition to delist humpback whale population (June 2014)
Chinook May Face Heavy Sea Lion Predation In Lower Columbia (June 2015)
Southern Resident Killer Whales: 10 Years of Research and Conservation (June 2015)

ELWHA DAM/CONDIT DAM REMOVAL

Elwha River Restoration Blog (NPS)

AQUACULTURE, GMO SALMON

This Salmon Will Likely Be The First Genetically Modified Animal You Eat (July 2014)
New Plan Released for Federal Aquaculture Research (June 2014)
Farmed Fish Production Must More than Double by 2050, New Analysis Finds (WRI June 2014)
Senator Murkowski’s Frankenfish Labeling Amendment Wins in Committee (May 2014)
BC: Salmon grown in land-based tanks come to market (May 2014)
Marine Cage Culture & The Environment -- NOAA Technical Memorandum NOS NCCOS 164 (December 2013)

FISH TAGGING

BPA Letter Explains Coded-Wire Tag Funding Policy To Northwest Congressional Delegation (March 2014)

HABITAT

More Rearing Habitat For Upper Columbia Sockeye: Cheap Fix Brings ‘Incredible Biological Benefit' (July 2012)
Susitna dam is an expensive mistake in the making (July 2014)
Inslee proposes new water-quality standards (July 2010)
Bering Sea Canyons, Corals, and Sustainable Fishing
Precision Mapping Columbia Basin Salmon Habitat (June 2014)
Interactive Map: Cook Inlet Fish Habitat
Study shows stream food web productivity, not habitat structure, better for coho salmon growth (May 2014)

DISASTER RELIEF - YUKON RIVER, KUSKOKWIM RIVER AND COOK INLET

Canada: Yukon salmon committee recommends total ban in 2014 (June 2014)
Alaska salmon fisheries to receive nearly $21M in fishery disaster relief funds (February 2014)

PEBBLE PINE

EPA releases proposal to protect Bristol Bay, Alaska fisheries from potential impacts posed by Pebble Mine (July 2014)
Pebble mine sues EPA (May 2014)

WAVE/WIND ENERGY

PFMC: Habitat and Communities: Wave, Tidal, and Offshore Wind Energy
Governor Kitzhaber applauds $47 million grant for offshore wind energy development (June 2014)

SEAFOOD HEALTH - CERTIFICATION

Bipartisan Group of Lawmakers Fight Deceptive Labeling of Imported Crab Meat (July 2014)
FDA and EPA issue draft updated advice for fish consumption (June 2014)
Government Gives Flawed Advice for Eating Fish, Ignores New Science (EWG June 2014)
President Obama Announces Initiative To Tackle Seafood Fraud & Illegal Fishing (June 2014)
PSVOA withdraws from MSC salmon fishery clientship (May 2014)

ENDANGERED SPECIES ACT

Federal Agencies Propose Revised Rules to Improve Implementation of the Endangered Species Act - Critical Habitat (May 2014)

MISCELLANEOUS

Washington’s Baker River reaches all time record—one million salmon are on their way to the Pacific Ocean