NOAA Update

NOAA Fisheries Ecosystem-based Fisheries Management Road Map (August 2016)

 

Marine Mammal Entanglements, Derelict Gear

PSMFC/NOAA Project: Working with Crab Fishermen to Reduce Whale Entanglement.

 

Hatcheries

A single generation of domestication heritably alters the expression of hundreds of genes (February 2016)

 

Columbia River

NWPCC Releases Drafts White Paper On Fish Passage At High-Head Dams (August 2016)

Columbia Riverkeeper Files Suit To Reduce Oil Pollution At Grand Coulee Dam (July 2016)

Corps improving fish passage at Lower Granite Dam Two new construction projects
expected to increase fish survival as they pass the dam (June 2016)

It’s Déjà Vu All Over Again: Federal District Court in Oregon Rejects 2014 Columbia River Biological Opinion (Marten Law, June 2016)

Snake River Fall Chinook Recovery Plan (November 2015)

 

Climate Change – Artic

IUCN: Explaining Ocean Warming: Causes, scale, effects and consequences (September
2016)

July was hottest month on record for the globe (August 2016)

 

Invasive Species

Lionfish: Notice Of Receipt Of An Application For An Exempted Fishing Permit; Request For Comments (August 2016)

Sweden pushes to get American lobsters banned from Europe (August 2016)

MT: Dogs hunt for invasive species in new statewide program (June 2016)

Considering Predation Levels When Reintroducing Salmonids Above High Head Dams (May 2016)

Ballast water treatment, uncertainty and what to learn from it all (May 2016)

Calif: The Policy of Predation (March 2016)

Lake Huron salmon decline tied to invasive mussel (3/20/16)

Invasive species blamed as second biggest cause of extinctions (2/17/16)

 

Ocean (Conditions, Bering Sea, Acidity, Bloom, Blob)

Increasing ocean acidity could impact fish spawning (July 2016)

Scientists recommend immediate plan to combat changes to West Coast seawater chemistry (April 2016)

LA Times: West Coast fisheries are at risk as climate change disturbs the ocean's chemistry (April 2016)

Tracking 'marine heatwaves' since 1950—and how the 'blob' stacks up (March 2016)

 

Dungeness Crab

A Stinky Artificial Bait Could Protect Millions of Tiny Fish (August 2016)

A synthetic crustacean bait to stem forage fish depletion (July 2016)

 

RICK MARKS

Bills containing provisions to limit Administration’s executive authority Marine Sanctuaries & Monuments

S.437 - Improved National Monument Designation Process Act

HR 330 - Marine Access and State Transparency or the MAST Act

H.R.332 - To amend the National Marine Sanctuaries Act to prescribe an additional
requirement for the designation of marine sanctuaries off the coast of Alaska.

H.R. 1335 - House-passed contains a provision specifying MSA as the controlling law in cases of statutory conflict (i.e. NMSA, ESA, Antiquities Act)

FY17 Interior Appropriations bill (H.R. 5538) contains 2 provisions to prohibit federal spending on monument designations/NOP activities

CA Reps. Farr/Lieu introduce H.R. 5797 to protect CA seamount & ridge habitats in a new National Conservation Area

H.R.4909 - National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2017 (See TITLE XXXVI—BALLAST WATER/VIDA)

H.R. 4576 -“Ensuring Access to Pacific Fisheries Act”

 

Protected/ESA Species

NOAA: Salmon and Steelhead 2016 Status Reviews

‘Condor Time’ for Central California Coast Coho Salmon (July 2016)

 

OTHER TOPICS AND ARTICLES OF INTEREST

 

PSMFC Video - “Live with Beavers” Background Information

Expected Benefits of Beaver Dams to the Watershed

How to Live with Beavers

Why To live with Beavers

Working with Beaver to Restore Streams, Wetlands, and Floodplains

 

Electronic Catch Reporting

NOAA: Electronic monitoring may expand for West Coast catch share fleets (September 2016)

Pacific Council Green Lights Electronic Monitoring Aboard West Coast Trawl Fleets
Starting in 2017 (April 2016)

 

Bycatch

Bycatch Management in Gulf of Alaska - Reopened for Public Comment (July 2016)

NOAA: Draft National Bycatch Reduction Strategy (February 2016)"

 

Klamath River

Dam removal plan to feds by end of 2016? (July 2016)

Klamath River Study: Cold Water Refuges Also Function As Disease Refuges For Juvenile Salmon (July 2016)

 

Central Valley -- Delta Smelt

U.S. aims to restore water, return fish to diverted California river (August 2016)

Groups petition state to address predatory fish in Delta (August 2016)

Enviro/Fish Groups Oppose Delta Tunnels (July 2016)

State, Federal Agencies Launch Integrated, Multi-Pronged Effort to Help Delta Smelt (July
2016)

Critical index finds smelt nearly extinct in Sacramento Delta (June 2016)

Don't blame the smelt: The salmon too reflects the dire state of the California Delta (May 2016)

PFMC Slams Feinstein Drought Bill (May
2016)

Factors that influence salmon predation in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta (May 2016)

 

Marine Protected Areas/Monuments

Fact Sheet: President Obama to Create the World’s Largest Marine Protected Area (August
2016)

D.B. Pleschner: Proposal would devastate California’s fishing industry (August 2016)

Calif. State commission delays Marine Protection Area monitoring proposal (June 2016)

Would Hawaii Marine Monument Expansion Hurt the Tuna Industry? (June 2016)

U.S. Seafood Producers to White House: Don't Harm Fisheries for Ocean Monuments (September 2016)

 

Fisheries Management

Shark-finning Will Go On, Industry Pledges (July 2016)

Proposed Rule: Removal of the Puget Sound/Georgia Basin Distinct Population Segment of Canary Rockfish From the Federal List of Threatened and Endangered Species, and Removal of Designated Critical Habitat, and Update and Amend the Listing Descriptions for the Yelloweye Rockfish DPS and Bocaccio DPS (July 2016)

Pacific Bluefin Tuna in the Eastern Pacific Ocean; Response to Petition for Rulemaking (June 2016)

U.S. fleet gets long-term deal in tuna-rich Pacific (June 2016)

MSC: Global collaboration doubles sustainable catch in five years (June 2016)

NOAA: Regional Saltwater Recreational Fisheries Implementation Plans Now Available

National Academies to Review Marine Recreational Information Program (February 2016)

 

Tsunami Marine Debris - Radiation

The Ocean’s Great Garbage Patches Might Have Exit Doors (August 2016)

S.3086 - Marine Debris Act Amendments of 2016 (June 2016)

Public’s Interest In ‘Great Garbage Patch’ Drives Increased Activity From Scientists, Policy Makers (June 2016)

Nanoplastics Negatively Affect Aquatic Animals (May 2016)

Plastics, once America’s darling, now foreign villain on Alaska shores (May 2016)

Japan Tsunami: No Evidence So Far Non-Native Species Washed Ashore West Coast Establishing Reproductive Populations (March 2016)

Japanese tsunami debris: It’s not the problem California feared (March 2016)

 

Protected Species (Mammals, Birds, Turtles)

Judge allows killing of cormorants on Columbia River to continue (September 2016)

These Simple Fixes Could Save Thousands of Birds a Year From Fishing Boats (August 2016)

NOAA, Proposed Rule: Fish and Fish Product Import Provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act (August 2016)

After decades of research, Steller sea lion decline still puzzles scientists (July 2016)

NOAA Fisheries authorizes states to remove sea lions that threaten salmon (July 2016)

Final 2016 Pinniped Report: Sea Lion Salmon Take Astoria To Bonneville Dam Could Be 20 Percent Of Run (June 2016)

Mysterious Great White Shark Attacks On Sea Otters Surge (June 2016)

Whale entanglements: Crab fishermen help prevent injuries, deaths of majestic animals (April 2016)

Brad Gilman: Update on Seals and Sea Lions (January 2016)

Court Hears Oral Arguments On Killing Columbia River Estuary Cormorants To Protect Juvenile Salmon/Steelhead (August 2016)

Study: Mid-Columbia/Lower Snake Avian Predation High For Steelhead, Data Varies By Fish Species (July 2016)

Scientist Tells NPCC Science Board Cormorant Plan Likely Has No Impact On Increasing Salmonid Return (June 2016)

Estuary Cormorants Abandon Nests, Eggs After ‘Significant Disturbance;’ Audubon Blames
Feds’ Hazing, Killing (June 2016)

 

Dam Removal: Benbow, Elwha, Condit

Benbow Dam Removal in California (August 2016)

Benefits for Wildlife Flow from San Clemente Dam Removal (July 2016)

Elwha River Revives After Largest Dam Removal in U.S. History (June 2016)

White Salmon River Post-Condit Dam: More Salmon, Steelhead Spawners (December 2015)

 

Aquaculture, GMO Salmon

Wave of First Nation Protests Against Canada's Farmed Salmon Industry Tied to Supreme
Court Decision

Salmon farming on the rise in Washington (August 2016)

Corn, soybeans and salmon? – Company announces it attends to raise salmon big-time in Iowa (August 2016)

DFO not in conflict of interest for promoting salmon farming: LeBlanc (August 2016)

Murkowski Urges Senate to Mandate Labeling of GE Salmon (July 2016)

NOAA Releases Marine Aquaculture Strategic Plan (June 2016)

 

Habitat

Study One Of First To Document Ecological Consequences Of Amphetamine Pollution In
Urban Streams (August 2016)

Alaska: Southeast tribes voice mining concerns to State Department (August 2016)

Artificial Reef Society of British Columbia Announces 1st Submersible Expedition to Validate Impact of Artificial Reefs around Vancouver
(August 2016)

WA Culverts: Indian Treaty Fishing Rights and the Environment: Affirming the Right to Habitat Protection and Restoration (July 2016)

Ninth Circuit Upholds Lower Court Ruling That Washington Must Fix Culverts To Improve
Fish Passage (July 2016)

Conserving skate nursery habitat in the Bering Sea (July 2016)

Washington State Requires Removing Copper from Car Brakes by 2025 to Protect Salmon
(July 2016)

John Day Basin Study Indicates Steps To Increase Beaver Dam Building Benefits Salmonids (July 2016)

Deschutes River Alliance Plans To Sue PGE Over Water Quality (June 2016)

NOAA releases Habitat Blueprint website (May 2016)

 

Disaster Relief - Yukon River, Kuskokwim River and Cook Inlet

Alaskan restrictions help Yukon kings meet Canadian goals (August 2012)

Fall Yukon chum run starts stronger than anticipated (August 2016)

Alaska: After awful pink salmon season, a bid for relief (August 2016)

First Nation counts Yukon salmon at new sonar station (August 2016)

'New salmon run:' Planes now fly in fish as Yukon chinook decline (August 2016)

Science unsure of cause for salmon decline in Yukon River (August 2016)

Study Shows That Fishery Collapse Disaster Relief Funds Should Go To Wider Range Of Stakeholders (April 2016)

 

Pebble Mine

Judge says EPA gets records on certain Pebble payments, not overall finances (May 2016)

Judge: EPA ‘improperly’ withheld Alaska mining documents (March 2016)

Inspector General Report Clears EPA of any Bias in its Pebble Mine Assessment (January
2016)

 

Wave/Wind Energy

BOEM Announces Major Advance in Developing Wind Energy Offshore California (August
2016)

R.I.: Offshore wind farm to usher in new era (August 2016)

PFMC Wave, Tidal, and Offshore Wind Energy Webpage

 

Seafood Health - Certification

Ever wanted to track where your fish comes from? Now you can (August 2016)

NOAA: Fish and Fish Product Import Provisions of the Marine Mammal Protection Act
(August 2016)

NOAA: IUU Fishing and Seafood Fraud Web Portal

WSJ: Beware of 'Fake Fish' in Restaurants and Seafood Shops (August 2016)

Oceana Reveals Shortfalls in Proposed Traceability Rule to Address Seafood Fraud (June
2016)

NOAA: Proposed Rule for First Phase of Traceability Program (April 2016)

Global Fishing Watch

 

Miscellaneous

Alaska Salmon Forecast & Harvest to Date – August 29, 2016

New Inventory of Arctic Fish Species Provides Unprecedented Look at Arctic Food Web (August 2016)

Fraser River sockeye run at lowest level in more than 120 years, Pacific Salmon Commission reports (September 2016)

SeaShare Delivers trawl bycatch to Communities in Alaska (August 2016)

What Happened To All The Chinook Salmon? New Research Points To Potential Predators
(July 2016)

Baby starfish making a comeback after 2-year die-off, Oregon researchers say (May 2016)