Friday, May 10th, 2013
Washington, D.C., May 9, 2013 — The Managing Our Nation’s Fisheries 3 conference wrapped up on a successful note, with conference participants developing 128 recommendations for improving fishery sustainability. Please see the full Press Release dated May 9, 2013.
For more information, contact:
Friday, May 10th, 2013
National Marine Fisheries Service Southwest Region has released the Biological Opinion on the continued management of the drift gillnet fishery managed under the Fishery Management Plan for West Coast Fisheries for Highly Migratory Species.
Monday, May 6th, 2013
Wednesday, May 1st, 2013
The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT) will hold a conference call beginning at 1:00 p.m. on May 22, 2013, and lasting for approximately one and a half hours. There will be public listening stations at the following locations:
Southwest Fisheries Science Center
8901 La Jolla Shores Drive
La Jolla, California 92037
Driving DirectionsPacific Fishery Management Council Office
7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101
Portland, Oregon 97220-1384
Driving Directions
The HMSMT requested further guidance on an assignment from the March 2013 Council meeting in Tacoma, Washington. The Council directed the HMSMT to identify potential measures that should be implemented pursuant to the precautionary management framework for North Pacific albacore currently under development at the international level. The HMSMT will discuss further guidance with Council and National Marine Fisheries Service staff during the conference call. The HMSMT will hold a separate meeting to prepare a report with recommendations on this topic for the June 20-25, 2013, Council meeting.
The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt at 503-820-2280, at least five days prior to the meeting date.
For further information about the work session, please contact Dr. Kit Dahl at 503-820-2280, ext. 422; toll free 1-866-806-7204.
Wednesday, May 1st, 2013
The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Highly Migratory Species Management Team (HMSMT) will hold a work session, which is open to the public. The HMSMT meeting will begin at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 28; 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday, May 29; and 8:30 a.m. Thursday, May 30, 2013. On each day the meeting will continue until business is completed.
The meetings will be held at the following location:
Pacific Room
Southwest Fisheries Science Center
8901 La Jolla Shores Dr.
La Jolla, California 92037-1509
Driving Directions
The HMSMT will discuss the following topics:
The meeting is physically accessible to people with disabilities. Requests for sign language interpretation or other auxiliary aids should be directed to Mr. Kris Kleinschmidt at 503-820-2280, at least five days prior to the meeting date.
For further information about the work session, please contact Dr. Kit Dahl at 503-820-2280, ext. 422; toll free 1-866-806-7204.
Tuesday, April 23rd, 2013
The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published its proposed List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2013, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA), on April 22.
NMFS proposes to reclassify the ‘‘CA thresher shark/swordfish drift gillnet’’ fishery from Category II to Category I. NMFS has observed this fishery from 2005 through 2010 at coverage levels ranging from 11.9% to 20.9%. NMFS reclassified this fishery from Category III to Category II on the 2012 LOF. NMFS has observed this fishery from 2005 through 2010 at coverage levels ranging from 11.9% to 20.9%. NMFS reclassified this fishery from Category III to Category II on the 2012 LOF.
Category I fisheries have been found to cause frequent incidental mortality or serious injury of marine mammals.
For more information see the Federal Register notice.
Friday, April 19th, 2013
NMFS announces a combined meeting of the Scientific Advisory Subcommittee (SAS) and the General Advisory Committee (GAC) to the U.S. Section to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) on May 15, 2013, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. PDT (or until business is concluded). The meeting will be held at the NMFS Long Beach office: 501 West Ocean Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90802. Please notify Ms. Heidi Taylor, Southwest Region, NMFS, (562) 980-4039) prior to May 10, 2013, of your plans to attend either meeting, or interest in a teleconference option.
Read the Federal Register Notice dated April 19, 2013 .
Thursday, April 4th, 2013
NMFS issued advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to provide background information and request public comment on potential issues related to the implementation of the Billfish Conservation Act of 2012. The public comment deadline is July 12, 2013.
The Billfish Conservation Act of 2012 (BCA), Public Law 112-183, 16 U.S.C. 1827a, was signed into law on October 5, 2012. The BCA prohibits any person from offering billfish or billfish products for sale, selling them, or having custody, control, or possession of them for purposes of offering them for sale but exempts billfish caught by U.S. fishing vessels and landed in Hawaii or Pacific Insular Areas (as defined under the MSA).
For more information, read the Federal Register Notice.
Tuesday, March 26th, 2013
A Federal Register notice that published March 25 announced the Department of State is seeking applications and nominations for the renewal of the General Advisory Committee to the Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission (IATTC) as well as to a Scientific Advisory Subcommittee of the General Advisory Committee. The purpose of the General Advisory Committee and the Scientific Advisory Subcommittee is to provide public input and advice to the United States Section to the IATTC in the formulation of U.S. policy and positions at meetings of the IATTC and its subsidiary bodies.
David F. Hogan (Deputy Director, Office of Marine Conservation, U.S. Department of State) has indicated that the April 1 deadline in the notice is extended to April 5.
For more information consult the notice.
Wednesday, February 20th, 2013
The Briefing Book for the March 2013 Council meeting has been posted to the Council’s website on the “Current Briefing Book” webpage. The Briefing Book contains “situation summaries” (brief summaries that provide background for each agenda item), reports and materials for each agenda item, and written public comment.
