Salmon blog

Public review draft of the Southern Oregon/Northern California coast coho salmon recovery plan available

Tuesday, January 31st, 2012

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announces the availability for public review the Draft Recovery Plan (Draft Plan) for the Southern Oregon/Northern California Coast (SONCC) Coho Salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) evolutionarily significant unit. NMFS is soliciting review and comment from the public and all interested parties on the Draft Plan, and will consider all substantive comments received during the review period before submitting the Draft Plan for final approval. Comments are due no later than March 5, 2012.

Electronic copies of the DRAFT Plan, as well as the public hearing flyers, are available on the following NMFS website:
http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/recovery/

If you have any questions, please contact Ms. Julie Weeder, NMFS, at 707-825-5168 or Julie.Weeder@noaa.gov.

Public Salmon Hearings to be Held

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011

Public hearings will be held to receive comments on the proposed ocean salmon fishery management options adopted by the Council March 26-27, 2012. All public hearings begin at 7 p.m. on the dates and at the locations specified below:

Monday, March 26, 2012
Chateau Westport
Beach Room
710 W Hancock
Westport, WA 98595
360-268-9101
Driving Directions

Monday, March 26, 2012
Red Lion Hotel
Umpqua Room
1313 N Bayshore Drive
Coos Bay, OR 97420
541-267-4141
Driving Directions

Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Red Lion Eureka
Evergreen Room
1929 Fourth Street
Eureka, CA 95501
707-445-0844
Driving Directions

This 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 public hearings, please contact Mr. Chuck Tracy at 503-820-2280, ext. 415; toll free 1-866-806-7204.

Salmon Technical Team to Hold Work Sessions

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011

The Pacific Fishery Management Council’s (Council) Salmon Technical Team (STT) will hold two work sessions.

January 17-20, 2012: The STT will meet at the Council office in a public work session to draft “Review of 2011 Ocean Salmon Fisheries” and to consider any other estimation or methodology issues pertinent to the 2012 ocean salmon fisheries.

February 21-24, 2012: The STT will meet at the Council office in a public work session to draft “Preseason Report I-Stock Abundance Analysis and Environmental Assessment Part 1 for 2012 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations” and to consider any other estimation or methodology issues pertinent to the 2012 ocean salmon fisheries.

The two work sessions will be held at the following location:

Pacific Fishery Management Council
Large Conference Room
7700 NE Ambassador Place, Suite 101
Portland, OR 97220-1384
503-820-2280
Driving Directions

This 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 sessions, please contact Mr. Chuck Tracy at 503-820-2280, ext. 415; toll free 1-866-806-7204.

Winter Newsletter Now Available

Thursday, December 8th, 2011

The Winter issue of the Pacific Council News is now available. Please visit the Council’s Newsletters webpage for details.

Northwest and Southwest Stakeholder Conference Call on NOAA’s Draft Enforcement Priorities

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011

Special Agents in Charge Vicki Nomura and Don Masters of NOAA Office of Law Enforcement’s Northwest and Southwest Divisions, respectively, would like to invite you to participate in a conference call on Monday, December 12, 2011 to outline NOAA’s Draft Enforcement Priorities, which are open for public comment through January 9, 2012. The draft priorities document identifies the national priorities for Fiscal Year 2012 and gives examples of regional priorities that support those national priorities.

Conference Call Date and Time:

Monday, December 12, 2011
11 a.m. Pacific Standard Time
Dial-in: 888-469-2087
Verbal passcode: ENFORCEMENT WEST COAST

The document — as well as guidelines for commenting by the deadline via email, fax and mail — can be found on the NOAA OLE Enforcement Priorities website.

NOAA’s Draft Enforcement Priorities reflect extensive input and guidance from those of you who submitted comments last year as we began the process of identifying our national priorities. Regional priorities vary with the specific resources, activities, and threats across the country. What may be a high priority in one region may not be a priority in another. Equally, fish stocks, fishing gear, and management programs are not identical across the country. Thus, NOAA Office of Law Enforcement must tailor our priorities appropriately.

NOAA OLE looks forward to your participation in this conference call specifically for the Northwest and Southwest Divisions.

For further information, please contact:

Lesli Bales-Sherrod, Communications specialist
Lesli.Bales-Sherrod@noaa.gov
NOAA Office of Law Enforcement
8484 Georgia Ave., Suite 415
Silver Spring, MD 20910
Phone: 301-427-2300 ext. 103

**This information has been posted as a courtesy to the Pacific Fishery Management Council family and constituents.**

NOAA Seeks Input on Enforcement Priorities

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

On November 8, 2011, NOAA released a draft of its enforcement priorities and invited the public to submit comments through January 9, 2012 (midnight, Eastern Standard Time). To view the priorities, and how to comment, please see the following NOAA Office of Law Enforcement webpage.

NMFS Publishes Final “List of Fisheries for 2012″

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) publishes its final List of Fisheries (LOF) for 2012, as required by the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). The final LOF for 2012 reflects new information on interactions between commercial fisheries and marine mammals. NMFS must classify each commercial fishery on the LOF into one of three categories under the MMPA based upon the level of serious injury and mortality of marine mammals that occurs incidental to each fishery. The classification of a fishery in the LOF determines whether participants in that fishery are subject to certain provisions of the MMPA, such as registration, observer coverage, and take reduction plan (TRP) requirements.

This final rule is effective January 1, 2012. Information regarding the LOF, along with the 2012 LOF, may be obtained from the NMFS LOF website.

NMFS Publishes Proposed Rule for Salmon Amendment 16

Tuesday, October 25th, 2011

National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has published a Proposed Rule for Salmon Amendment 16, and is taking public comment through November 18, 2011.

Fall Newsletter Now Available

Monday, October 24th, 2011

The Fall issue of the Pacific Council News is now available here. This issue covers new stock assessments, changes to the halibut catch sharing plan, dam removal, Columbia and Sacramento salmon updates, and more.

November Council Meeting to be Streamed Live on Internet

Sunday, October 23rd, 2011

The November 2-7, 2011 meeting of the Pacific Fishery Management Council will be streamed live on the internet. The live audio will be broadcast starting with the “Open Session” scheduled to start Wednesday, November 2 at 9:30 a.m. Pacific time. Get the November meeting agenda.

To Listen to the Meeting

To listen, follow the agenda, and view the powerpoint presentations, go to the PFMC Live Meeting link. Please note that your name and email address will be required to join the meeting (this will expedite any technical assistance if the need arises).

Alternate Instructions to Join the Meeting

If you are unable to join the meeting through the above link, then please follow these steps:

  1. Copy this address and paste it into your web browser:
    https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/pacificfishery/join (This Will Launch the “launch.rtc” file)
  2. Enter the Following Information:
    • Meeting ID: K83P98
    • Entry Code: (Leave This Field Blank)
    • Location: Choose the following:
      https://www.livemeeting.com/cc/pacificfishery
  3. Choose “Join”

Technical Contact

For more information on how to use the Microsoft Live Meeting live streaming service, please see the Quick Reference Guide. You may also send an email to Sandra for additional assistance.

For MacIntosh — If you have never installed the “Live Meeting Web Access Client” on your workstation, please email Sandra.Krause@noaa.gov for those instructions. Please note, the “Live Meeting Web Access Client” does not provide for audio, but you may view the PowerPoint presentations and the agenda flow of the meeting.

Meeting and Content Expiration

After this meeting is over, you may revisit the meeting (“join the meeting”) to listen to the recordings and view the PowerPoint documents presented during the meeting. All Recordings and PowerPoint documents will be deleted from the meeting on February 5, 2012. (Maximum amount of time allowed by Microsoft Live Meeting Service).

If you need your own personal audio copies of recorded Council meeting CDs (MP3 or WAV formats), please contact our recorder, Mr. Craig Hess, Martin Enterprises, phone (360) 749-4038.