Public Comment
December 5:
NOAA Fisheries requests your comments on a proposed rule for commercial and recreational greater amberjack management measures in the Gulf of Mexico.
The proposed rule modifies the greater amberjack annual catch limits and annual catch targets for 2018 and subsequent years.
The proposed rule would set a new greater amberjack rebuilding timeframe of 2027 based on the adjusted annual catch limits and annual catch targets.
This proposed rule would change the greater amberjack recreational seasonal closure from June 1 - July 31 to January 1 - June 30.
This is a temporary closed season to give the Gulf Council time to develop another framework that would allow a spring and fall recreational fishing season. (Find more information here).
December 15: NOAA Fisheries is considering changes to the lobster managment program and may select a control date to restrict the number of permits or traps an individual or business entity may own, with specific emphasis on Lobster Conservation Management Areas (LCMAs) 2 and 3. (
Find more information here)
January 22: ASMFC seeks public comments on American Lobster Draft Addendum XXVI/Jonah Crab Addendum III. The Draft Addenda seek to improve harvest reporting and biological data collection in the American lobster and Jonah crab fisheries. The Draft Addenda propose using the latest reporting technology, expanding the collection of effort data, increasing the spatial resolution of harvester reporting, and advancing the collection of biological data, particularly offshore. (
Find more information here)
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Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO)
Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
Southeast Regional Office (SERO)
Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC)
USFWS - Northeast Office (Region 5)
USFWS - Southeast Office (Region 4)
New England Fishery Management Council (NEFMC)
Potomac River Fisheries Commission (PRFC)
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC)
South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC)
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Featured Stories for the Week of November 30
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ASMFC & NOAA Fisheries: Award Funds to East Carolina
University to Study River Herring Spawning Populations Using Environmental DNA
ASMFC and NOAA Fisheries announced today they have awarded approximately $40,000 to researchers at
East Carolina University
(ECU) to further ground-truth a new way to survey river herring (i.e., alewife and blueback herring) using Environmental DNA (eDNA). In 2013, NOAA Fisheries collaborated with the Commission and other partners to implement a coordinated coastwide effort that builds upon other ongoing efforts to proactively conserve river herring and address data gaps. This project will help to address some of these data gaps. 
Find more information
here.
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ASMFC: Moratorium on Northern Shrimp Fishing Maintained for 2018 Season
In response to the depleted condition of the northern shrimp resource, the ASMFC's Northern Shrimp Section extended the moratorium on commercial fishing for the 2018 fishing season. The Section also approved a 13.3 metric ton (mt) research set aside (RSA) and tasked the Technical Committee to develop the RSA program design and report back to the Section for final approval by December 14.
Industry members continued to express concern about the economic impacts of the fishery closure, especially in light of a lack of positive signals in terms of stock rebuilding. Based on these concerns, the Section agreed to include in future discussions the possibility of opening a directed fishery if improvements in stock condition (e.g., strong recruitment or biomass indices) are not realized.
Find more information
here.
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DE DNREC: Applications for Inland Bays' Shellfish Aquaculture Leases Will be Accepted on a First-come, First-served Basis
DE DFW will begin accepting more Inland Bays' shellfish aquaculture lease applications postmarked after midnight Tuesday, Dec. 5 on a first-come, first-served basis. Initial applications were made after a lottery was held in May to determine the order of selection. Now that all of the lottery participants have selected their potential lease locations, applications are being accepted by DNREC for the remainder of the available acreage.
Beginning after midnight on Dec. 5, applications and a required $300 application fee can be sent via certified mail to the DE DFW, 89 Kings Highway, Dover, DE 19901. No in-person or electronically-delivered applications will be accepted. The order of the applications for selecting lease locations will be determined by their postmarked dates.
Available acres within the state-approved Shellfish Aquaculture Development Areas (SADA) are indicated on the interactive shellfish
map, and the
SADA application is on the DNREC Shellfish Aquaculture Program webpage. Applicants may also apply for acreage outside of SADA areas, via a separate
non-SADA application, also linked to the webpage.
Find more information
here.
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DE DNREC: Registration Now Open for DNREC-organized 2018 Delaware Wetlands Conference
Registration is open now for the 2018 Delaware Wetlands Conference, organized by DNREC's Division of Watershed Stewardship, to be held Wednesday, Jan. 31 and Thursday, Feb. 1 at the Chase Center on the Riverfront in Wilmington.
DNREC's Wetland Monitoring and Assessment Program and the Delaware Coastal Training Program have planned a two-day event that showcases the importance of wetlands. Each day includes invited speakers, poster sessions, networking time, lunches and a total of 62 presentations that cover wetland restoration, climate change, mapping, education and outreach, planning and conservation and plants and animals. New to this year's conference is a wetlands poster contest for undergraduate and graduate college students.
Discounted conference admission rates are available through Wednesday, Dec. 6 for early-bird registration. Registration closes Wednesday, Jan. 24.
Find more information
here.
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MD DNR: $21 Million Available for Chesapeake Bay Restoration Projects
Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund Focuses on Water Quality;
Local Governments and Nonprofits Encouraged to Submit Letters by Jan. 19
Terrapin Park Driftwood Sunset by Mark Dignen
MD DNR invites local governments and nonprofit organizations to apply for funding to help restore the Chesapeake Bay and improve water quality.
Through the Chesapeake and Atlantic Coastal Bays Trust Fund, the department plans to allocate and award about $21 million to local projects aimed at reducing nonpoint source pollution caused by excess nutrients and sediment.
The Trust Fund helps the state accelerate bay restoration goals by focusing resources on specifically designed and implemented projects, and has directed over $400 million to over 2,100 projects while supporting 2,200 jobs. It directs critical grant funding to the most cost-effective and efficient water quality improvement projects in the state that result in the highest level of pollution reduction as a return of the state's investment.
Interested applicants for funding in Fiscal Year 2019 are encouraged to submit letters of intent by Jan. 19, 2018, with full proposals due March 30, 2018. Awards will be announced by July 2018.
Find more information
here.
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ME DMR: Maine Scallop Season Gets Underway December 1
Maine's 2017-2018 scallop season gets underway December 1 and the season for harvesters will look much like last year's. As with the 2016-17 season, harvesters in Zones 1 and 2, which together stretch from the New Hampshire border to the Lubec-Campobello Bridge, will be allowed to l
 and 15 gallons per day of shucked scallops, and harvesters in Zone 3, which includes Cobscook Bay and the St. Croix River, will be allowed to land 10 gallons a day.
While harvesters in Zone 1 will again have a total of 60 days to fish and harvesters in Zone 2 will have 70 days, harvesters in Zone 3 will have five additional days (55 versus 50) this season.
Also like past seasons, areas along the coast will be closed by the Department using emergency rulemaking when 30 to 40 percent of the volume of legal sized scallops have been harvested. The 30-40 percent trigger has been shown to allow the resource to regenerate sufficiently to ensure a commercial harvest in the future.
Find more information here.
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NH FGD: Commercial Marine Licensing Events
NH FGD, Department of Safety -- Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), and the Division of Ports and Harbors (DPH) will hold two events this winter to provide the commercial fishing industry with "one stop shopping" to obtain annual commercial fishing licenses, mooring and pier use permits, and vessel registrations all at one location.
These two licensing days will be held at the Dover DMV office, 50 Boston Harbor Road, Dover, NH, on Thursday, December 14, 2017, from 9:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and Wednesday, January 17, 2018, from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Find more information here.
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NEFSC: Seeks Experts for Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Working Group
NEFSC is soliciting experts to serve on an Atlantic Cod Stock Structure Working Group. One of the group's tasks is to "determine the most appropriate representation of Atlantic cod stock structure for use in regi
onal stock assessments based on currently available information."
Find more information here.
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SAFMC: South Atlantic Update Newsletter Now Available
Inside this issue:
- Council Requests Changes to Red Snapper Annual Catch Limits for 2018
- Chair's Column
- Cobia Management Update
- MyFishCount.com
Find more information here.
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NOAA: 2018 Tide Tables Now Available
NOAA 2018 tide tables are now available. NOAA tide tables have been in production for over 150 years and are used by both commercial and recreational mariners for safe navigation. Printed tide tables provide users with tide and tidal current predictions in an easy-to-read forma
 t for particular locations. NOAA's Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services produce these tide tables on an annual basis.
Member nations of the International Hydrographic Organization make their annual tide and tidal current predictions publically available. This allows each member country to produce annual predictions for locations around the world, in their native language, for use by mariners, shipping industry, and recreational sector. NOAA's annual tide and tidal current tables include predictions for more than 10,000 international locations.
Find more information
here.
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Please feel free to forward to fishery friends & colleagues! If you have a suggestion for a feature, please email
[email protected].
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Upcoming Meetings and Events
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Maine Department of Marine Fisheries (ME DMR)
New Hampshire Fish & Game Department (NH FGD)
Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries (MA DMF)
Rhode Island Division of Fish and Wildlife (RI DFW)
Connecticut Department of Energy & Environmental Protection (CT DEEP)
New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (NYS DEC)
Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission (PFBC)
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife (NJ DFW)
Delaware Division of Fish and Wildlife (DE DFW)
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Maryland Department of Natural Resources (MD DNR)
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Calendar of Events
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District Department of the Environment (DC DOEE)
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Virginia Marine Resources Commission (VMRC)
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North Carolina Division of Marine Fisheries (NC DMF)
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources (SC DNR)
Georgia Department of Natural Resources - Coastal Resources Division (GA CRD)
Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWCC)
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