Category: SC

UPDATED POLICY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGULATIONS

UPDATED POLICY FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION REGULATIONS WASHINGTON – Starting Jan. 26, 2006 U. S. Coast Guard Port State Control Officers (PSCO) and marine inspectors will use updated policy guidance to assist with the enforcement of Annex I to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL 73/78). The policy guidance provides comprehensive […]

NEW IDENTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIRED FOR MARINERS

NEW IDENTIFICATION PROCESS REQUIRED FOR MARINERS WASHINGTON – An interim rule published on Jan. 13, 2006 in the Federal Register requires applicants for mariners’ licenses and certificates of registry to be fingerprinted submit to a criminal record review and provide evidence of their identity before those credentials will be issued. This rule brings the regulations […]

NEW NOAA EXHIBIT CELEBRATES NEARLY 200 YEARS OF SCIENCE AND SERVICE

NEW NOAA EXHIBIT CELEBRATES NEARLY 200 YEARS OF SCIENCE AND SERVICE Artifacts representing nearly 200 years of science, service and stewardship by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and its ancestor agencies will be on public display at the agency’s headquarters in Silver Spring, Md., February 6-11, 2006 during the second annual NOAA Heritage Week. […]

2005 COOK INLET BELUGA WHALE POPULATION ESTIMATE COMPLETED

2005 COOK INLET BELUGA WHALE POPULATION ESTIMATE COMPLETED NOAA Fisheries Service biologists have completed analysis of data from an aerial survey of beluga whales in Cook Inlet near Anchorage, Alaska. The latest abundance estimate is 278 individual belugas whales in Cook Inlet. “Although this point estimate is lower than those estimates derived from similar surveys […]

UNDERSEA TECHNOLOGIES HELP NOAA “GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THINGS”

UNDERSEA TECHNOLOGIES HELP NOAA “GET TO THE BOTTOM OF THINGS” The ocean covers more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface and much of it remains unexplored. Over the past few decades, technology has enabled humans to explore more of this underwater realm. Since NOAA’s mission is “to understand and predict changes in the Earth’s […]

Request that NMFS immediately extend the Winter Bluefin Fishery

Request that NMFS immediately extend the Winter Bluefin Fishery January 16, 2006 Dr. Bill Hogarth>br>Assistant Administrator for FisheriesNational Marine Fisheries Service1315 East West Highway, Room 14555Silver Spring, MD 20910(sent via fax and mail) Dear Bill:We appreciate the previous NMFS action to lift the RFDs for the past two weekends. Unfortunately the combination of gale force […]

Commercial Landings of Bluefin tuna

Commercial Landings of Bluefin tuna As of 01/23/06 fishing year landings of Atlantic bluefin tuna are as follows: The coast wide General category has landed 230.8 mt out of 708.3 mt to date. The Harpoon category closed at: 23.1 mt out of 90.0 mt. Longline North: 22.5 mt out of 116.3 mt to date. Longline […]

MULTI AGENCIES TO CONDUCT MOCK RESCUE EXCERSISE

MULTI AGENCIES TO CONDUCT MOCK RESCUE EXCERSISE MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. – A multi-agency, multi-commercial vessel mass rescue exercise will be held here Thursday to test a rescue operation plan to respond to an emergency involving one of the area’s high-passenger casino cruise ships. Five separate local, state and federal agencies and five more local commercial […]

NOAA SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSED AUTHORIZATION FOR THE HARASSMENT OF MARINE MAMMAL

NOAA SEEKS COMMENT ON PROPOSED AUTHORIZATION FOR THE HARASSMENT OF MARINE MAMMALS NOAA Fisheries Service is seeking comments now through Feb. 22, 2006, on a proposal from the U.S. Air Force to conduct air-to-surface gunnery exercises in the Gulf of Mexico off the coast of Florida. The exercises conducted from Eglin Air Force Base may […]

NOAA SATELLITES PLAY KEY ROLE IN 222 RESCUES IN 2005

NOAA SATELLITES PLAY KEY ROLE IN 222 RESCUES IN 2005More Beacons Registered During the Year NOAA satellites helped save 222 people throughout the United States and its surrounding waters from potentially life-threatening emergencies in 2005. NOAA’s polar and geostationary satellites, along with Russia’s Cospas spacecraft, are part of the sophisticated, international Search and Rescue Satellite-Aided […]