Category: VA

NOAA MISSISSIPPI OFFICES PROVIDE EARLY LOOK AT GULF OF MEXICO ‘DEAD ZONE’ July 13, 2004 — NOAA’s offices in Mississippi have formed a partnership to provide near-real-time data about dissolved oxygen from the seasonal hypoxic area, or “Dead Zone,” in the Gulf of Mexico. Hypoxia occurs when the amount of dissolved oxygen in the water […]

Pete Benjamin New U.S. Fish and Wildlife Field Supervisor in Raleigh, North Carolina      Pete Benjamin, a 13-year veteran of the U.S. Fish and WildlifeService, is the new Field Supervisor of the Service’s Ecological ServicesField Office in Raleigh, North Carolina.  Formerly Assistant FieldSupervisor of the Jacksonville, Florida Ecological Services office,Benjamin began his new duties on July 12.      […]

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Withdraws Federal Designation of Two Manatee Refuges The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced its decision to withdraw its Federal designation at two manatee refuges in Florida: the Pansy Bayou Manatee Refuge in Sarasota County and the Cocoa Beach Manatee Refuge in Brevard County. Service officials pointed out that […]

NOAA Fisheries Announces the Receipt of a Request for Exempted Fishing Permits (EFPs) for Atlantic Tuna Purse Seine Vessels Several operators of permitted Atlantic tuna purse seine vessels, a transfer vessel, and a holding vessel have requested EFPs to transfer purse seine caught bluefin tuna to a towed cage for the purpose of gathering information […]

Petition for Sea Turtle Protection in Sea Scallop Fishery On July 7, 2004, NOAA Fisheries published a notice of receipt of a petition for rulemaking from the Fisheries Survival Fund (FSF) and the Garden State Seafood Association to develop and implement an emergency rule pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act to require […]

NOAA Fisheries Bans “J” Hooks in Atlantic Longline Fisheries in a Move to Protect Sea Turtles; New Gear and Techniques Allow Agency to Re-open Atlantic Grand Banks Fishing Grounds to U.S. Longline Fleet Scientific advancements have led to the development of fishing techniques that allow longline vessels to avoid sea turtles and protect them from […]

International Marine Turtle Conservation Efforts Get a Boost On Friday, July 2, 2004, President Bush signed the Marine Turtle Conservation Act into law. Under the new law, sea turtles will be added to the list of species eligible for funding under the Multinational Species Conservation Fund. That fund supports on-the-ground protection, research and education efforts. […]

NEW COOPERATIVE STUDY TO EXPLORE EFFORT IN THE GULF OF MEXICO SHRIMP FISHERY The National Marine Fisheries Service is pleased to announce that a new cooperative study will be conducted with the shrimping industry to better understand and measure shrimp fishing effort. Effort is a term that describes the number of hours or days fishers […]

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Withdraws Federal Designation of Two Manatee RefugesThe U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service today announced its decision to withdrawits Federal designation at two manatee refuges in Florida: the Pansy BayouManatee Refuge in Sarasota County and the Cocoa Beach Manatee Refuge inBrevard County.Service officials pointed out that withdrawing the Federal designationswould not […]