Following the resignation of Eric Lander, President Biden this week announced the selection of White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Deputy Director for Science and Society Alondra Nelson to perform the duties of Director until permanent leadership is nominated and confirmed. Nelson will also serve as Deputy Assistant to the President. Additionally, former National Institutes of Health Director Francis [...]
Archive | February, 2022
Coast Guard Issues Policies for OCS Facility Determinations
The Coast Guard today announced the issuance of policies to guide determinations on whether a Floating Outer Continental Shelf Facility is a vessel or non-vessel and is subject to merchant mariner credential endorsement requirements (see policies here and here). The announcement noted that non-vessel Floating Outer Continental Shelf Facilities will not receive Certificates of Inspection or be subject to [...]
U.S. State Dept. Official Addresses Ocean Action at Summit in France
In remarks delivered at the One Ocean Summit in France this week, U.S. Asst. Sec. for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Monica Medina provided brief remarks at the conclusion of a session on “Ocean Governance Responding to Change.” Medina called it a critical moment for the ocean and a “time of great urgency where we need [...]
BOEM Highlights North Atlantic Right Whale Protection Efforts
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today highlighted efforts to protect the North Atlantic right whale (NARW) by studying impacts of offshore wind development, including through partnerships with other federal and state agencies. BOEM cited its engagement with NOAA to develop a science and management strategy to promote NARW protection and recovery that will include [...]
NMFS Seeks Comments on ESA 5-Year Review for N. Atl. Right Whale
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Wednesday, May 4 on the agency’s initiation of a 5-year review for the North Atlantic right whales. The review will assess the best scientific and commercial data available to determine whether the species should be delisted or reclassified from endangered to threatened.
NOAA Announces 2022 Hydrographic Survey Activities
NOAA today announced its plan for hydrographic surveys in 2022. The plan includes two projects in the Gulf of Mexico (approaches to Calcasieu, LA and an ~770 sq. nautical mile area in the Northern Gulf of Mexico), four in the Atlantic (Onslow Bay, NC, approaches to Chesapeake Bay and Newport, RI, and Southern Virginia rivers), four [...]
