NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) today announced that it is seeking applications by Tuesday, Aug. 28 from individuals interested in serving on the following non-governmental voting seats on the Lake Erie National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council: citizen-at-large; commercial/charter fishing; divers, dive clubs, and archaeology; economic development; education (K–12); higher education; historically underserved populations; history/maritime [...]
DOI Announces Joint Record of Decision on Atlantic Wind Energy Project
The Interior Department today announced the issuance of a joint Record of Decision on the Atlantic Shores Offshore Wind South wind energy project off New Jersey. The wind project includes up to 195 wind turbine generators, up to 10 offshore substations, up to 1 permanent meteorological tower, interarray and interlink cables, up to 2 onshore substations, and up to 8 transmission cables [...]
NMFS Seeks Information on IUU Fishing
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking information from 2022, 2023, and/or 2024 regarding nations or entities that have competency to enter into international fishery management agreement that are engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing or have vessels engaged in IUU fishing, fishing activities or practices that result in the [...]
Ocean Policy Committee Posts Readout of Deputies Meeting
The Ocean Policy Committee (OPC) today posted a readout of the June 3, 2024 OPC Deputies Meeting. The meeting included a review of OPC activities over the past year, including administration actions to conserve, protect, and restore the ocean, as well as briefings on the recently-released National Strategy for a Sustainable Ocean Economy, the National [...]
National Offshore Safety Advisory Cmte. to Hold Public Meeting
The Coast Guard today announced that the National Offshore Safety Advisory Committee will hold a public meeting on Mar. 12-13 in New Orleans, LA. The meeting will focus on input regarding the review and identification of the Coast Guard’s Outer Continental Shelf regulations, as well as a review of the Coast Guard’s final report on the SEACOR POWER liftboat report [...]
Mid-Atlantic Fishery Mgmt. Council Meeting to Include Offshore Energy Update
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a public meeting on Feb. 6-7 in Dover, DE (remote participation available). Meeting agenda items include offshore wind updates from the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, updates from the state working group on a fisheries compensation fund administrator, and updates from offshore wind project developers [...]
Ocean Research Advisory Panel to Hold Public Meeting
NOAA today announced that the Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP) will hold a public virtual meeting on Monday, Feb. 26. The meeting will include discussion of ORAP’s initial review of the following tasks performed by ORAP members following their inaugural meeting in December: Landscape assessment and horizon scan of current and emerging technologies for ocean biogeochemical sensing (e.g., eDNA, microfluidics, [...]
Coast Guard Seeks Comments on Proposed Atlantic Shipping Safety Fairways
The U.S. Coast Guard today announced that it is seeking comments by Thursday, Apr. 18 on its proposal to establish 18 shipping safety fairways and 1 fairway anchorage, 2 traffic separation scheme extensions, 1 precautionary area expansion, and 6 new precautionary areas with associated traffic lines on the Atlantic Coast, noting increased interest in offshore commercial development, including [...]
State Dept. to Hold Public Meeting Ahead of IMO Gathering
The State Dept. today announced that it will hold a public meeting on Tuesday, Feb. 6 in Washington, DC in preparation for the 11th Session of the International Monetary Organization’s Subcommittee on Pollution Prevention and Response, to be held in London on Feb. 19-23. Agenda items include safety and pollution hazards of chemicals and preparation of consequential amendments to the International [...]
NOAA Announces Funding for Regional Ocean Partnerships
NOAA today announced the availability of $9.6 million for Regional Ocean Partnerships in the Gulf of Mexico, West Coast, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeast as well as 5 Integrated Ocean Observing System Regional Associations, in order to support cross-jurisdictional priorities and data sharing. Funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, NOAA said that the funding will allow the agency [...]