oceanpolicy.com

The State Dept. today announced that the Shipping Coordinating Committee will hold a public teleconference meeting on Thursday, Sept. 30 in preparation for the 104th session of the International Maritime Organization’s Maritime Safety Committee, to be held remotely on Oct. 4-8.  Agenda items include measures to enhance maritime security and formal safety assessment.

As part of its efforts to carry out a Port Access Route Study for the Northern New York Bight, the Coast Guard today announced that it is reopening the comment period through Thursday, Sept. 30 on the content and development of a draft report evaluating the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and whether additional routing measures are needed [...]

The Interior Dept.’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced a Record of Decision for Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 257, with a preferred alternative for a proposed regionwide lease sale covering the Western and Central Planning Areas and the portion of the Eastern Planning Area not subject to a congressional moratorium.  A lease sale is expected in [...]

NOAA’s National Ocean Service today announced that the Interagency Marine Debris Coordinating Committee will hold a virtual public meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 29.  The meeting will address federal marine debris activities, with a particular focus on FY 2021 achievements and FY 2022 planned activities. The Committee was established under the Marine Debris Act in 2006 and tasked with coordinating [...]

In a report released to Congress this month on the “Improving International Fisheries Management,” NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service identified 31 nations and entities with vessels engaged in illegal, unreported, or unregulated fishing activities (7) or bycatch of protected species on the high seas.  The report also negatively certified Mexico for continued IUU fishing activities, which [...]

The Interior Department’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management today announced that it is seeking comments by Thursday, Sept. 30 on its intent to prepare an environmental impact statement for the review of a construction and operations plan submitted by Sunrise Wind LLC to construct and operate a wind energy facility in federal waters off Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and New [...]

In a letter sent today to Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo and NOAA Administrator Richard Spinrad, U.S. Sen.’s Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Alex Padilla (D-CA) and Rep.’s Julie Brownley (D-CA), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Barbara Lee (D-CA), Alan Lowenthal (D-CA), and Jimmy Panetta (D-CA) conveyed support for the proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary and requested that the designation process be initiated to move the nomination forward.  [...]

The Interior Dept. today announced the decision by the Fish & Wildlife Service to open new or expanded hunting and fishing opportunities on 2.1 million acres spanning 88 National Wildlife Refuges and one National Fish Hatchery, calling it “the largest expansion of outdoor recreation opportunities in recent history” and consistent with the administration’s effort to conserve at least [...]

White House Office of Management and Budget Acting Director Shalanda Young and Office of Science & Technology Policy Director Eric Lander today issued a Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies on multi-agency research and development priorities for the FY 2023 budget. Under the priority for “Tackling Climate Change,” among other things the Memorandum calls [...]

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today highlighted a Gulf of Mexico study of deep waters off the U.S. and Mexico involving the recovery and reset of 14 moored underwater listening devices deployed last summer, as well as the deployment of additional devices at new sites. The study is intended to increase understanding of how dolphins and whales [...]