NOAA’s National Ocean Service today announced that it is seeking nominations through Monday, April 26, for five vacancies on the Hydrographic Services Review Panel (Panel) that will open on Jan. 1, 2022. NOAA welcomes applications from individuals with expertise in marine navigation and technology, port administration, marine shipping or other intermodal transportation categories, cartography and geographic information systems, [...]
Archive | December, 2020
Sanctuary System Business Advisory Council to Hold Public Meeting
NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries today announced that the Sanctuary System Business Advisory Council will hold a virtual public meeting on Thursday, Jan. 14. The meeting will include a report from the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Director, discussion on elevating recreation and tourism in national marine sanctuaries, administrative matters, and a public comment session. The Council was established [...]
NOPC Identifies Siting Principles for Ocean Projects
NOPC today submitted a comment letter to NOAA that identifies siting principles for federal agencies to use as a guidepost when considering decisions surrounding access to and use of marine resources. The letter was submitted in response to the agency’s request for feedback on Aquaculture Opportunity Areas in U.S. waters.
NMFS Issues North Slope Marine Mammal Take Regulations
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced its approval for Hilcorp Alaska and Eni Operating Co. to take small numbers seals incidental to ice road and ice trail construction, maintenance, and operations during the ice-covered season in Alaska’s North Slope from 2020-2025. The activities being sought for authorization will facilitate access to the companies’ oil and gas facilities in [...]
NROC Announces Upcoming Webinar Series on Offshore Wind Transmission
The Northeast Regional Ocean Council’s (NROC) Ocean Planning Committee today announced an upcoming webinar series it will host in partnership with the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) regarding offshore wind transmission in order to increase understanding and promote dialogue on offshore wind transmission planning in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The online sessions — which will take place [...]
NMFS Announces 2021 Priorities and Guidance
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the release of agency priorities and guidance for 2021, with a primary goal being the long-term sustainability of U.S. fisheries and 2021 activities to be implemented to support amplification of the economic value of commercial and recreational fisheries in a sustainable way, species recovery and conservation in a manner that supports [...]
EPA, Taiwan Announce Continued Collaboration, New Marine Debris Effort
EPA Administrator Andrew Wheeler met with Taiwan Foreign Affairs Minister Joseph Wu today to commit to extending the countries’ International Environmental Partnership created in 2014 and supporting a new Indo-Pacific Marine Litter Initiative. Wheeler said that the new marine debris effort “should make dramatic improvements to the problem of marine litter in the coming years,” while [...]
State Dept. Seeks Expert Reviewers on IPCC Draft Documents
The U.S. State Dept. today announced that expert reviewers are being sought to submit comments by Friday, Jan. 8 as part of the U.S. government’s review of the second-order draft of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Working Group II Contribution to the 6th National Assessment Report, including the first draft of the Summary for Policymakers.
USFWS Finalizes Rule to Amend ESA Critical Habitat Regulations
The U.S. Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service today announced a final rule effective Tuesday, Jan. 19 that amends Endangered Species Act regulations to establish a process for excluding areas of critical habitat. The final rule outlines when and how an exclusion analysis will be conducted, including identifying a non-exhaustive list of categories of potential impacts that will [...]
Comments Sought on IUU Working Group Work Plan
NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, Jan. 15 on the Interagency Working Group on Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated Fishing’s Work Plan. The Work Plan is to form the basis of a 5-year strategic plan that must be submitted to Congress by Dec. 31, 2021 and reflects the initial focus of federal [...]
