oceanpolicy.com

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council will hold a virtual public meeting on June 7-10.  The meeting will include a June 9 offshore wind update featuring presentations from the U.S. Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, Vineyard Wind, and Ørsted.

The Coast Guard today announced that National Navigation Safety Advisory Committee will hold a virtual public meeting on Tuesday, June 8.  Agenda items include remarks from Coast Guard leadership and a public comment period. The Committee advises the Homeland Security Secretary on matters related to maritime collisions, rammings, and groundings; Inland Rules of the Road, International Rules of the [...]

NOAA today announced that its Science Advisory Board will hold a public webinar meeting on Friday, June 11. The meeting, which will include a 5-minute public comment session, will focus on revisions to the Environmental Information Services Working Group’s Statement on Ongoing National Weather Service Data Dissemination Challenges and an update on the SAB Priorities for Weather Research Report. The [...]

At the 12th Arctic Council Ministerial meeting held in Reykjavik, Iceland, the United States today signed on to the 2021 joint declaration that among other things reaffirms the Arctic Council’s commitment to maintain peace, stability, and constructive cooperation in the Arctic region, joining Arctic Council members Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Russia, and Sweden in endorsing [...]

NOAA’s National Ocean Service today announced that it is seeking nominations by Wednesday, June 30 from individuals interested in filling 12 vacancies on the 13-member Marine Debris Foundation Board of Directors, which includes the Under Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere. Expertise is being sought in the following categories: (1) the assessment, prevention, reduction, or removal of [...]

In remarks at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy’s 140th commencement exercises in New London, CT, President Biden today highlighted the importance of the Arctic, the Coast Guard’s role in combatting illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, the importance of safe maritime transit, and his support for accession to the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea. As [...]

The Interior Department today announced that its Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and the U.S. Department of Energy entered into a cooperative agreement with Texas A&M Engineering Experiment Station to manage the Ocean Energy Safety Institute. The Institute was established in 2011 to provide policy advice to the Secretary of the Interior on issues related to ocean energy safety [...]

Interior Sec. Deb Haaland and Commerce Sec. Gina Raimondo today announced the approval of the Vineyard Wind offshore wind project off Massachusetts, with the administration touting it as “the first large-scale, offshore wind project in the United States” and a “major milestone” that will “propel America’s drive toward a clean energy future.” A joint Interior-US Army Corps [...]

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, July 26 on the agency’s initiation of a 5-year review for the endangered sperm whale.  The review will assess the best scientific and commercial data available to determine whether the species should be delisted or reclassified.

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that the agency welcomes public comments through Monday, July 12 on its Draft Mitigation Policy for Trust Resources, which aims to improve conservation of NOAA-managed fish, wildlife, and cultural resources through more effective mitigation of impacts to them.  Once adopted, the policy will be reviewed biennially in collaboration with other relevant NOAA offices. [...]