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Anchorage Daily News: Budget Items In D.C. Affect Alaska Fisheries Fisheries are on the receiving end of federal dollars, instead of the other way around. As congressional lawmakers slash budgets in D.C., money for all-important fishery stock assessments was actually increased from $51 million to $67 million for the next fiscal year, the amount requested […]

The Oregonian: Energy, environmental, recreational and tribal interests voice opinions on National Ocean Policy With increasing toxins in fish, depletion of resources, polluted waters and coastal development, the state of the ocean demands attention. That was central to a listening session put on by the National Ocean Council at Portland State University last Friday…

NOAA: NOAA, BOEMRE and Fish and Wildlife Service Advance Nation’s Largest Survey of Marine Protected Species The nation’s largest survey of protected marine species is now underway for its second year along the East Coast, officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation

Hampton Union (NH): Fishing Industry Blasts Exclusion From National Ocean Council EXETER — In July 2010, President Barack Obama issued an executive order that established the first comprehensive national policy for the stewardship of the ocean, coasts and Great Lakes. Last week members of the National Ocean Council, which was established under this order, held

Asbury Park Press (NJ): Ocean policy panel urged to take quick action WEST LONG BRANCH — A panel of federal ocean science advisers heard calls Thursday for more immediate action under the new federal ocean plan, as some people told how they’ve already seen the impact of climate change and development along the coast…

Greenwire: Interior Offshore Wind Leasing Program Seen as ‘Test Case’ for Marine Spatial Planning As the 27-agency National Ocean Council begins the formidable task of mapping out the myriad resources of the nation’s oceans, lakes and coasts, some are looking to the Interior Department’s offshore wind program for hints of how early planning can improve

DOI:  USGS Arctic Study Evaluates Science and Knowledge Gaps for OCS Energy Development WASHINGTON – In response to a request from Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar, the U.S. Geological Survey today released the ‘science gap and sufficiency’ report evaluating science needed to better inform decisions regarding oil and natural gas exploration and development in