Editor

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that the New England Fishery Management Council will hold a virtual joint meeting of its Habitat Committee on Thursday, Mar. 17 (RSVP here).  Agenda items include updates on offshore energy, cable, and aquaculture projects.

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries today announced its final determination to keep the proposed Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary nomination in the sanctuary inventory beyond its February 2022 expiration date.  Given NOAA’s finding that the nomination continues to meet the 11 sanctuary nomination process criteria, the nomination will remain in the inventory through Feb. 2027. ONMS earlier this month also announced

The U.S. Interior Department today announced the results of a federal offshore wind energy lease sale covering ~500,000 acres in the New York Bight, which attracted $4.37B in winning bids.  DOI called the auction “a major milestone towards achieving the Biden-Harris administration’s goal of reaching 30 gigawatts of offshore wind energy by 2030.” Interior Secretary Deb Haaland

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the release of the Final Weeks Bay Land Acquisition (Lloyd Tract) Project: Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment and Finding of No Significant Impact.  Under the project, ~60 acres of land, wetlands, and waterways in the Weeks Bay watershed farmland will be restored and become part of the Weeks Bay National

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Monday, Mar. 28 on the Draft Swift Tract Living Shoreline Supplemental Environmental Assessment, which evaluates the removal of rocks from the bay bottom near the Swift Tract action area in Alabama and the placement of the removed rocks on a nearby breakwater.

In advance of UN negotiations taking place now in New York for an agreement on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond jurisdiction, the State Dept. today held a virtual meeting to provide an overview of the negotiating session and hear viewpoints from U.S. stakeholders. Deputy Asst. Sec. for Oceans, Fisheries, and Polar Affairs Maxine Burkett

President Biden today traveled to Lorain, OH and provided remarks on the bipartisan infrastructure law and Great Lakes restoration.  Biden highlighted the need for investments in the Great Lakes and the benefits the provide including drinking water, jobs, boating and fishing opportunities, and being a vessel for the shipment of goods to the country and the world,

Following the resignation of Eric Lander, President Biden this week announced the selection of White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Deputy Director for Science and Society Alondra Nelson to perform the duties of Director until permanent leadership is nominated and confirmed.  Nelson will also serve as Deputy Assistant to the President. Additionally, former National Institutes of Health Director Francis

The Coast Guard today announced the issuance of policies to guide determinations on whether a Floating Outer Continental Shelf Facility is a vessel or non-vessel and is subject to merchant mariner credential endorsement requirements (see policies here and here).  The announcement noted that non-vessel Floating Outer Continental Shelf Facilities will not receive Certificates of Inspection or be subject to

In remarks delivered at the One Ocean Summit in France this week, U.S. Asst. Sec. for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Monica Medina provided brief remarks at the conclusion of a session on “Ocean Governance Responding to Change.” Medina called it a critical moment for the ocean and a “time of great urgency where we need