News

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced its decision to keep the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary nomination in the inventory until at least Oct. 5, 2025.  The proposed sanctuary would span ~140 square miles of coastline from Cambria to Santa Barbara, CA. In making its decision, among other things NOAA determined that significant threats to the area […]

The Coast Guard has issued an Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing Strategic Outlook which finds that IUU fishing is a “pervasive security threat to U.S. national interests” and commits to the Coast Guard to being a “global leader in the fight” against it. The Coast Guard pledged to work with NOAA, the State Department, and Depart of Defense and

Exercising authority under Section 12(a) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act, President Trump today issued a Presidential Memorandum removing North Carolina from offshore energy leasing in federal waters through June 30, 2032. The Memorandum notes that the withdrawal does not apply to leasing for environmental conservation purposes such as for shore protection, beach nourishment and

NOAA today announced a new pilot program with Vulcan Inc. to use an information tool known as Skylight to help identify Illegal, Unreported, and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities.  Under the partnership, potential approaches will also be developed to increase the use of maritime domain awareness in support of North Atlantic right whale protection and conservation. Asst. Sec.

USDA’s Natural Resources Conservation Service today announced the availability of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Mississippi Trustee Implementation Group Final Restoration Plan II Environmental Assessment: Wetlands, Coastal, and Nearshore Habitats and Oysters.  The plan includes ~$15 million for projects in the Wolf River and Hancock County Coastal Preserves and efforts involving oyster spawning reefs and an oyster gardening

The Convention on Biological Diversity has released its Global Biodiversity Outlook 5, a report on the role of biodiversity in sustainable development, the state of biodiversity in 2020, and pathways to achieving the 2050 Vision for Biodiversity whereby “biodiversity is valued, conserved, restored and wisely used, maintaining ecosystem services, sustaining a healthy planet and delivering benefits essential for

Following the General Assembly’s March 2020 decision to postpone the fourth (and possibly final) session of the United Nations Intergovernmental Conference on the conservation and sustainable use of marine biological diversity of areas beyond national jurisdiction (BBNJ) due to the pandemic, Conference President Rena Lee today announced an intersessional work program “to maintain the momentum of the process”

The U.S. Dept. of Agriculture today announced the availability of ~$530 million in assistance for the U.S. seafood industry and fisherman affected by retaliatory tariffs imposed by foreign governments.  The relief signup window is Sept. 14 – Dec. 14, and funding will be provided through the Seafood Trade Relief Program and funded by USDA’s Commodity Credit Corporation. The program

The Coast Guard today announced its decision to recertify the Cook Inlet Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council through Aug. 31, 2021.  The Advisory Council monitors the activities of terminal facilities and crude oil tankers pursuant to the Oil Pollution Act of 1990.

As part of an effort to “provide greater transparency and certainty” for the public and stakeholders, the U.S. Interior Department’s Fish and Wildlife Service today announced that it is seeking comments by Thursday, Oct. 8 on its proposal to amend Endangered Species Act regulations to establish a process for excluding areas of critical habitat. USFWS said that it