Pisces will play a big part assessing marine mammals, turtles etc. in the Southeastern fisheries throughout its lifetime.
Credit: NOAA
The ship, which will carry a crew of 21 and up to 17 scientists, will support NOAA’s mission to protect, restore, and manage the use of living marine, coastal, and ocean resources.
Her primary objective will be to study, monitor, and collect data on a wide range of sea life and ocean conditions, primarily in U.S. waters from the Gulf of Mexico, Caribbean, and South Atlantic to North Carolina.
This region includes important commercial and recreational fisheries, and is one of the world’s best known and most productive marine areas.
NOAA’s Fisheries Service is holding a series of public meetings this summer seeking comments on potential changes in the way commercial and recreational fishermen fish the U.S. quotas for swordfish and bluefin tuna in the Atlantic.
In the case of both fish stocks, U.S. fishermen have not been able to catch the U.S. quotas designed to ensure that the stocks are fished sustainably. While these species are managed internationally, the United States manages the domestic part of these fisheries by taking into account the ecosystem and working to reduce bycatch of turtles and other species. This approach increases expenses for U.S. fishermen and makes it more difficult for them to compete in the marketplace with cheaper imports from fishing nations that subsidize their fleets and do not use an ecosystem approach.
If it weren’t for such rough winds right now – gale-force winds in Charleston Harbor and 14-foot swells offshore – every shrimp boat captain alive would be pulling out of Shem Creek, McClellanville, etc. right now, especially with the reduced [sic] fuel prices.
Those that do make it out will be rewarded with a nice catch – assuming everything goes according to plan – because SCDNR officials say shrimp have been keeping their own out in the ocean – the question, “is how many boats are gonna be out there to catch them?”
SCDNR also says that the in-water catch rate of immature loggerheads has been increasing, which at first sounds alarming, but then you realize it means management efforts such as nest protection and the required use of Turtle Excluder Devices (TED’s) in commercial shrimp trawl nets may be paying off.
March 13, 2009
NOAA in hot water over expired sea turtle petitions
Florida beaches, thought to host the second-largest loggerhead nesting population in the world, have seen a decline in nesting of more than 40% in the past decade.
Credit: NOAA
According to Oceana.org, NOAA’s NMFS has failed to meet the legal 12-month deadline for responding to three separate petitions focusing on two different sea turtle species in U.S. waters.
Because of this, The Center for Biological Diversity, Oceana.org and the Turtle Island Restoration Network are calling for stronger protection for sea turtles, including comprehensive legislation on their behalf.
David Allison, senior campaign director at Oceana says, “Sea turtles in all U.S. waters are at risk of extinction and the agency responsible for their protection is failing to do its job. If we hope to ensure the long-term survival of these majestic species, we must move quickly to enact a comprehensive law to protect U.S. sea turtles.”
