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*NEW* NOAA Fisheries Issues the Final Rule Implementing Federal Management of Salmon Fishing in the Cook Inlet EEZ Area
April 29, 2024
Amendment 16 addresses court rulings requiring Federal management of salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet EEZ Area in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act
NOAA Fisheries announces it is implementing Federal management of commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The final rule offsite link, filed in the Federal Register today, is in response to federal court rulings requiring Federal management of salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet EEZ Area in accordance with the Magnuson–Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and publication of a final rule for the management of the Cook Inlet EEZ Area by May 1, 2024.
You can read more offsite link about this amendment.
Biden-Harris Administration announces $123 million for coastal habitat restoration through Investing in America agenda
04/22/24
Today, Assistant to the President for Science & Technology and Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Arati Prabhakar and Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Deputy NOAA Administrator Jainey K. Bavishi visited Scarborough, Maine, to announce the recommendation of $123 million in funding across state and territorial coastal management programs and national estuarine research reserves. The funding will support habitat restoration and conservation, as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda.
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act together are investing more than $50 billion in climate resilience and adaptation. Today’s announcement, funded by the historic legislation, will allow NOAA to build on the important work done by states and territories over the last 50 years to conserve and manage our nation’s coastal areas and conduct long-term research to better understand the function of our estuaries.
“The Commerce Department and entire Biden-Harris Administration are committed to ensuring coastal communities across the country have the resources they need to combat climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “Through this investment, made possible thanks to President Biden’s commitment to investing in America, we will be able to protect critical resources for coastal habitat restoration, create new jobs and boost resilience to extreme weather events across our coastal communities.”
“America’s coastal communities are on the frontlines of climate change — and we can tap into the power of nature to reduce the impacts of sea level rise, storms and erosion,” said Prabhakar. “Through President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda, we are taking historic action to meet the climate crisis and build a more resilient future for all.”
These recommended funds will support:
- $59.8 million for state and territory coastal zone management programs for 22 projects.
- $15 million for national estuarine research reserves for eight projects.
- Within this $75 million investment, $36 million will be designated for projects being carried out in partnership with or directly by tribes and Native Hawaiians, including reacquisitions and restoration of ecological and culturally significant ancestral lands.
- This funding will also leverage $48 million in non-competitive funding to the 34 state and territorial coastal management programs and 30 national estuarine research reserves for essential planning, policy development and implementation, collaborative engagement, and implementation of adaptation strategies to help increase the resilience of coastal communities and their economies.
These recommended projects aim to increase community resilience to climate change and extreme weather events through habitat restoration and planning, engineering, and design and ecosystem conservation.
Visit NOAA’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act websites to learn about current and future funding opportunities.
Hiring event in Fort Lauderdale for NOAA research ship jobs
April 18, 2024
NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations will hold a hiring event on April 30 from 9am-4pm ET in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to recruit professional mariners to work aboard NOAA’s ocean research ships. The event will take place at Maritime Professional Training offsite link,1915 South Andrews Avenue, Fort Lauderdale, FL 33316. Recruiters from NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations offsite link will be in attendance.
NOAA operates a fleet offsite link of 15 hydrographic survey, oceanographic research and fisheries survey vessels. NOAA ships operate in the U.S. and around the world. The ships are run by a combination of NOAA commissioned officers and civilian professional mariners.
NOAA’s civilian professional mariners are federal employees and include engineers and unlicensed members of the engine, steward and deck departments. In addition, survey and electronic technicians operate and/or maintain the ship's mission, communications and navigation equipment.
NOAA staff will be at the hiring event to answer questions and expedite the hiring process for qualified individuals. Qualified applicants could be issued a tentative job offer on the spot. In particular, NOAA is hiring licensed engineers, oilers, able seamen and cooks. Applicants must be U.S. citizens. Please bring a photo I.D. (driver’s license, passport, etc.) to the event. Applicants are also encouraged to bring, if available:
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Merchant Mariners Credential
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Maritime training certificates
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Transportation Worker Identification Card
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Military service record
More details can be found at: omao.noaa.gov/marinerjobevents offsite link
*NEW* 2024 Marine Endangered Species Art Contest
April 12, 2024
Teachers: Celebrate Endangered Species
Endangered and threatened species need our help. Students’ artwork will showcase their knowledge and commitment to protecting these animals. While we are located in New England and the mid-Atlantic United States, we invite participants from anywhere in the world to submit entries!
Artwork should highlight one or more m offsite linkarine offsite link endangered or threatened species from the New England/Mid-Atlantic region offsite link of the United States. Text highlighting why you chose this species and what people can do to protect them may also be included. Potential themes may vary by age. Some ideas include animals in their natural habitat, sharing the shore and sea, threats to the species, or how we can help them recover. In addition to the individual entries, we are also adding a collaborative category this year. Collaborative artworks include those created by two or more individuals.
Get the details on entry requirements, entry submissions, prizes, and more on our web page offsite link. Questions? Contact nmfs.gar.es-art-contest@noaa.gov.
Grant Awards for FY24 Ocean Odyssey Marine Debris Awards for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, Justice, and Accessibility
- Alaska - Akiak Native Community (Alaska, $7,500) will remove debris resulting from extreme riverbank erosion that has occurred in Akiak, Alaska over the past decade. The Akiak Native Community will lead work to remove debris along the riverbank and thereby prevent debris from flowing down the Kuskokwim River to the Kuskokwim Bay and Bering Sea. Native Village of Afognak (Alaska, $6,116) will coordinate and carry out a marine debris cleanup at Catcher Beach on Afognak Island. Alaska Native youth and interns will clean up the beach and existing trails in Afognak Village, which are important areas for the tribal community.
- California - San Diego Audubon Society (California, $5,657) will engage more than 100 residents of San Diego’s underserved South Bay communities to remove 450 pounds of marine debris from the wetland habitat in San Diego Bay. Event attendees will remove debris on a kayak trip, receive bilingual education about local ecosystems, and meet with local professionals working in environmental fields.
- Hawai'i and American Samoa - Kewalo Marine Laboratory at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa (Hawaiʻi and American Samoa, $7,500) aims to study coral ingestion of microplastics in American Samoa. By gathering data and hosting experiential learning workshops, this initiative will enhance ocean literacy while addressing the urgent need for information about the impact of microplastics on corals, preserving invaluable cultural, economic, and ecological resources provided by corals.
- Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina - Gullah/Geechee Legacy (Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina, $7,500) will expand the Gullah/Geechee Coastal Removal Engaging Artists Through Environmental Action (CREATE) project beyond South Carolina and into the Sea Islands of the Gullah/Geechee Nation in Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina. Native Gullah/Geechee leaders and citizens will plan and lead community outreach and engagement sessions and Native Gullah/Geechee artisans will assist with intergenerational artwork activities at outreach and education events.
- Massachusetts - Mystic River Watershed Association (Massachusetts, $5,860) will enhance the experiential learning components of an existing K–8 curriculum on trash in the Mystic River watershed and the connection to marine debris and plastics. Through the addition of field trips and local trash removal events, approximately 100 afterschool students in three underserved communities will engage in place-based explorations of the impacts of trash on stormwater, rivers, and the ocean.
- Michigan - Friends of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (Michigan, $7,500) will conduct research, detection, monitoring, collection, and analysis of marine debris on Lake Huron shorelines with various student groups and educators in northeast Michigan. Engaging underserved youth in rural communities is a priority for this project as it will help educate, protect, and preserve the Lake Huron shorelines for the future.
- New York - Research Foundation of CUNY - Queens College (New York, $7,470) will train four students to assess the amount of microplastics in water and marine debris on the shoreline in northeast Queens, New York. In addition, this project will recruit volunteers from the community to assist in shoreline clean up events. The resulting project data will be shared to increase STEM engagement and promote environmental stewardship. Resilience Education Training and Innovation (RETI) Center LLP (New York, $7,000) will educate residents to take action in the local urban watershed to create a more livable coastline for an environmental justice community. The project will support student stipends for local youth to count and document the marine debris collected from a new interception device at the RETI Center Field Station.
- Texas - Sea Turtle, Inc. (Texas, $7,040) will conduct community-based events serving the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. The year-long, multi-pronged approach includes providing alternatives to single-use plastics, cleaning local jetties and beaches, and conducting shoreline marine debris monitoring through the NOAA Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project.
- Virginia - Elizabeth River Project (Virginia, $7,493) will mentor, train, and engage youth from ages 10-25 to remove marine debris and litter in the underserved communities of Berkley and Campostella in Norfolk, Virginia. They will work with partners to mentor these youth to develop leadership and stewardship skills and will involve them in the organization of local marine debris cleanups.
- Republic of Palau - Sonsorol State Government (Republic of Palau, $7,500) will educate Sonsorol youth about the harmful effects of ocean dumping and options for waste management. The youth will develop leadership and organizational skills by implementing beach cleanups on each of the four State of Sonosorol islands and will present project outcomes at a town hall to inform citizens of project achievements.
NOAA Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Announcement: Regional Ocean Partnership Award Funding to Tribal Nations
NOAA will invest $754,953 in tribal project awards through regional ocean partnership funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Three Tribal Nations—the Makah Indian Tribe, Santa Ynez Band of Chumash Mission Indians, and the Penobscot Indian Nation —will receive funds to support tribal participation in or engagement with regional ocean partnerships, as well as to support tribal actions related to regional ocean and coastal priorities. The list of awards can be found here.
OLIA Open Position: NOAA Tribal Liaison based in Alaska
This position is located in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Deputy Under Secretary for Operations (DUSO) with one vacancy in Anchorage, AK.
As a Program Advisor, you will perform the following duties:
- Serves as the Senior Tribal Liaison, advisor and primary point of contact for agency tribal affairs liaisons and senior leadership on issues relevant to tribes, indigenous groups, and tribal serving organizations. Develops and implements strategies for short and long-term planning to increase the efficiency of tribal programs and policies.
- Responsible for building and maintain relationships with tribes, indigenous groups, and tribal serving organizations. Advises and collaborates with leadership on strategies to strengthen relationships with tribes, indigenous groups, and tribal serving organizations in the region.
- Advises and provides consultations and coordination with Tribal officials on federal policies and programs and its effects on the tribal matters. Leads meetings with tribal officials in the development of federal policies that have tribal implications. Researches and develops opportunities and provides training resources on tribal consultation and engagement.
Planet NOAA Podcast Episode 2: To the stars and beyond
March 7, 2024
Blast off from Planet NOAA and see beyond the stars with our resident space experts. Join Dr. Michael C. Morgan in the Leadership Corner to chat about how NOAA’s presence in space positions global weather, water, climate and ocean observations.
2024 Efficient Permitting Roadmap
A guide to the regulatory process for sediment management on the North-Central California Coast.
Too many habitat restoration projects remain in the planning phase across the North-Central California Coast, while there's an urgent need to take action to address climate change impacts and biodiversity loss. To accelerate the pace of environmentally beneficial restoration work across the region, we are striving to provide information that is easy to access and helps users navigate the regulatory process.
We synthesized guidance, tips, and best practices from over 17 federal, state, and local agencies to create a ‘how to’ guide and clearinghouse of information for navigating a well-coordinated, comprehensive, and efficient permitting and environmental review process for coastal sediment management actions (e.g. beach habitat restoration). The user-friendly format provides project planners with more accessible information and the ability to reduce time spent navigating regulatory requirements.
The roadmap contains:
- An overview of the regulatory process
- A guide to determining which agencies to consult
- Specific requirements of federal, state, and local agencies and their key issues, concerns, and recommendations
- Best practices for each agency’s process by project phase
- A step by step checklist to navigating the regulatory process efficiently
- Tips and guidance to consider for resolving common potential challenges
Geography: From Año Nuevo to Gualala including all estuarine and coastal waters in Sonoma, Marin, San Francisco, and San Mateo Counties excluding the San Francisco Bay.
NOAA proposes national marine sanctuary in Papahānaumokuākea
In addition, NOAA will host in-person and virtual public comment meetings during which members of the public can offer oral comments. Detailed information on the dates, times and locations for public meetings is available at: https://sanctuaries.noaa.
Assistant Tribal Position Opening
NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region is hiring an Assistant Tribal Coordinator (term position). The vacancy will open for applications on USA Jobs February 28 and will be open for 7 days. Due to this short window, we’re spreading the word now to give interested applicants more time to prepare their applications. Please see below for more information and spread the word! Additional information can be found on the NOAA Fisheries LinkedIn page offsite linkand the Fisheries IRA website. Questions can be directed to Ruth.Howell@noaa.gov.
Series and Band Level: ZP-401 Fishery Resource Management Specialist. Band 3.
Term Position (up to four years)
Title: Assistant Tribal Coordinator for NOAA Fisheries West Coast Region
Duty Stations: Seattle, WA. Portland, OR. Long Beach, CA. Sacramento, CA. Santa Rosa, CA.
Ocean-based Climate Resilience Accelerators program Phase 1 Awardees
February 20, 2024
Climate resilience-focused start-ups and small businesses are critical in the development and commercialization of new technologies that will address our most pressing climate challenges. These small businesses drive technology development, business model innovation, and job creation in providing data and critical services to the blue economy. However, like small businesses in many other sectors, they struggle to access the capital, business development services, and entrepreneurial training necessary to scale their business and create the impact needed to address climate challenges. This program is designed to help businesses address these challenges while producing public-private partnerships that benefit US businesses, NOAA, and the Nation.
Visit NOAA’s Inflation Reduction Act website to learn about current and future funding opportunities.
Public Listening Sessions for the Future of Aquaculture at NOAA Fisheries
February 1, 2024
As part of the program review, the Office of Aquaculture will be holding public listening sessions where aquaculture growers, seafood industry workers, researchers, coastal community members, and the general public can share their views on the future of aquaculture at NOAA Fisheries. This includes what aspects of NOAA’s science and services are of most value to the public.
These listening sessions will happen across the country and will provide opportunities for national, regional, in-person, and virtual listening sessions.
Dates, times, and locations of the listening sessions are as follows:
- South Atlantic/Gulf of Mexico (Virtual) - February 15, 4:00p - 6:00p EST
- National - Aquaculture America, San Antonio, TX (In-person only) - February 21, 1:30p-5:00p CST
- Caribbean (Virtual) - February 23, 1:00p - 3:00p EST
- West Coast (Virtual) - March 1, 10:00a - 12:00p PST
- Alaska (Virtual) - March 7, 3:00p - 5:00 EST (11:00a - 1:00p AKST)
- National (Virtual) - March 8, 3:00p - 5:00 EST
- National - National Shellfisheries Association, Charlotte, NC (In-person only) - March 20, 11:00a - 12:30p EST
Please click here to access the Listening Session Registration Links.
NOAA Fisheries Seeks Comment on Proposed Issuance of Incidental Take Statement and Funding to State of Alaska for Southeast Alaska Salmon Fisheries
January 24, 2024
NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for the issuance of an Incidental Take Statement for salmon fisheries in Southeast Alaska subject to the 2019 Pacific Salmon Treaty Agreement. The DEIS also addresses the funding to the State of Alaska to implement the 2019 PST Agreement. The public has 45 days to provide comments.
The Pacific Salmon Treaty provides a management framework for salmon fisheries in the United States and Canada, including salmon fisheries that occur in the ocean and inland waters and rivers flowing into these waters. Fisheries in federal and state waters off Southeast Alaska are managed consistent with the 2019 PST Agreement.
Compliance with the incidental take statement, if issued, would exempt participants in the Southeast Alaska salmon fisheries from the Endangered Species Act’s prohibition on take of threatened and endangered species.
#Gaia4All Indigenous Hackathon Winners Announced: Bridging Technology & Indigenous Knowledge for Global Early Warnings Systems
