NOAA announced the appointment of Alexa Cole as the new Director for NOAA Fisheries’ Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection. As director, Cole will lead NOAA Fisheries’ work to maintain sustainable global resources and a level playing field for U.S. fishermen and seafood producers.

Tomorrow, November 21, is World Fisheries Day. Read our latest leadership message from Alexa Cole, new Director for NOAA Fisheries’ Office of International Affairs and Seafood Inspection, to learn how U.S. fisheries management and seafood inspection set the global standard for sustainability.

NOAA announces new strategies to dramatically expand the agency’s application of four emerging science and technology focus areas—NOAA Unmanned Systems, Artificial Intelligence, ’Omics, and the Cloud—to guide advancements in the quality and timeliness of NOAA science, products, and services. Through December 16, the public is invited to review and provide comments on these new strategies.

NOAA Fisheries is requesting nominations for appointment to the new Recreational Electronic Reporting Task Force of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee. The purpose of this task force is to provide MAFAC, and subsequently NOAA Fisheries, expert advice on the generation, delivery, and use of electronically reported data from private recreational anglers. Nominations are due January 19.

The recent cold snap marks the beginning of the cold-stunned sea turtle season in the Northeast. Cold and immobile sea turtles are now washing up on Northeast beaches, particularly on the sound side of Long Island in New York and Sandy Hook and Long Beach Island in New Jersey. If you see a sea turtle on the beach, please call it in.

NOAA Fisheries has updated a web-based data visualization tool that invites community managers and other decision-makers to access information on coastal fishing community vulnerability. The map viewer and graphing tool enables users to explore social vulnerability in more than 4,600 coastal and fishing communities in 23 states.

NOAA Fisheries released preliminary findings from our 2019 surveys in the Arctic. Through long-term, consistent data collection during dedicated research surveys, we monitor trends in marine population abundance and changes in their distribution. This information helps Alaska Native communities, coastal communities, and resource managers better prepare and respond to changes in Alaska marine ecosystems.

Sweeping changes in Essential Fish Habitat designations for West Coast groundfish fisheries adopted this week will reopen access for fishermen to productive fishing grounds where fish populations have rebounded. At the same time, these changes will protect sensitive deep-water habitat and deep-sea corals from bottom fishing.

A dedicated group of scientific divers gathered on a southern California dock to release hundreds of juvenile white abalone grown in captivity. This marked the first release of endangered white abalone into the wild off southern California, a key recovery strategy for the native species.

NOAA Fisheries’ Marine Education and Training Mini-Grants Program supports projects that will increase the sustainability, viability, and visibility of fishing and marine resource issues and communities in the Pacific Islands region. Projects should prepare communities for employment in marine-related professions; increase seafood and fishing safety, marketing, or management; or improve the sustainability of fishing practices through technology or data collection. Proposals are due January 16.

NOAA Fisheries requests your comments on a proposed rule to implement Amendment 9 to the Fishery Management Plan for Coral and Coral Reef Resources in the Gulf of Mexico. The proposed rule would establish new Habitat Areas of Particular Concern, with varying levels of fishing gear restrictions, to protect coral essential fish habitat in the Gulf.  Comments are due December 16.

NOAA Fisheries is soliciting nominations for the Atlantic Highly Migratory Species  Southeast Data, Assessment, and Review Workshops—better known as the SEDAR Pool—Advisory Panel. Selected members will serve a 5-year term beginning in 2020. Nominations are due
December 18.

In the past 50 years, as the Northeast has gotten significantly rainier, flood prediction has become increasingly important. Understanding flooding patterns helps the public, town planners, and emergency responders, and it is also important for fishway operators and fisheries managers.

Northeast Fisheries Science Center researchers are engaged in a multi-year effort to gather the information needed to maintain viable fisheries in a warming world ocean. Archeologists studying Smuttynose Island in the Gulf of Maine uncovered the remnants of cod and other fish deposited by one of colonial America’s first fishing stations. Researchers are using these fish parts to learn more about fish and the ocean they lived in nearly 350 years ago.

Lt. Benjamin VanDine recently assumed command of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center's research vessel Gloria Michelle. The ship conducts scientific surveys and is deployed on projects for NOAA Fisheries and other scientific research organizations in the Northeast.