NOAAⁱ - As part of NOAA's ongoing work to improve the accuracy of and confidence in recreational fishing data, NOAA Fisheries and leading experts in the field have developed a new peer-reviewed method for calculating recreational catch estimatesⁱ. The new technique addresses a major recommendation made by the National Research Councilⁱ for improving our recreational data collection program and fulfills an important mandate of the Magnusonⁱ-Stevens Act...read more...

NOAAⁱ announced today the designation of additional critical habitat to provide protection for endangered leatherback sea turtles along the U.S. West Coast. NOAA is designating 41,914 square miles of marine habitat in the Pacific Ocean off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington.

This designation will not directly affect recreational fishing, boating and other private activities in critical habitat....read more...

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) reminds anglers they are required to return their 2011 Fishing Report and Restoration Cards by Jan. 31. Information collected from report cards provides DFG with data to monitor and manage California’s diverse recreational fisheries....read more...

CA - As expected, all anglers venturing into Mexico on fishing trips – by sea or by land -- now are required to obtain a visa in order to fish there due to an immigration law enacted recently in May by the Mexican government.

Mexican authorities are expected to begin enforcing the visa requirements on Jan. 1 with randomⁱ checks of commercial passenger fishing boats and private boats in Mexican waters....read more...

NOAAⁱ - Everyone – commercial and recreational fishermen, NGOs, Councils, Congress and NOAA – knew it would be a heavy lift to put accountability measures and catch limits in place for all federally managed fisheries. Five years ago this week the Magnusonⁱ Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act reauthorization was signed into law and required just that – catch limits for all federally managed fisheries. Well, 2012 is here and we are almost fully over the goal line. Yes, there are a few stragglers, but I can report that all federal fisheries will have catch limits in place in time for the 2012 fishing season....read more...

OR - January is traditionally a time to reflect on the yearⁱ just past, and to look forward as well. For many of the men and women who fish off Oregon's coast, this month marks an especially important milestone.

One year ago, Oregon's commercial groundfishⁱ trawlers, based out of Astoria, Newport, Coos Bay and Brookings embarked on the 2011 fishing season under an entirely new fishery management program known as a "catch share" system. The new system was the product of years of painstaking public process involving the Pacific Fishery Management Councilⁱ, fishermen, scientists, seafood processors, community leaders and members of the environmental community....read more...

OLYMPIA - The Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission will consider increasing the number of multiple-season hunting permits available each yearⁱ after hearing public comments on the issue at a meeting scheduled Jan. 6-7 in Olympia.

The commission, which sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFWⁱ), also will accept public comments on proposed changes to the 2012 sportfishing rules, but will not take action on those proposals until its regular meeting in February. ...read more...

Every yearⁱ, more than 12 million Americans enjoy saltwater recreational fishing along our coasts. More than just a traditional American pastime and contributor to conservation, saltwater recreational fishing is a major economic driver, generating more than $50 billion in sales and supporting more than 326,000 jobs a year. The Regional Recreational Fishing Action Agendas, released today, focus NOAA’s attention on regional-level activities that ensure the contributions from recreational fishing are sustained into the future....read more...

As summer and fall fishing taper (or, the past few days, crumble) away for trout, bass and panfish, some anglers turn their attention to the Oregon Coast.

Greenling, cabezon, surfperch, even lingcod and crabs are all available yearⁱ-round for anyone, even those without a boat.

Tyler Carpenter of Wilsonville, however, has a fresh video to prove a little caution is in order....read more...

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) asks anglers to use special techniques and extra vigilance to help conserve California’s green and white sturgeon. Both species are caught by anglers in a popular sport fishery centered in the San Francisco Estuary, but anglers need to be aware of special regulations in place to protect the long-term health and growth of the species.

White sturgeon are a substantial management concern and green sturgeon are a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. ...read more...

The California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) will hold a public workshop to review its proposal to change sport fishing regulations related to striped bass. The workshop will be held Tuesday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. at theRioVistaCity Hall,One Main Streetin Rio Vista

The proposal is supported by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAAⁱ) Fisheries and is intended to help recover several fish species listed under theCaliforniaand federal Endangered Species Acts. The proposed changes affect the striped bass bag, size and possession limits. ...read more...

The Department of Fish and Game (DFG) asks anglers to use special techniques and extra vigilance to help conserve California’s green and white sturgeon. Both species are caught by anglers in a popular sport fishery centered in the San Francisco Estuary, but anglers need to be aware of special regulations in place to protect the long-term health and growth of the species.

White sturgeon are a substantial management concern and green sturgeon are a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act. ...read more...

Oregon fishermen are disappointed in a season that many had forecast to be a banner yearⁱ.

NEWPORT — This was supposed to be the year David Kimball made a decent living as a salmon fisherman.

The 34-year-old Newport troller has worked as a skipper on other people’s boats in years past, the years where returns from the feeder rivers that drive Oregon’s salmon run were so decimated that the federal government declared an economic disaster in the fishery...read more...

NOAAⁱ has selected Oregon Stateⁱ University (OSU) to continue a federal/academic research partnership that extends NOAA’s ability to study marine resources in the Pacific Northwest. The award means that NOAA will continue funding the Cooperative Institute for Marine Resource Studies (CIMRS), which was established at Oregon State in 1982, for at least five and up to 10 more years.

...read more...

OLYMPIA – The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFWⁱ) will accept written public comments through Dec. 30 on rule proposals for the 2012-13 sportfishing season in Washington.

As part of that effortⁱ, WDFW has scheduled four public meetings in October to discuss its rule proposals with the public. ...read more...

News these days from the Oregon Stateⁱ University seems to have taken its cue from Jules Verne. There's talk of underwater gliders, ocean observatory platforms and coastal profilers. This, however, is no sci-fi plotline, but the Ocean Observatories Initiative, the largest ocean science project ever funded by the U.S. government – and a big chunk of it is happening right here off our coast.

(From OregonLive.com / by Lori Tobias) -- Scientists from the country's leading oceanography institutions are at work on a five-yearⁱ construction project that, when finished, will give instant access to anyone able to click a mouse to information from the surface waters to the very depths of the sea....read more...

An environmental oceanographer who has published more than 100 scientific articles on the global carbon cycle and was among the first to publish scientific data about ocean acidification has been chosen to be the director of the NOAAⁱ laboratory known for studying ocean physics and chemistry, innovative research in tsunamis, and underwater volcanoes.

Christopher Sabine, Ph.D. will become the third director of NOAA’s Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory (PMEL) in Seattle, Wash. on November 20. ...read more...

The Pacific Fishery Management Councilⁱ (Council) and its advisory bodies will meet November 1-7, 2011 at the following location:

Hilton Orange County – Costa Mesa

3050 Bristol Street

Costa Mesa, CA 92626

...read more...

NOAAⁱ Fisheries funds research to restore abalone populations in the Pacific Northwest

Prized by seafood connoisseurs and divers, and known for their stunning metallic shells, West Coast abalone hold remarkable ecological significance. These marine mollusks are “ecosystem engineers” because they inhabit subtidal rocky habitat and, via their grazing behaviors, condition the habitat for colonization by other species. The West Coast is home to seven species of abalone, but due to targeted fisheries, illegal harvest, disease, and predation, two abalone populations are now listed as “endangered” under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and three others are identified as “species of concern.” ...read more...

Online Sustainable Seafood Directory for Restaurants, Grocers, and Distributors Now Includes NOAAⁱ Stock Status Scores on Product Listings

Fort Collins, CO – October 11, 2011. FishChoice.com, a nonprofit dedicated to helping the seafood supply chain buy and sell sustainable seafood, will begin featuring FishWatch and Fish Stock Sustainability Index (FSSI) scores, programs of NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service, or NOAA Fisheries, as part of the information resources on sustainable seafood available at FishChoice.com. ...read more...

San Diego - Scientists from the Southwest Fisheries Science Center's Fisheries Resources Division recently completed an 18-day surveyⁱ along southern California's coastal waters to catch, tag, and release common thresher sharks. The survey was conducted onboard the F/V Outer Banks, and 412 thresher sharks were successfully tagged and released during 47 sets. This was the highest catch total since the inception of the survey in 2003. Common thresher sharks are the most commercially important shark in California, and this study increases scientists knowledge of the status of the stock, their biology, and movement patterns. Scientists measure each shark's length, determine its gender, take a small piece of skin for DNA analyses, and in some cases, a small blood sample, before tagging the shark and releasing it. Several NMFSⁱ employees, volunteers, and collaborators from NWFSC, SDSU, SIO, CSUF, CICESE (Mexico), and University of Puerto Rico participated and benefited from the research opportunity. Additionally, Deborah Brennan from the North County Times came out on the final day of the cruise and wrote the following story:...read more...

OLYMPIA – Seven marine areas of Puget Sound will reopen for recreational crab fishing Oct. 8, while two others will reopen Nov. 21, the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFWⁱ) announced today.

The openings were approved by fishery managers after summer catch assessments by WDFW indicated more crab are available for harvest, said Rich Childers, shellfishⁱ policy coordinator for the department....read more...

Pacific halibut is the largest flatfish in the ocean. They can weigh over 500 pounds and grow to 9 feet in length.

...read more...

Assistant Administrator for Fisheries Talks about the Cornerstone of Sustainable Fisheries.

I want to acknowledge and highlight the 35 th anniversary of the Magnusonⁱ-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Simply called “the Magnuson Act”, this law, its regional framework and goal of sustainability, has proven to be a visionary force in natural resource management - both domestically and internationally. The Magnuson Act is, and will continue to be a key driver for NOAAⁱ as weⁱ deliver on our nation’s commitment to ocean stewardship, sustainable fisheries, and healthy marine ecosystems. ...read more...