***We wanted to make sure that if you’re attending Pacific Marine Expo, that you are also aware of this special panel to be held this Sunday, November 18.***
MAGNUSON-STEVENS ACT — HOW CURRENT POLICIES IMPACT FISHERMEN AND OUR NATION’S SEAFOOD SUPPLY
Ocean Strategies is hosting a discussion panel at Pacific Marine this Sunday from 1-2pm that will dive into federal fisheries policy issues on the docket for the current and upcoming Congress. We’ll look at the suite of legislation aiming to reauthorize or make changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and talk about the implications of those bills with panelists that can bring us a coast-to-coast perspective.
Ocean Strategies’ senior consultant and Gulf of Alaska fisherman Hannah Heimbuch is facilitating, and we’ll be hosting panelists Bob Kehoe from the Purse Seine Vessel Owners’ Association and Jason DeLaCruz from Gulf of Mexico Reef Fish Shareholders Alliance. These different perspectives should make for a rich discussion.
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COME SEE US AT PACIFIC MARINE EXPO!
If you’re attending Pacific Marine Expo, be sure to stop by our booth #4125 to renew your membership and get a newly designed sweatshirt designed by Petersburg’s own Shalene Zellweger Mccollum of AK Island Design! A huge thank you to Shalene for the donation of her artwork specifically crafted for UFA!
As always, there will be an assortment of UFA staff, board members and lifetime members in the booth, so stop on in for a chat and renew your membership while you’re at it!
SENATE PASSES THE COAST GUARD AUTHORIZATION ACT OF 2018 94 TO 6.
There is still one more step to go. This bill has changed from what the House passed so it will need to be voted on again by the House. However, Matt just spoke with Young’s office and got conformation that everything in the bill was preconferenced with the house and it should have no problem passing. There is a slight administrative issue with some of the paperwork the senate filed and the Coast Guard Subcommittee is working through that, but it should be worked out quickly and after Thanksgiving it should pass under suspension which is a procedure used in the House to pass non-controversial bills.
Top line takeaways from the bill:
- Fishing and small vessels are permanently exempted from EPA’s incidental discharge regulations
- EPA is charged with developing ballast water discharge and USCG is charged with enforcement
- Great Lakes states can apply to increase stringency of ballast water regulations (likely one of the reasons they got onboard with the bill)
- Increases the length of boats from 79’ to 180’ that must be built but not maintained to class standards
- Alternative safety compliance program can be developed for specific fisheries in specific regions
- Language directing the Coast Guard to collaborate with the commercial fishing industry was removed
NATIONAL MARINE WEATHER SERVICE MARINE PANEL NOVEMBER 29
The National Weather Service (NWS) Headquarters is considering making changes to marine products that many of you use routinely here in Alaska. They want to hear your voice!
When:
- Anchorage, AK – Marine Panel: Thursday, Nov. 29th from 8am to 11am
- Remote Webinar – Marine Panel: Thursday, Nov. 29th from Noon to 3pm
Topics to be discussed:
- Proposal to change how you hear and see Alaska Marine Warnings
- NWS future options to reformat all NWS products including marine
- Option 1 would keep the current Watch/Warning/Advisory (WWA) format in place unchanged
- Option 2 would propose changing:
- Today’s “Watch” to a “Notice”
- Today’s “Advisory” to an “Orange Warning”
- Today’s “Warning” to a “Red Warning”
- Adding a “Purple Emergency” product for rare, high impact situations
- Option 3 would propose to
- Change today’s “Watch” to a “Notice”
- Eliminate the “Advisory” products and only have “Warning” and “Emergency” level product
- How Alaska mariners use current NWS marine products & any concerns you may have
How can you get involved?
If you are interested in participating, contact rebecca.heim@noaa.gov with your name, affiliation, email, location, and availability to participate in Anchorage or via webinar.
NOAA FISHERIES PROPOSED RULE ON CONSTRUCTION FINANCING
NOAA Fisheries has published a proposed rule today,
Click HERE for the proposed rule.
OCEAN ACIDIFICATION: LAB RESEARCH TO FISHERIES, ECONOMIC AND ECOSYSTEM FORECASTS
Come hear what NOAA Fisheries and University of Washington scientists have to say about the effects of ocean acidification on Bering Sea crab, the latest bioeconomic projections, and how global climate models that integrate ocean acidification and other factors can provide insights into future fisheries.
Time: Sunday, Nov 18, 2:15-3:15pm
Location: Main Stage, Pacific Marine Expo, Seattle
The speakers will be:
- Bob Foy, NOAA Fisheries
- Andre Punt, University of Washington
- Michael Dalton, NOAA Fisheries
- Kirstin Holsman, NOAA Fisheries
(Moderated by Darcy Dugan of the Alaska Ocean Acidification Network)
The full program for the Expo talks/panels is here.