Fisheries Service seeks comments on proposal to list scalloped hammerhead sharks under Endangered Species Act

April 4, 2013

NOAA’s Fisheries Service, in response to a petition submitted by the WildEarth Guardians and Friends of Animals is proposing to list four populations of scalloped hammerhead sharks under the Endangered Species Act, two as threatened and two as endangered.

However, the species will not be listed in the majority of U.S. waters due to steps fisheries managers and fishermen have already taken to help protect these species. For example, in the U.S. Atlantic, the species is managed under a fishery management plan, with established biological catch levels to control harvest.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service is also finalizing an amendment to the fishery management plan establishing a rebuilding strategy for the northwest Atlantic scalloped hammerhead shark stock, and implementing regulations for U.S. shark fisheries in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.

The listing proposals, which are based on the best scientific data available, cite threats from overfishing and inadequate management of foreign fisheries, with illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing, also known as IUU fishing, as a significant problem. Scalloped hammerhead sharks are found worldwide in coastal warm waters, which makes the problem widespread. In addition, the sharks are killed for their fins, which has significantly contributed to their decline.

“Sharks are a valuable part of our ocean ecosystems, and the sharks we are proposing to list under the Endangered Species Act are in trouble,” said Sam Rauch, assistant NOAA administrator for fisheries. “Sharks worldwide face a number of threats, and these sharks in particular, are facing threats from inadequate worldwide fisheries management to poaching for their fins.”

NOAA’s Fisheries Service will designate critical habitat for the Distinct Population Segments (DPSs) that occur in U.S. waters, if it is determined to be prudent. Of the DPSs NOAA Fisheries proposes to list, only the central and southwest Atlantic, Indo-West Pacific and eastern Pacific DPSs have areas of their range in U.S. waters.

Earlier this year, the President directed that agencies, when designating critical habitat, carefully consider all public comments on relevant science and economic impact, including those that suggest methods for minimizing regulatory burdens. Any potential future critical habitat designation will include a full analysis of economic impact, including impact on jobs, and will strive, to the extent permitted by law, to avoid unnecessary burdens and costs to states, tribes, localities and the private sector.

When a species is listed as endangered, scientists consider it in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of its range. When a species is listed as threatened, scientists consider it likely to become an endangered species within the foreseeable future.

Under the proposal, two DPSs of scalloped hammerhead sharks in the eastern Atlantic and eastern Pacific would be listed as endangered, while two DPSs -- the central and southwest Atlantic population, and the Indo-West Pacific population -- would be listed as threatened. This announcement is also the final negative finding for two other populations, one that spans the U.S. northwest Atlantic to the Gulf of Mexico and another in the Central Pacific (spanning the Hawaiian archipelago).

The proposed endangered listings prohibit imports, exports and commercial activities dealing in the species. Scalloped hammerhead sharks are not a significant component of catch or bycatch by U.S. commercial and recreational fishers. Also, in the U.S. Western Pacific territories, scalloped hammerhead sharks are not a component of subsistence fisheries and are rarely caught or seen.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service anticipates few effects from these proposed listings to fishers under U.S. jurisdiction and on the activities of other federal agencies.

WildEarth Guardians and Friends of Animals filed a petition in August 2011 with NOAA’s Fisheries Service to list the scalloped hammerhead shark as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. NOAA’s Fisheries Service later determined that the petition provided sufficient information to demonstrate that listing may be warranted, and initiated a status review of the species.

NOAA’s Fisheries Service is seeking comments from the public on the proposed listing of scalloped hammerhead sharks for 60 days. NOAA’s Fisheries Service is seeking also comments on the proposed DPSs, as well as their population structure, habitat use, abundance and distribution. The agency is also seeking information on threats and planned activities that may affect the proposed DPSs and any efforts being made to protect the sharks.

After publishing a proposed rule, NOAA’s Fisheries Service considers the public comments and new information that may have been provided. NOAA’s Fisheries Service has one year to publish a final determination on whether to list the species.

You may submit public comments via the Federal eRulemaking Portal or by visiting the comment page on the Office of Protected Resources website. NOAA’s Fisheries Service will also accept written comments mailed to: Office of Protected Resources, NOAA Fisheries, 1315 East-West Highway, Silver Spring, MD 20910; or faxed to 301-713-4060, Attn: Maggie Miller

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

View the original article here

Remains of USS Monitor sailors interred at Arlington National Cemetery

March 8, 2013

Honor guard at Arlington National Cemetery.

Download here. (Credit: NOAA.)

The facial reconstruction of two Sailors whose remains were discovered inside the gun turret of the USS Monitor after it was raised from the ocean floor in 2002 are revealed during a ceremony sponsored by the U.S. Navy Memorial Foundation. The ceremony is part of the commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 8 and 9, 1862, when Monitor and CSS Merrimac fought in the first ironclad battle in naval history. Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C. later that year. While much has been learned about the physical characteristics of the two Sailors, their identities remain a mystery.

Download here. (Credit: U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Gina K. Morrissette/Released)

The USS Monitor gun turret is raised during a 2002 recovery operation by NOAA and the U.S. Navy.

Download here. (Credit: NOAA)

The remains of two unknown USS Monitor sailors, recovered by NOAA and the U.S. Navy in 2002 from the ship’s gun turret, were buried today, with full military honors, at Arlington National Cemetery. USS Monitor sank in a New Year’s Eve storm just over 150 years ago, carrying 16 crew members to their deaths.

“Just as the crew of the Monitor fought tirelessly to keep their ‘old-time knight in armor’ afloat, so have many worked tirelessly since her loss to keep their commitment to her, and to the 16 sailors who answered the call-to-arms of a young nation in peril, and paid the ultimate price,” said Kathyrn D. Sullivan, Ph.D., acting under secretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere and acting NOAA administrator, in remarks at the memorial service. “One major step toward that was taken some 40 years ago, when the nation designated the place where Monitor lies as America’s first National Marine Sanctuary, marking it forever as a place of special national significance. We are gathered here today to take another major step, laying two of her sailors to rest in the hallowed ground of Arlington National Cemetery. As we do so, let us all reaffirm our own commitment to forever remember the work of the Monitor and insure her story is told to our children’s children.

“As keepers of the USS Monitor National Marine Sanctuary, NOAA is committed to protecting the final resting site of this ‘little boat’ and her valiant crew, and to assuring that the memory and the legacy of the Monitor and her crew are preserved and passed on to future generations,” she added.

Sullivan was joined in making remarks by Ray Mabus, secretary of the Navy, and James McPherson, Ph.D., Pulitzer prize-winning Civil War historian, at a service attended by members of Congress, the military and family members descended from the original USS Monitor crew.

RDML Gerd Glang, NOAA director of the Office of Coast Survey, served as the NOAA Corps escort officer for the formal military services and traditional caisson carriage procession to the grave site. The site sits adjacent to the memorial for NASA astronauts killed in the explosions of the Challenger and Columbia space shuttles.

Conservators inspect the Dahlgren guns inside the USS Monitor turret.

Download here. (Credit: The Mariners' Museum )

Officers stand on the deck of the USS Monitor in this image captured on July 9, 1862, by Union photographer, James F. Gibson.

Download here. (Credit: Library of Congress )

A diver swims above the bow of the USS Monitor.

Download here. (Credit: NOAA)

NOAA and the Joint POW-MIA Accounting Command in Hawaii worked for 10 years to try to identify the sailors including trying to match DNA of family descendents with that from the recovered remains.. Last year, NOAA released forensic reconstructions of the sailors’ faces, showing what they may have looked like while aboard the ship. Neither effort has resulted in identification of the remains to date but efforts are ongoing.

For more than a quarter of a century, NOAA has forged and maintained an enduring bond to the legacy of USS Monitor and its crew. In addition to trying to identify the two sailors, NOAA has carried out numerous research expeditions at the site, including working with the Navy and other partners to recover important artifacts.

"This interment honors the sacrifice of a courageous crew and commemorates an important battle fought 151 years ago when, for the first time iron-clad ships clashed in naval warfare, signaling the end of the era for wooden ships," said Secretary of the Navy Ray Mabus. "While Naval tradition holds the site of a shipwreck as hallowed ground and a proper final resting place for sailors who perish at sea, this ceremony pays tribute not only to the two sailors being interred, but to all who died when Monitor sank so many years ago during the Civil War. Little is certain in military service, but we can guarantee the Navy will always remain committed to honoring those who pay the ultimate price defending our nation."

The area around the shipwreck became the first National Marine Sanctuary in 1975, Since then, research at the Monitor site has focused on documenting the wreck in detail and understanding how it has been affected by natural deterioration and human activities. Many of the iconic Monitor artifacts were recovered – including the rotating gun turret – and are being housed and displayed at The Mariners’ Museum in Newport News, Va.

Designed by Swedish inventor John Ericsson, USS Monitor is best known for its Civil War battle with the Confederate ironclad, CSS Virginia, in Hampton Roads, Va., on March 9, 1862. The engagement marked the first time iron-armored ships clashed in naval warfare and signaled the end of the era of wooden ships. Less than a year later, while being towed to a new field of battle, USS Monitor capsized and sank 16 miles south of Cape Hatteras, N.C. in 240 feet of water.

To date, no trace of the other 14 missing members of the crew has been found.

NOAA, in an effort to identify the remains, last year worked with the Navy and Louisiana State University to reconstruct the men's faces. In December, NOAA dedicated a memorial at Hampton National Cemetery to honor all 16 members of the crew who lost their lives when the USS Monitor was lost.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

View the original article here

Primary GOES-R instrument cleared for installation onto spacecraft

October 31, 2013

Rendering of GOES-R spacecraft.

Download here. (Credit: Lockheed Martin)

A key instrument that will fly on the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite – R
(GOES-R) spacecraft, NOAA’s next-generation of geostationary satellites, is cleared for installation on the spacecraft.

The Advanced Baseline Imager, or ABI, is GOES-R’s primary instrument for scanning Earth’s weather, oceans, and environment and is a significant improvement over instruments on NOAA’s current geostationary satellites. The ABI will offer faster imaging with much higher detail. It will also introduce new forecast products for severe weather, volcanic ash advisories, fire and smoke monitoring and other hazards.

“The United States is home to some of the most severe weather in the world including tornadoes, hurricanes, snowstorms, floods, and wildfires,” said Mary Kicza, assistant administrator for NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service. “The ABI offers breakthrough technology that will help NOAA develop faster and more accurate forecasts that will save lives and protect communities.”

The first satellite in the GOES-R Series is currently scheduled for launch in early 2016. GOES-R’s instruments will also feature improved lightning detection and solar weather monitoring tools, and will provide near real time data to forecasters during severe weather events.

The ABI has two scan modes. It will have the ability to continuously take an image of the entire planet, or a full disk image, every five minutes compared to every 30 minutes with the current GOES imager. It also has an alternative, or flex mode, which will concurrently take a full disk image every 15 minutes, an image of the continental U.S. every five minutes, and smaller, more detailed images of areas where storm activity is present, as often as every 30 seconds. This kind of flexibility and increased frequency of images is a boon for forecasters.

Video: ABI - The Future of Weather Monitoring.

Download here.
(Credit: NOAA-NASA GOES-R Program Office)

In early 2014 the ABI will be shipped from its developer, Exelis, in Ft. Wayne, Ind., to the spacecraft developer, Lockheed Martin Space Systems Co. in Littleton, Colo., to be installed onto the first GOES-R spacecraft. Lockheed is building the spacecraft for the GOES-R series.

The remaining GOES-R instruments to be delivered are:

Geostationary Lightning Mapper, which will provide continuous surveillance for the first time of total lightning activity from geostationary orbit over the western hemisphere; Space Environment In-Situ Suite, which consists of sensors that will monitor radiation hazards that can affect satellites, radio communications and navigation systems; Solar Ultraviolet Imager, a high-powered telescope that observes the sun, monitoring for solar flares and other solar activity that could impact Earth by disrupting power utilities communication and navigation systems and causing damage to orbiting satellites and the International Space Station; and Magnetometer, which will provide measurements of the magnetic field surrounding Earth that protects the planet from charged particles released from the sun. These particles can be dangerous to spacecraft and human spaceflight. The geomagnetic field measurements will provide alerts and warnings to satellite operators and power utilities.

A sixth instrument, the Extreme X-Ray Irradiance Sensor (EXIS), was completed in May 2013 and was the first of GOES-R’s instruments to be ready for integration.  EXIS will provide important early warnings of impending solar storms and give scientists a more accurate measure of the power of solar energy radiating toward earth, which can severely disrupt telecommunications, air travel and the performance of power grids.

NOAA manages the GOES-R Series program through an integrated NOAA-NASA office, staffed with personnel from both agencies and located at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md.

For more information about NOAA’s Satellite and Information Service visit: www.nesdis.noaa.gov. For more information about GOES-R visit: www.goes-r.gov.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and our other social media channels.

View the original article here

NOAA assumes full operational responsibilities of environmental satellite

March 4, 2013

Artists rendering of the Suomi NPP satellite.

(Credit: NOAA)

A recent major milestone to develop the next-generation of polar-orbiting satellites was reached when operational control of America’s newest environmental satellite was transitioned to NOAA. These satellites are critical to providing advanced warning for severe weather including tornado outbreaks, heavy snowfall, hurricanes, heat waves, floods, and wildfires.

Data from the Suomi National Polar-orbiting Partnership (Suomi NPP) satellite will continue to strengthen NOAA’s ability to predict severe weather days in advance. Suomi NPP data are also used to generate dozens of environmental data products, including measurements of clouds, vegetation, ocean color, and land and sea surface temperatures.

The Suomi NPP mission is a bridge between the current fleet of polar-orbiting satellites and NOAA's upcoming Joint Polar Satellite System (JPSS), scheduled to launch in 2017. Suomi NPP is operating new, sophisticated Earth-observing instruments that NOAA is using to support improved weather forecasts.

“The future is now for NOAA satellites,” said Kathryn Sullivan, Ph.D., assistant secretary of commerce for environmental observation and prediction, deputy administrator and acting chief scientist at NOAA. “The handover marks the dawn of the JPSS era. It also signals the effective teamwork between NOAA and NASA to launch and operate environmental satellites has worked for more than 40 years and will last well into the future.”

"Satellites like Suomi NPP are critical to the National Weather Service mission and improved decision support services," said Louis Uccellini, Ph.D., director of NOAA's National Weather Service. "These polar satellites provide an important dataset for the global earth observing system and will lead to improved forecasts out to three days in the future and beyond."

Composite map of the world assembled from data acquired by the Suomi NPP satellite in April and October 2012.

Download here (Credit: NASA Earth Observatory/NOAA NGDC)

Suomi NPP was launched on October 28, 2011. In March 2012, Suomi NPP was commissioned and operations were transferred from the NASA Suomi NPP project to the NASA/NOAA JPSS program. Since that time, the Suomi NPP flight and ground teams at the JPSS program have worked to ensure the spacecraft, instruments and data products were operating successfully. NOAA began using data from one of the Suomi NPP instruments – the Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder -- on May 22, 2012, seven months after launch, nearly three times faster than previous missions.

Suomi NPP observes any given point on the Earth’s surface twice a day — once in daylight and once at night. It circles the planet in a north-south motion between the poles about 14 times a day, 512 miles above the surface. Once an orbit is complete, Suomi NPP sends its data to a ground station in Svalbard, Norway. The data is then routed to the NOAA Satellite Operations Facility in Suitland, Md. where it is processed and distributed. NOAA’s NWS incorporates the data into its weather prediction models that help generate medium-to-long range forecasts. The data is also available to users around the world via direct broadcast.

Vanessa Griffin, director of NOAA’s Office of Satellite and Product Operations said, “Our NOAA operations team is well trained, experienced and excited about taking over operations of the Suomi NPP satellite. We worked closely with the JPSS program to ensure the transition was smooth and transparent for our operational customers.”

NOAA’s Joint Polar Satellite System is America’s next generation polar-orbiting operational environmental satellite system. JPSS represents significant technological and scientific advances for more accurate weather forecasting to secure a more 'weather ready nation '— saving lives and property, while promoting economic prosperity. JPSS provides continuity for critical observations of our vast atmosphere, oceans, land, and cryosphere — the frozen areas of the planet. NOAA, working in partnership with NASA, ensures an unbroken series of global data for monitoring and forecasting environmental phenomena and understanding our Earth.

NOAA’s Office of Satellite and Product Operations commands and controls NOAA’s fleet of satellites; and manages and directs the operation of the ground facilities which ingest, process, and distribute environmental satellite data and derived products to domestic and foreign users.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

View the original article here

U.S. Power Squadrons renew cooperative charting program

January 18, 2013

 U.S. Power Squadron members and others report wrecks and other potential navigation dangers to NOAA, and cartographers update the nautical chart. These are realtime displays from a January 16 hydrographic survey, as NOAA Research Vessel Bay Hydro II confirmed the location of a reported wreck in the Chesapeake Bay.

Download here. (Credit: NOAA)

This week, NOAA and the U.S. Power Squadrons, a non-profit organization dedicated to safe boating, will renew a 50-year commitment to a cooperative charting program that helps to update the nation’s thousands of navigational charts.

Under the voluntary program, formalized by a Memorandum of Agreement, members of the U.S. Power Squadrons scan water and land areas, looking for changing conditions that may not be reflected on NOAA nautical charts. Power Squadrons members submit their reports online, and NOAA cartographers review and incorporate changes to their navigation products.

“The partnership between Coast Survey and the Power Squadrons is a long and successful one, speaking to our shared vision of safety on U.S. waters,” said Rear Admiral Gerd Glang, director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. “The cooperative charting program, originally formalized in 1963, continues an extremely cost-effective method for correcting chart errors that are the result of constantly changing coastlines and seafloors.”

Over the last ten years, Power Squadrons members have submitted more than 28,000 corrections to NOAA’s nautical charts and the United States Coast Pilot, a series of nautical books that cover a variety of information important to coastal and Great Lakes navigators. More than 4,000 members have submitted reports, adding their particular local knowledge to NOAA’s national effort to keep navigation materials accurate.

“I believe that our cooperative efforts with NOAA represent an ideal partnership between a volunteer organization and a federal agency,” says John Alter, chief commander of the U.S. Power Squadrons. “It gives our members a feeling of accomplishment and pride to see their contributions reflected in the latest nautical chart updates and provides a tangible benefit to being a United States Power Squadrons’ member.  This cooperative effort has stood the test of time, and we look forward to our continued commitment to this important civic service.”

Glang will attend the U.S. Power Squadrons’ annual meeting on Saturday. He and John Alter, chief commander of the U.S. Power Squadrons, will sign a new Memorandum of Agreement that updates and improves the cooperative charting program.

In 1963, the U.S. Coast and Geodetic Survey, one of NOAA's predecessor agencies, recognized the challenge of maintaining one thousand U.S. nautical charts ? covering 95,000 miles of coastline ? with the sparse resources at hand. Many charts would go uninspected by Coast Survey surveyors for decades, agency leaders acknowledged. To help remedy the situation, Coast Survey established the cooperative charting program so local Power Squadron members could check their local charts for accuracy and report discrepancies.

The U.S. Power Squadrons is a non-profit, educational organization dedicated to making boating safer and more enjoyable by teaching classes in seamanship, navigation and related subjects. The organization has nearly 40,000 members, in more than 400 squadrons across the country and in U.S. territories.

NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey, originally formed by President Thomas Jefferson in 1807, updates the nation’s nautical charts, surveys the coastal seafloor, responds to maritime emergencies and searches for underwater obstructions and wreckage that pose a danger to navigation. Join Coast Survey on Twitter @nauticalcharts, and check out the NOAA Coast Survey Blog at http://noaacoastsurvey.wordpress.com for more in-depth coverage of surveying and charting.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Visit us at www.noaa.gov and join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

View the original article here

Tortugas marine reserve yields more, larger fish

February 4, 2013

Populations of commercially important species like the red grouper increased in the Tortugas region following the closure of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary's Tortugas Ecological Reserve. 

Download here (Credit:NOAA)

A new NOAA research report finds that both fish populations and commercial and recreational anglers have benefited from “no-take” protections in the Tortugas Ecological Reserve in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary.

The report, “An Integrated Biogeographic Assessment of Reef Fish Populations and Fisheries in Dry Tortugas: Effects of No-take Reserves,” is the first to evaluate how the 151-square nautical mile Tortugas Ecological Reserve affects the living marine resources of the region and the people whose livelihoods are connected to them.

The report’s analysis of long-term socioeconomic and scientific information found that after the ecological reserve was designated in 2001:

Overfished species such as black and red grouper, yellowtail and mutton snapper increased in presence, abundance and size inside the reserve and throughout the region;Annual gatherings of spawning mutton snapper, once thought to be wiped out from overfishing, began to reform inside the Reserve; Commercial catches of reef fish in the region increased, and continue to do so; andNo financial losses were experienced by regional commercial or recreational fishers;
“The findings in this report are good news for NOAA management efforts to enhance fisheries and other natural resources in the Florida Keys,” said Holly Bamford, Ph. D., NOAA assistant administrator for the National Ocean Service. “The results are equally important in other areas where NOAA science provides support to management decisions that are made to best utilize and protect our natural resources.”

To assess economic effects of the area closure, social scientists from NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries and University of Massachusetts analyzed catch landings and revenues from commercial fishers (reef fish, shrimp, spiny lobster and king mackerel) and surveyed recreational fishing guides operating within the Tortugas region before and for five years after reserve protection.

“This research shows that marine reserves and economically viable fishing industries can coexist,” said Sean Morton, sanctuary superintendent. “The health of our economy is tied to the health of our oceans. They are not mutually exclusive.”

Key West commercial fishery landings had an estimated value of $56 million in 2011, up from $40 million in 2001, according to NOAA’s Fisheries of the United States reports. Ocean recreation and tourism support approximately 33,000 jobs in the Florida Keys.

Contributors to the report also included researchers from NOAA’s National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science, NOAA Fisheries Service, Southeast Fisheries Science Center, and University of Miami.

The 151-square nautical mile Tortugas Ecological Reserve was designated by the Florida Keys sanctuary in 2001, and its design involved extensive collaboration between commercial and recreational fishermen, divers, scientists, conservationists, citizens-at-large and resource managers. The reserve is closed to all consumptive use, including fishing and anchoring, and a portion of it is open to permitted marine researchers only.

Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary protects 2,900 square nautical miles of critical marine habitat, including coral reef, hard bottom, sea grass meadows, mangrove communities and sand flats, as well as shipwrecks and maritime heritage resources. NOAA and the state of Florida manage the sanctuary. Visit us online at floridakeys.noaa.gov or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/floridakeysnoaagov.

The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science is the lead science office for NOAA’s National Ocean Service. Visit us online or follow us via the NOAA Ocean Science Blog.

NOAA’s mission is to understand and predict changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and to conserve and manage our coastal and marine resources. Join us on Facebook, Twitter and our other social media channels.

View the original article here