On Monday, April 30, 2012, the National Maritime Center (NMC) will launch an improvement to the automated email system originally fielded in December 2009. Mariners who have provided an email address to the NMC will receive an email notification 90 days prior to the expiration of their Merchant Mariner Credential, License, Merchant Mariner Document, or Standards of Training, Certification and Watchkeeping. NACO has offered this service to you for 7 years. 

Intended as a final reminder of your impending credential expiration, you can ignore the email if you have recently submitted an application for renewal.

On April 17, a panel of three judges of U.S. Court of Appeals (D.C. Circuit) heard oral arguments on a legal challenge filed by numerous parties regarding the EPA Waiver that allows for 15 percent ethanol blended gasoline to be sold for use in cars model year 2001 and newer. Hopefully EPA's waiver will be struck down. 

We just received this, we will be researching and report more to you next week.

Conservation groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard for authorizing toxic oil dispersants without ensuring that these chemicals would not harm endangered species or their habitats. The groups want the EPA to immediately study the effects of dispersants on endangered and threatened species in all U.S. waters, including threatened and endangered whales, sea turtles, salmon and seabirds in the Pacific and polar bears and walruses in the Arctic.

The National System of Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) provides a mechanism for MPAs managed by diverse government agencies to work together on common conservation priorities. In July 2011, NOAA and the Department of the Interior (DOI) invited federal, state, commonwealth, territorial and tribal MPA programs with potentially eligible existing MPAs to nominate their sites to the National System of MPAs (national system). A total of 58 nominations were received, including three from the American Samoa Department of Marine and Wildlife Resources, 40 from the Massachusetts Board of Underwater Archaeological Resources, three from the National Park Service, one from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, five from the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources, two from the South Carolina Institute of Archaeology and Anthropology, one from the Virgin Islands Department Of Planning and Natural Resources and three from the Washington Department of Natural Resources. For a list of nominated sites, background and national process

Some members have asked, “How does the National Ocean Policy Affect me?”.

• Potential restrictions on access to boating and fishing areas through marine spatial planning
•  No representation on regional planning bodies or other panels created by the National Ocean Policy, which results in no voice in formulating  proposal and planning
• Further restrictions on possible environmental impacts from bottom paints, cleaners, etc.
• potential expansion of current MPAs (no fishing zones) and creation of many more, this affects all rivers, lakes (Great Lakes), streams, coastal areas, and oceans, and there is much more.
• States have been told they can object to any federal proposal but the federal proposal will happen regardless.

The Coast Guard is shrinking and may have to cut back on traditional missions like fish protection and drug interdiction to free up resources for new issues like cybersecurity and thawing of the arctic warned the service’s commandant, Admiral Robert J. Papp at the Navy League’s annual Sea-Air-Space convention.

"I'm really grateful to the Administration and the Congress that at least we are moving along," Adm. Papp said, "but the 42 major cutters that we have today are scheduled to be replaced by 33 major cutters in the future." The Coast Guard's most visible missions close to shore have been relatively well funded, with investments in shore stations, small patrol craft, and the new Sentinel-class light cutter, but "that's playing defense" in our own coastal waters, warned Papp, when what national security most requires is "a sovereign presence on the high seas." The new deep-sea National Security Cutters, three of which are now in service after much delay, are more advanced, more capable, and simply less run-down than the Coast Guard's current fleet of 40-year-old vessels, which lose much of their mission time to maintenance. But nevertheless fewer ships means the service can be in fewer places -- even as demands increase.

The NMFS, issued this document to request information from the public on a Status Review Report and a draft Management Report we prepared in response to a petition from the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) to list 83 coral species as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to notify the public about future public listening sessions and scientific workshops on this topic. The Status Review Report examines the biology of, threats to, and extinction risk of 82 coral species, while the draft Management Report describes existing regulatory mechanisms and ongoing conservation efforts to manage and conserve these species throughout the Caribbean and Indo-Pacific. Collectively, these two reports constitute the best available scientific and commercial information that we have compiled to date on the 82 species of coral under review.

MRIP: The Science Behind Making Anglers’ Catch Count
By NOAA Fisheries
We may never know exactly just how many fish anglers catch in a given year, but we can get a pretty good estimate. By gathering data such as how often anglers catch fish, what species and size of fish, and what happens to each fish after it is caught, we can provide the most accurate, up-to-date information to fishery managers and decision makers. They use this catch data to make determinations about fishing regulations and the health of the fish populations.

In 2006, NOAA Fisheries began a major overhaul of the way we make these estimates. The result is the Marine Recreational Information Program, or MRIP, which is helping us do a better job of counting anglers’ catch and providing new ways to ensure that their catch counts.

FishSmart Workshops Help Solve Fishing Challenges

Providing Recreational Fishermen with the Opportunity to Improve their Catch through Collaboration
Approximately 324 million saltwater fish were caught by anglers in 2011 with 62% of those being returned to the water. This means that anglers are catching lots of fish but they’re also throwing many of them back. Through a program called FishSmart, anglers and NOAA are looking for ways to make sure more of those released fish survive. More fish means healthier fisheries and more fishing opportunities for anglers.

What is FishSmart?
FishSmart is the next step in the evolution of growing the sport of fishing. It brings together anglers, scientists, and managers through a series of workshops to find ways to fish smarter and promote conservation. Supported by NOAA during the past two years, FishSmart uses a collaborative, proactive approach to address fishing mortality while enhancing the fishing experience.

Why is this important?