News + Announcements
FR Notice – Reclassifying Management Unit Species to Ecosystem Component Species (Feb. 8, 2019)
AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce. ACTION: Final rule. SUMMARY: This final rule reclassifies certain management unit species in the Pacific Islands as ecosystem component species. The rule also updates the scientific and local names of certain species. The intent of this final rule is to prioritize conservation […]
FR Notice – Nominations for the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission Permanent Advisory Committee (Feb. 6, 2019)
2019-2020 US Pacific Territories Fishery Capacity-Building Scholarship Announcement, Applications due March 1, 2019
Press Release – Modern Recreational Fisheries Management Act Implications in the Western Pacific Region (10 January 2019)
HONOLULU (10 January 2019) On the last day of 2018, President Trump signed into law the Modernizing Recreational Fisheries Management Act (S. 1520), also known as the Modern Fish Act. The bill, which had been stagnant since its introduction in 2017, was pushed through by the efforts of the same coalition of sports fishing organizations […]
Request for Comments – Request to Repeal, Four of the existing Main Hawaiian Islands Bottomfish Restricted Fishing Areas (COMMENTS DUE by Jan. 11, 2019)
REQUEST TO REPEAL, FOUR OF THE EXISTING MAIN HAWAIIAN ISLANDS BOTTOMFISH RESTRICTED FISHING AREAS The Division of Aquatic Resources (DAR) is taking a conservative approach and is proposing to repeal four of the 12 BRFAs. To determine which BRFAs to repeal, DAR considered several factors which include: habitat value, fishery return, enforceability, safety, a […]
Press Release – Federal Managers Delay Final Recommendations on Leatherback and Loggerhead Sea Turtle Interactions with Hawaii Swordfish Fishery (Dec. 18, 2018)
The fishery is scheduled to reopen on Jan. 1, 2019, with allowable interactions of 26 leatherbacks and 17 loggerheads. Should either interaction level be reached, the fishery will close for the remainder of 2019, unless the biological opinion currently in development allows for higher interaction levels and NMFS implements new regulations. The current leatherback level […]
Press Release – Honolulu Ranks as 7th Most Valuable US Port in Seafood Landed (Dec. 13, 2018)
HONOLULU (13 December 2018) The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), aka NOAA Fisheries, today released its Fisheries of the United States, 2017 report, with Honolulu continuing as the 7th most valuable US port in terms of landed seafood. The port with the highest value of seafood was New Bedford, Mass., with $389 million in […]