Tag Archives: Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office
Federal government to increase at-sea monitoring to 100%.
At-sea monitors are workers who collect data on board commercial fishing boats to help inform regulations and management of species. The government approved the new, higher percentage of trip cover on Tuesday, said Michael Pentony, regional administrator with NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office in Gloucester. The rules apply to valuable species that are harvested in the Northeast such as cod, haddock and flounder. Pentony said the new rules will replace the old process of calculating a target for the level of monitoring coverage every year. The coverage target will instead be 100% for four years as long as federal funding can support agency and industry costs, he wrote in a letter to fishery managers. >click to read< 16:24
Another Government Shutdown Could Sink Scallop Fishery Profits
The world is smitten with scallops. Their subtle sweetness and firm but somehow delicate bite has many wanting more. When I previously worked in seafood sales, I couldn’t believe how much chefs in Los Angeles would pay to put the great New Bedford sea scallop on their menus. We’re talking over $35 per pound for the big ones. I’d think to myself, “These chefs know there are scallops in the Pacific, right?” >click to read<15:39
Hitting the Trail: NOAA’s GARFO leader looks to cultivate culture of collaboration
As debuts go, Mike Pentony’s first day on the job as the regional director for NOAA’s Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office was a corker. The federal government marked his ascension on Jan. 22 as only the federal government can — shutting down all but the most essential government services as a consequence of the usual congressional mumbley-peg. “My first action was to come in and proceed with the orderly shutdown of government operations,” Pentony said recently during an interview in the corner office on the uppermost floor of GARFO headquarters in Gloucester’s Blackburn Industrial Park. The respite was short-lived. The shutdown lasted a day. >click to read< 23:52
NOAA regional office eyes 5-year priorities (I say Layoffs should be priority #1!)
The draft of a five-year strategic plan developed by NOAA’s Gloucester-based Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office is short on specifics and long — very long — on the stilted linguistic gymnastics of the bureaucracy. (well said!) The stated-goal of enhancing community resiliency is sure to raise an eyebrow or two along the Gloucester waterfront. Read the rest here 11:27
Under the Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant Programme, $5.6m boost for US fishing research
FISHING research projects in New England and the Mid-Atlantic are expected to receive nearly $5.6 million in federal funding NOAA Fisheries has announced. This latest boost follows a $75-million allocation to a number of fishing disaster areas in the United States. Read more here 07:41
NOAA selects Penobscot River Watershed, and Choptank River Complex for targeted habitat conservation efforts
“Many NOAA offices already are actively engaged with federal, state and local partners to protect and restore habitat in both of these areas,” said John Bullard, regional administrator, NOAA Fisheries, Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office, which covers the Great Lakes and federal coastal areas from Maine to North Carolina. They just can’t seem to stop making up baloney titles! Read more here 14:01
We saved the Cape and Islands’ seals from extinction. Now what?
They’re cute. They’re cuddly (or at least they look it). And they were here long before us. But in recent years calls for culling the growing population of seals on the Cape and Islands have become harder to ignore. Read more here bostonglobe 08:01
