Tag Archives: NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit
Fishermen could face stricter catch limits as Trump slashes NOAA
On a recent Wednesday, many crews on New Bedford’s fishing piers were doing gear work for their next trip, as Eric Hansen repaired the cabinets in the galley of The Intrepid, one of his two scallop boats. People on the docks have known for weeks about the mass firing at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, but Hansen said most people don’t realize how it will affect them yet. “Some are welcoming the cuts, saying that the government has been their downfall and there’s too many regulations,” Hansen said. “And I don’t share that opinion.” Hansen, a former captain from a fishing family where five consecutive generations entered the industry, said that’s because he remembers when the scallop fishery hit rock bottom. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 11:54
NOAA postpones controversial bottom trawling experiment in Alaska’s Northern Bering Sea
The project, called the Northern Bering Sea Effects of Trawling Study, or NETS, has been envisioned as an experiment to examine impacts of commercial bottom trawling in an area of the Bering Sea where it is currently banned. Bottom trawling is a method of fish harvesting that uses nets to sweep the seafloor. While it is prohibited in the Northern Bering Sea, the shift in fish populations caused by climate change may build pressure for bottom trawling there in the future, according to the study plan. The study has been designed as a multiyear project to start as early as this August. It was to be conducted by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Fisheries Service, also known as the National Marine Fisheries Service. News of the decision came in an emailed letter from Janet Coit, director of NOAA Fisheries, to tribal organizations that had expressed opposition to the project. more, >>click to read<< 09:52

NOAA pleads for urgency in right whale conservation, lobster gear changes
A previously unscheduled appearance before the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Council gave the opportunity for NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Janet Coit to advocate for the necessity of adapting to new lobster and crab trapping gear to save both North Atlantic right whales and the lobster industry. A deal cut by Maine legislators in a recent congressional spending bill delayed new right whale protections for six years, so the agency is looking to have its new rules set up and ready to go when that period expires. In the meantime, there’s options open to expand on-demand fishing gear so there are fewer large ropes suspended in the water. The bill allocated $26 million to ASMFC for ropeless, on-demand gear, along with monitoring and cost recovery. >click to read< 08:09