The Caribbean Fishery Management Council will hold two public hearings to obtain input from fishers, the general public, and the local agencies representatives on the Draft Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for Corals and Reef Associated Plants and Invertebrates of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (dealing with seagrasses) and Draft Amendment 4 to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Fishery of Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands (dealing with size limits for parrotfish); and one Scoping Meeting on Options for Island-Specific Fishery Management Plans (FMPs) in the U.S. Caribbean.

The Caribbean Fishery Management Council's (Council) Outreach and Education Advisory Panel will hold a meeting.

The meeting will be held on May 29, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

All,

The below links provide info on a very important issue in the Great Lakes Region.  NACO has been involved in the Asian Carp issue for many years and has provided comments and requests to Governmental and others on this issue.  The links below provide much info on the most recent proposed U.S. Corp of Engineers draft plan to help prevent the further spread of this dangerous invasive species.  Those who live close enough to the locations for the public hearings should attend.  Others need to send their comments on the plan to the address listed in the link.  Instructions to register and to comment are provided.

There is also a copy of a letter from Senator Stabenow (MI) to Capt. Dennis Grinold about the issue.  NACO will be providing comments on this and request any guidance from members or others in the region.

Thank you,
Capt. Bob Zales, II
President

http://glmris.anl.gov/brandon-rd/

http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/1270147/corps-releases-draft-report-related-to-preventing-spread-of-asian-carp-into-the/

All,

The below links provide info on a very important issue in the Great Lakes Region.  NACO has been involved in the Asian Carp issue for many years and has provided comments and requests to Governmental and others on this issue.  The links below provide much info on the most recent proposed U.S. Corp of Engineers draft plan to help prevent the further spread of this dangerous invasive species.  Those who live close enough to the locations for the public hearings should attend.  Others need to send their comments on the plan to the address listed in the link.  Instructions to register and to comment are provided.

There is also a copy of a letter from Senator Stabenow (MI) to Capt. Dennis Grinold about the issue.  NACO will be providing comments on this and request any guidance from members or others in the region.

Thank you,
Capt. Bob Zales, II
President

http://glmris.anl.gov/brandon-rd/

http://www.mvr.usace.army.mil/Media/News-Releases/Article/1270147/corps-releases-draft-report-related-to-preventing-spread-of-asian-carp-into-the/

The U.S. Coast Guard said it will work with Lake Erie charter fishing captains to help them get their boat papers in order, but will give them time to comply without citing them.

Charter captains of small, six-passenger boats complained that they faced $40,000 fines and the threat of missing most of the fishing season for not having papers documenting that their boats were made in the United States. Two captains of small fishing boats made by SportCraft and a tugboat operator were cited in May, the Coast Guard said, and three charter owners filed papers asking the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration to waive the U.S.-build document requirement. 

But the waiver process can take two to three months, putting the charter operator out of business for that time.

The U.S. Coast Guard is warning boaters on Lake Erie and Lake Ontario to be on the lookout for large logs and other debris washed into the waterways by recent heavy rains.

Coast Guard officials tell local media outlets in Buffalo and Rochester that the objects often float just below the surface of the water and can be difficult to spot.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) proposes to expand the boundary of Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary (TBNMS or sanctuary) and revise the corresponding sanctuary terms of designation. The proposed new boundary for TBNMS would increase the size of the sanctuary from 448 square miles to 4,300 square miles and would extend protection to 47 additional known historic shipwrecks of national significance. A draft environmental impact statement has been prepared for this proposed action. NOAA is soliciting public comment on the proposed rule and draft environmental impact statement.

Comments will be considered if received by August 13, 2013. 

Public hearings will be held at 6 p.m. in the following locations:

A weather buoy that got its start thanks to Holland area businesses and groups is now broadcasting video at regular intervals three miles offshore of Port Sheldon in about 85 feet of water.

“This webcam is the first of its kind in the Great Lakes and is capable of transmitting high-resolution images and video clips over the Internet on a regular basis,” said Ed Verhamme, project engineer of LimnoTech, an Ann Arbor environmental engineering company.  Video clips and images are updated every two hours between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. daily.

There is growing evidence that lake trout are making a comeback in Lake Michigan.

The feds have been stocking the lake with trout for decades. Now, biologists say the fish are reproducing on their own.

Officials of the state Department of Environmental Conservation and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service have been taking samples of dead fish in the Erie Barge Canal, along Old Niagara Falls Boulevard in the Town of Amherst.

According to the DEC, an unusually high number of fish – mainly of the species known as the gizzard shad – have been dying off in Lake Erie and other local waterways, from Dunkirk to Wilson. During the months of April and May, DEC officials received many phone calls from people who have found the fish lying on beaches and floating in waterways throughout the region.