A federal register notice was published to announce the Intent to Conduct Scoping Meetings for the Revision of Boundaries, Regulations and Zoning Scheme for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges; and to Prepare an Environmental Assessment or Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

Scheme for Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and Key West and Great White Heron National Wildlife Refuges; and to Prepare an Environmental Assessment or Draft Environmental Impact Statement.

The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES: Written comments must be submitted on or before June 18, 2012.

The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) will meet May 2-3 at The Plantation Inn, Crystal River, to discuss several fish-and-wildlife conservation issues, including red snapper and roundscale spearfish management, anchoring and mooring, wild hog management and manatee zones. The May 2-3 dates reflect a change of schedule, but the location is the same.

On the first day, following recognition of individual FWC employees for their marine fisheries conservation efforts, the focus shifts to the consent agenda, a report by FWC Executive Director Nick Wiley and staff updates on the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council and the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council.

Items on the marine fisheries agenda include final approval of amendments that would set the 2012 Gulf of Mexico recreational red snapper season, and three of the consent agenda items: the management of roundscale spearfish and language updates to reef fish recreational bag limits and to the Spiny Lobster Trap Certificate Program.

They’re back. Gulf sturgeon have begun their annual migration back into the Suwannee River. Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) officers have reported seeing the fish jump already this year. People have been injured in accidental collisions with the jumping sturgeon. In 2011, six boaters were hurt and 11 encounters with sturgeon were reported.

“Last season, we had quite a few people hurt, some seriously,” said Maj. Roy Brown, regional law enforcement commander for the FWC’s North Central Region, based in Lake City. “Just one person getting hurt is too many. We want people to be aware the Gulf sturgeon are returning to the Suwannee, and the risk of injury to boaters does exist.”

In 2006, FWC officials began working on a public awareness campaign to alert boaters to the risks of jumping sturgeon. “We posted signs at each boat ramp along the Suwannee, explaining the risk of impacts with these fish,” Brown said. “Our officers will be on water patrol during this period and into the summer months in a continued effort to educate boaters about these jumping fish.”

What’s the best course of action for avoiding a collision?

Seven years into the Tarpon Genetic Recapture Study, biologists with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and Mote Marine Laboratory are gaining new insights into tarpon movement and seasonal habitat preferences. With the help of anglers participating in the study, researchers have confirmed that some tarpon move long distances, and others stay close to home. Biologists have also found evidence of a connection between tarpon habitats in southwest Florida and those of the Florida Keys.

Anglers sampled two tarpon in Charlotte Harbor during August 2010. Both fish were caught the following spring in the Florida Keys – more than 150 miles away. These tarpon were initially sampled inshore at the end of a spawning season, in close proximity to offshore areas in the Gulf where spawning is presumed to occur.

NMFS proposes to implement management measures described in a regulatory amendment to the Fishery Management Plan for the Reef Fish Resources of the Gulf of Mexico (FMP) prepared by the Gulf of Mexico Fishery Management Council (Council). If implemented, this rule would increase the commercial and recreational quotas for red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico (Gulf) reef fish fishery for the 2012 fishing year, and for the 2013 fishing year if NMFS determines the acceptable biological catch (ABC) is not exceeded in the 2012 fishing year. This rule would also eliminate the October 1 closure date of the recreational fishing season. This proposed rule is intended to provide more flexibility in managing recreational red snapper and to help achieve optimum yield (OY) for the Gulf red snapper resource without increasing the risk of
red snapper experiencing overfishing.

DATES: Written comments must be received on or before April 27, 2012.

The Fish and Wildlife Service, announce the availability of the technical/agency draft recovery plan for the endangered Alabama Sturgeon. The draft recovery plan includes specific recovery objectives and criteria that would have to be met in order for us to downlist the species to be threatened under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, as amended (Act). We request review and comment on this draft recovery plan from local, State, and Federal agencies, and the public.

DATES: In order to be considered, comments on the draft recovery plan must be received on or before June 11, 2012.

NMFS has determined that the Atlantic bluefin tuna (BFT) daily retention limit that applies to vessels permitted in the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Charter/Headboat category (when fishing recreationally for BFT) should be adjusted for the remainder of 2012, based on consideration of the regulatory determination criteria regarding inseason adjustments and based on preliminary 2012 landings data. NMFS also closes the southern area Angling category fishery for large medium and giant (``trophy'') BFT. These actions are being taken consistent with the BFT fishery management objectives of the 2006 Consolidated HMS Fishery Management Plan (Consolidated HMS FMP) and to prevent overharvest of the 2012 Angling category quota.

DATES: Effective April 7, 2012, through December 31, 2012.

The Annual tarpon migration along the north central Gulf Coast is approaching fast. During this years tarpon fishing season Sea Grant is requesting that Tarpon anglers get involved in the collection of tarpon DNA for research to help in the conservation of this great fish, especially along the Alabama and Mississippi Gulf Coasts. As reported by the Florida Wildlife Conservation (FWC) DNA samples returned to the FWC last year only produced 5 samples from Alabama and 3 from Mississippi.

The Southeastern Wildlife Conservation Group (SWCG) is heading up this effort along the Alabama/Mississippi Gulf Coasts and is asking for angler participation. They say the DNA sampling process is very easy and not harmful to the fish. You can watch a video of the sampling at www.youtube.com/watch?v=qzDwh5HcpJA The SWCG will distribute DNA Sampling kits, for more information or to request a sampling kit contact Mark Langner mark.langner@swcgroup.org or you can visit www.swcgroup.org

The Mississippi Commission on Marine resources (CMR) voted to approve a notice of intent to change state regulations on size and possession limits of some fish and prohibit the sale of seafood by recreational fishermen. The proposed changes include lowering the grouper limit from an aggregate of five to four fish for recreational fishermen. Additionally, the changes would lower the possession of speckled hind grouper and warsaw grouper to only one fish per vessel within the four-fish aggregate.

Other changes include reducing the commercial minimum size limits for red snapper to 13 inches total length, red grouper to 18 inches total length and gag grouper to 22 inches total length. The notice also calls for a change in regulation to require any commercial fisherman, person, firm or corporation to be federally licensed to sell, barter trade reef fish species. The notice of intent to modify state regulation was filed with Mississippi Secretary of State’s office and public comments will be accepted through April 16, 2012.

All comments should be mailed to MDMR, Attention, Joe Jewell, 1141 Bayview Ave., Biloxi, MS 39530 or emailed to Joe.Jewell@dmr.ms.gov A complete copy of the proposed changes is available here:
www.dmr.ms.gov