Coast Guard Vice Adm. Robert C. Parker, Atlantic Area commander, and Rear Adm. Richard T. Gromlich, director of Operational Logistics, conducted an over-flight of the New Jersey coastline, New York Harbor and Long Island Wednesday to assess the damage caused by Hurricane Sandy.

Currently, the Coast Guard's top priority is to get the port of New York and New Jersey back to full operations. Their assessment included evaluating impacts to the marine transportation system and Coast Guard facilities. The Coast Guard enables a safe, efficient, and navigable waterway for domestic commerce, international trade and national defense.

NOAA survey vessels searching for dangers to navigation in Sandy's wake

NOAA Office of Coast Survey navigation response teams and other survey assets are in the water, as they begin checking for underwater debris and shoaling that may pose a risk to navigation. Tasked by the U.S. Coast Guard Captains of the Port, these vessels can use multibeam echo sounders or side scan sonar, as conditions warrant, to search for the answers that would speed resumption of shipping and other vessel movements.

EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson determined that, as a result of effects of Hurricane Sandy, extreme and unusual supply circumstances exist, which may result in a temporary shortage of gasoline compliant with federal regulations. The federal waiver will help ensure an adequate supply of fuels in the impacted states.

The waiver allows the sale and distribution of conventional gasoline in a number of Eastern states that are required to use reformulated gasoline, and allows a number of additional states to mix reformulated gasoline and conventional gasoline to remove potential barriers to the supply of gasoline to the region. 

The ONMS is seeking applications for the following vacant seats on the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council: 

Recreational/Commercial Fishing and Education seats. Applicants are chosen based upon their particular expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying; community and professional affiliations; philosophy regarding the protection and management of marine resources; and possibly the length of residence in the area affected by the sanctuary. Applicants who are chosen as members should expect to serve two-year terms, pursuant to the council's charter.

Applications are due by December 31, 2012.

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) Staff will convene a meeting of the Visioning and Strategic Planning (VaSP) Working Group.

The meeting will be held on Monday, November 12, 2012, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

The Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Monitoring Committee will meet to recommend recreational management measures for the summer flounder, scup, and black sea bass fisheries for the 2013 fishing year. Multi-year recreational measures may be considered for summer flounder and scup.

The meeting will be held on Friday, November 16, 2012, from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. 

NMFS has announced that the 2012 black sea bass recreational harvest limit has been exceeded. No one may fish for or possess black sea bass in Federal waters for the remainder of calendar year 2012, unless issued a Federal moratorium permit and fishing commercially. Regulations governing the black sea bass fishery require publication of this notification to advise that the recreational quota has been harvested and to advise vessel permit holders that no Federal recreational quota is available for fishing black sea bass.

Effective at 0001 hr local time, November 1, 2012, through 2400 hr local time December 31, 2012.

Report released on the uses and limitations on data collected from community monitoring programs

As new technologies make it easier than ever for individual anglers to share their catch information, many recreational anglers are interested in providing information about their fishing trips and what they're catching outside of our existing surveys. MRIP and the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) co-hosted a workshop in February 2012 to look at the uses and limitations of these types of data.

The National Marine Fisheries Service announces the implementation of Recommendation 11-08 of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas (ICCAT), which requires fishing vessels operating in ICCAT-managed fisheries to release all silky sharks. This rule will become effective November 5, 2012 and will apply to vessels fishing with pelagic longline gear and vessels that have both a Charter/Headboat and commercial shark permit and have tuna, swordfish and/or billfish onboard. For more information, please see the attached listserv and Federal Register notice or go to the HMS Management Division webpage at: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/breakingnews/index.htm

The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (Council) and its Visioning and Strategic Planning Working Group will hold public meetings.

The meetings will be held Monday October 15, 2012 through Thursday, October 18, 2012. See below for specific dates and times.