Ocean Zone News Blog

NOAA’s National Marine Protected Areas Center has created a new interactive online mapping tool that, for the first time, allows users to view boundaries and access data for more than a thousand marine protected areas (MPAs) in the United States.

“Our staff gets calls from people who want to know more about the management of their local waters. This new mapping tool provides a snapshot of what activities are allowed and how people can get more information about MPAs,” said Joseph Uravitch, director of NOAA’s MPA Center. “The site brings together information from dozens of management agencies creating an efficient one-stop resource.”

Overview
The North Pacific Crab Association, representing several shore-based processors and western-Alaska Community Development Quota (“CDQ”) organizations, has serious concerns about the “Interim Framework For Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning”, and respectfully submits these detailed comments.

Our most significant concern is the potential for the CMSP framework to usurp the successful regional council process for fisheries management in the federal waters off of Alaska; which has resulted in several “catch share” programs that are recognized as some of the most successful sustainable fisheries management models in the world.

SEATTLE — March 19, 2010 — The Nature Conservancy congratulates the Washington State Legislature and Gov. Christine Gregoire for enacting legislation that puts our state at the forefront of managing the ocean and coasts for people and nature.

SSB 6350, Marine Waters Planning and Management, introduced and championed by Sen. Kevin Ranker, D-San Juan, was signed into law today. The bill protects marine ecosystems in Puget Sound, Juan de Fuca Strait, the outer coast and the open ocean and reduces user conflicts by establishing a state interagency planning process.

Last week the blogosphere erupted with outrage, as conservatives declared that Barack Obama was going to ban recreational fishing, while liberals rolled their collective eyes in response and said that such claims were utterly absurd. As usual, the truth lies somewhere in the middle. The Obama administration isn’t trying to ban sport fishing – at least not yet – but it is putting the mechanisms in place to restrict fishing in the future, as the slow bureaucratic wheels of “progress” inevitably grind forward.