The call came in to NOAA’s Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Network 24-hour hotline the morning of July 19. A whale-watching company near Ketchikan had spotted a humpback whale entangled in line and dragging unmarked buoys. NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement in Ketchikan responded, verified the whale’s location in Blank Inlet on the south side of Gravina Island, […]
Amendment 123 balances interests of two largest halibut user groups in the Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands Fishery Management Area. NOAA Fisheries is issuing a final rule to implement Amendment 123 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area. The final rule establishes abundance-based management of Amendment 80 trawl sector prohibited species […]
Trained responders freed the whale from a life-threatening entanglement near Gustavus On October 10, NOAA Fisheries received reports of a severely entangled whale in coastal waters near Gustavus. A quick response by a dedicated team of trained responders—involving planes, drones, vessel- and shore-based efforts—helped free the juvenile humpback whale. “The Glacier Bay National Park entanglement […]
NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would implement federal management of commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone. Previously, salmon management in these federal waters was deferred to the State of Alaska and fishing occurred without respect to the EEZ boundary. This action—Amendment 16 and the […]