NOAA officially launched its 2015 Arctic hydrographic survey season this morning, in Kodiak, Alaska, in a World Ocean Day ceremony which showcased the deployment of the NOAA ships Rainier and Fairweather. In remarks directed to the crews of NOAA ships, Vice Admiral Michael S. Devany, NOAA deputy under secretary for operations, said, “Most Arctic waters […]
NOAA Fisheries is seeking comments for a proposed rule requiring the United States Navy to implement protective measures during activities at their Northwest training and testing study area in the state waters off Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and northern California to reduce the chances of harming marine mammals. The Navy has requested an authorization under the […]
Just how noisy is the ocean? Quiet enough to hear a pin drop or so noisy you can barely hear the person next to you? NOAA is now undertaking a novel effort to answer these questions. In 2014 NOAA began establishing its first-ever coordinated Ocean Noise Reference Station Network—a set of 10 undersea listening stations […]
Shelikof Strait, in the Gulf of Alaska, is an important spawning area for walleye pollock, the target of the largest—and one of the most valuable—fisheries in the nation. This year, a team of NOAA Fisheries scientists went there to turn their usual view of the fishery upside-down. Scientists have been conducting fish surveys in the […]