Remember that salmon joke Obama made in last year's State of the Union address? Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Barack Obama, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Salmon, State of the Union

The lethal removal of salmon-gobbling sea lions at a Columbia River dam isn't happening right now, but with litigation underway and Congress considering a rewrite of the laws, a federal agency has decided to revoke the states' authority to take out these marine mammals. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea lions

I spent this morning in an ocean policy listening session at Portland State University. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Chief Jane Lubchenco headlined a panel on the country's first ocean policy, which President Obama approved last year. Continue reading →

Filed under: Pacific Ocean, Jane Lubchenco, Kurt Schrader, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

About a week after the feds OK'd a new plan to kill sea lions at Bonneville Dam, opponents with the Humane Society and Wild Fish Conservancy are taking them back to court to stop the killing. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea lions

Three environmental groups say they're tired of waiting for the federal government to protect habitat for leatherback sea turtles – the endangered dinosaurs of the sea. The feds have proposed protecting ocean habitat that includes a swath of the ocean off the Pacific Northwest coast from Oregon's central coast to the northern tip of Washington. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Leatherback sea turtles, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Oceana

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has decided not to appeal a Ninth Circuit Court decision that found fault with the program that lethally removes California sea lions from the Columbia River below Bonneville Dam to protect threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Endangered species, Marine Mammal Protection Act, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea lions

The Tri-City Herald weighs in against a controversial federal review of Columbia River hatcheries today, echoing discontent from sport and commercial fishing groups and four counties at the mouth of the river (two in Oregon and two in Washington). Add another voice to the debate over salmon hatcheries and what to do about their negative impacts on wild fish and ... Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Hatchery reform, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Salmon

The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has halted the National Marine Fisheries Service's program that kills federally protected sea lions at the Bonneville Dam. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Bonneville Dam, Humane Society, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Sea lions

Today, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced a new commercial fisheries policy: Catch shares for everyone. That means giving fishermen individual shares of fish to catch when they please and to manage for maximum profit. The idea is to relieve the pressure they're currently under to catch more fish faster, which many current fishery management plans inadvertently reward. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Catch shares, Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

A regional fishing organization and two locally-based port organizations in California and Oregon announced today they have filed suit against the Department of Commerce to stop the federal West Coast groundfish individual fishing quota program. Continue reading →

Filed under: Fish & Wildlife, Environmental Defense Fund, Fisheries, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration