Archives by Tag 'ESA'

False Killer Whale Take Reduction Team Reaches Unanimous Consensus on a Draft Take Reduction Plan

The False Killer Whale Take Reduction Team – a diverse group that includes the Hawai‘i longline fishing community, conservation organizations, researchers and government agencies – reached a unanimous consensus agreement on a Draft Take Reduction Plan to reduce false killer whale bycatch in the Hawai‘i-based longline fleet.
The consensus Draft Plan, formally submitted on Monday, July 19, [...]

False Killer Whale Take Reduction Team (2009-Present)

In Fall 2009, CONCUR was asked to help the NOAA/NMFS Pacific Islands Regional Office (PIRO) prepare for and convene the pre-meeting of the False Killer Whale Take Reduction Team meeting held November 2009 in Honolulu, Hawaii. CONCUR’s work on this effort focused on several key tasks: (1) providing strategic planning advice to PIRO; [...]

Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan Final Rule Amendment published

The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) has published a final rule to amend the regulations implementing the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Plan (weblink). The final rule, whose measures become effective in March 2010, addresses the increased incidental mortality and serious injury of the Gulf of Maine/Bay of Fundy stock of harbor porpoises in gillnet fisheries [...]

Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team (2008-present)

CONCUR is facilitating the Atlantic Large Whale Take Reduction Team for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). CONCUR’s work focuses on (1) conducting initial stakeholder assessments, (2) convening both in-person and teleconference meetings among fishermen, conservationists, academics, researchers and various government agencies, and (3) summarizing emerging agreement. CONCUR’s work with NMFS on this effort [...]

Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Team (2005-present)

CONCUR is facilitating the Atlantic Pelagic Longline Take Reduction Team (PLTRT) for the National Marine Fisheries Service. The aim is to complete a regulatory negotiation to reduce take of protected pilot whales and Risso’s dolphin species. Team members include representatives of the longline fleet from Maine to Florida, state and regional fisheries organizations, national [...]

New York Marine Endangered Species Workshop (October 2008)

CONCUR helped design and facilitate an October 2008 workshop focused on protecting marine endangered species in New York State waters. The three-day workshop, held in Port Jefferson, NY, and sponsored by the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, brought together researchers, academics, local, state and federal officials, NGOs and others interested in improving [...]

Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Team (2007-present)

CONCUR is facilitating the Harbor Porpoise Take Reduction Team for the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). This work – one of four Take Reduction Teams being facilitated for NMFS by CONCUR – strives to identify consensus-supported approaches that can reduce bycatch to sustainable levels. After an initial stakeholder assessment, CONCUR convened and [...]

Facilitated Workshop Jeopardy Analyses under Section 7 of the Endangered Species Act (2004)

CONCUR was retained by NOAA Fisheries to help design and facilitate a three-day Technical Workshop on jeopardy assessment in August 2004. The goal of the workshop was to solicit individual comments from scientific experts in the disciplines of conservation biology, population ecology, and risk assessment on the current analytical framework by which NOAA Fisheries evaluates [...]

Facilitated Technical Workshop on Marine Turtle Post-Hooking Mortality (2004)

CONCUR was retained by the U.S. National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) to help design and facilitate a Technical Workshop on marine turtle mortality resulting from interactions with longline fishing gear. The Workshop took place in Bethesda, Maryland on January 14-15, 2004 and brought together 17 experts in the fields of marine turtle veterinary medicine, biology, [...]

Lower Owens River Project (LORP) (2003-2004)

CONCUR designed and completed a Stakeholder Assessment for U.S. EPA, examining the potential to use a facilitation/mediation process to resolve a long-running 30 year dispute over water and wildlife resources between the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (DWP), Inyo County, local and national environmental groups, the State of California, and Native American tribes.
The [...]