Archives by Tag 'fisheries'

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, [...]

NMFS Highly Migratory Species Advisory Panel (May 2010)

CONCUR facilitated the May 2010 meeting of the Highly Migratory Species (HMS) Advisory Panel, an advisory group convened twice yearly by the National Marine Fisheries Service. The three-day meeting, held in Silver Spring, Maryland, brought together nearly 40 commercial and recreational fishermen and industry representatives, environmentalists, academics, state officials and others. The primary purposes of [...]

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; [...]

Abalone Advisory Group Project Update (Fall 2007-Spring 2010)

CONCUR partnered with the California Department of Fish and Game (DFG) staff to support the work of the San Miguel Island Abalone Fishery Advisory Group (AAG) – a broad-based stakeholder group convened to develop management alternatives for a potential red abalone fishery at San Miguel Island. The Advisory Group, comprising commercial fishing, recreational diving, marine [...]

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 [...]

Abalone Advisory Group (AAG) Releases Report: “Management Options for a Potential Red Abalone Fishery on San Miguel Island”

A novel collaborative process designed and led by CONCUR to develop a range of management options for a potential red abalone fishery reached a major milestone on February 16, 2010, when the Marine Resources Committee (MRC) of the California Fish and Game Commission met to discuss the newly-released report.
The report – entitled “Management Options for [...]

Peer-Reviewed Article on Marine Protected Areas Published in “Ocean & Coastal Management” Journal

CONCUR Principal Scott McCreary co-authored an article with Marine Life Protection Act Initiative colleagues entitled “Science-based and stakeholder-driven marine protected area network planning: A successful case study from north central California“, published in the current issue of Ocean & Coastal Management [53 (2010) 52-68]. Former CONCUR intern Kathryn Hoffman was a key co-author.
In [...]

Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) – BRTF Unanimously Adopts South Coast Region MPA Proposal

On November 12, 2009, the MLPA Blue Ribbon Task Force (BRTF) unanimously (5 – 0) adopted a preferred marine protected area (MPA) proposal for the south coast study region, which includes 27 state marine reserves (SMRs), 1 state marine park (SMP) and 16 state marine conservation areas (SMCAs); this recommended proposal is referred to as [...]

Marine Protected Areas on California’s North Central Coast

On August 5, 2009, the California Fish & Game Commission voted to place roughly 20 percent of the state’s north central coastal waters (or approximately 153 square miles) into 21 marine protected areas (MPAs) and 3 marine recreational management areas. The designated waters (map below) were identified through a CONCUR-facilitated multi-stakeholder process (DFG project home [...]

California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative South Coast Study Region (2008 – present)

CONCUR is the lead facilitator for the California Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) Initiative’s Regional Stakeholder Group (RSG) in its Southern California Study Region.  The MLPA provides that California will establish a network of marine protected areas (MPAs) by 2011.  The MLPA pays particular attention to protecting representative examples of important habitats and ensuring that [...]