NOAAINMFS Developments
DOC Gold, Silver MedalAward Winners Announced
Department of Commerce (DOC)Gold and Silver Medal Award winners named late last fall included threeNational Marine Fisheries Service officials: Roland Finch of the NMFSheadquarters staff and Donald C.Malins of the NMFS Northwest andAlaska Fisheries Center were presented with Gold Medals, whileCarmen J. Blondin, also of theNMFS headquarters staff, receivedthe Silver Medal.
Gold Medals, the Department'shighest honor, and Silver Medals arebestowed for meritorious contributions to the Department and are basedon the employees' outstanding contributions to a wide variety of programs.In all, 94 DOC employees received theawards-22 Gold and 73 Silver Medals-at the Department's AnnualHonor Awards Program.
Finch, director of the NMFS Officeof Fisheries Management, was citedfor his outstanding contributions indrafting, policy determination, andimplementation of the MagnusonFishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson Act). He displayed originality and resourcefulnessin developing criteria and proceduresfor the preparation of fishery management plans (FMP's) and for theSecretarial review and approval ordisapproval of FMP's. His approachwas accepted by the U.S. Congressand the Regional Fishery Management Councils, thus obviating theneed for amendments to the Magnuson Act which would have seriouslycrippled that Act's effectiveness. Hisinnovative interpretation of the concept of "optimum yield," now thekeystone of all FMP's, has been accepted by all Councils, many Stateagencies, and some foreign countries.Finch's forte also is in the develop-
March 1983, 45(3)
ment of effective and efficient processes to implement the Act concurrently with "other applicable law."His ability to assemble and train ahighly competent and dedicated staffto carry out the complex and sophisticated plan review tasks was also citedas a further reflection of his superiororganizational management skills.
Malins, a Supervisory ResearchChemist and the other NMFS GoldMedalist, is Director of the Environmental Conservation Division (ECD)at the Northwest and Alaska FisheriesCenter, Seattle, Wash. He was citedfor making major breakthroughs inimportant areas of science. His chromatographic methods for lipidanalysis are used by scientists worldwide and he has contributed fundamental advances in understandingsound processing in porpoises. He hasestablished himself as the world'sleading authority on the nature andeffects of pollutants in the marine environment. His two-volume book,"Effects of Petroleum on Arctic andSubarctic Marine Environments andOrganisms," serves as a standardsource of information worldwide onthe subject, and one of his over 100scientific articles was recently proclaimed a "citation classic" by thehighly regarded Institute for ScientificInformation.
With Malins' outstanding leadership and dedication, the ECD has become an extremely effective researchteam, highly respected worldwide forcontributions to marine pollutionresearch. Because of his excellentreputation, he is increasingly soughtby marine resource decisionmakers topresent testimony, participate in advisory groups, and contribute to localand national scientific and policydecisions on the marine environment.
Receiving the Department's SilverMedal was Carmen J. Blondin, thenDirector of the NMFS Office of International Fisheries Affairs. NowDeputy Assistant Administrator forFisheries Resource Management,Blondin serves as U.S. Commissioneron both the International Commission for the Conservation of AtlanticTunas (ICCAT) and the NorthPacific Fur Seal Commission(NPFSC). He has conceived, directed,and conducted numerous bilateraland multilateral negotiations onbehalf of the Secretary of Commerce.
At the November 1981 meeting ofICCAT, Blondin secured international support for the U.S. positionthat the Atlantic bluefin tuna stockwas in recruitment difficulties andthat fishing mortality should bedrastically limited. In a subsequentmeeting of affected nations in Miami,Fla., in February 1982, he securedagreement on the distribution amongcountries of a limited take of Atlanticbluefin tuna for scientific monitoring.
Other DOC Gold Medals wereawarded to: Carol S. Carson andFrank de Leeuw, Bureau of Economic Analysis; Calvin C. Berlin,Stanley P. Harris, Richard L. McElheny, and Gayle C. Shelton, Jr., International Trade Administration;John W. Cahn, Judah Levine,Richard D. Marshall, Edward O.Pfrang, Sheldon M. Wiederhorn, andRichard N. Wright, III, NationalBureau of Standards; Eldon E.Ferguson and Dieter Kley, NOAA'sEnvironmental Research Laboratories; John D. Bossler, NOAA's National Ocean Survey; and Louis J.Beozi, NOAA's National WeatherService; and Bradford R. Huther,Margaret M. Laurence, James O.Thomas, and Werner H. Shroeder,Patent and Trademark Office.
Other NOAA personnel receivingDOC Silver Medals included RonaldM. Bolton and Thaddeus Vincenty,National Ocean Survey; Gary K.Davis and Melvin E. Welch, NationalEnvironmental Satellite Service;James P. Lawless, Office of OceanMinerals and Energy; and the following National Weather Service employ-
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ees: Stephen F. Corfidi, Harold M.Gibson, Thomas J. Grant, John E.Hales, Jr., Horace R. Hudson, Jr.,Robert H. Johns, Thomas S. Kasko,Stanley J. Krowka, James M. Leis,Melvin R. McLaughlin, Wilford E.Rench, Albert P. Shipe, Jr., CharlesH. Sprinkle, Richard A. Wagoner,Joel R. Wertman, Larry F. Wilson,William H. Wolfe, and EdwardYandrich. Another 47 employees inother DOC agencies also received theDepartment's Silver Meqal.
u. S. Cracks Down onFisheries Violators
In a major crackdown against scofflaws, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)has announced that it will begin legalproceedings to collect more than$330,000 in outstanding fines owed theGovernment by commercial fishermenin New England, New Jersey, Virginia,North Carolina, and Delaware. Theunpaid penalties, some from violationsas far back as 1977, have been assessedagainst almost 60 individuals, manyrepeat offenders, who have violatedthe Fishery Conservation and Management Act that regulates U.S. fisheriesout to 200 miles.
According to NOAA, collection actions have already begun in U.S.District court in Boston. Recent settlement of a large number of fines involving foreign violations of the NewEngland fishery will enable NOAA toconcentrate its resources on collectingthese unpaid domestic penalties.
Allen Peterson, Northeast RegionalDirector of NOAA's National MarineFisheries Service, voiced concern forwhat he said were fishermen abidingby the rules who are placed at a disadvantage in competing with chronicviolators. "We can no longer toleratea situation in which the actions ofrelatively few violators call into question our determination to make thelaw work the way Congress intended," Peterson said. He added that theagency would revoke fishing permitsand take legal action to seize assets,including vessels, if necessary. Forfurther information contact Allen E.
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Peterson, J r., NMFS NortheastRegional Director, Gloucester, Mass.,at (617) 281-3600.
Fish Bleeding, SorbatePreservation of FilletsStudied at Gloucester Lab
Bled (heads removed) and unbled(processed conventionally) day-boatAtlantic cod were stored on ice andtaste tested every other day by theNMFS Northeast Fisheries Center'sGloucester (Mass.) Laboratory todetermine their quality. After 6 days,a portion of the bled and unbled codwas filleted and the fillets were storedin ice. The fillets were also taste testedalong with gutted fish to determinetheir storage stability.
The bled, gutted fish were foundacceptable up to 15 days (above 5 onthe sensory rating scale), whereas theice-stored fillets cut from unbled fishwere unacceptable after 10 days in ice.The unbled whole fish fillets and thefillets from bled fish were acceptableup to 12 days in ice. The raw cod examination, as judged by color andodor, showed very little difference inany of the samples. All were unacceptable at the thirteenth iced-storageday taste test.
The second of three experiments onthe shelf life of fillets cut from 3-dayold iced cod dipped in 2.5 and 5.0 percent potassium sorbate (KS) was alsocompleted. For this work, skinlessfillets cut from 3-day-old iced codwere dipped in 2.5 and 5.0 percent KSfor 10-15 seconds, drained for 5seconds, then individually packagedand sealed in air permeable 0.75 milpolyethylene or air impermeable 2 milMylar' and stored in ice. Raw andcooked evaluations were run on thesesamples against similarly packagedbut nondipped controls. Shelf life wasdetermined when any average organoliptic score, both for the raw andcooked evaluations, fell below 5.0
'Mention of trade names or commercial firmsdoes not imply endorsement by the NationalMarine Fisheries Service, NOAA.
(borderline) on a 9-point hedonicscale.
The results of the first experimentshowed a shelf life of 7-8 days for thenondipped controls and 15 days forthe sorbate treated fillets. Shelf-lifedeterminations on the second experiment show a shelf life of 11-12 daysfor the control and 18-19 days for thepolyethylene- and Mylar-packaged,KS-treated fillets. This experimentwas scheduled to be repeated.
Three other separate experimentson the effects of a potassium sorbate(KS) dip on fish fillets were completedlater. For this work, fillets cut from3-and 5-day-old iced cod were dippedin 2.5 and 5.0 percent KS, individuallypacked in air-permeable polyethyleneand air-impermeable Mylar pouches,and stored in ice. Organoliptic testingwas conducted on the raw and cookedfillets until an attribute of appearance, odor, flavor, and texture scoredbelow 5.0 (borderline) on a 9-pointobjective scale. This point was considered as being the end of marketableshelf life. These experiments continueto confirm the efficacy of the KS dipon shelf life, with a shelf life extensionof the dipped fillets of 5-7 days overthe nondipped controls.
Atlantic Herring FMPApproval is Withdrawn
Approval of the Fishery Management Plan (FMP) for Atlantic herringwas withdrawn late last December,reports Allen E. Peterson, Jr., Director of the Northeast Region, NationalMarine Fisheries Service (NMFS),Gloucester, Mass. Concurrently, theregulations implementing the FMPwere repealed. The effect of these actions is the elimination of Federalmanagement of the Atlantic herringfishery until a new mangement plan isprepared and implemented.
The Atlantic herring FMP, developed by the New England FisheryManagement Council, was approvedin December 1978. Amendment 3, themost recent amendment to the FMP,was implemented in August 1980. TheFMP, as amended, established arealperiod allocations of age three and
Marine Fisheries Review
older herring for the Gulf of Maineand Georges Bank, and provided forarea closures if the allocations wereexceeded. The FMP required maintenance of fixed quotas and dependedon state cooperation for its effectiveness.
Shortly after the approval ofAmendment 3, problems with the herring management system became apparent. The National Marine Fisheries
Service was unable to maintain prescribed quotas and implement theFMP in accordance with the Magnuson Fishery Conservation andManagement Act (Magnuson Act)during the 1980-81 fishing year. Subsequent review of the FMP revealedthat erroneous assumptions weremade in approving the plan, and thatchanged fishery circumstances rendered the FMP invalid and inoperative.
The plan's management measurescould not be successfully implementedby the NMFS and the plan no longermet the national standards establishedby the Magnuson Act. For thisreason, FMP approval was withdrawn and the implementing regulations repealed. For further information, contact the Office of the Regional Director, NMFS Northeast Region,telephone (617) 281-3600.
A Symposium on Western Atlantic Sea TurtlesSea turtles, once an important
natural resource in the western Atlantic Ocean, have been severely reducedand now contribute little to theregion's economy. If turtle stocksthere are to be replenished to thelevels of their full potential, attentionmust be focused on research, conservation, and management.
Thus, the Western Atlantic TurtleSymposium (WATS), has beenorganized and will be held in SanJose, Costa Rica, 17-22 July 1983 atthe Gran Hotel Costa Rica. Guidedby a Steering Committee of regionalsea turtle experts, the Symposium willbe conducted in English and Spanish,and 36 countries are expected to participate.
Participating governments are conducting systematic research programswith the results to be presented inspecial "National Reports" by government-nominated National Representatives.
Objectives of the WATS are to 1)form a regional sea turtle data basefrom the National Reports; 2) conduct discussions to validate the database and identify critical problemsand directions for future action; and3) consider setting up an institution toguide future regional sea turtle conservation and management.
The Symposium will begin with anofficial presentation of the NationalReports. Later sessions will presentspecies synopses for loggerhead,Kemp's ridley, hawksbill, leatherback, olive ridley, and green seaturtles. Other sessions will cover sea
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turtle conservation, utilization, culture, and research techniques. Symposium conclusions and recommendations will be made by the National Representatives in Plenary Session.
The Symposium's Technical Team,coordinated by Larry Ogren of theNMFS SEFC's Panama City, Fla.,Laboratory, has prepared English andSpanish versions of a Manual of SeaTurtle Research and ConservationTechniques (see Publications section)for use by participating countries.Team members have also assistedwith symposium research activitiesand National Report preparationsupon request.
Hotel accommodations and localtransportation have been reserved forup to 400 participants and observers.
For further information, contactRobert R. Lankford, IOC AssistantSecretary for IOCARlBE, c/oUNDP, Apartado 4540, San Jose,Costa Rica (telephone 506-24-92-94);or Frederick H. Berry, Secretary tothe WATS, Southeast Fisheries Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, 75 Virginia BeachDrive, Miami, FL 33149 (telephone305-361-4276).
The Symposium activities are beingsponsored by the IntergovernmentalOceanographic Commission Association for the Caribbean and AdjacentRegions (IOCARIBE). The decisionto develop the meeting and to limitthe scope to the sea turtles of thewestern Atlantic Ocean was made inDecember 1978 at the NMFS Southeast Fisheries Center.
Olive/Kemp's Ridley
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