Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary Public Input Sought

Deepwater Coral

NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries recently announced that the agency will seek public input, the first step in the process to potentially designate a new national marine sanctuary off the coast of New York and New Jersey.

Stakeholders include recreational and commercial fishermen, researchers, and others.

The public can comment on the proposed Hudson Canyon sanctuary designation until August 8, 2022, through the Federal eRulemaking Portal, www.regulations.gov. The docket number is NOAA-NOS-2022-0053.

In addition, NOAA will host public meetings during which members of the public can offer oral comments.

A detailed description of the proposed sanctuary, additional information about opportunities to provide comment, and information about the public meetings can be found at https://sanctuaries.noaa.gov/hudson-canyon/.

Hudson Canyon is the largest submarine canyon along the U.S. Atlantic coast and is one of the largest in the world.

Beginning approximately 100 miles southeast of New York City, Hudson Canyon extends about 350 miles seaward, reaches depths of 2 to 2.5 miles, and is up to 7.5 miles wide.

Hudson Canyon's diverse structure includes steep slopes, firm outcrops, diverse sediments, flux of nutrients, and areas of upwelling.

Atlantic Bluefin Tuna

Hudson Canyon is an ecological hotspot for a variety of marine wildlife. The deepwater canyon is home to numerous fish species including sharks, tuna, billfish, swordfish, blackbelly rosefish, tilefish, flounder, hakes, pollock, monkfish, and black sea bass. Invertebrates include red crabs, lobsters, and squids.

Some species live only in shallower depths on the shelf while others live deep in the canyon, which starts about 100 miles southeast of New York City on the continental shelf and runs some 300 miles into very deep water.

Several NGOs have endorsed the designation. The Wildlife Conservation Society submitted a nomination for a Hudson Canyon National Marine Sanctuary in November 2016, noting that the area provides a wide range of benefits to New York and New Jersey residents such as clean air, fresh water, recreation, and food.

In June, the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation released a statement commending the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) for initiating the designation process of Hudson Canyon, off the coast of New York City, to become a new national marine sanctuary.

Related Information

Hudson Canyon Marine Life

Magnuson Now Website and Petition

Anyone with an interest in recreational or commercial fishing will want to visit the Fix Magnuson Now website. Stakeholders are encouraged to read the linked letter, supporting Congressman Pallone's and Senator Schumer's Flexibility in Magnuson Management legislation, and sign on to the petition. The document is at http://fs16.formsite.com/FixMagnusonNow/form793561462/ .

2009 Maryland Summer Flounder Regulations

On Monday, March 9, 2009, the Maryland Department of Natural Resources (DNR) Department of Fisheries announced new regulations for the 2009 summer flounder fishery.

The new 2009 recreational summer flounder regulations will be:

Creel and Size Limit (Split Management):
- Atlantic Ocean and Coastal Bays (3 fish @ 18 inch minimum size)
- Chesapeake Bay (1 fish @ 16.5 inch minimum size)

The 2009 recreational summer flounder season will run from April 15 until September 13.

The new limits will be submitted as emergency regulations and DNR plans to close the recreational summer flounder fishery via public notice this week. The fishery will reopen when the emergency regulations become effective.

DNR is required to reduce the 2009 recreational summer flounder catch in Maryland by 32%. This reduction is necessary to mitigate exceeding harvest targets last year.

DNR believes that these regulations will achieve the required reduction in the fishery, attain the recreational harvest target of 61,000 fish and minimize the impact both on recreational anglers and businesses that rely on the summer flounder fishery.

Various options for the 2009 recreational season were approved by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission and presented to the Coastal Fisheries Advisory Committee, the Sportfish Advisory Commission and the general public at an informational meeting held in Ocean City, Maryland last month. Approximately 100 people attended the meeting.

More information is available online at www.dnr.state.md.us/fisheries.

For more information, please contact Steve Doctor at 410 – 213 -1531 or Mike Luisi at 410 -260 - 8341.