[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 165 (Wednesday, August 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 51786-51787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-21172]


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DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

RIN 0648-XE142


NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy

AGENCY: National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), National Oceanic and 
Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Commerce.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: NMFS is releasing the final NOAA Fisheries Climate Science 
Strategy (Strategy). The full Strategy, a Strategy Highlights document 
and additional information may be found at: http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/ecosystems/climate/.

ADDRESSES: To obtain copies of the Strategy please go to: http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/ecosystems/climate/ or contact Roger Griffis, 
Climate Change Coordinator, NMFS Office of Science and Technology, 
Silver Spring, MD 20910 (phone: 301-427-8134, email: 
[email protected]).

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Additional information may be found at 
http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/ecosystems/climate or contacting Roger 
Griffis, Climate Change Coordinator, NMFS Office of Science and 
Technology, Silver Spring, MD 20910, 301-427-8134 or email: 
[email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Summary of Report

    Climate-related changes in ocean and coastal ecosystems such as 
warming oceans, rising seas, loss of sea ice, ocean acidification and 
coastal droughts are impacting the nation's valuable living marine 
resources and the many people, businesses and communities that depend 
on them. These changes are expected to increase with continued changes 
in the planet's climate and ocean system affecting jobs, impacting 
economies and disrupting traditional ways of life. There is much at 
risk. For example, in the United States ocean related commercial and 
recreational fisheries generate approximately $200 billion in sales and 
support 1.7 million jobs each year.\1\ These current and future 
climate-related changes also affect the information, tools and actions 
needed to fulfill the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA 
Fisheries) stewardship mandates for marine resources and the 
communities that depend on them.
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    \1\ ``Fisheries Economics of the U.S.'' NOAA Office of Science 
and Technology, http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/economics/publications/feus/fisheries_economics_2012.
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    The NOAA Fisheries Climate Science Strategy (Strategy) is part of a 
proactive approach to increase the production, delivery, and use of 
climate-related information needed to fulfill the agency's mandates in 
a changing climate, including the Magnuson-Stevens Act, Endangered 
Species Act, Marine Mammal Protection Act, National Environmental 
Policy Act and others. The Strategy responds to growing demands and 
directives for information and tools to prepare for and respond to 
climate impacts on marine and coastal resources, including the National 
Fish Wildlife and Plants Climate Adaptation Strategy (http://wildlifeadaptationstrategy.gov/). It provides a nationally consistent 
blueprint to address the following seven science objectives:
    1. Identify appropriate, climate-informed reference points for 
managing living marine resources.
    2. Identify robust strategies for managing living marine resources 
under changing climate conditions.
    3. Design adaptive decision processes that can incorporate and 
respond to changing climate conditions.
    4. Identify future states of marine and coastal ecosystems, living 
marine resources, and resource-dependent human communities in a 
changing climate.

[[Page 51787]]

    5. Identify the mechanisms of climate impacts on ecosystems, living 
marine resources and resource-dependent human communities.
    6. Track trends in living marine resources and resource-dependent 
human communities and provide early warning of change.
    7. Build and maintain the science infrastructure needed to fulfill 
NOAA Fisheries mandates with changing climate conditions.
    Implementing the Strategy is crucial for fulfilling NOAA Fisheries 
mandates, reducing climate-related impacts and increasing the 
resilience of living marine resources and resource-dependent 
communities in a changing climate. The Strategy recommends specific 
near- and medium-term actions that address common information needs 
across NOAA Fisheries mandates and regions.
    The draft Climate Science Strategy underwent public review from 
January thru March 2015 (80 FR 3558, January 23, 2015) and received 
approximately 35 stakeholder comments from fishery management councils, 
states, tribes, academics, Non-Governmental Organizations and members 
of the public. The comments were generally positive with agreement on 
the need for action and support for both the content of the strategy 
and its implementation.
    The Strategy is designed to be customized and implemented through 
Regional Action Plans that focus on building regional capacity and 
partnerships to address the Strategy's seven objectives. In 2015-2016, 
NOAA Fisheries Science Centers and Regional Offices will develop 
Regional Action Plans to identify strengths, weaknesses, priorities, 
and actions to address the Strategy over the next 5 years. Development 
of the Regional Action Plans will include opportunity for input from 
science and management partners and others. The Strategy is a key part 
of NOAA Fisheries efforts to respond to growing demands for information 
to help reduce impacts and increase the resilience of living marine 
resources and the communities that depend on them in a changing 
climate.

    Dated: August 21, 2015.
Ned Cyr,
Director, Office of Science and Technology, National Marine Fisheries 
Service.
[FR Doc. 2015-21172 Filed 8-25-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 3510-22-P