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Number range CHAPTER**National Marine Fisheries Service**

**Number range CHAPTERNOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS),
also known as "NOAA Fisheries," requests \$735.2 million (M) in FY'05
reflecting a net decrease of \$24.9M from the FY '04 Omnibus level. This
will support the core operations of the NOAA programs.**

#### FY 2005 Program Changes

Number range CHAPTER**Fisheries Research and Management Services**

NOAA requests \$368.5 million for its fisheries research and management
capabilities. As the agency implements measures to rebuild and sustain
marine fisheries, conserve essential fish habitat, reduce bycatch, and
improve the economic viability and jobs involving fishing and other uses
of marine resources, the demands on current scientific resources are
enormous.

Additional resources are essential to improve the collection, analysis,
and modeling of comprehensive biological, environmental, and economic
data on an ever increasing number of species. An increase of \$2.8
million is requested to expand and improve stock assessments to more
adequately assess fish stocks around the country, thereby reducing the
number of stocks with an unknown population status. An increase of \$1.0
million will be used to restore funds for fisheries oceanography
activities, which examine basin-wide changes in atmospheric and oceanic
circulation and their effects on marine populations. An increase of
\$4.0 million will continue to support the lease and facility costs of
the Sandy Hook, NJ, Kodiak, AK and Santa Cruz, CA facilities. An
additional \$1.2 million is needed for improving consideration of the
social and economic impacts of fishery management decisions so critical
to the long-term sustainability of living marine resources and the
economic health of our coastal communities. A total increase of \$9.5
million will be used to expand and modernize observer data collections.
With this request NOAA will have observers deployed in 43 fisheries,
with adequate levels of observer coverage in approximately 29 fisheries.

Number range CHAPTERTo meet its stewardship responsibilities NOAA
Fisheries must expand and refine its management processes to ensure the
full benefits of sustained resources to be realized. NOAA Fisheries is
proposing a \$1.5 million increase for Regulatory Streamlining, an
initiative designed to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of

+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| ##### NOAA FY 2005 Budget                        |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| National Marine Fisheries Service (OR&F)         | FY 2005           |
|                                                  |                   |
|                                                  | Change (\$M       |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| *Fisheries Research and Management Services*     |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Expand Stock Assessments/Strengthen Living       | \$2.8             |
| Marine Resource Monitoring                       |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Fisheries Oceanography                           | \$1.0             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Climate Regimes and Ecosystem                    | \$0.5             |
|                                                  |                   |
| Productivity                                     |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| NMFS Facilities Maintenance                      | \$4.0             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Economics/Social Sciences                        | \$1.2             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Observers                                        | \$9.5             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| NMFS NEPA                                        | \$5.1             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Regulatory Streamlining                          | \$1.5             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Regional Councils                                | \$0.8             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **Subtotal-Fisheries**                           | **\$26.4**        |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| *Protected Research and Management Services*     |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| ESA-Other Species                                | \$2.7             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Protected Species Stock                          | \$1.0             |
|                                                  |                   |
| Assessments                                      |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Pacific Salmon                                   | \$21.8            |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Dolphin Encirclement                             | \$1.1             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Marine Mammal Protection                         | \$3.4             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Recovery Plan Implementation                     | \$1.0             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Recovery of Large Whales                         | \$1.0             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **Subtotal - Protected**                         | **\$32.0**        |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Enforcement Services                             |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Vessel Monitoring System                         | \$5.3             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Subtotal-Enforcement                             | \$5.3             |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Other Net Changes (Including Restorations &      | -\$62.8           |
| Realignments)                                    |                   |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **Subtotal-ORF**                                 | **-\$0.9**        |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| PAC                                              | -\$20.5           |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund             | \$10.9            |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| Other Accounts                                   | \$-16.2           |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+
| **TOTAL**                                        | **-\$24.9**       |
+--------------------------------------------------+-------------------+

Regulatory operations and decrease NOAA Fisheries\' vulnerability to
litigation. In the long term, regulatory streamlining will improve the
rule-making process through increased use of information technology,
data acquisition and analyses, and the possible use of a third-party
quality assurance and audit system. A proposed increase of \$5.1 million
will improve NOAA Fisheries ability to analyze the environmental impacts
of regulatory alternatives and other actions impacting the marine
environment. An increase of \$0.8 million is needed to expand the
operations of the eight regional fishery management councils to ensure
that they can improve implementation of the many requirements of the
Sustainable Fisheries Act.

Protected Resources Research and Management Services

NOAA requests a total of \$155.0 million for Protected Resources Science
and Technology activities to support vital assessment, research,
conservation, and recovery of protected species. This request includes
\$1.0 million to expand and modernize protected resources stock
assessments. Currently the population status of over 200 protected and
at-risk marine species is unknown. The purpose of this request is to
help ensure recovery of species listed under the Endangered

Species Act (ESA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and to
provide reliable, precise estimates of distribution and abundance of
these species for resource managers.

An increase \$32.7million is requested for Pacific salmon research,
conservation, and recovery. Of this amount, \$21.8 million is for
pacific salmon recovery. \$15.1 million is specifically for the
implementation of the Columbia River Power System Biological Opinion.
Also, included within the Pacific salmon request is an additional \$2.0
million for Klamath Basin salmon research and habitat restoration. The
remaining \$4.7 million restores funds requested, but not provided in
the FY 2004 Omnibus. In addition to these funds, a \$10.9 million
increase is requested in the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund
account for habitat restoration with states and Tribes on the West
Coast, Idaho, and Alaska.

Number range CHAPTERA \$1.0 million request will increase NOAA's
capacity to plan for and implement recovery actions for ESA-listed
species. This funding will allow NOAA Fisheries to complete plans for
species that currently lack them, and fund some of the highest priority
actions needed to prevent extinction or recovery.

**Habitat Conservation**

NOAA requests a total of \$46.3 million for Habitat Conservation to
ensure that living marine resources have sufficient healthy habitat to
sustain populations and to benefit the nation's fisheries by restoring
their habitat.

**Enforcement Services**

NOAA requests a total of \$53.4 million for enforcement activities
essential to ensuring that regulations are enforced and, as a result,
the stocks are able to provide the long-term benefits of sustained
yields. An increase of \$5.3 million is requested to support research
and development efforts to expand the use of vessel monitoring system
(VMS) around the country, which will provide additional, more effective
enforcement capabilities by utilizing the latest satellite technologies.

Number range CHAPTERNumber range CHAPTER**For More Information:**

**Gary Reisner**

**301-713-2259**

Number range CHAPTER