EL NIÑO GAINS STRENGTH

Dec. 7, 2006 — The latest El Niño/Southern Oscillation Diagnostic Discussion, produced by scientists at the NOAA Climate Prediction Center, indicates El Niño conditions are now evident in the tropical Pacific and should intensify during the next one to three months. However, this episode is expected to be much weaker than the very strong 1997-1998 El Niño event.
“Evolving current conditions in the equatorial Pacific are likely to cause a substantial increase in sea surface temperature along the west coast of South America in late December 2006 and January 2007,” said Vernon Kousky, Ph.D., NOAA’s lead El Niño forecaster. “At about the same time, rainfall is expected to increase over the warm waters in the central equatorial Pacific, thus setting the stage for typical El Niño effects over the U.S. during January through March 2007,” he added.
El Niño events influence the predominate position and strength of the jet stream over the Pacific Ocean, which in turn affect winter precipitation and temperature patterns across the country. During El Niño events, the jet stream is stronger than normal across the southern U.S. As a result, increased storminess and wetter-than-average conditions occur across the southern tier of the U.S. from central and southern California across the Southwest to Texas and across the Gulf Coast to Florida and the Southeast. Meanwhile, drier-than-average conditions are experienced in the Ohio and Tennessee Valleys, and in the northern Rockies.
“NOAA’s investment in climate models is paying off,” said Jim Laver, director of the NOAA Climate Prediction Center. Statistical and coupled model forecasts, including the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Prediction Climate Forecast System, show El Niño conditions peaking during the northern hemisphere winter (December 2006 through February 2007) and then weakening during the northern hemisphere spring (March through May 2007). “This event may be with us for a while, and we will be closely monitoring how the atmosphere reacts,” he said.

Source: NOAA

Magnuson-Stevens Act Passes

On December 8, 2006, in the final hours of the 109th Congress passed the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act.
President Bush, through his Ocean Action Plan, made reauthorizing the Magnuson-Stevens Act a top priority. The President called for an end to overfishing, increased use of market-based management tools, creation of a national saltwater angler registry, and an emphasis on ecosystem approaches to management.
The bill keeps intact the existing 10-year rebuilding timeframe and adds in new protections against overfishing. It requires fishery managers to base all quotas on the advice of scientists and advances new limitations on "cap-and-trade" fishing permit programs.
The new bill will:
authorize the use of market-based limited access privilege programs; require establishment of a regionally-based registry for recreational fishermen; strengthen fisheries enforcement; authorize the Secretary to provide assistance to the Regional Fishery Management Councils for development of regional ecosystem pilot programs; and establishes Community Based Restoration Programs that utilize public-private partnerships to restore fishery and coastal habitat, in line with the President's Cooperative Conservation Agenda. "We believe that this legislation is an important step for the United States to rebuild our nation's fisheries and will allow our fishers to utilize all of the tools that are available so their fishing businesses can operate safely and economically," said Bill Hogarth, director of the National Marine Fisheries Service.