Emergency Environmental Compliance Reviews 

• Conduct emergency consultations to mitigate impacts of response activities on threatened and endangered species, critical habitat and essential fish habitat
• Provide technical advice, including Best Management Practices and other guidance, for minimizing adverse effects to trust resources during emergency response

Fishery Closures and Other Temporary Rules 

• Close fisheries if needed to protect public health
• Authorize turtle excluder device exemptions if debris or other environmental conditions are impeding conservation benefits of turtle excluder devices
• Provide select fisheries paper-based recordkeeping and reporting allowances

Fishery Disaster Assistance Evaluations

• Support state agencies requesting fishery disaster declarations, evaluate requests, and assist in distributing any funds appropriated by Congress

Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Stranding Response Coordination

• Oversee, coordinate, and authorize stranding network responses to marine mammal and sea turtle strandings
• Investigate cause of strandings and, when appropriate, respond with emergency rulemaking if fishery-related

Incident Command Post Staffing and Assistance

• Staff Incident Command Posts, as needed, to provide local expertise and technical assistance and guidance and/or to support field activities including wildlife response and Shoreline Cleanup and Assessment Technique operations

Contact: nmfs.ser.emergency.consult@noaa.gov, (727) 824-5301

Southeast Region Disaster Response One-Page Overview (PDF, 1 page) Download File