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| Constituency Services Branch (Permits) |
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| The Constituency
Services Branch is responsible for administering the Region's
vessel/dealer permit programs and obtaining approval for
new or modified information collection programs. They prepare
applications and instructions for obtaining federal fishing
permits. Determine standards for evaluating the completeness
of submitted applications and supporting documents and for
determining the applicant's eligibility to receive a permit.
Evaluate applications and, depending on applicant's ability
to meet the established criteria, issue permits or forward
rejection notifications in a timely manner. Additionally,
the branch is responsible for managing the Region's Freedom
of Information Act (FOIA) requests, records management and preparation
of administrative records, and education and community outreach
programs. |
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| Sustainable
Fisheries Division |
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| The Sustainable
Fisheries Division is entrusted with the conservation, management,
and protection of marine fishery resources inhabiting federal
waters off the southeastern United States from North Carolina
through Texas and Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Division is the Region’s focal point for implementing
NMFS' primary legislative authority for fisheries management
and research, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and
Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act), as amended by the
Sustainable Fisheries Act (SFA). The Division works directly
with the Region’s three fishery management councils
established by Congress to perform the mandates of the Magnuson-Stevens
Act. |
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| Fisheries
Social Science Branch |
| The
mission of the Fisheries Social Science Branch is to provide
economic analysis of fishery management actions and to
provide direction and analytical support for trade negotiations
that reduce foreign barriers to seafood exports. Reports
prepared by the Fisheries Social Science Branch are available
either through the Southeast Fisheries Science Center as
technical memorandums or through the Gulf of Mexico and
South Atlantic Fisheries Management Councils as documents
prepared for specific management and stock assessments. |
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| Habitat
Conservation Division |
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| The Habitat
Conservation Division (HCD) of the Southeast Region focuses
it's efforts on conserving coastal habitats in the eight
coastal states from North Carolina to Texas, and Puerto Rico
and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The HCD has branch offices in
Texas, Louisiana, North and South Carolina and Florida. The
bulk of the workload relates to direct involvement with the
wetland and civil works programs of the U. S. Army Corps
of Engineers where we review proposals to alter coastal wetlands.
In the Southeast Region, we review more than 50 percent (between
4,000 and 6,000 per year) of all permit requests and federal
projects handled nationwide by the NMFS. |
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| Protected
Resources Division |
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| The
Protected Resources Division is responsible for the conservation,
management, and protection of marine mammals and endangered
and threatened species occurring in waters of the southeastern
United States, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
The Protected and Endangered Resources Division administers
provisions of the Marine
Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and Endangered
Species Act (ESA) for the
NOAA Fisheries Service Southeast Region. |
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| State/Federal
Liaison Branch (Grants) |
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| The
State/Federal Liaison Branch is responsible for facilitating
the conservation, development and management of marine
and estuarine resources in the U.S. Territorial Sea and
the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) through competitive and
noncompetitive grants and cooperative financial assistance
programs. |
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