Website Policies and Disclaimers

Linking Policy/Disclaimer 

When you see this icon on our site, it means you are leaving the .gov domain. Additionally:

• NOAA Fisheries does not endorse the external websites we post or the information, products, or services they contain
• NOAA Fisheries does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations  
• NOAA Fisheries’ reference to any non-government entity, product, service, or information does not constitute an endorsement or recommendation by NOAA, our field offices, or employees
• NOAA Fisheries is not responsible for the contents of any external web pages referenced from NOAA Fisheries servers

Our policy is to link to external sites that directly relate to our mission or contain information/data that is available from other federal internet sources. These particular external links must:

• Be necessary for presenting agency information or performing agency functions
• Provide accurate, relevant, and complete information
• Remain active and continue to provide information that is objective, useful, and reliable for visitors to our website

Copyright Policy

Information created by the U.S. government and presented on U.S. government websites is not subject to copyright in the United States. We encourage the use of such information for non-commercial, scientific, and educational purposes. If you are copying or downloading information, products, or publications created by NOAA Fisheries, we also request that NOAA Fisheries be given appropriate acknowledgement (“Courtesy: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration”). 

When necessary, however, we post externally produced materials including text and graphics with permission from the copyright holder. Read below for additional guidance on using website text, graphics, and photos created by non-government sources. 

Website Text 

Most of the text found on our webpages or in publications for download is not protected by copyright in the United States. We identify copyrighted text when used. Please note that copyrighted material may not be used in whole or in part without the express written permission of the copyright holder. To obtain information and permissions, send an inquiry to the point of contact on the webpage where the attribution appears. Email the NOAA Fisheries Web Team at fisheries.webpublishing@noaa.gov if no other contact is listed. For reference, please include the webpage URL in your inquiry.

Photos

Any images on our website created by NOAA are not subject to copyright in the United States and may be used without permission; we ask that you credit “NOAA” as the source.  

Not all images on this site, however, were created by NOAA. These images are used by NOAA with permission from the copyright holder. Images on our site that are credited to other organizations or individuals are noted as such, and permission to use these images should be obtained directly from those organizations or individuals.

Approaching protected species to obtain photographs or video may require a permit issued via the NOAA Fisheries authorization process. Note that the general public should not get within certain distances of protected species. The specific distances and other safe marine life viewing guidelines can be found on our website.

Website Graphics 

NOAA Fisheries grants permission to use graphics on a case-by-case basis. Some graphics are government works and are not subject to copyright in the United States. Others are used by NOAA Fisheries with specific permission granted by the owner. Still others are created by NOAA Fisheries contractors, and NOAA Fisheries may or may not hold copyright in the works. Copyrighted material may not be used in whole or in part without the express written permission of the copyright holder. To obtain information and permissions for a specific graphic, send an inquiry to the NOAA Fisheries Web Team at fisheries.webpublishing@noaa.gov.

Please note that when we grant the right to use a graphic from the NOAA Fisheries website, it cannot explicitly or implicitly convey NOAA Fisheries' endorsement of the site where it is used. If a NOAA Fisheries image includes an identifiable person, using the image may infringe upon that person's right of privacy or publicity, and permission should be obtained from the person.

Once you receive confirmation from us that a graphic is available for use, we request that you credit NOAA Fisheries.

Seals and Agency Identification

The NOAA seals and agency identification cannot be used without written permission from the agency.

Other Disclaimers

Some products and manufacturers are mentioned in descriptive information or in metadata records. Mention of these products or manufacturers does not constitute an endorsement by NOAA or Department of Commerce.