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By daybreak
Published: July 2, 2009
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According to a new report on regional marine research and information needs, the West Coast critically needs more research about fisheries, ocean health, coastal hazards and climate change - among other topics - to support and protect the region's annual $32-billion ocean-related economy, according to a new report prepared by the region's four Sea Grant programs.
Oregon, Washington, California and Southern California Sea Grant Programs have spent more than three years working in collaboration with state, federal and tribal agencies to assess the region's marine research and information needs. The efforts included dozens of stakeholder meetings up and down the coast, along with public surveys and comments.
The culmination of that effort, the West Coast Regional Marine Research and Information Needs report identifies new and continued research and information needs that, if met, could aid the region in adopting an ecosystem-based approach to resource management. The Sea Grant report is said to to work in concert with with the Action Plan of the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health.
This report is intended to: 1) assist regional researchers and information providers to plan and prioritize; and 2) spark regional-scale initiatives and investments in natural and social science research that might provide the best possible science for wise policy and resource-management decisions.
The resulting report is a 56-page document that sorts West Coast research needs into eight categories:
* Vitality of coastal communities and marine operations
* Ocean and coastal governance and management of multiple uses
* Fisheries and aquaculture
* Marine ecosystem structure and function
* Ocean health and stressors
* Physical ocean processes, related climate change and physical coastal hazards
* Water quality and pollution
* Resilience and adaptability to hazards and climate change
Additionally, stakeholders identified the need for a deeper understanding of climate change, attention to ocean education and literacy, and broader access to data and information as cross-cutting priorities across all research topics.
The West Coast effort is one of 10 NOAA is supporting across the country in response to recent studies and reports from groups such as the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative calling for a regional approach to coordinating, planning and setting priorities for ocean and coastal science.
The report, West Coast Regional Marine Research and Information Needs, is available online at:
http://www.usc.edu/org/seagrant/RegionalPlan.html
To learn more about the 4 Sea Grant programs involved visit:
Oregon Sea Grant - http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/research/RegionalPlanning/
Washington Sea Grant - http://www.wsg.washington.edu/
California Sea Grant - http://www-csgc.ucsd.edu/
University of Southern California Sea Grant Program - http://www.usc.edu/go/seagrant
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Published: July 2, 2009
Print
EmailAccording to a new report on regional marine research and information needs, the West Coast critically needs more research about fisheries, ocean health, coastal hazards and climate change - among other topics - to support and protect the region's annual $32-billion ocean-related economy, according to a new report prepared by the region's four Sea Grant programs.
Oregon, Washington, California and Southern California Sea Grant Programs have spent more than three years working in collaboration with state, federal and tribal agencies to assess the region's marine research and information needs. The efforts included dozens of stakeholder meetings up and down the coast, along with public surveys and comments.
The culmination of that effort, the West Coast Regional Marine Research and Information Needs report identifies new and continued research and information needs that, if met, could aid the region in adopting an ecosystem-based approach to resource management. The Sea Grant report is said to to work in concert with with the Action Plan of the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health.
This report is intended to: 1) assist regional researchers and information providers to plan and prioritize; and 2) spark regional-scale initiatives and investments in natural and social science research that might provide the best possible science for wise policy and resource-management decisions.
The resulting report is a 56-page document that sorts West Coast research needs into eight categories:
* Vitality of coastal communities and marine operations
* Ocean and coastal governance and management of multiple uses
* Fisheries and aquaculture
* Marine ecosystem structure and function
* Ocean health and stressors
* Physical ocean processes, related climate change and physical coastal hazards
* Water quality and pollution
* Resilience and adaptability to hazards and climate change
Additionally, stakeholders identified the need for a deeper understanding of climate change, attention to ocean education and literacy, and broader access to data and information as cross-cutting priorities across all research topics.
The West Coast effort is one of 10 NOAA is supporting across the country in response to recent studies and reports from groups such as the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative calling for a regional approach to coordinating, planning and setting priorities for ocean and coastal science.
The report, West Coast Regional Marine Research and Information Needs, is available online at:
http://www.usc.edu/org/seagrant/RegionalPlan.html
To learn more about the 4 Sea Grant programs involved visit:
Oregon Sea Grant - http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/research/RegionalPlanning/
Washington Sea Grant - http://www.wsg.washington.edu/
California Sea Grant - http://www-csgc.ucsd.edu/
University of Southern California Sea Grant Program - http://www.usc.edu/go/seagrant
Submit Article