The National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) Kasitsna Bay Laboratory near Seldovia, Alaska hosted 18 science divers during its spring 2013 class run in partnership with University of Alaska Fairbanks. Near-freezing water temperatures and fresh snow – normal spring conditions in south-central Alaska – provided the divers with great training in cold-water and dry [...]
At two recent meetings in Annapolis ( Shellfish Aquaculture Conference April 8 and Chesapeake Bay Program April 9-10, 2013), NCCOS’ researchers gave presentations on work within Long Island Sound and Great Bay Piscataqua Estuaries, with a description of the Farm Aquaculture Resource Management (FARM; www.farmscale.org) model which helps to assess shellfish aquaculture’s removal of particles and [...]
On August 29, researchers at the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science (NCCOS) published an analysis of NOAA Mussel Watch Program contaminant monitoring data for mercury and methylmercury levels and distributions around the Gulf of Mexico. Data gathered from oyster and sediment samples from Texas to Florida revealed relatively elevated mercury concentrations (hotspots) in the [...]
A series of workshops were held April 25-27, 2012 in Sitka, Alaska to inform shellfish growers, high school teachers and representatives of the Sitka Tribe for the purpose of expanding the existing Alaska Harmful Algal Bloom Partnership. The partnership is a collaborative project with the NOAA Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN), NMFS Northwest Fisheries Science Center, [...]
Historically, Kodiak Island has not routinely monitored for HABs but has the greatest number of paralytic shellfish poisoning (PSP) cases in the United States. PSP is caused by the algae Alexandrium and is potentially fatal to humans. The NCCOS Phytoplankton Monitoring Network (PMN) partnered with the Kodiak Island Borough School District, Kodiak Island remote community [...]
The New York Department of Environmental Conservation recently hosted a meeting in Albany, NY that brought together potential federal partners to discuss NY’s Great Lakes current efforts and ways forward to remove Beneficial Use Impairments and monitor the recovery of Areas of Concern (hot spots). NCCOS scientists shared with NY State AOC coordinators and managers its past, current [...]
Representatives from the National Centers for Coastal Ocean Science met with the Federal-State Areas of Concern Coordinating Committee (FEDSTACC), a group of regional stakeholders from across the Great Lakes basin, to discuss the common goals of removing EPA-designated Beneficial Use Impairments (BUI) from designated sites and monitoring the recovery of EPA-designated Areas of Concern (AOCs), areas defined by [...]
An autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV)-based HAB sensor currently under development is being targeted for integration within the rapidly emerging IOOS infrastructure. This sensor will provide data to forecasting models, enabling more accurate prediction of HABs and mitigation of their effects on humans, wildlife, and ecosystems. Transitioning HAB detection technology currently used on the stationary autonomous, [...]