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The U.S. government is closed. This site will not be updated; however, NOAA websites and social media channels necessary to protect lives and property will be maintained. To learn more, visit commerce.gov.

For the latest forecasts and critical weather information, visit weather.gov.

NCCOS Advancing Climate-informed Decisions in NOAA’S Changing Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative

Published on: 09/30/2024
Science Area(s): Climate Impacts on Ecosystems, Coastal Change, Ecological and Biogeographic Assessments, Marine Spatial Ecology, Regional Ecosystem Science, Vulnerability and Risk Assessment
Region(s) of Study: U.S. States and Territories
Primary Contact(s): bethany.williams@noaa.gov, kris.holderied@noaa.gov

This project began in September 2023 and is expected to end in September 2027.

NCCOS is developing decision support tools to inform living marine resource management in accordance with the impacts of climate change.

Why We Care
Climate change is altering our ocean and coastal living marine resources. Warming oceans, rising seas, melting sea ice, and increasing acidification can all impact the abundance and distribution of habitats and living resources that our coastal communities depend on. Decision-support tools to inform management that accounts for climate-driven changes are critical for sustainable resource management.

What We Are Doing
As part of NOAA’s Changing Ecosystems and Fisheries Initiative (CEFI), NCCOS will be developing decision-support tools to support living marine resource management in coastal ecosystems with a focus on NOAA “special places” such as National Marine Sanctuaries and National Estuarine Research Reserves. We will enhance our ecological modeling and assessments to accelerate routine delivery of current and projected ecosystem condition scenarios, risk assessments, and management options that take into account the changing climate. Specific projects under this portfolio include:

- Climate-informed research to support NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuaries
- Coastal ocean model hindcasts in Alaska’s Cook Inlet to support resource management
- Using Acoustic Telemetry to Predict Future Fish Distributions in Chesapeake Bay

CEFI system flow chart — This graphic shows the components of the CEFI system and how ocean models will be used to develop decision support tools that are ultimately shared with managers for living marine resource management. Credit: NOAA Fisheries Changing Ecosystem and Fisheries Initiative.

Benefits of Our Work
NCCOS will assemble a team to assist development, deployment, and distribution of CEFI climate-informed products and services to support federal, state, and local stakeholders to evaluate management options and assess associated risks.