Last month, scientists and administrators from NCCOS's Cooperative Oxford Laboratory and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Greater Atlantic Regional Fisheries Office (GARFO) met in Annapolis to discuss possible collaboration in the Chesapeake Bay and Atlantic region.The groups met to discuss GARFO's research needs and how NCCOS science might support those needs and inform GARFO's regulatory permit review role. The meeting grew out of interactions regarding the Choptank River Watershed Habitat Focus Area, which aims to restore degraded habitat and rebuild local fisheries.

The GARFO Habitat Conservation Division's annual staff meeting will be held in June to plan activities for the next one to three years. Last month's meeting will also inform those plans and may lead to future collaborative projects between NCCOS and GARFO.

For more information, contact Suzanne Skelley.