Environmental windows or moratoria are used by federal and state regulators in resource management to temporarily reduce adverse environmental impacts associated with coastal development. Seasonal restrictions on construction activities can ...

We are evaluating how highly migratory and protected species, including cetaceans, fishes, pinnipeds, seabirds, and turtles, are using a network of state and federal marine protected areas (MPAs) in the ...

NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program (CRCP) uses benthic mapping data to develop information on the condition of coral reef ecosystems to help inform science-based management decisions. They have identified a ...

We worked with NOAA’s National Marine Protected Area Center (MPA Center) to develop new approaches to characterize natural resources (e.g., deep sea corals, fish diversity, submarine canyons) in marine-protected areas ...

We developed satellite-derived bathymetry and benthic habitat and hydrodynamic roughness maps for Kwajalein Atoll in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. These products are supporting a modelling effort led by ...

We investigated Puerto Rico’s mesophotic coral ecosystems to better understand them and their relationship to shallower reefs. They are off the southwestern coast at depths of 50–100 m (164–328 ft) ...

Ecosystem based management (EBM) is a holistic, adaptive approach to developing policies that ensure ecosystem sustainability, food and water security, and improve human health outcomes for future generations. Informed by ...

The Hawaii Coral Reef Initiative (HCRI) research cooperative includes county, state, and federal agencies; community-based organizations; and the private sector working together to expand and coordinate monitoring and research activities ...

We compiled existing spatial data and created maps of the marine environment, benthic habitats, fishes, sea turtles, marine mammals and seabirds off the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI). This work supports ...

We are investigating American Samoa’s mesophotic coral ecosystems (40–100 meters or ~130–330 feet deep) to better understand them and their relationship to shallower reefs. Nearly 80 percent of coral reef ...