Category Archives: symposium

Fishermen invited to Webinar on groundfish research

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West Coast fishermen are invited to take part in a June 5 Webinar ,”West Coast Groundfish Fishery – Reducing Weak Stock Risk While Improving Profit for Fishermen.”

In an attempt to protect the groundfish fishery from stock collapse, fisheries regulators are considering shifting to a type of catch share system called ITQ, or  “individual transferable quotas.” Such a system sets a species-specific total allowable catch, typically by weight and for a given period of time.

With funding from Sea Grant programs in Oregon, California and Washington, researchers from the University of California at Santa Barbara and the University of Washington are attempting to  identify emerging ecological, social and economic impacts of the transition to an ITQ system. Can strategies be implemented that help fishermen avoid risk from catching weak stocks, while enhancing profit?

The free webinar, from 10 am to 11 am PDT, will present an overview of the research project and its primary questions.

Space in the Webinar is limited; seats can be reserved at https://www4.gotomeeting.com/register/126483927. (System requirements: PC- Windows 7, Vista, XP or 2003 Server; Mac – OSX 10.5 or newer).

Student posters sought for Oregon’s Ocean conference – Deadline Extended!

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Oregon’s Ocean: Catching the Next Wave of Discoveries

FLORENCE – This year’s Heceta Head Coastal Conference, Oct. 29, will feature the fresh faces of ocean research in Oregon. Participants will learn about the cutting edge of marine science in our waters, focusing on new discoveries and future directions, including a student research poster session highlighting the next generation of Oregon’s scientists from colleges and universities throughout our state.

Graduate and undergraduate students who have conducted ocean-related research are invited to submit their projects, and researchers with promising students are encouraged to spread the word.  The poster submission deadline has been extended to September 30. Download the .pdf announcement for details.

Join us as we look ahead to confronting the challenges facing our ocean, how they are being addressed, and how results will affect YOU!  Oregon Sea Grant is co-sponsoring and organizing the conference. Watch for the full program announcement here this summer.

Seattle symposium: Energy use in Fisheries

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Federal agencies are teaming with nongovernmental organizations to sponsor a symposium on “Energy use in Fisheries: Improving Efficiency and Technological Innovations from a Global Perspective,”  November 14-17 in Seattle.

Sponsored by NOAA Fisheries Service, NOAA National Sea Grant, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, the Pacific Marine Expo, the World Bank and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO, the symposium will look at  the direct and indirect effects of global energy costs on the seafood harvesting, processing and marketing sectors.

The symposium resulted from planning by the Sea Grant Safe and Sustainable Seafood Supply (SSSS) focus team. More than 90 presentations by experts from all over the world will address local and regional solutions for addressing energy challenges. Participants will identify and discuss management strategies, alternate gear and vessel designs, alternate fuels, vessel operation and maintenance strategies, and a set of metrics to measure the level of energy reduction.

Guest speakers include Jeff Steele, who led a green refit for the F/V Time Bandit, a vessel featured on Discovery Channel’s “Deadliest Catch” television show, and Chris Dixon who supplied a South Carolina shrimp boat with waste vegetable oil from the Margaritaville Restaurant.

To register and to learn more: http://www.energyfish.nmfs.noaa.gov/index.html

Sea Grant Summer Scholars present their work

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Oregon Sea Grant’s first class of undergraduate Summer Scholars will present their projects and research in an August 11 symposium at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport.

The symposium runs from 1 to 3 pm in the Guin Library Seminar Room.

Sea Grant’s Summer Scholars program, launched this year, provides undergraduates with hands-on experience and training in marine science and resource management. Students are placed with Oregon resource agencies for the summer, assigned to specific research or outreach programs, and trained in subjects such as ecosystem-based management, professional and scientific communication, field-based scientific methods, natural resource policy development, and roles of federal, state and local governments in natural resource management.

The scholars who will be presenting their work on Aug. 11 are:

  • AnnaRose Adams, Oregon State University, assigned to the Oregon Sea Grant program office on the OSU campus, under the mentorship of program director Steve Brandt and Julie Risien.
  • Daniel Brusa, SUNY-Rockland Community College, New York, who is assigned to the Lincoln County Sea Grant Extention team in Newport, under the mentorship of Extension faculty member Kaety Hildenbrand.
  • Ian Heller, Vassar College, New York, assigned to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s West Coast Ecology Division at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, under the mentorship of Ted Dewitt.
  • Phillip Sanchez, University of Florida-Gainesville, assigned to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s West Coast Ecology Division at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, under the mentorship of Jim Power.
  • Katie Wrubel, California State University-Monterey Bay, assigned to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Charleston office, under the mentorship of Scott Groth.

Symposium at UO: Ocean impacts of climate change

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EUGENE – Leading Oregon scientists and scholars will discuss Ocean Impacts of Climate Change: Science, People and Policy, in a one-day symposium at the University of Oregon’s Knight Law Center on Sept. 10. The symposium, which is free and open to the public, runs from 8:30 am to 4:30 p.m.

Organized by 2010-11 Resident Scholar Richard Hildreth, the symposium is co-sponsored by the Partnership for Interdisciplinary Studies of Coastal Oceans (PISCO) and the UO School of Law.

The earth’s oceans buffer us from climate change by absorbing heat and dissolving CO2 initially discharged into the atmosphere. The resulting thermal expansion of the ocean contributes to sea level rise along with melting ice caps and glaciers. Further, the ocean’s increasing acidity is adversely affecting important ocean ecosystems and species. Accelerated sea level rise adversely affects low-lying island and coastal communities as well as the ecosystem. This conference highlights the relevant science, the impacts on people, and potential policy and legal responses to these impacts of climate change.

Scientists and scholars taking part in the symposium include Oregon State University oceanographer Jack Barth, Dr. Mary Ruckleshouse of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center, and Meg Caldwell of Stanford University’s Center for Ocean Solutions. Topics range from marine ecology, biology, and physical science to social consequences, including the disparate impact of climate change on poor communities, international ocean law and environmental justices.

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