Category Archives: events

Science on Tap: Ocean science and good beer in Newport

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Steller sea lionsNEWPORT – Oregon State University marine mammal researcher Markus Horning  steps to the bar for this month’s Science on Tap lecture, with The secret lives or seals: Using high-tech marvels to pry into ocean depths.

The talk, co-sponsored by the Hatfield Marine Science Center and Rogue Ale, starts at 6 pm  March 15 at Brewers on the Bay, on the South Beach waterfront south of the Yaquina Bay Bridge. Admission to the family-friendly event is free, and food and beverage will be available for purchase from the pub’s menu.

Horning, a pinniped ecologist with OSU’s Newport-based Marine Mammal Institute,   studies seals and sea lions in Oregon, Alaska and the Antarctic using telemetry – the science and technology of remote measurement via such devices as satellite-linked data recorders and tags.

The technology allows Horning and other scientists to monitor rarely observed aspects of marine mammal life in remote locations around Alaska and the Antarctic. Using advanced monitoring technology, researchers are able to follow the life – and death – of individual animals in the Bering Sea or under the Antarctic ice.

In recent research, the high-tech tools have helped show that more juvenile Steller sea lions are falling to predators than had been thought, casting doubt on prospects for the animals’ ability to recover from recent population decline in Alaskan waters.

Learn more:

(Photo: Steller sea lions, courtesy of NOAA’s National Ocean Service)

Port Orford launches national tour of Ocean Frontiers film

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PORT ORFORD  – Ocean Frontiers, a new feature-length film about ocean management and conservation, will launch its national tour in Port Orford,  which stars in the film as an example of how science and fishing can work together to manage marine resources.

The debut screening starts at 5 pm Saturday, Feb. 11 at the Savoy Theatre in downtown Port Orford. followed by a reception in the nearby Community Building, with Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber,  First Lady Cylvia Hayes, representatives of state and local government and members of the Port Orford Ocean Resource Team (POORT) expected to attend. A second screening is scheduled for  4 p.m. Sunday.

Tickets are $10 and are available only online, at www.oceanfrontiersportorford.eventbrite.com

The film will also be shown at the Performing Arts Center in Newport at 7 pm Feb. 22.

Port Orford is one of several US coastal communities featured in the 80-minute film, which tracks the evolution of marine resource management from a “maximum allowable catch” approach to a growing recognition that resources are finite, and need to be managed for the future as well as the present. The film explores the shift toward  ecosystem-based management and marine spatial planning tools that rely on science, and an informed and engaged public. Communities from the Pacific Northwest to Boston Harbor, the Florida Keys, the Gulf of Mexico and even the cornfields of Iowa are featured.

POORT figures prominently in the film as an example of how resource users,  scientists, conservationists and others can work together to help understand, protect and manage ocean areas for the benefit of the resource – and the people who depend on it. Ongoing collaboration between fishermen and scientists in the south coast community was a strong factor in the state’s decision to establish one of Oregon’s first marine reserves at Redfish Rocks, just off  Port Orford.

Oregon Sea Grant has supported the community-based effort since its early days, helping bring fishermen and scientists together and providing information and assistance as the group grew and evolved. Sea Grant helped the community design and conduct surveys and interviews that let the town  build its first  long-form community profile to give resource managers greater insight into how fisheries reach deep into the community’s social and economic life. The format and interview has since been applied to other Oregon coastal towns, and is proving to be a model for communities  elsewhere in the US.

Learn more:

Watch a 10-minute trailer for the film:

Drug Take-Back keeps old pills out of the waterways

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Part of the haul at Corvallis prescription drug TakeBack Event

Part of the haul

CORVALLIS – Oregon Sea Grant Scholars have helped Corvallis  police and public works and Allied Waste  employees collect more than 550 pounds of old, unused and expired prescription drugs for safe disposal – drugs which otherwise might have wound up in the hands of abusers, or poisoning local waterways.

Student interns and research assistants who work with Sea Grant water quality specialist Sam Chan volunteered for the third National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day, Oct. 29, which netted more than 188 tons of unwanted or expired medications at 5,327 collection sites across the country.

The event is sponsored by the federal Drug Enforcement Administration, primarily to keep drugs out of the the crime and drug abuse stream.

But the Sea Grant students were interested in different streams: The ones that receive the outflow from local sewage plants, and seepage from local landfills.

According to the Association of Clean Water Agencies in Oregon, a San Francisco study showed that nearly 40 per cent of medications purchased in that city go unused. Many get tossed in the trash or flushed down toilets, making their way into the environment where they pose both environmental and human hazards.

The student interns participated in the Corvallis event to learn about drug take-back programs as part of a Sea Grant needs-assessment that meant to guide future investments in research, outreach and public education. Pharmaceuticals are becoming a growing issue for water quality and ocean health, and are increasingly emphasized as areas of concern by Sea Grant’s parent agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

Sea Grant Extension teamed with Corvallis Public works to inform those who dropped off medications about how proper drug disposal can protect the drinking water supply and the aquatic environment.

“It was great to be able to engage and educate people on why Sea Grant was at the event,” said Jennifer Lam, a Sea Grant professional intern. “People were interested in learning that disposing of their medication properly not only protects their families from accidental poisoning, but also prevents these drugs from affecting fish and other aquatic organisms.”

 

Sea Grant Scholars with Corvallis police and public works employees

Sea Grant Scholars with Corvallis police and public works employees

Volunteers sought for Whale Watch Week

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Gray Whale breaching (photo courtesy of NOAA)

Gray Whale breaching (photo courtesy of NOAA)

NEWPORT – If you love whales, enjoy meeting people and don’t mind spending some time outdoors on a blustery winter day, Oregon’s winter Whale Watch Week wants you.

Volunteers are being sought for training as interpreters and whale-spotting guides at state parks up and down the Oregon coast for the annual event, which takes place this year from Dec. 26 through Jan. 1.

Gray whales can be seen off the Oregon coast year-round, but their numbers peak during their twice-yearly migrations between feeding grounds in Alaska’s Bering Sea and calving lagoons in Baja California. The full round trip  is more than 10,000 miles (16,000 km), the longest known migration for any mammal.

During the peak of the southward migration each winter, as many as 30 whales an hour can be seen off coastal headlands and viewing areas. Gray whales can grow to 40 feet long and 70,000 pounds, and their migrations often bring them close enough to the coast to be spotted by the naked eye, if you know what to look for.

Whale Watch Weeks, started in the late 1970s by Oregon Sea Grant educators at the OSU Hatfield Marine Science Center, has grown to a twice-yearly program administered by Oregon State Parks from its Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay. During the winter and spring weeks, as many as 450 trained volunteers take turns at two dozen of the most popular coastal whale-watch sites, helping visitors spot whales and teaching them about the lives and habits of these giant marine mammals.

Volunteer training for Winter Whale Watch Week will take place on Sat., Dec. 10 at the HMSC Visitor Center in Newport. Dr. Bruce Mate, OSU marine mammal specialist, will preside. Additional training sessions for Spring Whale Watch Week will take place in January and February.

NOAA Day at HMSC June 11

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NOAA ship Bell ShimadaNEWPORT –  This Saturday, June 11, is NOAA Day at the Hatfield Marine Science Center,  and a great time to learn more about the marine research conducted by the federal government’s Pacific Research Fleet, which is in the process of relocating to Newport.

The new Newport Marine Operations Center – Pacific will complement the activities of  NOAA researchers who have been based at the HMSC for decades.  On Saturday, visitors will have opportunities to learn about the scientists who rely on the NOAA ships to conduct their fisheries and oceanographic research as well as the NOAA Corps, whose officers and staff operate the ships and manage the fleet.

Scheduled activities include:

  • 11:00am – 11:45am – Dr. Stephen Hammond, Chief Scientist, NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research will present “Exploring the Ocean – New Discoveries”. The short video clips and PowerPoint presentation will include information about coming activities at the cabled observatory offshore at the Axial Volcano.
  • 12:00pm – 12:45pm – “Using Long-term Ocean Observations to Forecast Salmon Returns” presented by Dr. Bill Peterson, Senior Scientist, NOAA Fisheries, Northwest Fisheries Science Center
  • 1:00pm – 1:30pm -“Giant Pacific Octopus Feeding” presented by Dr. Bill Hanshumaker, Public Marine Education Specialist, Oregon Sea Grant
  • 1:30pm – 2:30pm – “The Power of Art and Narrative to Make Fisheries Issues Easier to Understand”. Award winning author/illustrator of ten books, Taylor Morrison, will give a brief presentation about the creation of his latest book A Good Catch. Original paintings, sketchbooks, and storyboards will be on display. Following the presentation Taylor will be signing copies of the book made available for free, courtesy of NOAA.
  • 2:30pm – 3:30pm – “Science and Service in the NOAA Fleet”. Learn about the NOAA fleet’s upcoming missions. Presented by NOAA Corps officer Russell G. Haner of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

NOAA manager to discuss Pacific research at HMSC

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NEWPORT  – “Fishing for the Future: NOAA Fisheries Groundfish Scientists at Sea” will be the subject of a special presentation at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Visitor Center on Tuesday, May 24. The talk starts at 6:30 pm in the center’s Hennings Auditorium, and is free and open to the public.

The talk is the second in a series aimed at introducing the public to the ships and science of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Pacific fleet, which is in the process of relocating to new facilities in Newport. The series is jointly sponsored by NOAA and the Hatfield Center.

The May 24 speaker is Dr. Patty Burke, manager of the Groundfish Monitoring Program with NOAA Northwest Fisheries Science Center, which includes the West Coast Observer Program, the West Coast Groundfish Surveys and the Habitat and Conservation Engineering Program.  She will present her program’s research as conducted on NOAA ships as well as on contracted fishing vessels, describing life at sea for a researcher aboard a NOAA ship. Her talk will highlight the differing capabilities of vessels in the NOAA and the commercial fleets, and the differences in the experience for the researchers aboard.

The series is expected to host a total of five speakers over the next several months, including scientists who rely on the NOAA ships to conduct their fisheries and oceanographic research as well as the NOAA Corps, whose officers and staff operate the ships and manage the fleet. The third event, NOAA Day at the Visitors Center, will take place on the afternoon of Saturday June 11 with several speakers, including Dr. Steve Hammond of NOAA’s Ocean Exploration Program, Taylor Morrison, author of the new book “A Good Catch” along with NOAA scientist Dr. Bill T. Peterson of whose work on the R/V Elakha is portrayed in the book.

New HMSC octopus readies for public debut

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NEWPORT – A new octopus will make its public debut on Nov. 13 in the central aquarium at the Visitor Center in Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center, and the public is invited to meet the animal and learn its new name. Meanwhile, Web visitors may be able to get a sneak preview of the new star.

The event, called “Octopus Day,” will feature activities for children, a display of a dissected octopus with its internal anatomy labeled, and the official unveiling – and first public feeding – of the new octopus at 1 pm.

From now through Nov. 12, visitors are invited to submit suggested names for the new animal when they stop by the Center, located on Yaquina Bay in Newport’s South Beach area. The person who submits the winning name will receive a prize. Only in-person submissions are being accepted.

This is the latest in a long series of giant Pacific octopuses to greet visitors at one of the Center’s most popular and endearing exhibits. The new animal is the successor to Deriq, the octopus who took the Internet by storm earlier this year when the Visitor Center installed a live, streaming Web video feed dubbed the OctoCam (http://hmsc.oregonstate.edu/visitor/octocam).

Read more …

What’s going on with the brown pelicans?

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California Brown PelicansHave you noticed more pelicans in Oregon during the past couple of winters? Join wildlife biologist Deborah Jacques at OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center on Saturday, May 8, to learn more about what’s been happening with this intriguing species.

Jacques,  who specializes in studies of brown pelicans and other coastal waterbirds, will review the general non-breeding ecology of the California brown pelican, summarize seasonal distribution and abundance patterns in the Pacific Northwest, and then discuss the unusual events of the last two winters, which saw large numbers of pelicans staying north late into the season and experiencing unusual mortality all along the west coast.

The public lecture starts at 1:30 p.m. Admission to the HMSC Visitor Center is by suggested donation.

OCEAN partners to receive presidential award

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Coastal America Logo

NEWPORT – Two federal representatives will visit OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center on April 17 to present a presidential award  to Oregon Sea Grant’s education team and other partners in the Ocean Conservation and Education Alliance Northwest.

The presentation will take place at 12:30 in the HMSC Visitor Center’s Hennings Auditorium.

On hand for the event will be Virginia Tippie, Director of the Coastal America program, together with Louisa Koch, Director of Education for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, representing Commerce Secretary Gary Locke.

The award, announced last fall,  represents the highest level national recognition for outstanding multi-agency, multi-stakeholder collaborations that pool resources from many sources to accomplish coastal restoration, preservation, protection and education projects.

Partners in the OCEAN effort include:

  • Oregon Sea Grant’s marine education program, based at the HMSC.
  • The Oregon Coast Aquarium
  • Lincoln County School District
  • South Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve
  • Oregon Institute of Marine Biology

The public is invited to the ceremony.

Read more about the award

Spring Break is Whale Watch Week…

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Gray Whale (NOAA photo)

Gray Whale (NOAA photo)

… and a great opportunity to head for  the Oregon coast and get some expert help spotting gray whales as they migrate northward to their summer feeding grounds in the Bering and Chukchi seas off Alaska.

OSU’s Hatfield Marine Science Center will be open from 10 am-5 pm daily for Whale Watch Week, March 20-27, with special whale-related programming every day.

Meanwhile, the state Parks and Recreation Divisions “Whale Spoken Here” program will have trained volunteers stationed at 26 state parks and rest areas along the coast to provide information about the giant marine mammals and help visitors spot them.

Get ready for Whale Watch week and learn more  about the whale migrations by downloading the free Oregon Sea Grant brochure, “Gray Whales,” in .pdf format: