Category Archives: news

Sea Grant-funded historian’s book on fisheries management published

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Carmel Finley, an instructor in the OSU History Department, is receiving positive attention for her new book published by University of Chicago Press, All the Fish in the Sea – Maximum Sustainable Yield and the Failure of Fisheries Management. One reviewer commented that the book “explodes the myths around MSY” (maximum sustainable yield) — a significant consideration since MSY is at the heart of modern American fisheries management. Another reviewer noted that “fisheries science and management are ripe for study by professional historians” and praised Finley’s book.

Locally, public radio station KLCC interviewed her, which was a role reversal for Finley, who was the Oregonian’s coastal correspondent for  years prior to graduate school and her doctorate at UC San Diego (where she received support from Sea Grant). Back in Oregon, OSG supported her to develop the Pacific Fishery History Project web site. She also contributed an article in OSG’s new salmon book, Pathways to Resilience, on “The Social Construction of Fishing, 1949.”

New on DVD! Cascade Head / Scenic Research Area

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Cascade HeadGrab your hiking boots and binoculars! This video will take you on a scenic and historical walk through the beautiful prairie headlands, forests, and grassy marshes of Cascade Head and the adjoining Salmon River estuary.

Ever heard of Pixieland? Kami Ellingson, from the Siuslaw National Forest, will take us on a guided tour of the complex history of commercial and residential developments that once threatened to pave paradise.

Stay on the trails, because that little blue violet up on the headlands feeds the Oregon silverspot caterpillar, one of four threatened or endangered animal species that live here. The Nature Conservancy’s Debbie Pickering tells us the butterfly’s story.

Back in the marshes, NOAA Fisheries scientist Dan Bottom describes the history of a massive habitat-restoration project, in which dikes were removed from the estuary in the hope of improving salmon runs. Western Oregon University Professor Karen Haberman shares her Sea-Grant sponsored research in the marsh–an unusual focus area with surprising consequences.

And finally, Eric Vines gives us a tour of the Sitka Center for Art and Ecology, one of the many recreational opportunities at Cascade Head.

The full program is available on DVD from the Oregon State University Marketplace

Exclusive: Watch a short featurette not included on this DVD: Salmon River Marsh / Undergraduate Field Experiences (about 2 mins)

 

Hatfield legacy lives in OSU leadership in marine sciences

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Hatfield-DedicationNEWPORT, Ore. – The passing Sunday of former U.S. Senator and Oregon Governor Mark Hatfield prompted an outpouring of remembrances of the political legend and his contributions to the state, including Newport, where Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center bears his name.

Hatfield was supportive of the development of the center, which officially opened in June 1965 during his second term as Oregon governor. During his five terms as a U.S. senator, Hatfield steered critical federal funding to Newport for buildings and programs. In 1983, the center was officially named the Mark O. Hatfield Marine Science Center (HMSC).

Today, more than 300 scientists and staff members work at HMSC’s 49-acre campus. In addition to faculty researchers and students from OSU and visiting researchers from other academic institutions, the campus is home to representatives of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Northwest National Marine Renewable Energy Center, as well as the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. It is also home port for the OSU research vessels Wecoma and Elakha.

In addition to its research labs, the facility is home to the HMSC Visitor Center, managed by Oregon Sea Grant as a public aquarium, marine education center and living laboratory for the study of free-choice learning.

“The Hatfield Marine Science Center is a living legacy, one that will serve Oregon, Oregonians, our nation and our world for generations to come,” OSU President Edward J. Ray. “I can think of no finer tribute to Mark Hatfield’s lifetime of public service.”

(Read more from OSU  News & Research Comunication)

Oregon Sea Grant video cover wins Silver Award

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Coastal Climate Change coverThe cover for Oregon Sea Grant’s video Preparing for Coastal Climate Change: What Oregonians Are Asking has won a Silver Award in the “Best Cover—Print/Other” category of the 2011 Magnum Opus Awards for Outstanding Achievement in Custom Media. There were 560 entries in this year’s competition, and the Silver Award was the top award given in the “Best Cover” category.

According to Magnum Opus, professors from the Missouri School of Journalism, along with leading custom-publishing professionals, judge the awards based on “informational and entertainment value, quality of writing and display copy, creative use of imagery and typography, and consistency of color palette and style.”

David Murray, director of the awards competition and editor-in-chief of ContentWise, said, “Your entry shone bright among an incredibly competitive field and bested the work submitted by your peers in the practice of marketing communications from around the globe. You should be proud.”

The jacket and label for Preparing for Coastal Climate Change were designed by Patricia Andersson of Oregon Sea Grant. The video was produced by Joe Cone, assistant director of Oregon Sea Grant; edited by Stevon Roberts; and supported in part by a grant from the NOAA Climate Program Office.

Copies of the video are available for $3 each plus shipping and handling from Oregon Sea Grant, 541-737-4849; or through Oregon Sea Grant’s e-commerce site at marketplace.oregonstate.edu. You may also view excerpts of the video on Sea Grant’s website.

Oregon Sea Grant fact sheets win Apex Award of Excellence

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A set of nine Oregon Sea Grant fact sheets about low impact development has won an Award of Excellence in the “Green” Electronic Media and Video category of the 2011 Apex Awards.

According to Apex, there were 3,329 entries in this year’s competition. Awards were based on “excellence in graphic design, editorial content, and the success of the entry — in the opinion of the judges — in achieving overall communications effectiveness and excellence.”

The fact sheets, which cover low impact construction techniques to enhance water quality and quantity, were written by Derek Godwin and Marissa Sowles of Oregon Sea Grant Extension, along with Maria Cahill of Green Girl Development. Oregon Sea Grant’s Patricia Andersson designed the layout template, and Rick Cooper edited the publications and coordinated production.

All nine low impact development fact sheets are available for free download from Oregon Sea Grant at http://seagrant.oregonstate.edu/sgpubs/onlinepubs.html#new.

Study of Pacific predators shows importance of biological “hotspots”

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Blue WhaleNEWPORT, Ore. – An unprecedented decade-long study of apex predators in the Pacific Ocean found a wider range of distribution among some species than previously thought, unknown relationships between other species, and the importance of biological “hotspots” to the survival of most of these sea creatures.

The field program, dubbed Tagging of Pacific Predators – or TOPP – looked at 23 species from 2000-09 and included researchers from multiple institutions.

Results of the study are being published this week in the journal Nature.

“One thing that quickly became apparent is that there are many similarities among top predators in the California Current System,” said Bruce Mate, a former Sea Grant specialist who directs the Marine Mammal Institute at Oregon State University and co-authored the study. “There is a strong overlap in territory, for example, between blue whales and tuna. Blue whales eat krill; the tuna eat fish that eat the krill.

“But the krill, and the ocean conditions that promote its abundance, are key to both species,” added Mate, who directed the cetacean portion of the TOPP study. “When there are hotspots of krill or other food, the apex predators need to find them.”

Read more from OSU News & Research Communication…

(Photo credit: Bruce Mate/OSU News & Research Communication)

NOAA begins Newport move-in

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New NOAA fleet headquarters, NewportNEWPORT – With little fanfare, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has begun moving in to its new port facility here, soon to be home to the agency’s Pacific research fleet.

NOAA officials accepted the keys to the new facility on April 29, five days ahead of the construction deadline, and met with Port of Newport officials to sign the final documents of a 20-year lease on the property, situated on Yaquina Bay across from Oregon State University’s Hatfield Marine Science Center.

Among those taking part in the signing was retired Oregon Sea Grant Extension agent Ginny Goblirsch, now president of the Newport Port Commission.

The new Marine Operations Center and its long dock will become home base for the  vessels of NOAA’s North Pacific fleet: the Miller Freeman, the McArthur II,  the Rainier, the Oscar Dyson, and the  Bell M. Shimada (the agency’s newest research ship).

The agency’s decision to move the center to Newport from its longtime base in Lake Union, WA, sparked political outcries from lawmakers and local governments in the Seattle area, and an equally strong show of support from the Oregon community. The decision survived multiple political and procedural challenges, largely because of cost-savings the federal government hopes to realize from its initial 20-year lease with the Port of Newport. Groundbreaking took place last June, and construction crews have been working ever since to complete the complex of docks and support buildings that make up the new center.

NOAA’s lease on its Washington facility expires on June 30, and the agency has already begun moving personnel and equipment south. Once the ships and support personnel have settled in, there are plans for a public open house in mid-July, and an official ribbon-cutting ceremony on Aug. 12.

Read more…

NOAA Marine Operations Center under construction

(Aerial photo courtesy of NOAA; ground-level photo by Pat Kight, Oregon Sea Grant)

New Sea Grant fellows to help implement west coast ocean agreement

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Salmon River EstuarySea Grant programs in Oregon, California  and Washington have teamed to place four  highly qualified young professionals in a new  West Coast Sea Grant Fellowship to support regional research and information needs and advance elements of the West Coast Governors’  Agreement on Ocean Health (WCGA).

“Sea Grant has a successful record of supporting exceptional master’s and doctoral graduates for marine research and policy fellowships, and the four California, Oregon, and Washington Sea Grant Programs are thrilled to be teaming up for our first-ever regional fellowship,” said Stephen Brandt, Oregon Sea Grant Director.

Beginning this month, the four will spent two-year assignments in federal and state agency offices in California, Oregon and Washington. The fellows will work on a variety of WCGA  initiatives, from developing a framework for coastal and marine spatial planning to advancing regional ocean and coastal research priorities.

Their work will support  the 2008 WCGA Action Plan, which describes seven key priorities facing the West Coast:

  • clean coastal waters and beaches
  • healthy ocean and coastal habitats
  • effective ecosystem-based management
  • reduced impacts of offshore development
  • increased ocean awareness and literacy among the region’s citizens
  • expanded ocean and coastal scientific information, research, and monitoring
  • sustainable economic development of coastal communities.

“We’re very excited to have this opportunity to benefit from the academic expertise, experience and enthusiasm of our four new fellows,” said Brian Baird, California’s Assistant Secretary for Ocean and Coastal Policy. “In these difficult economic times, working collaboratively to advance important ocean and coastal initiatives on the West Coast is critically important.”

Todd Hallenbeck will be based in the office of Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber, where he will play a key role in coastal-marine spatial planning, a science-based  process for analyzing and planning for ocean and coastal use. He will assist the WCGA   in developing a framework for the process,  including data management, decision support tools, stakeholder engagement and policy aspects. His work will help inform region-wide marine spatial planning  as he interacts with the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, Pacific Fishery Management Council and various federal agencies with responsibilities for ocean and coastal activities, as well as state leadership from the three West Coast states.

Hallenbeck received his undergraduate degree in Marine Science from the Univeristy of California, Santa Cruz,  and recently completed a master’s degree in Coastal Watershed Science and Policy from California State University, Monterey Bay.

Suzanna Stoike is assigned to the Washington Department of Ecology. Her work will focus on sustainable coastal communities by assisting in carrying out the soon-to-be-released implementation plan of the WCGA’s Sustainable Communities action coordination team.  Suzanna will also help connect the West Coast Ecosystem-Based Network, a partnership of six community-based initiatives focused on the successful implementation of ecosystem-based management along the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, and the NOAA/WCGA Integrated Ecosystem Assessments team.

Stoike is a recent graduate of Oregon State University’s Marine Resource Management master’s degree program, with an undergraduate degree from Coastal Carolina University in South Carolina. While at OSU, she worked with Sea Grant-funded researcher Selina Heppell on a project enlisting fishermen in Port Orford to determine whether different methods of releasing pregnant female fish can help sustain potentially overharvested species.

In addition to Stoike and Hallenbeck, the new fellowship program is placing graduates Alison Haupt with  California Natural Resources Agency, and Alan Lovewell with the  National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration office in Seattle.

Launched in September 2006 by the governors of California, Oregon and Washington, the WCGA advances regional ocean governance and  underscores the importance of managing activities that affect our oceans on an ecosystem basis. The governors chose the state Sea Grant programs to conduct a three-year public engagement process that gathered comments from all kinds of ocean and coastal stakeholders, public and private, and resulted in a detailed report of their  issues and concerns.

From that, the WCGA team developed a 116-page action plan and eight work plans for dealing with issues as far-reaching as sea level rise, renewable energy and marine science literacy. Those plans are all available for download from the WCGA website.

Space Station images provide insights into coastal regions

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Mouth of the Columbia River, imaged from spaceCORVALLIS  – A prototype scanner aboard the International Space Station is providing scientists with a new set of imaging tools that will help them monitor Earth’s coastal regions for events from oil spills to plankton blooms.

The images and other data are now available to scientists from around the world through an online clearinghouse coordinated by Oregon State University.

Additional details of the project will be announced in a forthcoming issue of the American Geophysical Union journal, EOS, and can be found on the project’s website.

The Hyperspectral Imager for the Coastal Ocean, or HICO, is the first space-borne sensor created specifically for observing the coastal ocean and will allow scientists to better analyze human impacts and climate change effects on the world’s coastal regions, according to Curtiss O. Davis, an OSU oceanographer and the project scientist.

Read more from OSU News & Research Communications

Visit the HICO website

(Image: Mouth of the Columbia River, from HICO image gallery)

More tsunami preparedness resources

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In a news conference this morning, Oregon State Geologist Vicki McConnell pointed out that tsunamis generated by earthquakes on the other side of the Pacific give Oregonians plenty of time to evacuate  – but a similar quake off the Oregon coast, which geologists believe is inevitable, might come with as little as 15 minutes’ warning.

Nonetheless, McConnell said, coastal response to today’s devastating Japanese earthquake provides communities and emergency preparedness officials with a valuable rehearsal for something worse. Generally, officials said, warnings and evacuation went well on the coast; in the few cases where automatic warning sirens failed to trigger, emergency officials were able to manually trigger them immediately.

McConnell’s agency, the Department Of Geology and Mineral Industries (DOGAMI), has some great online resources for learning about, and preparing for, coastal earthquakes and tsunamis.