Sea Grants call for more fisheries research

The West Coast’s four Sea Grant programs on Wednesday released a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-funded report saying more research is needed on fisheries, ocean health, coastal hazards and climate change in order to protect the region’s USD 32 billion (EUR 22.6 billion) marine economy.

Prepared by the California Sea Grant, University of Southern California Seat Grant, Oregon Sea Grant and Washington Sea Grant, “West Coast Regional Marine Research and Information Needs” outlines eight key regional research areas, as well as three cross-cutting themes in support of the action plan of the 2006 West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health.

The study gathers three years of input from state, federal and tribal agencies and public comment and prioritizes eight goals:

• Maintaining social and economic vitality of coastal communities and marine operations

• Improving ocean and coastal governance and management of multiple/competing uses

• Assessing impacts of fisheries and aquaculture, and evaluating alternative management approaches and the health risks and benefits of seafood

• Improving understanding of ecosystem function and how it may change spatially and over time so as to improve the long-term ability to manage resources sustainably

• Identifying, predicting and mitigating causes of ocean “stressors,” such as non-native aquatic species invasions, harmful algal blooms and hypoxia

• Understanding physical drivers of coastal hazards, such as storm surge, shoreline instability and sea level rise

• Identifying sources, fate and transport of pollutants and their consequences for human health and prevention

• Assessing coastal communities’ social and economic vulnerability to coastal hazards and climate change, and identifying the degree to which communities comprehend this risk

The study also concludes that all research should be framed within the context of climate change and as part of a broader effort to further ocean education and literacy.

“What is remarkable about the report is that it draws on such a rich database of what ocean stakeholders feel is important to understand about the ocean,” said Phyllis Grifman, USC Sea Grant associate director. “The study was regional in scope but the way the data was collected allows us to also look at the local level.”

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