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DECEMBER 15, 2021

Message From Our Director

Season’s Greetings!

In our last issue, I mentioned that we were close to completing a significant accomplishment for the center. After several years of collecting feedback from our partners, staff, and many of you, as well as a formal organizational assessment, the realignment of NOAA’s Southeast Fisheries Science Center organizational structure has now been finalized. 

The realignment advances us from a legacy place-based organizational structure (i.e. Beaufort, Miami, Mississippi, Galveston and Panama City laboratories) to six functionally-aligned divisions led by a division director and several program supervisors: 

• Fisheries Assessment, Technology, and Engineering Support (Farron Wallace)
• Fisheries Statistics (Dave Gloeckner)
• Marine Mammals and Sea Turtles (Mridula Srinivasan)
• Operations, Management, and Information (Braydon Mikesell)
• Population and Ecosystems Monitoring (Todd Kellison)
• Sustainable Fisheries (Shannon Cass-Calay)

The primary sources of scientific advice will come through the Sustainable Fisheries Division, which focuses on Fishery Management Plans as regulated under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Management Act, and the Marine Mammal and Sea Turtle Division, which focuses on protected species regulated under the Endangered Species Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act. The data needed to support the science advice and monitor the effects of regulations will be collected through the Fishery Statistics Division (fishery catch and effort) and the Population and Ecosystem Monitoring Division (resource status and abundance surveys).

The Operations, Management, and Information Division will provide administrative, infrastructure and information technology support to the center, consolidating activities formally distributed unevenly among geographic units. Similarly, the Fisheries Assessment, Technology, and Ecosystem Division will focus on providing technical support, including expanding the use of advanced technology, genomics, and artificial intelligence.

The new structure will help the center better coordinate services, improve the supervisor to employee ratio, and react strategically to the changing priorities of its mission. While we foresee that the realignment will be seamless for our partners, we anticipate it will quickly pay dividends towards optimizing the delivery of the services and expertise that we provide in support of ecosystem based management, fishery management plans, and the conservation of marine mammals, sea turtles and other protected species.

Rest assured, this hasn’t been the only thing we’ve been working on though. Continue reading to see more science highlights from the science center team!

Thanks for your continued support and interest, Clay Porch, Ph.D Southeast Fisheries Science Center Director clay.porch@noaa.gov

Science Stories

The U.S. South Atlantic: An Ecosystem In Transition

According to a new report from NOAA Fisheries, the U.S. South Atlantic marine ecosystem is showing signs of chronic stress and changing ocean conditions, in addition to pressure from a growing coastal population. This report provides a look at the ecosystem as a whole, rather than its individual parts. Read more.

2021 Meeting of ICCAT

The U.S. and other countries tackled management challenges for Atlantic tunas and sharks at the 2021 annual meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas. Scientists from the center play a critical role in the U.S. delegation, helping to achieve science-based agreements on management measures. They help develop and review proposals—before and during the meeting—to ensure that the science is appropriately taken into account. Read more.

Cultivating More Resilient Corals

We partnered with the University of Miami to build a coral cultivation and research facility. It will help improve our ability to restore corals on Florida reefs and enable scientists to get a better understanding what factors contribute to more resilient corals. Read more.

Queen Snapper Fish Live to Up to 45 Years and Use Deep-Sea Corals as Habitat

Scientists in Puerto Rico are conducting a cooperative research study with the local fishing community to better understand queen snapper biology and habitat interactions. They found the snapper can grow as old as 45 years in Caribbean waters. That’s much older than their original estimate of 8 years! Read more.

On the Water: A Look at Life as an Observer

Fisheries observers play a vital role in gathering the data needed to ensure the sustainability of our marine resources. Keenan Carpenter is one of the observers in the center's Pelagic Observer Program, where he helps to monitor the U. S. Atlantic pelagic longline fleet throughout the Gulf of Mexico and along the Western Atlantic. Read more.

Faces of the Science Center

Meet Andrea Kroetz, Assistant Scientist

Dr. Andrea Kroetz is a scientist whose work supports the recovery of the smalltooth sawfish, an endangered species. She looks at the biology and ecology of sharks, rays, and bony fish, including their habitat use, movements, and life history. Meet Andrea.

Meet Ruth Ewing, Veterinary Medical Officer

Dr. Ruth Ewing is a marine mammal veterinary pathologist. She works to unravel the complexities of disease and non-infectious disease impacts on marine mammals as part of the center’s Marine Mammal Health and Stranding Response Program. Meet Ruth.

Meet Adriane Michaelis, Aquaculture Social Scientist

Dr. Adriane Michaelis is an aquaculture social scientist who supports the development of Aquaculture Opportunity Areas. She also assists NOAA's regional teams when considering the potential social impacts of aquaculture siting. Meet Adriane.

Meet Mark Ladd, Coral Research Scientist

Dr. Mark Ladd leads the Coral Research and Assessment Lab (CoRAL) Team at the science center. He focuses on threatened corals in Florida and the Caribbean and works to provide timely information that can be applied to help manage coral reefs. Meet Mark.

Meet Vivian Matter, Data Analysis & Assessment Support Branch Chief

Vivian Matter is the branch chief for the new Data Analysis and Assessment Support branch in the Sustainable Fisheries Division, which provides analytical data products used in stock assessments in the region. She's also our most recent Silver Sherman award recipient. Meet Vivian.

The mission of NOAA's Southeast Fisheries Science Center is to provide the scientific advice and data needed to effectively manage the living marine resources of the Southeast region and Atlantic high seas.

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