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Greetings!
I hope everyone enjoyed celebrating the 4th of July this past week! For me it was a great time to relax with my family and reflect on the grand experiment that was the United States of America. The Declaration of Independence is one of the world's most enduring symbols of democracy. And now, nearly 250 years later, the United States is no longer an experiment, but a success story that changed the world for the better. Did you know that Thomas Jefferson and John Adams, two of the authors of the Declaration of Independence, died within hours of each other on the 50th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence? Many at the time saw it as a sign of divine providence. Maybe it was.
Besides celebrating the birth of our nation, I have some exciting news to share here at the office as well. U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced historic funding for NOAA under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), highlighting plans for the implementation of $3.3 billion in investments focused on ensuring America’s communities and economy are ready for and resilient to climate change. Of this, NOAA Fisheries will receive an unprecedented $1.1 billion investment to provide science-based management and conservation of the nation’s marine resources as we confront climate change. Of particular note for the Southeast Fisheries Science Center are the planned investments under the Climate Ready Fisheries Initiative:
- Data acquisition and management - $145 Million
- Climate and Ecosystems Fisheries Initiative - $40 Million
- Regional councils - $20 Million
- Red snapper - $20 Million
- North Atlantic right whale - $82 Million
Regional Councils will receive funding to implement dynamic fishery management measures in response to current climate challenges. Funding for red snapper will go toward improving state and federal recreational fishing surveys, and data delivery associated with fisheries science and management. Funding for North Atlantic right whales will be used to invest in new technologies and approaches to reduce entanglement and vessel strike threats. Additionally, large amounts of funding will be used to more efficiently collect data, including funding for uncrewed data collection systems, optical observing systems, artificial intelligence, and machine learning.
Our next steps are to finalize implementation plans for each issue area and begin executing on our plans between now and 2026. I look forward to sharing more with you about this unprecedented amount of IRA funding in the future.
Keep reading!
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Thanks for your continued support and interest,
Clay Porch, Ph.D
Southeast Fisheries Science Center Director
clay.porch@noaa.gov
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Filling the Gap: Tagging Highly Migratory Species in Curaçao
NOAA Fisheries scientists, Derke Snodgrass and Eric Orbesen, ventured to the southern Caribbean to satellite tag highly migratory species around the waters of Curaçao. They focused on satellite tagging to capture data that will add to our growing knowledge on yellowfin tuna habitat use and movement patterns.
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A Pathway Toward Ecosystem-based Management for Gulf Menhaden
NOAA Fisheries and partners developed and calibrated an ecosystem model of the Gulf of Mexico that revealed key trade-offs between Gulf menhaden and their predators, which could assist in managing the stock. This is especially crucial because of menhaden's huge importance to Gulf of Mexico fisheries.
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Listening to a New Species, Rice’s Whale, to Support its Conservation
Embarking on Research to Study Pantropical Spotted Dolphins
The Gulf Pantropical Spotted Dolphin Stock Structure study is one of several marine mammal surveys we are conducting this year. The primary goal is to collect samples that can be used to inform population assessments of the pantropical spotted dolphin in the northern Gulf of Mexico. This information is crucial to successfully managing and conserving this species.
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Threatened and Endangered Species in the Southeast
Join us in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Act—#ESA50—by learning about some of the threatened and endangered listed species in the Southeast region. These species range from Rice’s whale to Gulf sturgeon to elkhorn coral but all are the focus of critical research by our scientists and partners. Also learn about what resources you need to help in case of a stranding or observation.
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Displaced Dolphins: Post-hurricane Response
Just in time for hurricane season, learn how dolphins may become displaced during severe weather events, what that may mean for the animals, and what you can do if you see a displaced dolphin. Trapped animals may require rescue by trained and authorized responders to return to their natural habitat. This was a collaborative post led by NOAA Fisheries’ Office of Protected Resources.
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NOAA Scientists Collecting Information to Restore Marine Mammals and Seabirds in the Gulf of Mexico
Scientists recently departed from Pascagoula, Mississippi to collect data to help inform plans to restore marine mammal and seabird populations. The 2-month long vessel survey will be conducted in three legs which began in June and will end in August. Many miles of trackline covering the deep waters of the northern Gulf of Mexico will be surveyed.
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Day-by-Day of Observations and Acoustics: Part One
Follow along for frequent updates to our blog from the marine mammal and seabird teams collecting data to help inform plans to restore populations on the Vessel Survey for Abundance and Distribution of Marine Mammals and Seabirds. Read about sightings, unique findings, and other happenings aboard the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter in the Gulf of Mexico.
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NOAA Releases 79 Florida Loggerhead Sea Turtles into the Wild
NOAA Fisheries scientists and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission released 79 loggerhead sea turtles into the ocean off Florida’s east coast. The turtles were raised in captivity as part of a unique program to test devices used during commercial shrimp fishing operations to reduce sea turtle bycatch and mortality.
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Meet Read Hendon, Oceanic and Coastal Pelagics Branch Chief
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Read works in the Population and Ecosystem Monitoring Division with nine outstanding scientists. Their work includes the annual Bottom Longline Survey, managing the Cooperative Tagging Program for highly migratory species, and conducting electronic tagging research on billfishes, tunas, sharks, and rays. Meet Read. |
Meet Héloïse Frouin-Mouy, Bio-acoustician
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Héloïse is a bio-acoustician whose current research aims to better understand beaked whales’ diving and calling behavior in the Gulf of Mexico. She uses passive acoustic tracking—an alternative tool to tagging—to obtain population density estimates from passive acoustics data. Her duties involve fieldwork preparation, data collection, and data analysis. Meet Héloïse. |
Meet Michael Bradley, Observer Coordinator
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Michael’s priority as an observer coordinator is to schedule and safely deploy fishery observers on commercial fishing vessels in our region and to ensure the data collected is of the highest quality. He is heavily involved in operations from recruiting to making sure observers help to achieve the program’s sea day goals. Meet Michael. |
Meet Lisa Ailloud, Stock Assessment Scientist
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Lisa is a stock assessment analyst who spends much of her time modeling fisheries and fish population dynamics to estimate current and future stock abundance trends. She provides scientific advice to fisheries managers on the sustainability of fished stocks. She also pursues collaborative research both nationally and internationally. Meet Lisa. |
Meet Tralee Chapman, Communications Intern
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Tralee is a part of our growing communications team. She brainstorms new content ideas, updates web pages, writes news stories and blogs, and talks through ideas in meetings with people from all around the science center. Her tasks also include social media, outreach, web stories, blogs, and the development of special pieces like this quarterly newsletter Sea Notes! Meet Tralee. |
Meet Melissa Cook, Research Fishery Biologist
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Melissa’s long career with the center has included fisheries research on yellowedge grouper and protected species. She has done work with sea turtle strandings and incidental captures, and drift studies. Dr. Cook is an aerial survey observer and is incorporating the use of drones into nearshore sea turtle population surveys. Meet Melissa. |
Program Pages
Passive Acoustic Monitoring Program
Our Passive Acoustic Monitoring Program in the Marine Mammal and Turtle Division uses underwater recording instruments to listen to, record, and detect all types of sounds in the ocean, including the sounds produced by whales and dolphins (cetaceans). These recordings and detections of vocalizing cetaceans help us to understand their distribution, abundance, habitat use, seasonal and longer term movement patterns, and calling behavior. All of this information contributes to management and conservation efforts.
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Passive Acoustic Technologies
Researchers use advanced technology to record and study the sounds produced by marine mammals and human-made sources. The instruments used by our scientists include towed hydrophone arrays, sonobuoys, seafloor moored acoustic recorders, and acoustic and dive behavior tags. We can gain knowledge on various life history traits of cetaceans from the data and observations.
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Passive Acoustic Research
The Passive Acoustic Ecology Program at the center conducts a variety of passive acoustic research projects to assess populations and improve our understanding of cetaceans in the Gulf of Mexico, and U.S. waters of the Western Atlantic. This research includes specific work to learn more about Rice’s whale and North Atlantic right whales.
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#ESA50 Campaign
Join us in celebrating the 50th anniversary of the Endangered Species Act, May 19 through December 28, 2023! This landmark legislation is a powerful and effective tool for conserving species and their habitats. The ESA: 50 Years of Conserving Species is updated with the latest features.
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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.
Visit our website
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