NECAN in Action
Thank you to everyone who attended stakeholder engagement workshops over the past year and a half. All six workshops have been completed and summaries now finalized. There is also a synthesis of the workshops held in Canada, Maine, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut/New York. Most recently, NECAN partnered with the Casco Bay Estuary Partnership to sponsor a Nutrient Management in Casco Bay Focus Group to discuss what is needed to effectively evaluate the options for reducing nutrients in Casco Bay. NECAN plans to continue their stakeholder engagement efforts in the coming months.
In Massachusetts, US Congressman Bill Keating and State Representative Tim Madden sponsored an ocean and coastal acidification forum on March 28. The conference focused on the effect of OCA on coastal communities, and positive solutions to counteract the issue in order to improve the coastal environment and economy of the state. Steering Committee and Policy Working Group representative Beth Turner provided a summary of current legislative efforts throughout the Northeast and findings from the two NECAN Stakeholder Engagement workshops that took place in MA in 2015 regarding the issues stakeholders view with concern for this event.
NECAN in the News
- “Mook Sea Farm oyster hatchery sows pearls of wisdom on climate change” Video - Bill Mook and Joe Salisbury were recently featured in the Portland Herald Press regarding Mook Sea Farm, the effects of ocean acidification on oyster and other shellfish development, and the importance of monitoring sea water in the wake of increasing ocean acidification.
- “At the Fish Forum” Article - The 41st Annual Maine Fishermen’s Forum was covered by the Free Press in an article that summarized several key points from the conference, and specifically emphasized the growing concerns about ocean acidification in the Gulf of Maine.
- “Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels Threaten Corals and Oysters” Radio broadcast - The effects of ocean acidification on oyster shell development was also recently featured on WCAI, local NPR for Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard, Nantucket, and the South Coast. The segment featured NECAN members Beth Turner, Sarah Cooley, and Dan McCorkle, and discussed why OA is occurring, the biological effects of OA on shellfish, and the economic ramifications that could result from such a steady increase in acidification.
New Research
- Community-Level Actions that Can Address Ocean Acidification by Sarah R. Cooley, et al. in Frontiers in Marine Science
- MIT Sea Grant announces three newly funded projects studying the impacts of ocean acidification
- Hypoxia and acidification in ocean ecosystems: coupled dynamics and effects on marine life by Christopher J. Gobler and Hannes Baumann in Biology Letters
- Acidification and Low Oxygen Put Fish in Double Jeopardy by Kristen Minogue in Shorelines: Life and science at the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center
- Water quality criteria for an acidifying ocean: Challenges and opportunities for improvement by Steve Weisberg, et al. in Ocean and Coastal Management
Updates From Around the World
Global Ocean Health has published a series of Ocean Acidification Reports since March 2014. Seven reports have been published that address important topics from the effects of OA on specific species and larval stages, to profiles on specific geographic areas such as the Chesapeake Bay, to updates on legislation and outreach efforts throughout the country. All of the publications can be found online here. The March issue includes articles on the Maine monitoring bill and an update from the Maine Fishermen’s Forum session on lobster and OA.
Also, the West Coast Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia Science Panel has released its final report “Major Findings, Recommendations, and Actions.” It summarizes of the state of the science and outlines a series of potential management actions that California, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia can immediately begin implementing to offset and mitigate the economic and ecological impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia.
Postdoc Opportunity
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is offering a postdoc opportunity within the Atlantic Ecology Division in Narragansett, Rhode Island at the Office of Research and Development/National Health and Environmental Effects Research Laboratory (ORD/NHEERL). The position addresses the drivers and effects of coastal acidification in the Eastern US. Doctoral candidates graduating by Dec 31, 2016 are eligible to apply. More information on the opportunity can be found online here.
If you have any updates you’d like shared with NECAN, please email cassie@neracoos.org
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