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Press Releases |
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Dec. 15, 2003--The U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Navy’s Office of Naval Research (ONR) have joined forces to uncover the secrets of a technological marvel of the Civil War era akin to the USS Monitor and the CSS Hunley: the USS Alligator. Launched in 1862, the Alligator was the U.S. Navy’s first submarine. While the vessel represented a significant leap forward in naval engineering, complete information about its design and fate has been elusive. Today, NOAA and ONR released findings that help fill large gaps in the history of the all-but-forgotten Union submarine, including details about the Alligator’s inventor, innovative features and loss in April 1863.
Nov. 7, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants to fill eight Sanctuary Advisory Council seats representing agriculture, business/industry, conservation, fishing, recreation, research, and two community at-large seats. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Nov. 4, 2003--A Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary, managed by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is seeking applicants to fill five vacant alternate slots and one vacant primary for its Sanctuary Advisory Council.
Oct. 31, 2003--A dedicated cadre of citizen volunteers braved the elements today to help determine the amount of pollution the season’s first significant rains wash into the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. Close to 50 volunteers collected water samples from the rain’s “First Flush” at Pacific Grove, Monterey, Santa Cruz, and Half Moon Bay, Calif. The National Marine Sanctuary system is part of the Commerce Department’s NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Oct. 29, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary today launched a new state-of-the-art Web site that provides users fast, easy access to the latest high quality scientific research and monitoring information on the sanctuary’s major habitats, species and issues.
Oct. 22, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the State of Michigan announce the appointment of five members and alternates for the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve Advisory Council.
Oct. 20, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has awarded funds for projects that promote environmental and marine education and focus on educating students and teachers about the Monterey Bay watershed. Grants are administered through NOAA’s Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary Office to environmental education organizations located throughout the Monterey Bay watershed.
Sept. 25, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today announced the newly selected members and alternates to the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve Advisory Council (Council).
Sept. 25, 2003--The Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS) will hold a public meeting of the Sanctuary Advisory Council on Sept. 30, 2003 in Honolulu.
Sept. 16, 2003--Hundreds of volunteers will spend Saturday, Sept. 20, 2003 in the
largest volunteer beach cleanup event in the world by clearing debris from California beaches and waterways, including those bordering the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). The event marks the 19th Annual Coastal Cleanup Day, sponsored countywide this year by the sanctuary.
Sept. 16, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce, has named three Florida Keys
residents to the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council.
Sept. 16, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the National Undersea Research Center at the University of Connecticut (NURC-UConn) returned Monday to the wreck of the famed 19th-century steamship Portland, kicking off a week-long expedition to peer into the vessel’s past and plan for its future. The NOAA-UConn team is conducting the first surveys of the Portland since they confirmed its location in August 2002 within NOAA’s Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS) off the coast of Massachusetts.
Sept. 5, 2003--Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary, managed by the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), is seeking applicants for three Sanctuary Advisory Council seats representing local conservation, living resources research and university education interests.
Sept. 3, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and the State of Florida are seeking applicants to fill open positions on the Sanctuary Advisory Council.
Sept. 2, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuary’s Advisory Council will sponsor a workshop Sept. 3-5, to assess ship strike risks to whales in Hawaii. The council will bring together more than 80 resource managers, scientists and representatives of the marine community to identify possible actions to reduce the occurrence of vessel-whale collision in Hawaiian waters and throughout the National Marine Sanctuary System.
July 23, 2003--Newport News, VA - After five years of successful large artifact recovery missions, the U.S. Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today begins a four-week expedition at the Monitor National Marine Sanctuary to examine the condition of the wreck of the famed Civil War ironclad USS Monitor. The expedition is a cooperative effort involving NOAA’s National Marine Sanctuary Program, the National Undersea Research Center (NURC) at the University of North Carolina at Wilmington (UNC-W), the Maritime Studies Program at East Carolina University (ECU) and The Mariners’ Museum.
July 10, 2003--The NOAA Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants to fill six vacant Sanctuary Advisory Council seats. The seats available are for non-governmental members and include members from the following counties: Hawai`i, Honolulu, Kaua`i, and Maui, and representatives from the Education and Research communities.
June 19, 2003--NOAA, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration of the Commerce Department, has charged the Pelagic Shark Research Foundation (PSRF), located in Santa Cruz, Calif., with two counts of violating conditions of their Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary permit for white shark research.
June 17, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary has released a set of proposed actions for a revised Sanctuary Management Plan that addresses a range of critical ocean issues. Most of the proposed action plans were developed by public working groups established by the Sanctuary’s Advisory Council and composed of a broad spectrum of affected stakeholders, the public, sanctuary staff and other agencies. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
June 16, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today that Naomi McIntosh has been selected as manager of NOAA’s Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary on June15, 2003. McIntosh had served as the acting manager since September 2000.
June 9, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced today that Dan Howard will become the manager of NOAA’s Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary on June 15, 2003. Previously, there had been one manager for both Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank national marine sanctuaries. This action officially separates the management for the two sites.
June 6, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuary Program today announced their intention to institute a 60-day emergency closure of two patch reefs off Key Largo in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary to all activities except permitted scientific research due to a fast-spreading coral disease. No person or vessels will be allowed to enter the closed area during the quarantined period. Notice of the closure will be published in the Federal Register next week. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
June 3, 2003--Attorneys for the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have issued a $20,000 civil penalty in the case of a vessel cited for illegal long-line fishing in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s protected Tortugas Ecological Reserve. NOAA has also obtained a settlement in a December 2002 Tortugas shrimping case.
May 28, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration‘s (NOAA) Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Coral Reef Ecosystem Reserve announced today the opening of Mokupäpapa: Discovery Center for Hawaii’s Remote Coral Reefs, the new, interactive educational facility that utilizes a variety of learning tools to teach visitors and school students about Hawaii’s oldest islands and atolls. The Center emphasizes marine life, and the natural and cultural resources contained within the nation’s largest conservation area. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
May 19, 2003--More than 100 scientists, educators and resource managers who met in Honolulu last week laid the groundwork for a regional action plan for one of the nation’s unique marine treasures, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Sanctuary Program sponsored the first collaborative workshop of its kind in more than 20 years.
May 16, 2003--Thousands of volunteers will spend Saturday, May 17th testing the quality of river and stream waters in California’s coastal watersheds, including the 11 major watersheds that drain into the NOAA Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary. The effort is part of the fourth annual “Snapshot” Day, a one-day simultaneous water quality monitoring event where trained volunteers collect important information about the health of rivers and streams that flow into the ocean.
May 14, 2003--The Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary and Underwater Preserve, managed by NOAA, the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the State of Michigan, is seeking five volunteer advisors, and five alternates, to serve as education, tourism, diving, maritime history and interpretation and citizen at large representatives on the Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) for two-year terms.
May 12, 2003--The Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) christened the R/V Shearwater, a 62', high-speed Teknicraft aluminum-hull catamaran research vessel. This new vessel will be an important new tool to enhance research in the California National Marine Sanctuaries.
April 18, 2003--The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for a Tourism representative (Alternate) seat on the Sanctuary’s Advisory Council. The general public is welcome to apply and the candidate selected should expect to serve until February 2005. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
April 2, 2003--NOAA’s Monterey Bay Sanctuary and the Coastal Watershed Council released a report that shows high concentrations of pollutants were detected in Pacific Grove, Monterey, Capitola and Santa Cruz, Calif., storm drains following last fall’s first major rain storm event.
March 19, 2003--Officials from the Commerce Department’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today announced proposed plans to upgrade and expand its Hawaiian Islands Humpback Whale National Marine Sanctuary (HIHWNMS) headquarters in Kihei, Hawai`i. The plans call for demolition and removal of two antiquated storage buildings, construction of a new multi-purpose building, installation of a new parking lot and site landscaping such as an outdoor courtyard.
March 9, 2003--In a historic step toward better preserving and managing our nation’s maritime heritage, the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) broke ground today at the site of NOAA’s new Maritime Archaeology Center (MAC) at The Mariners’ Museum.
February 13, 2003--Attorneys for the Department of Commerce’s National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) have issued a $20,000 civil penalty in the case of a vessel cited for illegal shrimp trawling in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary’s protected Tortugas Ecological Reserve last December.
January 13, 2003--The Department of Commerce has awarded its Bronze Medal to NOAA National Ocean Service biologist John Halas of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary for developing a mooring, or fastening, device designed to protect countless acres of coral reef from anchor damage. His invention is being used throughout the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary and marine protected areas worldwide. The Bronze Medal is the highest honorary award given by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
