Gear Retrieval Project Creates Jobs

marine-debris-projectOregon Sea Grant’s early involvement with a pilot project to retrieve lost crab pots helped lay the groundwork for a $699,000 NOAA grant that will hire commercial fishermen to clean up 180 metric tons of abandoned gear off the Oregon coast.

The 2009 Gear Retrieval Project, announced last week by NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco during a visit to Newport, will employ fishermen during the off-season. Working with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, the fishermen will locate and remove discarded crab pots, fishing nets and other marine debris that canĀ  trap and kill marine mammals and fish and endanger fishing activities.

In 2006, Sea Grant collaborated with commerical fishing groups and the Oregon Crab Commission to test whether local fishermen could effectively locate and retrieve lost crab pots. In their first two test runs, fishermen found and hauled in nearly 60 crab pots and more than 600 feet of abandoned trawl cable.

The new gear retrieval project is among $7 million in coastal habitat restoration projects NOAA is funding in Oregon under theĀ  American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

Read more about NOAA’s stimulus act projects here.

Sea Grant seeks Newport-based education coordinator

Oregon Sea Grant is advertising a new professional faculty position to coordinate K-12 marine education programs at the Hatfield Marine Science Center in Newport, on the central Oregon Coast. The person hired will manage a team of marine educators, coordinate k-12 classroom instruction at the HMSC visitor center, and work with faculty to design, promote, implement, and evaluate the center’s marine education programs. The application deadline is July 11, 2008.

Read the position announcement and apply on line through Oregon State University’s Job Search site

Read more about HMSC education programs

Position opening: Watershed education

Oregon Sea Grant Extension is looking for a highly motivated person with experience in science/natural resources education to fill a full-time, grant-funded professional faculty position as coordinator of its watershed education program. The position involves traveling the state to work with local watershed councils, resource agencies and other stakeholders, assessing watershed education needs and helping Extension watershed and other OSU faculty develop programs to meet those needs. The successful applicant will also write grant proposals, plan and facilitate meetings, and develop educational and promotional materials. The application deadilne is July 25, 2007.

For more information and to submit an application, visit the OSU Human Resources Web site.