The efforts of three years and people in three states have culminated in the release this week of a new report detailing the major regional marine research and information needs of Oregon, Washington and California.
West Coast Regional Marine Research and Information Needs, produced by the four Sea Grant programs in the three West Coast states, grew out of three years public meetings, surveys and analysis. More than 1,000 stakeholders, representing community, business, research and agency interests, took part in identifying those needs.
Sea Grant collaborators analyzed thousands of stakeholder comments and sorted the needs into eight categories:
- Vitality of Coastal Communities and Maritime Operations
- Ocean and Coastal Governance and Management of Multiple Uses
- Fisheries and Aquaculture
- Marine Ecosystem Structure and Function
- Ocean Health and Stressors
- Physical Ocean Processes, Related Climate Change, and Physical Coastal Hazards
- Water Quality and Pollution
- Resilience and Adaptability to Hazards and Climate Change
Cutting across those topics are three themes: climate change, marine education and literacy, and access to information and data.
The project, funded by NOAA as part of a nationwide effort to identify and set priorities for future research, is closely aligned with the West Coast Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Health.
