The OA Alliance will provide an overview of Ocean Acidification Action Plans. Case studies from New York and Maine will provide examples of process, partnerships, data/ research and content that are informing state’s OA Action Plan recommendations.
Speakers: Jessie Turner, Project Manager, OA Alliance; Sherryll Jones, New York State Ocean Coordinator, Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, New York State Department of Environmental Conservation; Esperanza Stancioff, Chair of the Maine Ocean and Coastal Acidification Partnership, Extension Professor, Climate Change Educator University of Maine; Nathan Robbins, Climate and Adaptation Program, Commissioner’s Office, Maine Department of Environmental Protection; Kisha Santiago-Martinez, New York Department of State; Chair, Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO)
Registration link: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/7495166662896159233
For more information: info@midacan.org

Mid-Atlantic Fish Habitat is Changing
Changes in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean shelf ecosystem will force ocean fish and invertebrate species to move. Fish are sensitive to water temperature, and as it becomes too warm, populations will shift to where the water temperature is optimal for them and their prey. This is occurring through multiple processes at different rates, with different species moving or recruiting into new areas. Along the Atlantic coast, generally, more species of fish will move northward and poleward, or further offshore into deeper cooler waters to where the temperature range is more habitable for them. Climate-driven shifts in marine fish species create cross-disciplinary and often contentious issues for resource managers and decision-makers. Ecosystem level changes will impact fisheries management, coastal communities and economies, as well as other regional ocean uses that contribute to the fabric of the coastal economy.
This session is intended to help Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean (MACO) members and stakeholders better understand how research examining fish species and fish habitat shifts will contribute to the body of knowledge to help fishermen, fisheries managers, ocean use planners, and coastal communities track ocean change, assess fisheries resources at risk, and ultimately safeguard the nation’s valuable marine fish stocks in this dynamic and ever changing ocean space.
The session will include presentations from:
- Vincent S. Saba: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service(NMFS)/Princeton University Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
- Rich J. Bell: The Nature Conservancy
- Victoria Kentner and Chris Haak: Integrated Statistics/NOAA NMFS/Monmouth University
- Emily Farr, Mike Johnson, and Mark Nelson: NOAA NMFS
- James W. Morley, East Carolina University, Coastal Studies Institute
The panel of experts will then answer questions and share their thoughts on this pressing issue in our region.
Please register for this webinar. Registration is REQUIRED due to a maximum number of participants allowed by the webinar platform. A wait list will be kept in the event that capacity is reached.
Questions: info@legacy.midatlanticocean.org
MARCO and MACO events are made possible by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

Join us on June 16 at 2 p.m. for the latest installment of our “How Tuesday” webinar series dedicated to U.S. Coast Guard data recently published on the Portal. Two new maps show a Port Access Route Study (PARS) area extending offshore from Long Branch, New Jersey, to the Ocean City, Maryland, area, and a proposed anchorage area near the approach to the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. In this webinar, Jerry Barnes and Matt Creelman of the U.S. Coast Guard’s Fifth District will provide additional information on the study and anchorage area, demonstrate the new maps, and discuss how the Portal can be used to analyze the sites and inform public comments submitted via the Federal Register.
The webinar is free and open to the public. For planning purposes, please register in advance to Karl Vilacoba at kvilacob@monmouth.edu.