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.
To provide another opportunity to those who were not able to join the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Forum webinar on May 19th, MACO will convene a second abbreviated Mid-Atlantic Ocean Forum webinar on Tuesday June 23 from 10 – 11:30 am.
This webinar is structured like the first webinar to provide engaging opportunities for you to provide your input on MACO activities, and “brainstorm” issues for further collaboration. The information from this webinar will be combined with the information from the May 19 webinar to help inform our regional collaboration efforts.
This is the draft agenda for the webinar.
To prepare to participate, please review the May 19 Webinar Recording and Background Materials, and the Work Group Priorities. Please register so that we can be in touch if there are additional materials to be distributed before or after this webinar.
Please mark your calendars and plan to join us on June 23rd!
Questions: contact Judy Tucker (info@legacy.midatlanticocean.org).
This Forum is supported by funding from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.
Introduction by Kisha Santiago-Martinez, Chair, MARCO Management Board, and Deputy Secretary of State for Development, Planning, and Community Infrastructure at N.Y. State Department of State.
Tim Shank, Associate Scientist and Deep-sea Biologist, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, will share images, videos, and insights from seafloor canyons off the U. S. East Coast that contain dramatic topography, diverse ecosystems, and abundant life, much of which is hidden from view beneath the ocean surface.
Research partly funded by MARCO and the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
REGISTER: http://Go.whoi.edu/marco
For guests who can’t access Zoom, email: jtucker@legacy.midatlanticocean.org
Join us for a three part series exploring life in the deep sea. Pre-eminent scientists from around the Mid-Atlantic region will guide us on a tour of unique and exciting species living in extreme conditions far below the surface. We will explore the animals that live there and how they use both natural and man-made habitats to aid in their survival. From crustaceans and corals to sharks and whales, this is one webinar series you won’t want to miss!
Featured Speakers:
Canyon Landscapes and Species Interactions
- Dr. Peter Auster, Research Professor Emeritus of Marine Sciences, University of Connecticut and Senior Research Scientist, Mystic Aquarium
Canyons, Chondrichthyans and Conservation
- Merry Camhi, Director, New York Seascape, Wildlife Conservation Society, New York Aquarium
REGISTER
Are you a newcomer interested in a Portal 101 session or a returning user who could use a refresher course? Then this webinar is for you!
Join us Tuesday, Sept. 15, from 11 a.m. to noon for a #HowTu lesson on our data, tools and features. Come with your list of questions and learn how to map the Mid-Atlantic in this interactive session.
This webinar is free and open to the public. To register, please email Karl Vilacoba at kvilacob@monmouth.edu.
You can find this event on the Portal event calendar.
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s October meeting will be held October 5-8, 2020. The meeting was originally scheduled to be held in Riverhead, NY. Due to ongoing concerns about COVID-19 and public safety, the meeting will be held via webinar. Briefing materials will be posted below as they become available. AGENDA
Questions? Contact Mary Sabo at msabo@mafmc.org, (302) 518-1143.
Public Comments
Written comments must be received by 11:59 p.m. on September 23, 2020 to be included in the briefing book. Comments received after this date but before 5:00 p.m. on October 1, 2020 will be posted as supplemental materials on the Council meeting web page. After that date, all comments must be submitted using an online comment form available at https://www.mafmc.org/comments/october-2020-public-comments.
Join us for a three part series exploring life in the deep sea. Pre-eminent scientists from around the Mid-Atlantic region will guide us on a tour of unique and exciting species living in extreme conditions far below the surface. We will explore the animals that live there and how they use both natural and man-made habitats to aid in their survival. From crustaceans and corals to sharks and whales, this is one webinar series you won’t want to miss!
Featured Speaker: Steve Ross, Research Professor, Center for Marine Science, University of North Carolina – Wilmington
REGISTER
REGISTER NOW
The Mid-Atlantic Committee on the Ocean (MACO) will host a public webinar on Oct. 8 at 2 p.m. that features discussion from U.S. Coast Guard representatives about port access and navigation safety studies that the agency is leading along the Atlantic Coast as offshore wind development proceeds. The free session will also include a panel discussion with representatives of the port, maritime ind offshore wind industries.
The Coast Guard is currently conducting four Port Access Route Studies (PARS) for areas including the Northern New York Bight, the New Jersey coast and Delaware Bay approaches, the Chesapeake Bay approaches, and the North Carolina coast. The purpose of the studies is to evaluate the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and determine whether changes are necessary in these areas due to factors such as offshore wind development, current port capabilities and anticipated improvements, increased vessel traffic, existing and potential anchorage areas, effects of weather and navigational difficulty. The Coast Guard is also evaluating a potential system of fairways intended to ensure that traditional navigation routes along the East Coast are kept free from obstructions that could impact navigation safety.
The webinar will begin with presentations on the studies by George Detweiler, Michele DesAutels and Capt. Maureen Kallgren of the U.S. Coast Guard. Nick Napoli and Karl Vilacoba of the MARCO Data Portal team will demonstrate interactive maps showing the study areas online. Afterward, a panel of industry stakeholders including Will Fediw of the Virginia Maritime Association, Stuart Griffin of the Pilots’ Association for the Bay and River Delaware, Jeff Kaelin of Lund’s Fisheries, and Tom Vinson of the American Wind Energy Association will provide perspectives on navigation safety. The panel will be moderated by Tony MacDonald of the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute. Members of the audience will be welcome to take part in an open Q&A session with the speakers.
Through a collaborative process co-designed by fishermen, wind developers, and state, academic, and federal partners, this effort will advance the Responsible Offshore Science Alliance’s (ROSA) regional science efforts, by describing the current state of science, existing research and monitoring programs, and data gaps and soliciting input regarding priority research questions.
For information about how to join the webinar contact: lane@rodafisheries.org