Northeast Region

Connecticut Sea Grant
Sea Grant Strengthens Vocational Agriculture/Aquaculture Education

• Sea Grant extension agents at the University of Connecticut (UConn) are promoting interest in the University's aquaculture and marine science programs by facilitating early college experience (ECE) courses for 30 students attending the Bridgeport Vocational-Aquaculture High School.


• ECE is an academic program that enables students to take college courses at their high school.


• Sea Grant interacts with teachers and students, evaluating progress. Students acquire new knowledge and skills to prepare them for higher education or a career in aquaculture.


• Sea Grant extension agents are also partnering with UConn to expand and enhance student opportunities in aquaculture science through the development of both minors and majors in aquaculture, and teaching courses to enhance the aquaculture curriculum and satisfy student demand.

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant
Sea Grant Develops "Katrina" Autonomous Surface Craft to Test Water Quality

• Sea Grant completed a diesel electric vertical profiling Autonomous Surface Craft called Katrina that is designed to take water quality measurements in lakes, rivers and calm ocean environments.


• Inspired by the need for water quality testing after the disastrous hurricane it was named for, "Katrina" was tested in the Charles River where it handled well at speeds up to 10 knots, with winds gusting up to 30 knots.


• An unexpected benefit of the Katrina boat is that it can also be used in data assimilation, a technique used to improve the predictive accuracy of major oceanographic computer codes.


• A joint project with Rutgers has allowed Sea Grant to determine the optimum location of ocean measurements for use with data assimilation for ocean circulation prediction, which opens up a completely new, cutting-edge line of investigation in physical oceanography.

Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution Sea Grant
Sea Grant Identifies Regional Coastal Hazard Risks

• The WHOI Sea Grant coastal processes extension program helps to identify the risks and impacts associated with the region's coastal natural hazards.


• In partnership with FEMA and others, Sea Grant provided advice to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Commission on Coastal Hazards that developed a comprehensive plan for protecting the Massachusetts coastline, titled, "Preparing for the Storm: Recommendations for Management of Risk from Coastal Hazards in Massachusetts."


• The Commission consisted of state legislators and representatives from state and local government agencies involved in coastal issues. Five Working Groups were formed to address various issues, with the Sea Grant co-chairing the 'Protection Working Group.'
  
  
• The Commission's Report includes 29 recommendations to improve coastal hazards management in Massachusetts.

Maine Sea Grant
Marine Invasive Species Now Included in State Nearshore Surveys

• Marine invasive species present a growing ecological and economic challenge to the State of Maine.


• Exotic invasive species may displace or prey on native organisms, impact habitat, and introduce new parasites and diseases. It is difficult and costly to eradicate these invaders once they become established in a new area.


• In response, Maine Sea Grant is working with the other northeastern Sea Grant programs to raise awareness and educate key target audiences about marine invasive species vectors and appropriate prevention strategies through a project called "Interrupting the Flow."


• Sea Grant has focused on outreach and collaboration with the SCUBA diving community in the Gulf of Maine—organizing three species identification and monitoring trainings, and working with science divers to develop an underwater survey protocol for tracking the location and abundance of species of highest concern.


• As a result of this program, recreational divers have learned to identify key species of concern, and have submitted reports, digital photos, and video footage of these species to an online database developed and maintained by MIT Sea Grant. This database is a resource for invasive species scientists and marine resource managers who do not have sufficient funding or staff time to collect this data.
  
  
• As a result of Sea Grant's involvement in the survey protocol development, the Maine Department of Marine Resources incorporated location and abundance metrics for Didemnum sp., a high priority invasive colonial tunicate, into its annual nearshore surveys.

New Hampshire Sea Grant
Sea Grant Designs Shrimp Trawl Nets to Reduce Bycatch

• New Hampshire Sea Grant extension staff designed and tested modified shrimp trawl nets, resulting in the further reduction of both fish bycatch and small shrimp.


• The newly-designed grid system reduced shrimp counts (increased average size) by 15 to 20 count per pound.


• The topless shrimp trawl design reduced herring bycatch by 90% without loss of shrimp.

New York Sea Grant
Sea Grant Mitigates Impacts of VHS and Helps Keep Small Fisheries-Dependent Businesses Viable

• Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) is a serious fish viral disease responsible for freshwater fish die-offs in the Great Lakes Basin.


• Sea Grant researchers are developing a rapid diagnostic tool for the VHS virus which reduces viral detection time by as much as tenfold.


• To prevent the spread of VHS, stringent federal regulations have restricted live fish transport, creating economic hardship in New York for more than 300 small fisheries-dependent businesses.


• Sea Grant worked with elected officials and businesses to identify sources of low interest loans and developed a live fish euthanization protocol for a fish processor whose live bullhead product contributes $170,000 a year to the upstate New York economy.


• When it appeared that compliance with proposed federal regulations on bait transport would burden the industry, Sea Grant also facilitated a dialogue that helped define new special requirements for marine bait fish transport and allows more than 100 bait shops in New York's marine district to remain open for business for a longer period in the year.

Rhode Island Sea Grant
Sea Grant Develops Urban Coastal Greenway Policy

• As part of revising the Providence Harbor Special Area Management Plan for the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC), Rhode Island Sea Grant developed an innovative Urban Coastal Greenway Policy which provided a new level of flexibility to a previously rigid regulatory structure regarding coastal development-both in terms of environmental protection and building and landscape aesthetics.


• The policy enabled CRMC to collaborate more closely with developers on their plans during the application process, and tailor the plans to the best benefit the coastal environment, the developer, and the public alike.


• A key outcome of the policy is that CRMC has been able through this cooperative process to secure almost two miles of new public access along the urban shore, while still maintaining the economic integrity of development plans and the environmental quality of a critical portion of northern Narragansett Bay.