Transcript Slide 1

Sea Grant
Staff Meeting
September 14, 2010
Sea Grant
• How Sea Grant began
• Changing focus through the years
• The state of our coasts today
• The world of Sea Grant
• Why Sea Grant is nimble
• The future of the University of Hawaii Sea Grant
College Program
Who is Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus?
• Geophysicist and oceanographer
• Dean, University of Minnesota, Institute of
Technology
• Syndicated newspaper cartoonist
Who is Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus?
Who is Athelstan Frederick Spilhaus?
I'm impatient with the past and irritable
with the present. The future is where my
concern lies, and I'm very optimistic
about it."
In the beginning, there
was…
Sea Grant
The National Sea Grant College Program
The Beginning
"Just as the scholars in the Land Grant
Colleges developed a passion for the land
and led not only in ways to benefit by it,
but also in the ways to preserve it—we
must seek through a welding together of
science, art, literature, engineering,
medicine, law, public administration, and
politics to develop a public which will not
only homestead our new spaces in the sea,
but colonize and civilize them through an
integrated interdisciplinary education in
the Sea Grant Colleges.“
Dr. Athelstan Spilhaus
Athlestan Spilhaus
Dean, Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota Science
September 4, 1964
“...I have suggested the establishment of 'seagrant colleges'...”
“The sea-grant college would focus attention on
marine science…develop strengths in the
applications of marine science in colleges of
aquaculture and oceanic engineering…”
Athlestan Spilhaus
Dean, Institute of Technology, University of Minnesota Science
September 4, 1964
• Establishment of the land-grant colleges
was one of the best investments this nation
ever made.
• The same kind of imagination and foresight
should be applied to exploitation of
the sea.
The Evolution
And then there was…
Fish Grant
SEA GRANT: The First Ten Years
Ned A. Ostenso, Director
1979:
•Marine Resource Development
•Aquaculture
•Fisheries
•Marine Biomedicinals and Extracts
•Minerals from the Sea
SEA GRANT: The First Ten Years
Ned A. Ostenso, Director
1979 (Cont.):
•Socioeconomic and Legal Research
•Marine Technology Research and
Development
•Marine Environmental Research
•Marine Education and Training
THE NATIONAL SEA GRANT NETWORK
Oceans of Opportunity
1989:
Ned A. Ostenso, Director
•Fostering international trade competitiveness
•Exploring the new realm of marine
biotechnology
•Discovering marine natural products
•Developing unmanned underwater work
vehicles
•Improving trawler efficiency
THE NATIONAL SEA GRANT NETWORK
Oceans of Opportunity
Ned A. Ostenso, Director
1989 (cont.)
• Introducing new advances in fishing gear
technology
• Upgrading seafood science and technology
• Investigating parasitic diseases of shellfish
• Advancing aquaculture
• Enhancing salmon resources
• Promoting exports of US. fishery products
Sea Grant
National
1995 Strategic Plan
• Advanced Technology for Commercial
Products And Processes
• Seafood Production
• Economic Development
• Coastal Ecosystem Health And Public Safety
• Education and Human Resources
Sea Grant
1998
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Aquaculture
Aquatic Nuisance Species
Coastal Economic Development
Coastal Habitat Enhancement
Coastal Hazards
Education
Marine Biotechnology
Seafood Technology
America’s Coasts
• Wealth of natural resources
• Diversity of species, habitat types, and nutrients
• Centers of economic activity, waterborne commerce,
energy and mineral production, and employment
• Recreation and tourism
• Ironically, the qualities that make them so desirable
are the very ones that have led to their endangerment
(Population Trends Along the Coastal United States: 1980-2008, NOAA Report, 2004)
The State of Our Coasts
• America’s coastal ecosystems are dominated by human use
• America’s coasts’ invaluable economic, cultural and
environmental resources are at risk
• Increased rates of climate-related environmental changes have
made coastal communities vulnerable in ways never before
imagined
• America must use its coastal land, water, energy, and other
natural resources in ways that preserve the health and
productivity of coastal ecosystems
The World of Sea Grant
• Ten of the fifteen largest cities in the US are
coastal
• Of the total US population of 307 million, 253
million people live in coastal states
• In 2003, 153 million people (53 % of the US
population) lived in 673 coastal counties, a 28%
increase from 1980
• Excluding Alaska, these coastal counties account
for only 17% of US land area
The World of Sea Grant
(Population Trends Along the Coastal United States: 1980-2008, NOAA Report, 2004)
The World of Sea Grant
The Population density of Oahu is greater
than 1,500 persons/mile2
(Population Trends Along the Coastal United States: 1980-2008, NOAA Report, 2004)
The World of Sea Grant
• Median household income for coastal counties is
approximately 17% higher than non-coastal
counties
• Fourteen of America’s 20 busiest airports are in
coastal areas
• Since 1947, > 50,000 boreholes have been drilled
in Federal waters off the US
• Today ~10,500 producing wells are present on the
Federal Continental Shelf
• > 27,000 abandoned oil and gas wells sit beneath
the Gulf of Mexico alone
These realities have driven the National Sea
Grant College Program to re-envision itself…
• A future where people live along our coasts in
harmony with the natural resources that attracted
and sustain them
• A vision of coastal America where we use our
natural resources in ways that capture the
economic and recreational benefits they offer, while
preserving their quality and abundance for future
generations
Claiborne Pell
United States Senator
State of Rhode Island
An important strength of sea grant, often overlooked,
is that the program has produced not merely a
number of effective marine-science institutions, but a
national network of colleges, universities, and
institutes that share their thoughts and ideas, as well
as the results of their research.
Because of this, the sea grant program is not only
an important asset to each state and region, but a
true national asset.
Claiborne Pell
United States Senator
State of Rhode Island
Although a truly national program, sea grant draws
its strengths from its roots - from the researchers in
the field. Unlike many national programs, sea grant's
research and work agenda is not dictated by
government officials in Washington, but developed
by those in the sea grant colleges who are closest to
the problems and opportunities.
A Nimble Sea Grant
Sea Grant is unique in NOAA
– Sea Grant is “bottom-up”
– Integrated into state and local organizations
– Not structured by regulatory responsibility or
discipline, e.g. fisheries, oceans or atmosphere
– Sea Grant programs collaborate with NOAA offices
and programs, but are not supervised by them
A Nimble Sea Grant
• Sea Grant is nimble because it opportunistically
engages America’s universities, the greatest
intellectual and scholarly enterprise in human history
• Sea Grant is collaborative, distributed and local by
design: 32 separate programs in a unified network
• Sea Grant integrates these resource in:
– Research – new knowledge
– Education – new human resources
• Outreach – better living along coasts
A Nimble Sea Grant
• Hawaii Sea Grant’s history – a pursuit of
excellence and high service
• Hawaii Sea Grant today
• Hawaii Sea Grant in ten years
????
MALAMA I KA 'AINA
MALAMA KE KAI
Sea Grant
National
• Among demonstrated strengths of individual Sea
Grant programs is the ability to move rapidly to
mobilize universities and other partners to address
challenges across the country and around the world.
• Likewise, one of the strengths of the Sea Grant
network is the ability, through the organization’s
coordinated state and regional structures, to
implement the national goals of the National
Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration
(NOAA) at local, state, and regional levels.
Sea Grant
National
1995 Strategic Plan
• Advanced Technology for Commercial
Products And Processes - Sea Grant
envisions that the application of advanced
technologies...to the development of products and
processes for medical, industrial, and
environmental applications will result in an
expanded economy, improved public health, and a
cleaner environment.
Sea Grant
National
1995 Strategic Plan
Seafood Production -
… we will see expanded
economic contribution of our seafood production
industries through revitalization of the commercial
fishing industry, development of sustainable
aquaculture, and enhanced competitiveness
through advances in seafood technology.
Sea Grant
National
1995 Strategic Plan
• Economic Development - Sea Grant will
undertake collaborative efforts with business
firms, industries, and community leaders:
– To advance the coastal and marine-related
economies by strengthening job skills and
business opportunities that undergird community
stability.
– To protect the marine resources and
environmental assets of coastal communities for
the benefit of present and future generations.
Sea Grant
National
1995 Strategic Plan
– To help maintain U.S. coastal and offshore
industries in positions of global leadership, and to
provide the scientific and engineering
professionals needed to assure maintenance of
our vital infrastructure through the next century.
Sea Grant
National
1995 Strategic Plan
- Sea Grant envisions the implementation of
policies and programs to protect and enhance
both the health of coastal ecosystems and the
safety of its inhabitants and users while …
providing for sustained growth of the coastal
economies.
Sea Grant
National
1995 Strategic Plan
Protection of Life and Property
• Sea Grant envisions that the generation of
relevant research information and the transfer of
it to coastal communities will improve the ability
of coastal residents to protect better their lives
and property. In addition, the coastal zone of the
United States will be safer, less hazardous, and
more amenable to wise development.
Sea Grant
National
1995 Strategic Plan
Education and Human Resources
• Sea Grant visualizes a higher quality of life by developing an
informed citizenry and producing highly qualified
professionals.
• Cultivation of marine environmental awareness and
expertise in the nation's work force will facilitate integration
of environmental criteria into engineering and business
decisions and support diffusion of environmental
technologies.
• Directed flow of research-based information is central to
innovation and sustainable development.
Sea Grant
National
1995 Strategic Plan
Education and Human Resources - A
technically trained work force: Sea Grant will
provide national leadership to develop wellprepared professionals who understand the
changing nature of science and research in
marine and coastal problems and make wise
decisions concerning resource management.
Milner B. Schaefer, Ph. D.
Professor of Oceanography and Director, Institute of Marine
Resources, University of California, and Chairman, National Academy
of Sciences Committee on Oceanography
• Fulfillment of our destiny in the ocean requires a
great deal more than the application of science and
technology.
• This strange and unfamiliar milieu, the sea, presents
problems of economics, sociology, law and
philosophy to which old solutions and old traditions
imperfectly apply.
• New institutions, and new ways of thought, require
development. Our entry into this new realm requires
the integration of many disciplines in both the
sciences and humanities.
Milner B. Schaefer, Ph. D.
Professor of Oceanography and Director, Institute of Marine
Resources, University of California. He is Chairman, National Academy
of Sciences Committee on Oceanography
• We need to have scholars working closely together
in the hard sciences such as physics, chemistry,
biology, and mathematics; in the soft sciences,
such as sociology and economics; in engineering;
in law; and others.
• There is an obvious need for the college of the sea
to bring together men of all these disciplines to
carry out their scholarly pursuits, research and
education in relation to the ocean.
Milner B. Schaefer, Ph. D.
Professor of Oceanography and Director, Institute of Marine
Resources, University of California. He is Chairman, National Academy
of Sciences Committee on Oceanography
• It is clear that in the major part of the watery
realm, … there will be increasing competition for
the use of the resources. It is already abundantly
clear that the inshore waters… along the coast of
the United States … is becoming crowded.
• The coastal belt within 50 miles of the ocean is
now occupied by 52 million people, 29% of our
population and contains a vast industrial and
urban complex.
• The margin of the sea, its beach and shore, is
used for a variety of purposes, including seaside
recreation, ports and harbors. industrial sites.
power plants, and waste disposal establishments.
Milner B. Schaefer, Ph. D.
Professor of Oceanography and Director, Institute of Marine
Resources, University of California. He is Chairman, National Academy
of Sciences Committee on Oceanography
• To accommodate all of these uses we must
stretch the beaches and properly allocate the
various uses.
• Similarly. the adjacent waters are of tremendous
importance for recreation, for transportation, for
production of petroleum and minerals, as a
source of fresh water on arid coasts, for cooling
water for power plants, for disposal of domestic
and industrial wastes and for the production of
animal protein from the sea.
Milner B. Schaefer, Ph. D.
Professor of Oceanography and Director, Institute of Marine
Resources, University of California. He is Chairman, National Academy
of Sciences Committee on Oceanography
• This multiplicity of alternative. and sometimes
conflicting, uses demands the highest degree
of sophistication in the application of science,
engineering, economics, sociology, law.
politics, and diplomacy, if we are to develop
the necessary new institutional arrangements
for the fullest and most beneficial use of this
region…
Sea Grant
National
• Social and natural systems are inextricably
linked. Human health, prosperity, and well-being
depend upon the health and resilience of natural
ecosystems; human activities modify the
coupled human-natural systems. At the broadest
level, NOAA must seek to advance more holistic
approaches to understand and balance human
use, sustainability, and preservation of
ecosystem resources and functioning
Sea Grant Association
Challenges Facing the Nation
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Economic Recovery and Job Creation
Energy Security and Sustainability
Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation
Sustainable Use and Protection of Ocean
and Coastal Resources
• Public Safety, Security, and Health
NOAA 2009 Annual Guidance Memorandum
Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce
for Oceans and Atmosphere
Sea Grant Association
Core Competencies for NOAA to
Strengthen
• Improve high impact weather and water
forecasts
• Manage ocean and coastal resources with an
ecosystem-based approach
• Support coastal communities and economies
• Deliver information for safe, efficient, and
environmentally sound transportation
• Maintain and expand the technical infrastructure
that supports noaa’s mission:
NOAA 2009 Annual Guidance Memorandum
Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Under Secretary of Commerce
for Oceans and Atmosphere
Sea Grant Association
Core Competencies for NOAA to
Strengthen
• "... the purpose of the National Sea Grant Program is to
accelerate national development of marine resources,
including their conservation, proper management, and
economic utilization. This is to be accomplished through
the sponsorship of programs which encompass (1)
research applied to real and current problems, (2)
adequate training and education of manpower, and (3)
transfer of technology and knowledge to the people who
need it in a form they can use."
Dr. Robert M. White, Former Administrator
National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Sea Grant Association
Sea Grant
National
• Sea Grant builds the scientific foundation
needed by supporting research related to
ecosystem health and by transferring this
information to coastal residents, resource
managers, businesses and industries
Sea Grant
National
• Sea Grant builds and applies knowledge
• Sea Grant builds human resources
Sea Grant Association