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Fall 1995 |
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Page 3 |
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Inside |
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McArthur Cruise |
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Sanctuary Notes |
pg. 3 |
What would YOU do with 27 days of ship time aboard one of NOAA's research vessels? That was the happy dilemma faced by the Sanctuary's Research Activity Panel (RAP) which represents 21 major research institutions in the area, when it learned that the Sanctuary's request for NOAA ship time had been granted. NOAA operates 26 research vessels, which are available to support NOAA activities such as launching weather balloons for the National Weather Service or conducting trawls for fishery stock assessment for the National Marine Fisheries Service. However, this was the first time the Monterey Bay Sanctuary had received ship time.
Research vessels are not inexpensive. The 175-foot research vessel McArthur, which was allocated to the Sanctuary for 27 days, is base-funded by NOAA, so the ship time was FREE to Sanctuary researchers. The RAP was thrilled; money saved on ship time could be spent on projects.
What followed was a research cruise marked by unprecedented levels of cooperation and collaboration. Researchers represented many institutions including U.C. Santa Cruz, United States Geological Survey, California Department of Fish and Game, NASA, Naval Postgraduate School, Moss Landing Marine Labs and the California Coastal Commission. The cruise was broken into two legs &emdash; April 2-15 and May 9-21.
Dr. Greg Cailliet, RAP Chair, noted that, "in some instances, there were three projects occurring simultaneously, such as a benthic core off the stern, a weather balloon launch off the deck, and bird surveys from the bridge. The research community (via the RAP) and the Sanctuary office really worked closely to maximize the use of time and generally make the cruise a success."
According to Patrick Cotter, Environmental Scientist at MBNMS, "The amount of activity was astounding...the ship's crew had rarely seen so much activity occurring at once. The people who got the cruise all together were very organized and efficient."
The McArthur cruise was important not only for the level
of cooperation involved but also for its benefits to the
Sanctuary. Sanctuary Manager Terry Jackson stated that, "the
area encompassed by the Monterey Bay National Marine
Sanctuary has become a mecca for marine scientists. The only
way we're going to acquire information we need to manage our
Sanctuary properly is to tap this wealth of local knowledge
and expertise, and make available to them the resources they
need to learn how the ecosystem works." 
Sanctuary News and Notes
Are you a college student looking for a rewarding internship? Interns have been invaluable to the Sanctuary program; several internships are offered each season. In recent months, seven interns logged over 800 volunteer hours working with Holly Price and Patrick Cotter on water quality programs for the Sanctuary. Lisa Burns, Laureen Ferguson, Kristi Ash, Judy Souza, Cindy Buchner, Patrick Buonsante and Jonathan Mulcock came to the Sanctuary program from a variety of the state's universities, including San Jose State, U.C. Santa Cruz and Stanford. Projects included developing slide shows and newsletter articles, establishing a database on the state's water quality permits in the Sanctuary and developing mapping procedures for water quality data. For more information on internships, call Liz Love at the Sanctuary office at (408) 647-4255.
Other opportunities for volunteering and learning are also available. The Center for Marine Conservation (CMC), in association with Friends of the Sea Otter, have received funds from an anonymous donor to develop the "Bay Net Program". Volunteers will be trained as "Sanctuary Ambassadors", patrolling the shoreline, ready to assist the public in Sanctuary etiquette and stewardship. For more information, call Rachel Saunders at CMC, (408) 375-4509.
Save Our Shores (SOS) is currently training a cadre of 25 committed volunteers, chosen through an application and interview process, to be "Sanctuary Stewards". For more information call SOS, (408) 462-5660.
The Sanctuary office will soon be on-line! Stay tuned for
more information on how you will be able to access the
Sanctuary office through your computer. Sanctuary staff and
U.C. Santa Cruz interns are currently working on a Sanctuary
homepage which will be available through the World Wide Web.
The Sanctuary and a number of other agencies and
institutions around the Monterey Bay Area are receiving
Internet access through partial funding from PacBell. The
proposal (known as CalREN) for the funding was submitted by
the Initiative for Information Infrastructure and Linkage
Applications (I3 LA) and the Monterey Bay Regional Education
Futures Group. The goal of CalREN is to connect schools,
colleges, universities, museums, libraries, government
agencies, and research institutions in two counties adjacent
to the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary, allowing them
to share information on environmental and ocean science.
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1999