Monthly Report to the Dean - March 2011
Alaska Sea Grant
Research, Education Services, and the Marine Advisory Program
Monthly Report, March 2011
David Christie, Director • Paula Cullenberg, Associate Director
Update:
Invitations to submit full ASG research proposals were sent to 15 of the 34 researchers who submitted pre-proposals for 2012-2014 funding. The deadline for receiving the full proposals is April 29.
Julie Matweyou began her position as the Kodiak Marine Advisory Program agent this month. Glenn Haight left his position as MAP’s Fisheries Business Specialist and started a new job as development manager with the Alaska Department of Commerce and Community Development.
Lizzie Abellera joined the Anchorage MAP office as a half-time administrative assistant.
On the schedule:
April 9-12 Kodiak Area Marine Science Symposium, Kodiak
April 13-14 Southwest Alaska Salmon Science Symposium, Anchorage
April NEPA training, Izetta Chambers, Nome
Sept. 7-11 Tongass Rainforest Festival, Petersburg
Sept. 14-17 Fishing People of the North, Wakefield Symposium, Anchorage
February Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit, Juneau
Highlights from March:
Healthy Coastal Ecosystems
Kate Wynne conducted land-based observations and brand-resighting on the Long Island Steller sea lion haulout. She worked with KMXT to develop a public service announcement disseminating information and collecting sightings of killer whales preying on Steller sea lions in Kodiak Harbor.
Gary Freitag worked on a citizen science ecotourism project slated to begin this summer in Ketchikan. Allen Marine Tours and Baronoff Tours is promoting it to cruise lines as a day excursion. Gary received approval from NOAA and ADFG, acquired equipment, and will train guides. The visitors will monitor European green crab.
At the request of the Nature Conservancy, Gary advised on water quality monitoring stations and methods in the Klawock estuary, after a breach in the causeway causing changes in the ecology.
Julie Matweyou and Ray RaLonde attended a PSP workshop hosted by Kate Sullivan (UAS) in Ketchikan. Participants included scientists, regulatory agencies and shellfish industry. There was a good review of HABs, current regulatory methods (implemented in the state of Washington and the difficulties in dealing with HABs in Alaska), and newly developed analytical methods. The ELISA (Abraxis) kit was introduced and hands-on training was provided.
Gay Sheffield is part of two new awards: “Marine Mammal Guidelines Booklet, Bering Strait region”
Objective: Compile and distribute accurate information on the requirements, status, and regulatory framework for people that utilize marine mammals throughout the Bering Strait region. Proposal to US Marine Mammal Commission. Also, “Bowhead whale feeding in the western Beaufort Sea” Objective: Work with local communities to sample harvested bowhead whales and determine the whale’s seasonal diet across it’s range - Bering Sea (St. Lawrence Island) to the Beaufort Sea (Barrow and Kaktovik).
Sustainable Coastal Development
Terry Reeve was a guest lecturer for the UAF Department of Alaska Native Studies and Rural Development graduate course on Village Development on two evenings.
Quentin Fong was invited by Miramar Express, a Hong Kong travel agency representing a cruise company, to give a talk on Alaska to 52 guests—The Alaska Experience: A Hong Konger’s Perspective. Following the talk, thirteen people asked Miramar Express to put together a tour to Alaska for them. Quentin, Terry Johnson, and the Kodiak Island Convention and Visitors Bureau wrote a proposal for the tour.
Safe and Sustainable Seafood Supply
Glenn Haight and Greg Fisk presented a shrimp Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) workshop in Petersburg to 10 people. The training covers markets, gear, management issues and financial practices. Greg is preparing a UATV version for distance delivery to applicants. Sunny Rice will take over project leadership with Glenn’s departure. In all, close to 100 shrimp fishermen will have participated in the training as part of their assistance program.
Paula Cullenberg and Glenn Haight, in his new role at Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development, gave a presentation about the “graying of the fleet” and succession into the fishing and seafood industries before the House Fisheries Caucus in Juneau. It is archived online at the Alaska Legislature TV website. The focus was on strategies such as selling out to someone in your community, educating young fishermen on financial skills, and workforce planning leading to educational needs assessment.
Torie Baker organized an onboard marine refrigeration class for fishermen held at Copper River 
Seafoods in Anchorage. In the photo, D.C. Cannon of Integrated Marine Systems explains chilling equipment. Twenty-four fishermen from 10 Alaska ports attended.
Torie was asked by a Cordova fishing family to design a clean harbor dock-walk outreach program this summer. Harbor staff, the Oil Spill Recovery Institute, Cordova District Fishermen United, and the Copper River Watershed Project will train summer interns to distribute outreach material to the fleet on bilge cleaning services, oily absorbent, and filter disposal procedures, etc.
Terry Johnson gave a talk to the Alaska Marine Conservation Council board on ways to conserve fuel in fishing vessels.
Kate presented an FITC brown bag seminar on Whale Deterrent Research and Findings. In Kodiak 20 attended and in Petersburg, eight fishermen participated via videoconference.
In collaboration with the Southeast Alaska Dive Fishery Association and Trident Seafoods, Quentin Fong, Chuck Crapo, and Gary Freitag are refining methods of shipping frozen sea urchin roe samples from Ketchikan to Hong Kong importers for market assessment.
Hazard Resilience in Coastal Communities
Reid Brewer attended a meeting of the Aleutian Islands Risk Assessment Panel in Anchorage as a member of the Advisory Panel. The Panel met with the Risk Assessment Team to discuss and prioritize final recommendations for risk reduction measures intended to reduce the frequency and severity of marine accidents in the Aleutian Islands.
Terry Johnson wrote the bulletin, Permafrost Change: What It Means to Alaskans and How We Can Adapt. The new 17 minute video “Adapting to Climate Change in Alaska” was completed by Deborah Mercy and a cover is being developed. All of these information tools are available on the Marine Advisory Program’s Life in a Changing Alaska website www.seagrant.uaf.edu/map/climate
Marine Literacy and Stewardship
Torie Baker was on the steering committee for the 13th Copper River Delta Science Symposium in Cordova. It was successful both as a science conference and small town economy booster. There were 38 presentations, 16 posters, and 110 attendees including the public, school classes, local managers, researchers, NGOs, and tribal staff. One outcome is the exploration of regional cross-disciplinary research leadership between the U.S. Forest Service and the Ecotrust Copper River Project. Adie Callahan provided online registration and other web support for the conference.
Terry Reeve was on the organization committee for the 4th Annual Western Alaska Interdisciplinary Science Conference in Bethel. Terry chaired two sessions—Climate Change and Rural Development—and presented a paper. Carol Kaynor provided help with online registration, posted abstracts on the web, and created an evaluation survey.
Gay Sheffield jumped right into her new position with MAP in Nome and gave the following presentations: UAF-NWC Biology class “Marine Mammal biology/adaptations,” Nome Elementary School “Alaska’s walrus and ice-associated seals,” and the Iditarod Lecture Series – “Steller Sea Lions – North to the future.”
Reid Brewer was invited to speak about his octopus research at a BLM Fireside Chat, at the Campbell Creek Science Center in Anchorage, to 60 people.
Kate taught 48 Kodiak third graders about marine food webs at a marine mammal station for the Ocean Science Discovery Lab based at the NOAA lab.
Terry Reeve set up and manned a booth at the annual career fair in Bethel, designed to give local high school students information on attending UAF/SFOS.
Gary Freitag and Sunny Rice gave a presentation to the Alaska Cooperative Extension Advisory Council in Juneau. The council had questions on how the ASG publications department works, MAP activities for community development, and the food security survey.
Reid was science advisor for two high school projects for the Alaska State Science and Engineering Fair. One of them, The Effects of Calcium Carbonate on Ocean Acidification, won a grand prize. Noah Betzen will go to Los Angeles for the International Science and Engineering Fair. http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/kial/news.newsmain/article/1/0/1778575/Local.News/Unalaska.students.sweep.state.science.fair
Marilyn Sigman held the first meeting of the Sikuliaq (new research ship at UAF) outreach and education committee to develop a plan for the ship. Terry Johnson, Reid, Gay, Gary, Paula and Carin Stephens attended.
The ASG publication Field Guide to Seaweeds of Alaska won an award for content and design, from the National Association of Government Communicators. The award will be announced in May. Kurt Byers oversaw the project, Sue Keller managed production and editing, and Jen Gunderson designed the book.
ASG is distributing three new books: Where the Land and Sea Meet (52-page children’s activity book), Imam Cimiucia: Our Changing Sea (showcase volume on resilience of Alaska coastal ecosystems and cultural knowledge), and Illustrated Keys to Free-Living Invertebrates of Eurasian Arctic Seas and Adjacent Deep Waters, Vol. 2 (keys for scientists by Russian authors).
Doug Schneider collected twenty news and radio clips featuring ASG/MAP people and activities during March. Several clips were posted in The News section of the Sea Grant home page, http://seagrant.uaf.edu/index.html.
Administrative
Dave Christie attended North Slope Science Initiative meetings in Barrow, focused on ways to foster dialogue between scientists and community members on resource and subsistence issues related to change in the Arctic. Of interest to ASG was the suggestion that the community needs an independent scientist/communicator to help unravel, explain, and coordinate the multiple science activities focused on the slope and on the Arctic. MAP was mentioned as a model.
Dave recently attended the National Association of Marine Laboratories spring meeting, and the Ocean Leadership Forum in Washington D.C. Dave also represented SFOS at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership Members meeting, where the emphasis was on budget cuts on science programs.
Gary Freitag and Izetta Chambers attended the National Sea Grant Academy. The Academy is designed to support new Sea Grant extension personnel with a big picture look at Sea Grant and program planning. A second half of the Academy will take place in Portland, OR in September.
Paula traveled to Petersburg to spend two days meeting with Sunny about her marine extension program, and to Kodiak to give Julie Matweyou an orientation to MAP.
Rapid Response
MAP faculty responded to inquiries on developing a water taxi in Nome, sportfish charter operators in Seward, anchorages in Togiak Bay, identification of Steller sea lions, sources of marine charts, ecotourism business development, fishing vessel insurance, water taxi business development, oyster market, green frozen salmon roe, Alaska ShoreZone Habitat Mapping and Inventory Project in the Aleutians, and seabirds. Staff updated FaceBook, added PDFs to the online bookstore, sought funding to reprint books, prioritized database projects, and updated PI guidelines.
