MS-AL Sea Grant: Research and Outreach to Address Coastal Issues

LaDon Swann, Director NOAA’s Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and

Auburn University Marine Center

Sea Grant Organizational Structures

• 32 Sea Grant Programs in 30 states– 28 single institution hosts– 2 states with multiple programs

• MIT and WHOI• CA and USC

– 2 bi-state programs• MASGC• IL-IN

– 3 Consortia• MASGC• NJ• SC, consortium within a state agency

Nine Consortium Members

USM is our fiscal host.

Sea Grant Focus Areas

• Safe and Sustainable Seafood Supply

• Hazard Resilient Coastal Communities

• Sustainable Coastal Development

• Healthy Coastal Ecosystems

Sea Grant Strengths

• Local knowledge of environment, geography, society, culture, and government

• Conduit between 300 universities and 3,000 faculty to the public

• 300 outreach experts, including extension specialists, science communicators, educators and attorneys

MASGC ranked 18th in terms of base SG funding with $1.23 million

MASGC ranked 2nd in terms of total NOAA funding with $5.05 million.

Most of the additional NOAA money funds regional SLR, ESV and CSP research.

Feb. 1, 2009, to Jan. 31, 2011.

Feb. 1, 2009, to Jan. 31, 2011.

Examples of MASGC Impacts

University Research Underpins our Strong Engagement Programs

• Research support: $3.3 million for FY 2012-2013• MASGC will support $977,000• Regional Sea Grant Programs and NOAA will support

– $1.56 million for ecosystem services valuation– $500,000 for coastal storms partnerships between communities

and university scientists– $540,000 to support development of tools for communities to

use to plan for and adapt to projected sea-level rise

• Does not include state research supported by FL, LA and TX Sea Grant

Safe and Sustainable Seafood Supply

Energy-Saving Shrimp-Harvesting Gear

Sustainable Coastal Development

Healthy Coastal Ecosystems

• Shoreline Restoration• Stormwater • Clean Marinas

Healthy Coastal Ecosystems

• Stewardship Programs– Master Naturalist– Oyster Gardening

Hazard Resilient Coastal Communities

• Community Resilience Index for communities to use to conduct a self-assessment of their resilience to coastal storms.

• The index has 42 indicators of resilience organized around six categories. – Critical infrastructure– Transportation– Mitigation Measures– Community Planning– Business Planning– Social Networks

Hazard Resilient Coastal Communities

A Community of Practice is a group of professionals who aim to achieve common outcomes. By working together, they can learn from one another and develop a set of effective common approaches that can be refined over time.

The Future of MASGC

• Challenges– Sea Grant’s brand• Constituents do not identify programs with Sea Grant• We can fix this through more targeted communications

• Federal budget– The House CJS would cut Sea Grant by 33%

The Future of MASGC

• Opportunities– Numerous references to Sea Grant programs• Gulf of Mexico Alliance Action Plan• Oil spill recovery plans Mississippi and Alabama• Gulf Coast Ecosystem Restoration Task Force• NOAA Marine Aquaculture

– Sea Grant’s budget is $20 million below our authorized level• Offers a way of supporting more university-based

research through authorized appropriations.