NOAA needs assessment for the northeastern U.S.

NOAA has been conducting a needs assessment for the northeastern U.S. (Connecticut and north). The report is expected in June 2008. Socio-economic aspects of EBM were apparently identified as a big need. (NOAA released a different but related report a couple days ago. See blog post below).

Salt marsh booklet released by Gulf of Maine Council

Today the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment released a 42-page booklet that I wrote under contract with the Science Translation Project in collaboration with 2 Council subcommittees. The booklet is called Salt Marshes in the Gulf of Maine: Human Impacts, Habitat Restoration, and Long-term Change Analysis. You can download a PDF or request a hard copy at www.gulfofmaine.org/saltmarsh. It’s a beautifully designed, full-color, glossy document with lots of photos and illustrations. The booklet is intended as a useful tool for resource managers, lawmakers, non-governmental organizations, educators, and others interested in understanding salt marshes as a key element of the Gulf of Maine ecosystem.

Ecological linkage of Georges Bank and Scotian Shelf

Just out in the new issue of Ecological Applications, an interesting paper suggests that migration—not fishing or environmental change—is responsible for the increase in winter skates on Georges Bank. Skates apparently move between the Scotian Shelf and Georges Bank.

Frisk, M.G., T. J. Miller, S. J. D. Martell, and K. Sosebee. 2008. New hypothesis helps explain elasmobranch “outburst” on Georges Bank in the 1980s. Ecological Applications 18: 234–245.

Marine EBM talks at AAAS annual meeting

I attended AAAS in Boston and saw a number of talks relating to marine EBM. Lots of interesting things happening. Much of it relevant to Gulf of Maine. This Word doc contains abstracts of some talks.