Editor

In a Memorandum issued today, President Trump declared it U.S. policy to “act boldly to safeguard our future prosperity, health, and national security through ocean mapping, exploration, and characterization” and to “support the conservation, management, and balanced used of America’s oceans by exploring, mapping, and characterizing the U.S. [Exclusive Economic Zone], including mapping the Arctic and Sub-Arctic […]

NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries recently announced its clarification of procedures for how it treats national marine sanctuary nominations that have been accepted to the inventory of sites for potential designation and have been on the inventory for 5 years.  The clarified procedures are effective immediately. Under the procedures established in 2014, nominations expire after 5

The West Coast Ocean Alliance recently announced the release of the final agenda for its Dec. 4 annual meeting in Tacoma, WA. Specific agenda items for the public meeting include updates on the Alliance, West Coast Ocean Data Portal, member perspectives on the benefits of regional coordination, state, federal, and tribal updates, an update on a West Coast ocean

Representatives of governments, the private sector, civil society, and academic institutions last month gathered in Norway at the Our Ocean 2019 conference to address actions designed to support a clean, healthy, and productive ocean. The conference generated 370 commitments valued at more than $63 billion to address climate change (~$51.1 billion and 76 commitments), a sustainable blue

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat today announced that it has accepted Chile’s proposal to hold the 2019 UN Climate Change Conference (COP25) in Madrid from Dec. 2-13 following Spain’s offer to host the event.  Chile recently canceled plans to host the conference in Santiago, citing unrest in the country. The Conference serves as a forum to

Monmouth University’s Urban Coast Institute today hosted the 15th annual “Future of the Ocean Symposium and Champion of the Ocean Awards Luncheon.” Asst. Sec. of Commerce for Oceans & Atmosphere/NOAA Deputy Admin. Tim Gallaudet, Ørsted U.S. Offshore Wind Head of Market Strategies and New Projects-US Clint Plummer, Port Authority of New York & New Jersey Port

The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) today announced that it will hold its Fall 2019 meeting in Portsmouth, NH on Monday, Dec. 16.  Additional information including an agenda and meeting materials will be posted online when available. NROC is a regional ocean partnership formed in 2005 by the Governors of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and

The United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change recently presented a Summary for Policymakers of the “Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate” that was approved by the 195 IPCC member governments on Tuesday, Sept. 24. The report addresses the impacts of a changing climate on the ocean and cryosphere (frozen components of the Earth system) by focusing

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service today announced the renewal of the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) for an additional five years through 2023.  AMAPPS, which is funded primarily by NOAA, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and U.S. Navy, aims to develop models and tools to provide distribution patterns and density estimates by