[Coral-List] Congressional Report to share in the newsletter

Heather Coleman - NOAA Federal heather.coleman at noaa.gov
Tue Jul 12 14:54:02 EDT 2016


Dear Colleagues,

*Announcement*:

Deep-sea coral and sponge habitats support the richest and most complex
biological communities in the deep sea. NOAA’s Deep Sea Coral Research and
Technology Program
<http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/protection/corals/deepseacorals.html> is
providing the first systematic effort to discover and understand these
ecosystems, combining science and information-sharing to help ocean
managers conserve valuable habitats. The Program proudly announces its 2016
Report to Congress
<http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/pdf/NOAA_DSC_Report_2016.pdf>, highlighting
exciting scientific research conducted over the past two-year period and
historic conservation measures that have been proposed and enacted based on
our Program’s results. The report spans the globe, from the remote Johnston
Atoll in the middle of the Pacific Ocean to previously unknown coral
gardens teeming with redfish only 25 miles off the coast of Maine. The Deep
Sea Coral Research and Technology Program’s website also provides fieldwork
reports and a searchable map in the nation’s most comprehensive online
database of deep-sea corals and sponges
<https://deepseacoraldata.noaa.gov>. Armed
with such information, the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council is the
most recent council to propose measures to protect deep-sea coral habitat
from impacts of fishing. The Gulf of Maine also earns a spotlight because
its deep-sea coral gardens are a major discovery – in addition to reading
the report, take a virtual dive <http://bcove.me/5o9zrenb> into this
offshore habitat!


Thank you,
Heather



--
Heather Coleman
Marine Habitat Resource Specialist
Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program
<http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/protection/corals/deepseacorals.html>
*1315 East West Highway, Room 14226*
*Silver Spring, MD 20910*
301.427.8650
heather.coleman at noaa.gov
http://www.habitat.noaa.gov/


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