[Coral-List] SEAKEYS Project Terminated

Wed Mar 7 10:09:38 EST 2012

No, I don't remember that being discussed as a line item--it just occurred
to me when Sarah asked.  It's not that expensive (well, everything is
relative, I guess), so to fund it at the previous level (which, however,
was a bit too low to do everything desirable) shouldn't be that much.
Perhaps a bit of Everglades funding could go toward it, or maybe a new
earmark of Florida Dept. of Environmental Protection (
http://www.dep.state.fl.us/) funding.  After all, let's keep in mind that
an oil spill off the north shore of Cuba could spoil Florida (and the
Carolinas') beaches, so a bit of "protection" by way of sentinel crude oil
sensors on an array of SEAKEYS stations might be a very good early
warning.  Sensors for current flow and direction (ADCPs) would also be
helpful in that regard, not to mention how it would help larval drift
studies.  Light and turbidity sensors give information of value regarding
the clarity of water for divers, fishermen and tourists.  Even real-time
video (we've done this previously at St. Croix and in collaboration with
NOAA/GLERL at Tennessee Reef) is helpful for the Florida Keys National
Marine Sanctuary to monitor fishing boat traffic (not to mention a value to
Homeland Security).  And of course sea temperature sensors are helpful for
all kinds of reasons (e.g., coral bleaching, fishing).

Cheers, Jim

On Wed, Mar 7, 2012 at 8:38 AM, Szmant, Alina <szmanta at uncw.edu> wrote:

> I think Jim has made an excellent suggestion.  The State of Florida is the
> best positioned to take on SEAKEYS, and make its funding a line-item in the
> State budget.  It could be operated by FIO, as it has been for years, or by
> FMRI, or by one of the Florida academic institutions. May I suggest that
> scientists at Florida universities initiate contact with their state
> legislators, pointing out the importance of SEAKEYS  to Florida economic
> and environmental interests.
>
> Jim:  was that considered as an option at the meeting described in the
> original email?  If so, why was it not followed up on?
>
> Alina
>
>
>
> *************************************************************************
> Dr. Alina M. Szmant
> Professor of Marine Biology
> Center for Marine Science and Dept of Biology and Marine Biology
> University of North Carolina Wilmington
> 5600 Marvin Moss Ln
> Wilmington NC 28409 USA
> tel:  910-962-2362  fax: 910-962-2410  cell: 910-200-3913
> http://people.uncw.edu/szmanta
> *******************************************************
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov [mailto:
> coral-list-bounces at coral.aoml.noaa.gov] On Behalf Of Jim Hendee
> Sent: Tuesday, March 06, 2012 1:43 PM
> To: Sarah Frias-Torres
> Cc: coral list
> Subject: Re: [Coral-List] SEAKEYS Project Terminated
>
> I don't know...maybe ask the Florida legislature to make it a line-item to
> the budget?  Write proposals?  I wish I knew!
>
> On Tue, Mar 6, 2012 at 12:40 PM, Sarah Frias-Torres <
> sfrias_torres at hotmail.com> wrote:
>
> >  It seems the coral reefs have no voice and no CEOs to demand a bailout.
> >
> > Is there anything the scientific community can do to reverse this
> > decision ?
> >
> > *Sarah Frias-Torres, Ph.D. *
> > *Schmidt Ocean Institute Postdoctoral
> > Fellow<http://independent.academia.edu/SarahFriasTorres>
> > *
> > Ocean Research & Conservation Association (ORCA)
> > 1420 Seaway Drive, Fort Pierce, Florida 34949 USA Tel (772) 467-1600
> > *http://www.teamorca.org<http://independent.academia.edu/SarahFriasTor
> > res>
> > *
> > *http://independent.academia.edu/SarahFriasTorres*
> >
> >
> >
> > > From: jim.hendee at noaa.gov
> > > Date: Tue, 6 Mar 2012 11:43:43 -0500
> > > To: coral-list at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> >
> > > Subject: [Coral-List] SEAKEYS Project Terminated
> > >
> > > This sad bit of news comes from a recent SECOORA (Southeast Coastal
> > > Ocean Observing Regional Association) bulletin. The station referred
> > > to that AOML will maintain is located on the Molasses Reef lighthouse.
> > >
> > >
> > > *SEAKEYS Assets Removed from Water*
> > >
> > >
> > > **
> > >
> > > The SEAKEYS network has been operational for over 20 years and
> > > provides a long time series of observations in the Florida Keys. The
> > > program
> > provides
> > > a framework for long-term monitoring and research along the 220 mile
> > > Florida coral reef tract and in Florida Bay at a geographical scale
> > > encompassing the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary (FKNMS).
> > > Compounding the problem of limited funding, the instruments are
> > > primarily on a series of stationary platforms (lighthouses, towers),
> > > the structural integrity of which has now becoming questionable due
> > > to age. The US Coast Guard do not have plans to repair the
> > > lighthouses but intend to sell. It
> > is
> > > anticipated that non-profit entities will purchase these for their
> > > historical value.
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > To address the future of SEAKEYS and its infrastructure and funding,
> > > the Florida Institute of Oceanography (FIO) held a meeting at the
> > > Keys Marine Lab in November 2011. The user community was invited and
> > > included representatives from many areas of NOAA (Florida Keys
> > > National Marine Sanctuary; National Weather Service; Atlantic
> > > Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory; Great Lakes
> > > Environmental Research
> > Laboratory),
> > > the National Park Service, the Ocean Reef and Gun Club, and FIO. The
> > > NOAA/National Data Buoy Center, Coast Guard, FL Fish and Wildlife
> > Research
> > > Institute, and representatives from Audubon, the dive and fishing
> > > communities, and staff from a local legislative office were unable
> > > to attend, but some sent letters of support. Following the meeting
> > > other funding sources were sought but were not successfully identified.
> > >
> > >
> > > At the end of 2011, due to a lack of financial support, FIO made the
> > > difficult decision to terminate the SEAKEYS program, and are
> > > withdrawing all FIO assets from the water. NOAA/AOML, with
> > > assistance from
> > NOAA/FKNMS,
> > > has agreed to take over maintenance of one station (FIO is loaning
> > > an instrument to NOAA/AOML for this purpose); NOAA/GLERL are
> > > investigating
> > the
> > > possibility of maintaining a second station; and a limited subset of
> > > meteorological sensors will be visited every two years by NOAA/NDBC,
> > > with no maintenance support between visits.
> > > _______________________________________________
> > > Coral-List mailing list
> > > Coral-List at coral.aoml.noaa.gov
> > > http://coral.aoml.noaa.gov/mailman/listinfo/coral-list
> >
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