Fisheries Service, Third NOAA Division
Adds SeaKeeper 1000 to its Data Collection Missions

SeaKeepers is proud to announce that, after being a “partner” to both the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Data Buoy Center and its National Marine Sanctuaries Program, a third division of NOAA – the National Marine  Fisheries Services (NMFS) – will begin utilizing the innovative SeaKeeper 1000™ on its vessels as well. Recently, SeaKeepers received an impressive letter of commendation from the Under Secretary of the US Department of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and Administrator of NOAA.  In it the SeaKeeper 1000 system was acknowledged for being “well known and used throughout NOAA” and that the data collected by the units are integrated into NOAA’s atmospheric ocean data centers and “used for a wide variety of products and services.” He also called the Society an exemplary public-private sector partnership.”

“We cannot be more pleased, said SeaKeepers Chairman Michael T. Moore. The understanding that NOAA finds the SeaKeeper 1000 system valuable enough to be now used in a third division is very, very exciting. Our members should be proud that the product they have underwritten, by their generosity, is being utilized at this level of science and government.”

The National Marine Fisheries Service, founded in 1871 as the Commission on Fish and Fisheries, is the oldest federal conservation agency in the US. The NMFS is responsible for the management, conservation and protection of marine life within the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (water three to 200 miles offshore). Through regional offces and councils, the NMFS works with communities on fishery management issues. It works to sustain fisheries in a way as to prevent lost economic potential associated with overfishing, declining species and degraded habitats. Its goal is to balance competing public needs. Using the tools provided by the Magnuson- Stevens Act, the NMFS assesses and predicts the status of fish stocks, ensures compliance with fisheries regulations, and works to reduce wasteful fishing practices.

The SeaKeeper 1000 system is being deployed on F/V Excalibur, which is part of the Northwest Fisheries Science Center’s Fishery Resource Analysis and Monitoring Division (FRAM). The mission of the FRAM division is to provide the scientific basis for the management of west coast groundfish stocks and their ecosystems. This involves comprehensive analysis of data from fishery monitoring, fishery- independent resource surveys, biological investigations, and soon data from the SeaKeepers system. The results provide 1) estimates of the current status and future trends in abundance and productivity of marine fishery resources, 2) evaluations of the potential effects of fishery management alternatives on abundance and yield of living marine resources, and 3) better information on fishery bycatch and other multi-species issues.

This new partnership exemplifies the value of the innovative SeaKeeper 1000™ system.

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