Oysters are a keystone of sustainable fisheries and aquaculture, healthy coastal ecosystems, and resilient communities in the Chesapeake Bay region. Bringing new knowledge of different types of fishery management and aquaculture techniques to fishing communities in this region is a vital part of developing thriving coastal communities, yet communicating these techniques and strategies is not straightforward and may not be effective without prior stakeholder engagement.

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The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Coral Reef Conservation Program (NOAA-CRCP) is investing significant funding to support a National Coral Reef Monitoring Plan (NCRMP) throughout the U.S. Pacific, Atlantic, and Caribbean coral reef areas. The Integration and Application Network at the University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (IAN-UMCES) understands that a key component of this plan is periodic national-level status and trends reporting.

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The primary objective of this project is to collate data, review indicators, and synthesize both to effectively report the health of Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in southwest Florida. Located at the northern end of the Ten Thousand Islands on the Gulf Coast of Florida, the Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve represents one of the few remaining undisturbed mangrove estuaries in North America.

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Worldwide, marine protected areas (MPAs) are often declared by governments to fulfill national or international commitments. However, after being legally declared, MPAs remain in a status referred to as “paper parks”, without any management authority or without any conservation measures in place.

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The CoastSmart Communities Initiative (CCI), a program within the Maryland Department of Natural Resource’s Chesapeake and Coastal Service and staffed by IAN, is helping local communities identify and implement strategies to protect life, property, and natural resources vulnerable to coastal hazards such as storm surge, shoreline erosion, coastal flooding, and climate change.

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In partnership with the Southeast Coast Ocean Observing Regional Association (SECOORA) and the University of South Carolina, IAN automated and improved the accuracy of beach advisory decision making for Myrtle Beach South Carolina. The improvements resulted from integrating information from Ocean Observing Systems and radar-based rainfall data from the National Weather Service to improve bacteria concentration predictions.

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The University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science (UMCES) in collaboration with the University of Michigan and funded by NOAA will produce a summer dissolved oxygen forecast for Chesapeake Bay. An annual anoxia forecast will be produced for two periods (early and late summer) and a hypoxia forecast will be produced for the month of July. The results of this forecast will be published on an interactive website and included in a press release.

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Coastal management in the U.S. is in transition toward a stronger, ecosystem-based approach implemented at the regional scale and supported by strong scientific synthesis and prediction. The division of ecosystem components among different agencies, scientific disciplines, and political boundaries, as well as the complexities of conducting Regional Ecosystem Research (RER) make effective ecosystem management very challenging.

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To assess the eutrophic conditions for 141 U.S. estuaries based on data and information provided by scientists and experts from around the country. IAN developed an interactive website to collect data and produce automated summaries of eutrophication status as well as print ready graphics for the final report. Report production was a collaborative effort between Suzanne Bricker (NOAA NCCOS), EcoCheck (NOAA-UMCES Partnership) and IAN.

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