Reopening Shellfish Beds Evaluated

On January 26, NOAA's Office of Response and Restoration met with Washington state officials and federal seafood managers in Olympia, WA to discuss reopening shellfish beds in the Port Madison area. Commercial and recreational shellfish harvest has been closed in this area since a barge oil spill at Pt. Wells in Shoreline, Washington on December 30, 2003. Much of the shoreline affected by the spill is Indian reservation land used by the Suquamish Tribe for subsistence and cultural activities. Reopening criteria and monitoring plans were discussed. For more information, contact Ruth Yender.


‘Taking the Pulse’ of the Mississippi River Plume

Researchers have established a sampling and analysis network for the lower Mississippi River from 200 miles north to 50 miles south of the Mississippi Delta, including adjacent wetlands. Using data from the network, researchers are developing predictive models to study advection, mixing, and particle transport of pollutants. This network includes mapping of river bathymetry and loading measurements of nutrients, heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, and pharmaceutically active compounds at numerous sampling points in the estuary. These studies will assist managers to understand and predict the transport and ultimate fate of dissolved and particulate materials in the Mississippi River and their environmental impacts. For more information, contact Kenric Osgood.


Restoration Continues at Grounding Site

Restoration activities continue at the Adaro grounding site in the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary. The Adaro, a 68-ft sport fishing vessel, went hard aground at Grecian Rocks reef in August 2003, creating twin trenches across the reef crest. The restoration work consists primarily of backfilling the trenches with a combination of quarried limestone rock, cement, and reef salvaged from the grounding site. Once the structural repair is completed, the 800 colonies of living hard and soft corals that were dislodged by the grounding will be reattached to the stabilized substrate. For more information, contact Billy Causey.