NOAA’s Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary Seeks Applicants for Advisory Council

June 17, 2008

NOAA’s Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary is seeking applicants for two positions representing charter/commercial fishing and university education on its advisory council, which ensures public participation in sanctuary management and provides advice to the sanctuary superintendent.

Candidates will be selected based on their expertise and experience in relation to the seat for which they are applying, community and professional affiliations, and views regarding the protection and management of marine resources. Applicants who are chosen as members should expect to serve three-year terms, pursuant to the council’s charter.

“The sanctuary advisory council provides a vital place for the community and sanctuary management to exchange ideas, discuss issues and share information,’’ said sanctuary superintendent George Sedberry.

Applications for the two advisory council seats are due July 15. To receive an application kit, or for further information please contact council coordinator Becky Shortland via e-mail at becky.shortland@noaa.gov, by phone at 912-598-2381, or by mail at 10 Ocean Science Circle, Savannah, GA 31411.

The Gray’s Reef Sanctuary Advisory Council was established in August 1999 to ensure continued public participation in the management of the sanctuary.

Designated in 1981, NOAA’s Gray’s Reef National Marine Sanctuary is one of the largest near-shore live-bottom reefs off the southeastern United States, encompassing approximately 23 square miles. The live bottom and ledge habitat support an abundant reef fish and invertebrate community. Loggerhead sea turtles, a threatened species, also use Gray’s Reef year-round for foraging and resting, and the reef is near the known winter calving ground for the highly endangered North Atlantic right whale.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts, and protects.