Strategic Plan, 2008-2012 >> Part III
Introduction || Part I || Part II

Marine Advisory Services Strategic Plan
Outreach and Education

Advisory Services will continue to work directly with Massachusetts’ citizens, coastal stakeholders, marine industries, and ocean-related government agencies to provide information, education and engineering design services that will make us better stewards of the ocean.

A coordinated program of collaborative initiatives is organized into five topical focus areas.

Topical Initiative Acronym Leader
Communications ----- Andrea Cohen
Center for Fisheries Engineering Research CFER
Offshore Aquaculture Engineering Center OAEC
Center for Marine Social Science CMSS Madeleine Hall-Arber
Center for Coastal Resources CCR Judith Pederson
Ocean Education Technology Center OETC Brandy Wilbur

Some of the initiatives that will be underway in the 2008-2012 timeframe are:

  • Engineering solutions to problems with traditional fishing gear, such as: design, construction and testing of energy-consumption improvement devices for fishing boats; a scallop dredge and trawl doors that do not damage the sea floor; improved passive acoustic probes for monitoring vocal fish stocks.
  • Creation of an ecosystem-based regional organization to identify key marine problems for the area and the scientific research needed to resolve them.
  • Continued expansion of our ground-breaking Sea Perch program in underwater robotics, both locally and nationally, and the addition of an international component starting in 2008.
  • Establishment of an online publications directory and archive that will significantly expand public access to reports and publications, and the development of an online submissions process for our yearly proposals.