The NOAA Marine Debris Program and William and Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science announced more than $1.4 million in funding for 11 new projects under the Nationwide Fishing Trap Removal, Assessment, and Prevention (TRAP) Program. Derelict fishing traps not only cost fishers money to replace, but can also compete with active fishing gear by trapping economically important species. Derelict traps can also trap and kill non-target species, such as fish, turtles, and other endangered and threatened species that are not meant to be caught. These new projects will remove derelict fishing traps from coastal waterways while collecting data to prevent future gear loss. Funding was provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which includes provisions for the prevention, mitigation, and removal of marine debris from coastal communities and marine ecosystems. The selected projects will work in the following geographies: California, Connecticut, Delaware, Florida, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, New York, Palau, and Washington. Additional details can be found on the William and Mary’s Batten School and the Virginia Institute of Marine Science website.

A session on Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) tools, methods, and approaches took place at the 45th annual meeting of the Society of Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry (SETAC) North America, convening a diverse group of practitioners from government, business and academia to explore innovative methodologies for assessing and restoring natural resources injured by hazardous substance releases. Co-chaired by NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration's Assessment and Restoration Division staff, the session featured presentations and posters providing valuable information to support the NRDA process. Topics included advancements in tissue residue predictions, insights into injury and restoration, case studies demonstrating innovative assessment approaches, and approaches for developing tribal cultural loss claims. The SETAC Globe recently published a summary of the session, titled “NRDA Practitioners Share Knowledge to Enhance Restoration of Resources Impacted by Hazardous Substances.” Building on previous NRDA-focused sessions at SETAC, this session paves the way for future events on the topic.

NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration (OR&R) and Restoration Center (RC) scientists engaged with students showcasing their research as part of the Scientist at Sea Research Symposium, hosted by Eckerd College in St. Petersburg, Florida. OR&R and RC staff spoke with students about NOAA, shared career advice, and served as poster judges. The event allowed NOAA staff to connect with numerous local institutions and provide information to students interested in pursuing a STEM career. Eckerd College’s Scientist at Sea program is a multi-semester undergraduate course, funded by the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Pathways into the Earth, Ocean, Polar and Atmospheric & Geospace Sciences (GEOPAths) program. As part of the program, each student had the opportunity to hop aboard a research cruise on the R/V Weatherbird II or other vessel, completed a research project, and presented their research project results at the symposium.