What's New
Derelict Fishing Net Project Funded through NOAA
The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative has been awarded $4.6 million in economic stimulus funding from NOAA to pull derelict fishing nets from Puget Sound. Click here to read press release. Click here for more information about the derelict fishing gear removal program.
Northwest Straits Foundation Project Manager Position
The Northwest Straits Foundation has released a Request for Qualifications and Quotation(RFQQ) for a project manager position for a derelict gear removal project. Please read the timeline carefully as this project will have a very quick start up.The response due date is July 2, 2009. Click here to download the RFQQ.
Newsletter
Click here to see the current edition of the Northwest Straits Initiative's monthly newsletter.
Murray Provides $1.6 Million for Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative
June 24, 2009 - "U.S. Senator Patty Murray includes $1.6 million in funding for the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative in Senate spending bill." Click here to see a full press release.
Next Commission Meeting
The next Commission meeting will be in Clallam County at the Jamestown S'Klallam Tribe on July 31. Directions and agenda coming soon.
Featured Project
The Buoys are Back in Town
The Port Townsend waterfront boasts an eelgrass protection area that is a model for citizen-led habitat conservation. The seasonal eelgrass marker buoys were recently installed thanks to coordination by Jefferson County MRC staffer Gabrielle LaRoche, and aided by members Mike Porter and Caroline Gibson, commercial divers re-attached seven brightly colored ‘no anchor zone’ buoys to permanent anchors in the seabed. This voluntary stewardship project is highly effective at protecting local eelgrass and preventing vessels from drifting aground. By informing recreational boaters, many of whom are visitors to the area, that eelgrass beds teaming with marine life lie hidden below, the buoys and associated MRC outreach have resulted in close to 100% voluntary compliance for anchoring outside of the area. Eelgrass provides important shelter and food for many of the region’s iconic species, including Coho and Chinook salmon, herring, smelt, Dungeness crab and Brandt geese.
Click here to see recent newspaper article.
Welcome Caroline Gibson, Marine Program Manager
This month we’d like to introduce you to Caroline Gibson, the Northwest Straits Commission’s newest staff member in the Marine Program Manager position.
First, a practical matter: Caroline pronounces her name with a long ‘i’ sound, so that it rhymes with ‘fishing line’, not ‘dorsal fin’.
Second, everything she has done to bring her to this point relates back to a serious obsession with sharks. That might seem incongruous for a person from Newfoundland, Canada (not to mention someone from the “Jaws” generation), but early on Caroline set herself on a path to meet and work with one of the world’s premier shark biologists. This led her to work at Wood’s Hole Oceanographic Institution on Cape Cod, the Bahamas, the Middle East, and ultimately as a commercial fisheries observer based in Maine.
Over the years, Caroline has transitioned from spending much of her time on the water doing research, into communications and policy work. She spent the past nine years working for the Pacific Marine Conservation Council, a non-profit organization working with fishing communities to foster sustainable fishing practices and protect marine ecosystems on the West Coast. Caroline established the organization’s Washington office in Friday Harbor, where she became involved in the work of the San Juan MRC. After moving to Port Townsend in 2003, she joined as a member of the Jefferson MRC.
Caroline will be making the rounds to attend a meeting of each of the Marine Resources Committees in the next few months. We are thrilled to have her working with us. You can reach Caroline at gibson@nwstraits.org or 360-428-1057.
Who We Are
The Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative, authorized by Congress, is nationally recognized as an innovative approach to bring sound science and an ecosystem perspective together with citizen energy and entrepreneurship.
Volunteers from seven county-based Marine Resources Committees select restoration and conservation projects that meet performance benchmarks, attract diverse partners, and engage large numbers of community members in the process.
The Northwest Straits Commission coordinates these efforts and conducts regional projects. The Commission also brings together scientists and marine managers to help improve everyone's efforts to save Puget Sound.