Safe Boating Week

May 19, 2014

May 18th-24th 2014

By Elizabeth Bevan, Sea Grant Knauss Fellow at the National Sea Grant Office

Whether it’s fresh, salty, or somewhere in between, the allure of water attracts people for fun in the sun and summertime memories. Yet, sadly, many people are injured, lives are lost, and issues of environmental degradation arise due to unsafe boating practices on U.S. waterways. Sea Grant programs are working hard to manage the delicate balance between the nation’s diverse boating needs and the protection of its coastal resources.
Sea Grant programs strive to promote safe and sustainable boating practices through a variety of activities such as community workshops, conferences demonstrating the sustainable use of waterways, and the creation and distribution of outreach material that share information on required and recommended safety gear to keep onboard a vessel. Sea Grant agents live and work in the communities they serve, therefore each program’s effort is customized based on the community’s individual needs. In areas with large commercial fishing populations, Sea Grant programs conduct survival trainings for emergency situations on the water and provide first responder safety certification courses. In areas that experience severe ocean and coastal storms, Sea Grant programs provide information for boaters on how to manage their boats in the face of hurricanes. This locally focused approach allows Sea Grant programs to connect with those in need, including some of the more isolated and vulnerable groups.
Many boating activities impact not only people, but also affect the surrounding environment as well. Minimizing this impact is the driving force behind many Sea Grant programs promoting best management practices for environmental stewardship. Much of this effort takes shape as the Clean Marinas Program. Sea Grant programs across the coast, including the Great Lakes region, have certified over 800 different Clean Marianas.
Get out this summer and enjoy the water, but be safe and be respectful. To find a Sea Grant program in your area take a look at where our programs are located here!

Meet some Sea Grant Agents that help people be safe and sustainable boaters:
Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program Agent: Torie Baker
Louisiana Sea Grant Extension Agent: Lauren Land
Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium Extension Agent: Peter Nyugen
New York Sea Grant Extension Agent: David White
Ohio Sea Grant Extension Agent: Sarah Orlando

Four people install substrate for an oyster reef.

Alaska

Biden-Harris Administration invests $60 million to build a climate-ready workforce through Investing in America agenda

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced $60 million in funding to help train and place people in jobs that advance a climate-ready workforce for coastal and Great Lakes states, Tribes and Territories as part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda under the Inflation Reduction Act. To date, awards like these from President Biden’s Investing in America agenda have created more than 270,000 jobs across the country.

The funding will support nine projects around the nation, with $50 million going directly to the projects and $10 million for technical assistance to support the grantees.

Sea Grant Aquaculture Academy in New Hampshire

Sea Grant aquaculture professionals from across the country convened in Portsmouth, NH in early April for a 4-day intensive “Sea Grant Aquaculture Academy” hosted by New Hampshire Sea Grant with support from North Carolina Sea Grant.

Sea Grant takes center stage in Oceanography special issue

NOAA Sea Grant-funded research and work with coastal and Great Lakes communities across the nation are being highlighted in a special issue of “Oceanography,” the official journal of The Oceanography Society.

This special issue, published in April 2024, features 36 articles contributed by Sea Grant authors across 29 programs and the NOAA National Sea Grant Office.