Stories of sea run fish, the people who care about them, and the Sea Grant researchers working to understand and restore these ecologically vital fish
Sea run fish – fish that migrate between fresh and saltwater – hold meaning to many New England communities as food, as income, as history and as a key part of a functioning ecosystem. But many unknowns about these fish remain. Across New England, Sea Grant researchers are working to understand how these populations are changing, what habitats are most important to them and how to restore once vibrant runs of sea run fish.
The world’s largest source of fresh water, the Great Lakes, provides drinking water to more than 40 million people in the U.S. and Canada. In the first study of its kind, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering, funded by Wisconsin Sea Grant, have demonstrated that tributary rivers feeding Lake Michigan play an important role in bringing the human-made group of chemicals known as per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) to the Great Lakes system.
Sea Grant-supported researchers will produce data allowing decision makers to see the ecological and economic impacts of removing oil rigs or creating artificial reefs.
The National Sea Grant College Program and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement have awarded over $795 thousand to Texas Sea Grant and a team of researchers from Texas A&M University and LGL Ecological Research Services to produce information that could lead to the development of a decision-support tool modeling the ecological and economic effects of changing the composition of oil rigs in the gulf.
The Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium has announced a new two-year project that will develop a roadmap for Sea Grant water resources initiatives and improve communication and coordination on water resources efforts within the network and among key partners. Karen Bareford, of the Mississippi-Alabama Sea Grant Consortium and The University of Alabama’s Alabama Water Institute, will serve as the Sea Grant Water Resources Lead.
Sea Grant announced three initiatives today, all of which focus on freshwater systems and management. Projects include examining contaminants of emerging concern along the East Coast, mitigating pollution resulting from runoff in the mid-Atlantic, and managing stormwater to reduce flooding in the Great Lakes.