Cost-Efficient Climate Change Adaptation in the North Atlantic Report

December 5, 2014

Maine Sea Grant

This report from a year-long study from Sea Grant and the NOAA North Atlantic Regional Team (NART) identifies some best practices that communities can use locally for adapting to climate change. “Cost-Efficient Climate Change Adaptation in the North Atlantic” is a compilation of best practices shared by 34 towns and cities (ME to VA) willing to share the steps that they have taken towards successful adaptation. The report also contains an interactive map.

Systematic incorporation of climate change concerns into formal community planning, management, and infrastructure design is in a nascent stage. Yet innovative climate change and flood management practices are being implemented in every state in the region (North Atlantic U.S.A, Virginia to Maine), and in diverse municipalities with varying demographic and geographic characteristics. The devastation wrought by Superstorm Sandy and Hurricane Irene indicate that communities are still highly vulnerable to coastal hazards and flooding, yet the storms have also created a potential watershed moment regarding willingness to adopt innovative adaptations.
This study was undertaken to raise awareness of the best practices in leading North Atlantic communities. We hope that the results will inspire discussion and action in communities that are now considering how to better protect themselves. This project was sponsored by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration North Atlantic Regional Team and Sea Grant.

American Lobster

Sea Grant’s American Lobster Initiative awards $5.4 million to further innovative research and outreach in support of the lobster industry and fishing communities

Since 2019, Sea Grant’s American Lobster Initiative has addressed critical knowledge gaps about the American lobster and its fishery facing a dynamic and changing environment. The Initiative supports a regional extension program in the Northeast and a national research competition. Fifteen emerging research projects were selected in 2023 and 2024 for $4.6 million in federal funding by the NOAA National Sea Grant College Program. Coordinated by Maine Sea Grant since 2019, the Northeast lobster extension program was recently renewed with an $840,000 federal award that supports work through 2026.

Sea Grant announces $987, 361 to fund 2024 Young Fishermen’s Career Development projects

Sea Grant announces $987, 361 to fund 2024 Young Fishermen’s Career Development projects Today, NOAA’s National Sea Grant Office is pleased to announce the selection

Sea Grant welcomes 2025 Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship finalists

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program is thrilled to announce the finalists for the 2025 class of the Knauss Marine Policy Fellowship. This year, for the first time in program history, all eligible Sea Grant programs are represented by a diverse cohort of 88 early-career professionals who will spend the next year working alongside federal agencies or legislative offices in Washington, D.C., applying their academic expertise to critical marine, coastal and Great Lakes policy issues.