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Honoring
NOAA Fisheries special agent Eugene Proulx in the U.S. Senate, South
Carolina Senator Fritz Hollings called his work "the gold standard." As
reflected in the December 20th issue of the Congressional Record,
Senator Hollings cited Gene's 28-years of dedication to protecting America's
oceans and living marine resources.
Retiring as Special Agent in Charge of NOAA Fisheries' Southeast Enforcement
Division, Office for Law Enforcement, Gene was honored as "the example
of a public servant who routinely gives 100 percent." Senator Hollings
credited Gene with convincing his state to work jointly with NOAA Fisheries,
leading to a Joint Enforcement Agreement that is "now the gold standard
model of marine resource enforcement and being established in coastal
states around the nation." Senator Hollings said the cooperative programs
are "the legacy of Gene's leadership." For full tribute: http://www.legislative.noaa.gov/proulxretirement122001.html
In tribute to the late Richard "Dick" Hagemeyer, a former director
of the National Weather Service's Pacific region who oversaw weather services
throughout the Pacific for 19 years, the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center
was recently dedicated and renamed in Honolulu in his honor. Mr. Hagemeyer
was internationally recognized for his leadership in developing the U.S.
Tsunami Warning Program and modernizing weather services in Hawaii and
throughout the Pacific Region.
When he died in October at age 77, Scott Gudes called him "a legend at
NOAA and throughout the Pacific Region…with three loves in his life --
his wife Helen, the people and cultures of the Pacific Rim, and the National
Weather Service. Mr. Hagemeyer served NOAA and the nation for 51 years.
For Scott Gudes' tribute and a career profile, please see http://www.accessnoaa.noaa.gov/hagemeyer.html
Jack Kelly, director, National Weather Service, reads greetings from
U.S. Senators Daniel K. Akaka and Daniel K. Inouye. Jack Kelly told the
Honolulu Star-Bulletin that, "whatever capabilities we have today
in forecasting tsunamis and their impact, I don't think we would have
if [Dick hadn't] kept pushing people along, saying that 'tsunamis kill
people in the Pacific and Northwest - they are important, pay attention
to them.'"
Jim Weyman, acting director of the National Weather Service's Pacific
Region, points out collage of Dick Hagemeyer photographs next to podium.
Military color guard prepares to open ceremony. The center provides
warnings to nearly all countries around the Pacific Rim and to most Pacific
island states.
Together Richard Hagemeyer and his wife Helen served the weather industry
for over 75 years. Helen Hagemeyer worked at the U.S. Weather Bureau from
1949 until retiring in 1978. Richard Hagemeyer started working at the
Bureau in 1950. For details about a scholarship established in their honor
by the American Meteorological Society, see http://www.ametsoc.org/AMS/amsedu/scholfeldocs/hagem.html
At an all-NOAA
wedding ceremony in Woods Hole, Massachusetts, Master Jack McAdam,
captain of NOAA's Delaware 11, married We-Li Diana Ma, a former NOAA Fisheries
scientist now researching marine mammal hearing at Boston University,
and Douglas Perry, of NOAA's Office of Marine and Aviation Operations.
Contrary to popular myth, sea captains do not have legal authority to
perform marriages, but Massachusetts permits anyone to perform marriages
who has an okay from the governor. Jack got the okay.
Photo by Polly McAdam, age 9
Acting as a comb or filter, the Northwest Hawaiian Islands catch
debris from the North Pacific Ocean as currants stream past them. This
marine debris - anything humanly made that floats in the sea - gets caught
in coral or washes up on shore, creating an entanglement hazards very
dangerous to the wildlife of these remote island refuges.
NOAA's Towsend Cromwell recently returned from its yearly marine
debris removal cruise, which has now helped remove over 100,000 pounds
of debris from the islands' reefs. Mostly fishing gear, the trawl nets,
drift nets, long line and variety of synthetic lines can smother coral
reefs and pose particular hazards to the endangered Hawaiian Monk Seal
and sea turtles.
Led by Dr. Mary Donohue, chief scientist from NOAA Fisheries, and Lt.
Cmdr. Tom Callahan, NOAA Corps, commanding officer of the Townsend
Cromwell, debris removal involves first using the Cromwell's
small boats to survey an island's reef, then towing snorkelers on towboards
along lines over the reefs. When debris is found, the snorkelers dive
down and cut it out. Scuba divers remove deeper debris. The small boats
then carry the debris to the Cromwell, which returns to Honolulu
with a full load for the city to incinerate.
Lt. Commander Tom Callahan, Cromwell commanding officer, dives
for debris.
Cleaning up debris scattered over many square miles of sea is hard work.
Joining forces with the Ocean Conservancy, Coast Guard, Hawaii SeaGrant,
and the US Fish and Wildlife Service, among others, NOAA staff spent hours
undersea. Every net found had entangled fish, sharks, monk seals and other
creatures. Once fish are entangled they become a good source of food for
other creatures, making the net attractive to other predatory fish and
sharks. Mary Donohue said, "the nets can go on for years, killing large
numbers of fish."
For the "Student Connection" and more, click on http://atsea.nmfs.hawaii.edu/cr0111a.htm
NOAA
Fisheries launches Pacific Alabacore Tuna tagging program…
With the aim of collecting vital information on migratory habits,
NOAA Fisheries Southwest Science Center has joined three partners
in implanting archival tags that have the capability to track Pacific
albacore tuna throughout the Pacific Ocean. The tags are sophisticated
monitoring devices designed to record daily geographic positions
for up to seven years. NOAA Fisheries scientist John Childers said
the new tagging program will provide baseline information in population
models used to assess the stock's health. In launching the first-time
project, he implanted 15 archival tags in stomach cavities. Partners
are the Western Fishboat Owners' Association, Japanese scientists
who are implanting the same tags in the western Pacific, and the
American Fishermen's Research Foundation, which is offering a $500
award to anyone who returns a tag found in a tuna.
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…and
wins first prosecution using satellite-based vessel monitoring
A ruling last month against a fishing vessel based in New Bedford,
Massachusetts and its captain marks the first federal fisheries
prosecution based exclusively on vessel-tracking data gathered by
the satellite-based Vessel Monitoring System. Charles R. Juliand,
lead NOAA prosecutor, said the ruling against a scallop vessel that
repeatedly entered an area closed to protect spawning groundfish
sets an important precedent. It holds that the system used is "accurate
reliable technology capable of producing evidence admissible in
a court of law," he said. The judge assessed a $250,000 fine and
ordered the federal fishing permit of both vessel and captain to
be permanently revoked. Bill Hogarth, NOAA Fisheries director, said
the decision "supports the hard work that NOAA Fisheries enforcement
agents put in to protect marine resources for honest fishermen."
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CDR Zdenka Willis, commanding officer of the Naval Ice Center in Suitland,
Maryland, recently moved to her next assignment as Senior Military Fellow
at the Wargaming and Simulation Center of the National Defense University
in Washington, DC. During the ceremonies, she received the Meritorious
Service Medal for her leadership of the Naval Ice Center. Run by NOAA
in partnership with the Departments of Defense and Transportation, the
center helps safeguard ships in ice-covered waters.
CDR Steve Warren took over as new commanding officer. He most recently
served in the Programming and Assessment Division of the Oceanographer
of the Navy staff. Also shown are Rear Admiral Thomas Q. Donaldson, V
(left), Commander of the Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, and
Greg W. Withee, NOAA assistant administrator for Satellite and Information
Services.
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