Program Update: National Oceanographic Partnership Program – January 2013
The Ocean Research Advisory Panel (ORAP), supported by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program (NOPP), held their winter meeting at Ocean Leadership on January 14-16. The Panel heard briefings on the topics of Balancing Ocean Infrastructure and Research and Leveraging Ocean Education Opportunities, and made progress on its report on Implementing Ecosystem Based Management. The ORAP expects to produce reports on all three of these topics within the next year. The ORAP also heard an update from the Chair of the Interagency Working Group on Ocean Acidification, Ned Cyr. The panel thanked three members, Ms. Jane Davis (Walt Disney World), Mr. Randy Fisher (Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission), and Mr. Kerry St. Pé (Barataria-Terrebonne National Estuary Program) for their four years of service on the ORAP. They will be rotating off the ORAP this February. The group also spent time discussing ways forward for future topics and meetings. More information on this meeting, including the agenda, meeting materials, presentations, and meeting actions and minutes can be found here. The ORAP is scheduled to meet again in May 2013 at the Consortium for Ocean Leadership.
The working groups supported by NOPP continue to meet regularly. The Interagency Working Group on Ocean Partnerships (IWG-OP) met on January 8 at Ocean Leadership. The IWG-OP’s Federal Renewable Ocean Energy Working Group (FROEWG) met on January 9 at Ocean Leadership. The IWG-OP’s Biodiversity Ad Hoc Committee will meet at Ocean Leadership on February 7. The Interagency Working Group on Facilities and Infrastructure will meet again at Ocean Leadership on February 11 and the Subcommittee on Unmanned Systems will meet on March 4.
