Dear ROSA Community,
It is hard to believe that we are more than half way through 2021. I took some time a few weeks ago to reflect on all we have undertaken this year and refine our work plan for the second half of the year. We have accomplished a lot! Thank you to the many, many people who have contributed to ROSA’s mission over recent months. You can read about our collective achievements below.
Mid-Year Update
I am pleased to report that we have accomplished all of the goals that we set forth for the first half of 2021, and then some. Highlights of our accomplishments include:
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Hiring Dr. Mike Pol as Research Director. It is fantastic to have Mike on board; he has already contributed a great deal in his first few months on the job – working on the Department of Energy grant proposal, helping plan the June 17th Advisory Council meeting, and building relationships with key constituencies.
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Publishing the Offshore Wind Project Monitoring Guidance and Framework. The guidance was very positively received and stimulated an interesting discussion among the dozens of individuals who attended our April 9th webinar introducing the document.
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Submitting a proposal for a $3.5 million research grant to the Department of Energy, which involved collaboration with a wide range of partners. Thank you to all who worked on this proposal! We should be receiving a response by this fall.
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Hiring RPS North America to undertake the Fisheries Resource Data Project. RPS has been selected to conduct research and prepare a report with recommendations for standardizing and sharing fisheries resource data to better understand the impacts of offshore wind on ecosystems. RPS has extensive relevant experience, including querying and applying existing fisheries data for offshore wind projects in the Northeast and curating data supplied to the Northeast Ocean Data Portal.
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Finalizing our governance structure with the selection of nearly 50 Research Advisors who will provide independent, scientific input to the Advisory Council and its committees.
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Advancing Advisory Council priorities, including addressing how to improve baseline data, establish a regional fisheries approach/framework, and incorporate fishermen ecological knowledge into research. Two Advisory Council meetings have been held so far this year.
Our goals for the second half of 2021 include:
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Developing a comprehensive regional fisheries approach/framework. This framework will help streamline efforts across states, determine where to allocate research funding, and illuminate research gaps that need to be addressed.
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Completing the Fisheries Resource Data Project.
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Piloting efforts to improve standardization of research methods and data sharing across projects.
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Identifying research priorities for the next one-five years through the Synthesis of Science and regional fisheries approach/framework projects.
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Securing joint funding for research priorities.
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Partnering with other organizations, including the Regional Wildlife Science Entity, whose missions are complementary to that of ROSA.
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Continuing to drive forward the Advisory Council’s agenda.