Sanctuary Advisory Council Actions

Council members may communicate with the Department of Commerce, NOS, NOAA and other agencies via letters, resolutions or motions. Below are motions and actions of the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council.

Please contact stellwagen@noaa.gov for Action Items of Meetings not listed.

49th Meeting
50th Meeting
51st Meeting
52nd Meeting
54th Meeting
55th Meeting
57th Meeting
58th Meeting
59th Meeting
60th Meeting
61st Meeting
63rd Meeting

49th Meeting Action - 8 March 2017

The Executive Committee will take the lead working with the sanctuary on the Annual Work Plan. Heather Knowles, SAC Chair, asked Nathalie Ward and Ben Haskell to provide the Executive Committee with some examples and templates from other sanctuaries for ideas on how the SAC can do something efficient, focused, and brief. The Annual Work Plan is really of value and complementary to focusing SAC meetings and lining up with the priorities the sanctuary has and how the SAC can best advise and participate with the sanctuary. The Executive Committee hopes to report back at the May 2017 meeting. Once the SAC Annual Work Plan is established, it will be easy to update.

The Council Executive Committee will discuss with sanctuary staff the feasibility of adding another recreational fishing seat to the SAC.

50th Meeting Action - 31 March 2017

John Galluzzo, Chair of the Business and Tourism Subcommittee is reinvigorating. It had started under Craig MacDonald, former sanctuary superintendent, but the subcommittee waited for marching orders from HQ ONMS that were slow in coming, and then Craig retired. The subcommittee did things like try to reach out to MA State office of travel and tourism. John said he will reach out to past members and hopes to recruit new ones. SAC members are asked to consider joining the subcommittee.

51st Meeting Action - 1 March 2018

Sanctuary staff is proposing four formal SAC meetings per year with one being a webinar to keep momentum going. SAC members are asked to recommend potential new locations and venues that would better serve the current make-up of the SAC and balance the burden of the commute.

A SAC Work Plan is required by the SAC Charter. SAC members are asked to review the draft SAC Work Plan and provide the Executive Committee with comments and ideas.

AtlanticLink is a proposal for a clean energy project which has been submitted in response to the Massachusetts Clean Energy RFP. The proposal is to install a high voltage direct current (HVDC) cable from New Brunswick Canada to Plymouth MA, connecting into the Pilgrim Nuclear Station after it is retired in 2019. Ben Haskell, Sanctuary Acting Superintendent, will contact the Emera Company to see if they can present at the next meeting to address SAC members' concerns regarding the cable line.

Better ways need to be explored to manage maritime heritage sites damaged by trawlers. The SAC Executive Committee proposed creating a Maritime Heritage working group to focus on this issue and bring some options forward to engage external parties apart from the SAC. The SAC Executive Committee will follow up off line as to what the SAC representation of the working group would entail and will reach out to these specific SAC members ( i.e., maritime heritage, diving, recreational fishing, and conservation members as the core representation). Motion was passed to create a Maritime Heritage working group.

SBNMS and Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuaries were chosen as sentinel sites to undergo two surveys to be conducted by two economists from Office of National Marine Sanctuary Headquarters. The first is an economic survey to determine the value and benefits of sanctuary research. The second one is two-part valuation of wildlife viewing trips. One survey for owners/operators in Spring 2018 and one for passengers in Summer 2018. The purpose of the study is to determine the contribution of whale watching and other wildlife viewing in the sanctuary and benefits to the greater regional economy. Ben Haskell will reach out to SAC members who will be directly involved with both surveys. Sanctuary staff is looking for volunteers to administer the whale watch survey.

Anne-Marie Runfola, SAC Coordinator, reported that the SAC Charter will expire on February 8th. This is an opportunity for the SAC to update/revise the Charter. Deadline to submit revisions to Office of National Marine Sanctuary Headquarters is February 18th. Anne-Marie will follow-up with the SAC Executive Committee so they can get a sense of the scope of the work involved before soliciting input from the SAC.

Heather Knowles, SAC Chair, will follow up with Executive Committee on the Draft SAC Work Plan to figure out next steps and discussions.

52nd Meeting Actions – March 1, 2018

SAC members are asked to commit to concrete issues to help sanctuary staff meet its biggest priorities that tie into the overall sanctuary mission. To this effect, SAC members are asked to send their specific commitments to Anne-Marie Runfola who will compile them into a Google Doc that will be shared and can be revised as needed by anyone at anytime. This document will tie into and align with the SAC Work Plan.

54th Meeting Actions - October 18, 2018

Heather Knowles, Advisory Council Chair, asked that sanctuary staff send the SAC subcommittee and working group meeting minutes to members to keep them up to date.

Heather Knowles, Advisory Council Chair, agreed that the SAC needs to tackle the public's perception of the Great White shark and think about messaging and proactively change this perception. Heather will work with the SAC Executive Committee on how to incorporate and structure this into the SAC Work Plan.

Heather Knowles, Advisory Council Chair, suggested that it is time to begin to formalize the findings and recommendations of the SAC working groups and subcommittees. This may be an action that can be tagged for sanctuary staff and the SAC Executive Committee to set dates within the framework of the overall Management Plan update timeline; to take a look at the recommendations, then report to the SAC. This is something to think about over the next few months.

55th Meeting Action – February 13, 2019

Access to Information on Shipwreck Sites: Overall, there needs to be greater clarity on the regulatory and legal framework and what it would take to shift from a policy of non-disclosure to one of "appropriate" disclosure. The Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Maritime Heritage Working Group (MHWG) needs feedback on the proposal for access to information. Heather Knowles, MHWG and SAC Chair, recommended the SAC be presented with the legal and regulatory framework around this issue at the next meeting to facilitate a continued discussion and potential options.

57th Meeting Action – October 16, 2019

Sanctuary Shipwreck Exploration and Live Broadcasts: Report, Plan for Next Year (Ben Haskell, SBNMS Deputy Superintendent)

Ben reported on the results of the first year of a 3-year telepresence expedition to deep shipwrecks and habitats in SBNMS. On September 17-19, scientists from NOAA's Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and Marine Imaging Technologies explored the wreck of the SS Portland, which sank in a gale in 1898. During the mission, a variety of innovative marine technologies, including a cinema-class remotely operated vehicle (ROV), was deployed to survey and document the Portland and the marine species that contribute to the sanctuary's biological heritage. Three important discoveries were made during the expedition:

A large trawl net now drapes the port bow of the historic wreck and was not present in 2009 during the last visit to the Portland. The net has scarified the marine life on the bow, damaged the cutwater, and blocks access to the foredeck.
We were able to confirm that the connecting rod is intact between the walking beam and the paddle wheel shaft which eliminates one possible cause of the steamship's demise.
It appears that the aggregation of large cod and pollock that characterized the wreck from 2002-2010 have now been replaced by Acadian redfish (Sebastes faciatus) although this observation needs to be confirmed with more data next year.

Live programs were broadcast each morning to a total of 1,415 students from 28 schools around the country who connected with team members through two-way communication, allowing students the opportunity to dive deeper into the expedition. Each afternoon one or two live programs were broadcast via the internet to the general public, giving viewers the opportunity to interact with members of the expedition by sending them questions and to learn about the. Over 9,400 people tuned in from 12 countries. Next year the expedition will return to the Portland and other deep iconic shipwrecks as well as surrounding natural habitat and will be guided by new multibeam sonar surveys of the northern deep Y-valley dubbed the "tuning fork".

Summary of the project

Action Item: Heather Knowles, SAC Chair - The SAC should not lose sight of this and contemplate supporting this event next year, and factor it into the SAC work plan. This topic is earmarked for further exploration and discussion in more detail at the February 12th SAC meeting.

Scallop Population and Projected Fishing Effort

Michelle Bachman presented on the Scallop Amendment 21 and Framework 32. She presented two scallop actions, along with monitoring, survey outlook and management issues that are being considered. View the presentation.

Action Item: Heather Knowles, SAC Chair - This is a great example of where the SAC needs to capitalize on objectives and meet mutual goals. SAC will stay on top of this topic.

SAC Workplan: Review and Goals

Heather Knowles performed a review of progress to date against goals contained within the 2019 Work Plan. Overall, the SAC has made excellent progress on goals, which is a good indicator that the goals are relevant and reasonably achievable. See 2019 Work Plan for a detailed description of the goals.

The draft table below summarizes Heather's understanding of progress to date. The next step is to receive input from SAC and staff. There was discussion on the topic of protection for right whales and the status of acoustic monitoring buoys, which were planned to be decommissioned but have not yet been.

Action Item: To follow-up on the status of the buoys and whether they are still operating

Lunch Presentation – Sharks in the Sanctuary

Greg Skomal's "Sharks in the Sanctuary" presentation

Greg encouraged Sanctuary staff to add acoustic receivers in the Sanctuary to monitor sharks. This type of instrumentation is already ongoing in the sanctuary, so additional transmitters are easily added.

Action Item: Heather Knowles, SAC Chair - This is an opportunity for SAC and staff to start thinking about incorporating sharks in the Sanctuary into its work and to discuss data that can be of use to the Sanctuary and the Condition Report, and what other processes might be appropriate if this becomes a strategy for the Sanctuary to pursue.

SAC Workplan: Review and Goals

Action Item: To follow-up on the status of the buoys and whether they are still operating.

58th Meeting Action – February 12, 2020

SAC Work Plan 2020 Overall Review and Report on Individual Work Plans (H. Knowles)

Heather Knowles reviewed the proposed SAC Work Plan for 2020. The plan is largely an update and refinement of the previous year's plan which focuses on the Management Plan update. Each activity and associated goals were reviewed and discussion among the SAC occurred. There was general agreement among the SAC that the Work Plan was on point and agreeable with two major pieces of feedback:

The SAC felt water quality is an important issue and proposed elevating it in the Work Plan. Heather. Knowles will follow-up with Todd Callaghan and Jeff Rosen to craft language. Strong objections were raised by Fixed Gear representatives William Adler and Eric Meschino concerning the proposed goal to explore performing a pilot study of ropeless gear. There was extensive discussion in which all points of view were considered. Several SAC members voiced support for the pilot study and cited other examples where this technology is being developed and/or tested. The SAC did not agree to remove this activity/goal. The Executive Committee will consider the issues and determine whether or not to move forward.

Action Items:

The SAC felt water quality is an important issue and proposed elevating it in the Work Plan. Heather Knowles will follow-up with Todd Callaghan and Jeff Rosen to craft language.

The Executive Committee will consider the recommendations regarding a ropeless gear pilot project and determine how to move forward.

59th Meeting Action – May 20, 2020

Summary of Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Management Plan Public Scoping Comments, Recommendations for Priority Topics to be Addressed in next Management Plan, Recommendations for Subcommittees and Working Groups Needed to Address Priority Topics:

Sanctuary staff members, Pete DeCola, Ben Haskell, and Alice Stratton, provided an update on the status of management plan review. Alice gave a summary of the number and types of comments received, and described the main categories of issues that were raised. Pete discussed the results of the Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC) Survey of Management Plan Review (MPR) priorities, which indicate that there are no low priority topics. He asked the SAC for advice on how to assess the results, whether to look at rank order (i.e., which issues were ranked highest) or to consider a matrix view (i.e., consider relative priority and feasibility of implementation). After discussion, the SAC seemed to agree that a matrix approach was appropriate, though it would need to consider additional factors, such as ease of implementation, impacts, resource requirements, etc. Ben then asked the SAC to consider what types and how many subcommittee or working groups they might want to establish to assist with MPR. The SAC agreed that the MPR subcommittee is no longer needed, but had trouble determining whether a functional (education, research) or issues (ecosystem management, climate change) approach would be more effective, especially as so many topics are cross cutting.

Action Item: The SAC asked Sanctuary staff to rethink how best to approach the topic priorities and restructuring the subcommittees and/or working groups, then provide the SAC with an updated proposal to consider.

60th Meeting Action – October 11, 2020

Pete DeCola, Sanctuary Superintendent, provided a brief review of the Sanctuary Mission/Vision the SAC discussed at its May 22, 2020 virtual meeting. He invited input from the SAC.

Susan Farady, SAC Vice Chair, agreed to form a subcommittee to provide SAC input at the February 2021 SAC meeting. Pete provided a summary of next steps, including the goal of having a draft management plan available for review and discussion at the February meeting.

61st Meeting Actions - February 10, 2021

Motion passed to submit the SBNMS Mission and Vision Statements submitted by the Vision and Mission Subcommittee for consideration by the sanctuary staff in the Management Plan revision process.

63rd Meeting Actions - February 16, 2022

Action Item: The SAC will vote to form a Ropeless Gear Working Group at the 64th SAC meeting in February 2022

Action Item: Alice Stratton, SBNMS staff, will participate in the wind energy team and follow up to learn more about it.