Medicines from the Deep Sea:
The discovery of novel chemical compounds from deep-sea marine organisms often takes us to new and exciting locations. One of the first steps in planning such an expedition is to thoroughly review the scientific literature about a new target site. This includes reviewing surveys and literature on the biology and geology of a region by environmental consulting firms, government agencies, such as the Minerals Management Service, National Marine Fisheries Service, and U.S. Geological Survey, and various research institutions.

AUVfest 2008: Navy Mine-Hunting Robots help NOAA Explore Sunken History
AUVfest 2008 is a unique opportunity to demonstrate and test the applications of autonomous underwater vehicles, or AUVs, for both mine countermeasures and archaeological research. In total, 13 AUV systems are participating in the missions, which will take place in Rhode Island’s Narragansett Bay

2007: Exploring the Inner Space of the Celebes Sea
Our expedition takes us to unexplored waters south of the Philippine Islands, in search of the strange, and possibly unknown, fishes, jellyfish, squids and shrimp that live in the dark deep waters of the Celebes Sea. Surrounded by much shallower ocean waters, the Celebes plunges to over 5,000 meters, and in these waters there may well be species that have evolved in isolation from other surrounding waters.

NOAA Proposes Rule to Require Saltwater Angler Registration
The proposed rule satisfies the National Academy of Science National Research Council recommendations to establish a national database of saltwater anglers, and meets the requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. The proposed rule is part of a larger initiative of NOAA’s Fisheries Service.

California Sea Lions Seizures May Come From Fetal Domoic Acid Poisoning
Scientists, reporting in the current issue of the online journal Marine Drugs, state that an increase of epileptic seizures and behavioral abnormalities in California sea lions can result from low-dose exposure to domoic acid as a fetus. The findings follow an analysis earlier this year led by Frances Gulland of the California Marine Mammal Center that showed this brain disturbance to be a newly recognized chronic disease.

NOAA Launches Online Inventory of Marine Protected Areas
NOAA’s National Marine Protected Areas Center, in cooperation with the Department of the Interior, has created a first ever online inventory of the nation’s marine protected areas (MPAs). This unique, comprehensive inventory catalogs and classifies marine protected areas within US waters, and was developed with extensive input from state and federal MPA programs, as well as other publically available data.

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