Developing a Strategic Plan for Coastal Resilience and Sustainable Fisheries at the Gloucester Marine Station

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The University of Massachusetts Amherst is awarded a planning grant to develop 5- and 10-year strategic plans for the Gloucester Marine Station (GMS). GMS is located on Cape Ann, northern coastal Massachusetts and is jointly operated by the University of Massachusetts Amherst and the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries. GMS provides excellent access to the Gulf of Maine and a variety of habitats for marine research and education, including: coastal marsh, rocky intertidal/subtidal, and offshore banks. This access is important because the Gulf of Maine is one of the most rapidly changing marine environments on the planet. GMS will play a critical role in understanding how this change will influence Gulf of Maine flora and fauna. At the same time, GMS is embedded within a dynamic coastal community that is culturally tied to the ocean through a long history of fishing and maritime tradition. GMS is ideally poised to serve as a regional hub for marine research, education, and extension, specifically focusing on coastal resilience and sustainable fisheries. These focal areas have been identified through ongoing dialogue with community stakeholders and academic partners. The planning grant will coordinate efforts to build GMS capacity to conduct world-class research, education, and outreach in the Gulf of Maine, greatly benefiting the coastal communities that work and reside within this dynamic region.The overall goal of this planning grant is to facilitate the development of GMS to become an established leader in coastal marine science research, education, and outreach. The planning grant will identify key stakeholders within the region, determine priority facility needs, and culminate in the development of near- and long-term strategic plans. To meet these goals, the planning activities will include: workshop interactions with stakeholders and a needs assessment, visitation and meetings with already established coastal research stations, and a two-day workshop at GMS with national and regional marine laboratory leaders. Following this information gathering, GMS faculty, staff, and administration will develop strategic plans that will identify priority areas of research, education and extension, near-term objectives, accountability metrics to assess project success, and a timeline for guiding the development of GMS as a coastal research leader.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.