News Briefs

WORLD NEWS news briefs

By Katherine M. Clements

LOCAL Former NOAA Science Advisor Joins Hubbs- SeaWorld Research Institute

SAN DIEGO— On Aug. 1, Michael Rust, Ph.D., most recently Science Advisor to the Office of Aquaculture at NOAA and the Aquaculture Steering Group Chair at the International Council for the Exploration of the Seas, joined HubbsSeaWorld Research Institute as a Senior Research Fellow.

Rust will work on research projects that advance understanding, governance, and development of sustainable marine aquaculture in the context of climate change and seafood demand. Collaborating closely with Mark A. Drawbridge, M.S., HSWRI Senior Research Scientist and head of its sustainable seafood initiatives, Rust will present projects, help pursue grant funding and act as a Principal Investigator on funded projects.

“Mike’s credentials, coupled with his domestic and international experience, will be of tremendous benefit to our work,” said HSWRI President & CEO Don Kent in a press release from Sept. 20. “We are honored to welcome a good friend and highly respected scientist to our team.”

Dr. Rust earned a B.S. in environmental biology from the University of Colorado, dual M.S. degrees in animal science and international development from the University of California at Davis, and his Ph.D. in fisheries from the University of Washington.

Long Beach Boaters Fight Climate Change by Restoring Native Oysters

LONG BEACH — On Sept. 18, Long Beach boaters helped enhance water quality and protection against rising sea levels along with Orange County Coastkeeper and local marine biology students. In May 2022, several Long Beach Yacht Club members gathered strings of oyster shells to hang off their docks. They returned to their strings four months later, hoping to find Olympia oysters attached to the shells. After inspection by Cal State Fullerton and Long Beach marine biologists, these native oysters will be transferred to their restoration site in the Jack Dunster Marine Biological Reserve.

Olympia oysters are the only oyster species native to California’s coast. Orange County Coastkeeper uses these oysters and native eelgrass to create “Living Shorelines” projects. Together, oysters and eelgrass can improve water quality, increase fish populations, and reduce the impacts of sea level rise. For example, one adult Olympia oyster can filter up to 50 gallons of water daily.

“We’ve lost 90 percent of our Olympia oyster population over the last century,” said Claire Arre, Marine Restoration Director for Orange County Coastkeeper, in a press release from Sept. 18. “We want to help stabilize the decline of that species and hopefully put it back on the upswing. These amazing creatures have the ability to improve human health, provide habitat for wildlife, and strengthen our marine ecosystem.”

This project is the second consecutive year that the collaborative effort between Orange County Coastkeeper, the Long Beach Yacht Club, Cal State Long Beach, and Cal State Fullerton has occurred.

Orange County Coastkeeper has created “Living Shorelines” projects in Alamitos Bay and Newport Bay, with plans to expand to Huntington Harbour soon.

Deep Sea Wine Tasting Room Opens at Ventura Harbor Village

VENTURA— A new Deep Sea Wine Tasting Room has opened in the Ventura Harbor Village and offers a unique wine-tasting experience for visitors and locals. Siblings John, Gillian, and Tom Conway created Deep Sea together. They have been making wine since 2007 and have worked to create a relaxed maritime vibe in the scenic Ventura Harbor. Their handcrafted Deep Sea and Conway wines can be purchased by the glass, bottle, or in one of the Signature or Reserve Tasting Flights, paired with artisanal cheeses or chocolates. Indoors and outdoor patio seating is available and overlooks the Ventura Harbor. The view from the patio makes for an excellent spot to enjoy a glass of wine while catching all the boats and action of the harbor.

STATE/NATIONAL/ INTERNATIONAL Division of Boating and Waterways Offers $1.6 Million in Grants to Enhance Recreational Boating Safety Education

The DBW is now accepting grant applications from organizations teaching on-the-water boating safety education to the public. A total of $1.6 million in grants is available to local public agencies, nonprofit organizations, and colleges and universities that operate within California for Aquatic Center Education Program grants. The deadline to apply is Oct. 28, by 12 p.m.

The grants can be used to: • Purchase boating equipment and supplies. • Provide student scholarships for on-the-water boating courses. • Offset costs for boating instructor training. • Offset costs for boating safety-related events.

The DBW recommends that applicants who are interested first review the FAQs on DBW’s website to determine if they meet the requirements. Grant

BUSINESS BRIEF MARINA VILLAGE APP

LONG BEACH— A new app officially hit the market Aug.1 called Marina Village. The Marina Village app is a first-of-itskind mobile app developed specifically for the marina and boating community and the marine service industry that supports it. The app is an interactive, ever-changing resource for boaters designed to provide enhanced communications, improve safety, facilitate maintenance, and generally make boating a fun, enjoyable experience.

“I put the original concept together for the marina environment,” said CEO Michael Wiggins. “My company had previously built a mobile safety app for K-12 Schools that uses similar technology. I am a live-aboard boater, and during the same time frame [pandemic], I coincidentally had conversations with a number of my fellow boaters, neighbors, who complained of emergency incidents that had occurred in which they had difficulty getting an appropriate emergency response.”

Wiggins is a former paramedic and firefighter who also has extensive knowledge on technology and software.

The app was developed to operate on a marina-by-marina basis, with the main screen providing access to marina-specific information and general information to all marinas. Users can move digitally between marinas 1,200 marinas on both coasts of the US.

“The primary purpose of the app is to improve boater/marina safety,” said Wiggins. “This is done by improving the speed and quality of response in emergencies and providing resources to boaters and marinas to improve the safety of day-to-day boating operations. The app provides an array of mechanisms for improving communications among and between boaters, marina staff, emergency responders, security and maintenance staff, and service vendors for both emergency and day-to-day messaging.”

The app also offers a Panic Button for when the worst happens. Users can simultaneously make immediate calls or texts to 911 and onsite staff for quick responses and activation of the Incident Management Dashboard. The alert triggers the activation of the IMD, which provides a central point of communication for all responders. The IMD also can send broadcast messages to all users of the app in the marina to assist in managing the event. Additionally, it provides a real-time tracking log of communications in the app during the course of the incident to promote situational awareness among arriving responders and create a record of the event for post-incident analysis. In addition, the app is specific to each marina; vendors are listed according to the services they offer. Specialized communication channels are used in emergencies, marina operations, mass messaging, direct oneon-one messaging, and user self-setup customizable chat groups. The app also provides information for boaters such as marina weather, USCG navigation regulations, buoy markings, radio protocols and more. In addition to the safety functions of the app, users can also list equipment for sale, trade, or giveaway, submit a photo to be chosen as the photo of the week, check the marinas event calendar.

Step-by-step features in the app: 1. Alert (Panic) Button: The user can make a text or voice connection to 911 with a pre-formatted message indicating the type of emergency and GPS location with simultaneous notification to the staff at participating marina and neighboring boaters. 2. Incident Management Dashboard: Digital dashboard for incident management with GPS mapping, emergency communications interface (connecting first responders, marina staff, reporting party). 3. Broadcast Messaging: Large group (all users of the app in a marina) messages can be sent for both emergency and routine messages. 4. Channel/Group Messaging: Preformatted small messaging groups for marina operational (admin, maintenance, security) staff and emergency response channel. Usercustomizable special interest chat groups for any purpose (fleet-racing, yacht club, SCUBA club, boat dock.) 5. Marinas-Change Location: Digitally tour different marinas (1,300 and growing) on both US coasts. Prepare for a trip or visit digitally for entertainment. 6. Video Adventures: View videos that highlight points of interest to boaters at other marinas. This is an ongoing series that add new videos regularly. Videos are tongue-incheek, engaging, and reasonably short. Users/marinas can submit their own videos for publication to the app. 7. Photo-of-the-Week: Weekly photos of great sunsets, boat racing, fishing, or of interest to boaters are shared. Users can submit their own photos for publication. 8. General Information: Information on boating safety, including navigation regulations, fishing regs,