Photo

INTERNATIONAL

TRI-NATIONAL MEETING

The Trinational Initiative for Marine Science and Conservation in the Gulf of Mexico and Western Caribbean held its sixth workshop at the Harte Research Institute. This year’s workshop was a historic milestone as 15 scientists from Cuba were in attendance, making this the largest delegation from Cuba to visit the United States in more than two decades. Their focus was on key marine science issues facing the Gulf of Mexico and western Caribbean Sea including fisheries, marine mammals, sharks, sea turtles, coral reefs and marine protected areas. The Trinational Workshop serves as a platform for scientists, government officials and other experts from Cuba, Mexico and the United States to discuss common regional objectives and report progress on research projects shared by the three countries.

Outcomes from this year’s workshop included: • adding the regional lionfish epidemic to the

Fisheries group under the banner of “Invasive Marine Species”, • expanding the Sharks group to include rays, which are similar to sharks and are subject to the same issues, and

• forming a committee to address data sharing and the challenges to communications and information exchange, especially via internet.

The importance of enhanced exchange programs for postdoctoral students from the United States, Mexico and Cuba continues to be a very important issue. Political and social obstacles have left fellowships unutilized. Continuing efforts to promote well designed fellowships would encourage and foster cooperation and collaboration. The expertise of HRI’s team is in demand in places as far reaching as the McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Dr. Paul Montagna has been funded to conduct environmental monitoring there since 2000. In November and December 2013, HRI Research Associate Terry Palmer sampled sediments from beneath the frigid ice, packed them up and shipped them home to HRI for analysis. Determining the effects of contamination on the local ecological communities helps the United States meet its obligations under the Antarctic Treaty.

ISLAND TO ICE

Montagna’s team specifically focuses on the effects of humans on the marine and terrestrial environments. Parts of the sea floor adjacent to McMurdo Station are incredibly polluted and therefore the study design and methods used at McMurdo Station are useful in other regions of the world where contamination has occurred.

Although science is the main objective, helping to build an understanding of the science is important as well. An interactive blog entitled “Island to Ice” (www.islandtoice.org) provides opportunities to interact with the research team by posing questions which are answered on the blog. In addition, the team offers public lectures and classroom visits before and after each trip. 10

COOPERATIVE AGREEMENTS

Recognizing that the waters, fish and other organisms in the Gulf of Mexico know no political boundaries, HRI has consistently worked to build strong, cooperative relationships with Mexico and Cuba. In Houston, Texas, at the State of the Gulf of Mexico Summit 2014, HRI formalized another important relationship by signing the first government agency agreement with the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Geografía (INEGI; National Institute of Statistics and Geography). HRI’s first Cooperative Agreement was signed during the groundbreaking ceremony of the HRI building on the Texas A&M UniversityCorpus Christi campus in 2003 with Fondo Mexicano para la Conservacíon de la Naturaleza, A.C. (Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature). HRI now has seven signed cooperative agreements, including: • Universidad Veracruzana (University of

Veracruz; 2009) • Universidad Autonoma de Campeche (University of Campeche; 2011) • CINVESTAVIPN, Unidad Mérida (Unidad

Mérida del Centro de Investigación y de

Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, or Mérida Unit of the Center for Research and Advanced Studies of the

National Polytechnic Institute; 2011) • Instituto Tecnológico y de Estudios Superiores de Monterrey (Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education; this agreement is specifically with the Water

Center for Latin America and the Caribbean at Monterrey Tech, and it also includes the

Meadows Center for Water and the Environment at Texas State University; 2012) • Universidad Autonoma de Yucatán (Autonomous University of Yucatan; 2013). HRI continues to look for opportunities to grow these important relationships. Two additional cooperative agreements with partners in Cuba are in development one with the Acuario Nacional de Cuba (National Aquarium of Cuba), and the other with the leading academic marine research entity, Centro de Investigaciones Marinas (Center for Marine Research) associated with the University of Havana, the leading university in Cuba. HRI understands the synergy developed through these cooperative agreements. Continuing to build these relationships supports HRI’s vision of a Gulf of Mexico that is ecologically and economically sustainable.