Superintendent’s Quarterly Report through OCTOBER DECEMBER, 2017 Making Farallones “Greater” through Volunteerism According to a report compiled by the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, Greater Farallones National Marine Sanctuary figured prominently in Fiscal Year 2017 as a key implementer of citizen science and volunteer programs. Greater Farallones volunteers logged an impressive 10,565 hours with a force of 335 volunteers, including the sanctuary’s Beach Watch coastal monitoring program. Beach Watch accounted for 8,219 hours by 297 volunteers, and Conservation Science ACCESS (Applied California Current Ecosystem Studies) technical specialists. Other volunteer programs included our Sanctuary Advisory Council (SAC), SAC Working Groups, and Education/Outreach assistants as Visitor Center and special event naturalists. Farallones citizen scientists face some of the most daunting work in the sanctuary program. Beach Watch coastal and ACCESS at-sea surveys maybe carried out under challenging conditions: cold and rain, toxic spill events, remote and rugged topography, rough seas, and hazardous coastal surf conditions. Their efforts demand caution, situational awareness, stamina and sometimes considerable effort to fully carry out their tasks. According to Superintendent Maria Brown, “Dedication, and a sense of personal accomplishment, are what drive them.” National marine sanctuaries are living laboratories where citizens can become personally involved through volunteerism, to ensure our underwater treasures are protected and preserved. Some volunteers bring a degree of specialization to their work; others are trained from “scratch,” learning site- specific skills and scientific protocols. Farallones volunteers work in close collaboration with many other groups in their local communities including boat operators, academia, industry, other government agencies, tribal bodies, NGOs, and researchers in the areas of education, outreach, research, monitoring and enforcement. In exchange, they receive hands-on training by professionals in their field, sometimes from world-renowned scientists. They gain experience communicating the importance of our natural world to visitors, and join a community of people with mutual science and environmental interests. Some have commented that through these activities, they feel part of a larger world, a living, breathing Blue Planet. Certainly, they are the lifeblood of our sanctuary program. Photo: Beach Watch volunteers during Cosco-Busan oil spill response; credit Jamie Hall MANAGEMENT The council also took action on recommendations from the Marin/Sonoma Regional Sediment Sustaining and improving the health of the Management Plan Working Group regarding regional sanctuary and site specific recommendations for 25 locations along the Sonoma and Marin coastline. The Hearings Held on Coast Guard Discharge Waiver recommendations laid out concerns and issues, In December, Cordell Bank and Greater Farallones addressed management goals, and suggested national marine sanctuaries (CBNMS and GFNMS) strategies for short and long-term sediment held public hearings in Sausalito and Gualala to take management issues. With input and guidance from comments on the proposed rule and associated draft various agencies and stakeholders, the final plan will environmental assessment on proposed U.S. Coast be forwarded to the Coastal Sediment Management Guard (USCG) discharges in these sanctuaries. The Workgroup co-led by the State of California and the proposed action would allow the Coast Guard to US Army Corps of Engineers. continue to discharge untreated vessel sewage, non- clean gray water and training-related discharges, seaward of approximately three nautical miles from Photo: Stinson Beach shore, within the sanctuaries’ expansion areas. wave action. Credit: USGS NOAA’s proposed exceptions to the regulations are being considered to address USCG concerns that the larger sanctuaries, and extension of the discharge prohibitions to the expanded areas, would make it difficult for the USCG to both fulfill its Advisory Council Holds Annual Retreat missions, and comply with the prohibitions. If On December 6, 2017, the Greater Farallones implemented, NOAA’s action would enable it to National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council held its continue to conduct its missions without change to its annual retreat at the sanctuary office in San discharge practices. A number of USCG missions Francisco. The council reviewed its accomplishments protect the sanctuaries’ resources. for the 2017 and created a work plan for 2018. The theme of the retreat was “benthic habitats in the Comments may be submitted until 1/16/18. For more sanctuary.” Sanctuary research, resource protection information see: and education program coordinators presented their https://farallones.noaa.gov/manage/regulations.html projects and goals related to benthic habitat and and https://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=N deep sea corals. These included highlights from the OAA-NOS-2017-0140, 2016 Nautilus ROV cruise to Arena Canyon, the Farallon Escarpment and Pioneer Canyon, updates Sanctuary Advisory Council on the Essential Fish Habitat Conservation Sanctuary Advisors Hold Quarterly Meeting Areas process, a story On November 15, 2017, the Greater Farallones map on “The Football.” Advisory Council held its quarterly meeting at the They also experienced a San Francisco Zoo. The council finalized the Low Deep Sea Education Overflights Report to the sanctuary and received a program by building and presentation from students in the Ocean Guardian driving remotely operated vehicles. School program on their environmental science Deploying ROV at GFNMS Pier projects, linking watersheds to the ocean. Credit: Jenn Gamurot CONSERVATION SCIENCE / RESEARCH human activities, oil pollution, entanglement, beach wrack deposition, Monitoring To Understand Long-Term Trends beach erosion and deposition, and Farallones research coordinator represents status of streams federal government on science council and lagoons In September, Conservation Science staff contiguous with the ocean. participated in the semi-annual research and governing council meeting of the Central and Beach Watch, a sentinel site monitoring project, Northern California Ocean Observing System provides valuable information to sanctuaries and (CeNCOOS). The Greater Farallones Research partner agencies on a variety of management issues, Coordinator serves as a federal representative on the including compliance with state and federal laws, governing council, providing input on how CeNCOOS climate change, wildlife disturbance, and status and can serve as a portal for data from the regional trends of coastal wildlife. sanctuaries, as well as how sanctuaries use this Photo: Documenting a dead pinniped; credit GFNMS/GFA/Beach Watch. data. CeNCOOS is part of nationwide, integrated coastal Sanctuary Ecosystem Assessment Surveys ocean observing systems, conducting research and (SEAS, ACCESS Surveys) providing funding to sustain long term monitoring of ocean parameters, from Point Conception north to ACCESS Completes 50th Research Cruise the California-Oregon border, out to 200 nautical Greater Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine miles, and includes bays and estuaries within this Sanctuaries, and Point Blue Conservation Science, region. It provides a data portal for oceanographic completed their 50th Applied California Current and biological data, maps and observations, found Ecosystem Studies (ACCESS) research cruise of the at: http://data.cencoos.org/. Researchers 14-year program, from September 23-29, 2017. investigating ocean currents, harmful algal blooms, Sampling included seabird and marine mammal and climate impacts, presented their recent findings distribution and abundance, zooplankton prey and strategic planning to sustain these monitoring availability, and oceanographic conditions. Highlights efforts. These key partnerships with other groups included high numbers of large whales compared to enhance protection of sanctuary resources and the previous September cruises, and good numbers provide crucial outreach, which engages the public of seabird species that are often uncommon, such as and helps raise awareness of the sanctuaries. Buller’s shearwaters and Northern Fulmars. Catch in the plankton nets was dominated by pyrosomes, Coastal Monitoring – Beach Watch which were reported in record amounts on the Pacific Coast to the north and south earlier this year, and This winter, 20 newly trained volunteers began other gelatinous zooplankton. Several graduate surveying 10 beaches, two of which are newly added students collected data for their theses on ocean to the Beach Watch survey program. Formal training acidification and whale abundance. included classroom sessions, and field training through one-on-one mentorships by Beach Watch ACCESS is a collaborative partnership of Point Blue staff. With this new class of volunteers, Beach Conservation Science, Cordell Bank and Greater Watch now surveys 58 beaches every two weeks, Farallones National Marine Sanctuaries, which from Point Arena in Mendocino County to Año Nuevo provides ecosystem information for management in southern San Mateo County, and the northern about resources at risk from ship strikes, ocean portion of Monterey Bay sanctuary. This includes acidification, marine debris, and ecosystem health. documenting live and dead birds and mammals, RESOURCE PROTECTION EDUCATION Protecting Breeding Seabird Colonies Inspiring an Ocean Conservation