2020 Annual Report

Our coastal and marine resources face persistent challenges that require our continued focus, innovative approaches, and collaborative solutions. On top of this, the last year – 2020 – has brought to the forefront societal crises of public health, systemic racism, gender inequalities, and socio-economic and environmental justice. As we ‘bounce forward’ from the COVID-19 pandemic, it seems obvious that fundamental change is necessary in our relationship to the natural world, to science and knowledge, and to each other if we are going to successfully understand and work to confront these challenges in coastal areas and beyond.

At NH Sea Grant, we are dedicated to constantly evaluating and improving what we do. One small change we are making is the production of an Annual Report for our constituents. We hope this interactive report will increase transparency and grow awareness for what we do and how we do it. Our Annual Report is intended not only to highlight our programming from the past year, but also to provide useful information on emerging topics and our basic structural and financial summaries. We chose a StoryMap format since it allows for visually rich storytelling, detailed maps that pinpoint our efforts, and a more interactive experience. 

Thank you for taking the time to navigate through our Annual Report. I hope you find it informative and helpful, and I look forward to hearing from you if you have questions or would like additional information. These are challenging times, but the resilience of the New Hampshire communities we strive to support gives us hope. We look forward to seeing you, hearing from you, supporting you, and working with you in the years to come.

Sincerely,

 Erik Chapman, Ph.D. , Director of NH Sea Grant

As we all journey on the trail of life, we wish to acknowledge the spiritual and physical connection the Pennacook, Abenaki, and Wabanaki Peoples have maintained to N’dakinna (homeland) and the aki (land), nebi (water), olakwika (flora), and awaasak (fauna) where our work takes place today. We also acknowledge the hardships they continue to endure after the loss of unceded homelands and champion our responsibility to foster relationships and opportunities that strengthen the well-being of the Indigenous People who carry forward the traditions of their ancestors. ( Univ. of New Hampshire )

Established by Congress in 1966, the  National Sea Grant College Program  (Sea Grant) is a network of 34 university-based programs in every coastal and Great Lakes state, Puerto Rico, and Guam. Sea Grant works to enhance the practical use and conservation of the nation's marine and coastal resources.

Operating through its university-based network, Sea Grant supports research, education, and extension to help balance the conservation of coastal and marine resources with a sustainable economy and environment. In this framework, Sea Grant provides unique expertise for those who live and work in our coastal environments, and those who make decisions about these resources. Sea Grant uses research results to solve real-world problems, prepares the next generation to be scientifically literate about the marine environment, and provides fair, accurate and balanced scientific information to all those with a stake in marine management.

At the federal level, Sea Grant is administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within the U.S. Department of Commerce. New Hampshire’s Sea Grant program is housed at the  University of New Hampshire (UNH)  – making UNH a land, sea, and space grant institution.

Sea Grant categorizes our work⁠—research, extension, and education⁠—into four strategic Focus Areas:

To align with the National Sea Grant College Program's strategic planning cycle, NH Sea Grant updated our own strategic plan in 2020. In response to changing conditions and circumstances brought to light throughout 2020, the opportunity arose to update many elements of our existing 2018-2021 Strategic Plan with an eye toward the 2022-2023 timeframe, resulting in a revised  2018-2023 Strategic Plan .

The strategic planning process began during the spring of 2020 when an online survey was sent to each NHSG Policy Advisory Committee (PAC) member, NHSG staff, and other key stakeholders to gather feedback on whether the Situation Statements and Goals from our 2018-2021 Strategic Plan remained relevant today and moving forward into 2022-2023. We then reviewed the survey results and discussed changes to our Strategic Plan during a PAC meeting (June 24, 2020) and two NHSG all-staff meetings (August 13 and August 20, 2020). The information and feedback from the survey and in-person meetings were integrated into a draft Strategic Plan submitted to the National Sea Grant Office (NGSO) on October 9, 2020. Additionally, we shared the draft Strategic Plan with our PAC during a meeting on October 22, 2020. We received comments and feedback from the NSGO in November 2020, and incorporated input from both the PAC and the NSGO in our current version, submitted January 2021. NHSG staff conducted an exercise to align Goals, Objectives, and Desired Outcomes with national and state Performance Measures in early January 2021.

NH Sea Grant’s mission is grounded in service to the people of New Hampshire, and to meet this mission we need to recognize, confront, and assume our responsibility in addressing the systemic biases and privilege that have shaped us, and that we have sustained. As an organization, we are working intentionally to educate ourselves, hold space for difficult conversations, and take action to address diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility (DEIJA) in our program. NH Sea Grant has a role to play in combatting structural, societal, and environmental injustices, and we will  hold ourselves accountable  to this necessary and critical work now and for months and years to come.

In order to strengthen NH Sea Grant’s ability to learn about, appreciate, and implement greater DEIJA principles through our work, we are taking steps to build a more culturally competent organization by:

• Educating ourselves in collaboration with our colleagues, partners, volunteers, and constituents by listening, sharing and learning
• Working with experts to help us move our organization from awareness to accountability and action
• Acknowledging the roles of history, legacy, and geography
• Integrating DEIJA considerations into our organizational planning, implementation, reporting and communications
• Reaching out more broadly in recruiting and hiring, proposal solicitation and reviews, project design and program advising

NH Sea Grant’s research funding cycle runs biennially, representing an investment of $2.5 million every two years from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and other non-federal matching funds. A state-wide call for research proposals solicits high-quality marine and coastal science projects that address any of NH Sea Grant’s Strategic Focus Areas.

In December 2020, NH Sea Grant announced our  biennial Request for Proposals (RFP)  for research projects that integrate cutting-edge science with expert extension, outreach, and education to support dialogue and science-based decision-making in areas of particular importance to New Hampshire and the region. During 2021, NH Sea Grant will review proposals from investigators for one or two-year research funding during our 2022-2023 cycle, which officially runs February 1, 2022 - January 31, 2024. 

• Number of pre-proposals submitted (February 19, 2021): 23
• Number of individual PIs/Co-PIs: 66
• Number of new PIs (no previous submissions to NH Sea Grant): 7
• PI Institutions: University of New Hampshire, Dartmouth College, Keene State College
• Number of institutions/agencies represented by PIs and Co-PIs in pre-proposals: 7
• Number of full proposals received (June 16, 2021): 15

In recent years, the growth and expansion of oyster farming has helped to keep New Hampshire’s rich maritime culture alive as an alternative to wild-harvest marine fisheries, which have experienced declines throughout the Gulf of Maine. However, in 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic closed restaurants and markets that usually buy NH oyster growers’ products. NH oyster growers estimated that they were able to sell only 10% of their market-sized oysters to their traditional buyers in 2020.

NH Sea Grant partnered with oyster growers to provide financial relief and encourage participation in research and conservation. Eight oyster growers in NH are participating in a program to use a portion of their licensed sites for research on oyster population enhancement and ecosystem services. The sites, chosen in partnership with NH Sea Grant, will test the increase to ecosystem services that creating a reef on their farms can create while minimizing impacts to their growing operations.

Each oyster grower transplanted approximately 10,000 oysters on each site, choosing mostly oysters that exceeded market size, or were misshapen and are therefore unmarketable. Growers received relief funding for both the oysters used in the program and their time transplanting and monitoring oysters in the experimental restoration areas.

NH Sea Grant and the growers will monitor the reefs to assess the success of the re-planting effort, taking into account the number and ages of replanted oysters, and the ecosystem conditions (depth, currents, bottom type) at the site. The monitoring will also inform an economic assessment of the ecosystem benefits generated by the growers’ labor and investment in the project. NH Sea Grant staff will work with the participating oyster growers to discuss the cost-benefit of the program and to consider future opportunities to manage their farms for enhancing ecosystem services. 

The NH Sea Grant Extension Program, a partnership between NH Sea Grant and  UNH Cooperative Extension , serves as the link between communities and unbiased, science-based information. NH Sea Grant Extension staff are able to assist individuals and groups in making informed decisions about the use, development, and conservation of marine and coastal resources.

­­­2020 was an unprecedented year and challenged people and communities in innumerable ways. NH Sea Grant Extension worked diligently to stay informed, understand, and adapt activities to align with new guidance and ways of 'doing business.' Programs typically offered in-person were reimagined and offered virtually. Frequent webpage updates, social media posts, and new digital tools became effective ways to provide timely information and reach intended audiences.

Here are a few notable examples of our 2020 Extension activities:

NH Sea Grant's work impacts local communities in concrete ways: creating jobs, sustaining businesses, supporting students (through educational opportunities, research activities, and fellowship funding), and generating economic value for New Hampshire. The following 2020 metrics are direct results of NH Sea Grant work between February 1, 2019 and January 31, 2020:

The cornerstone of NH Sea Grant's education portfolio, the  UNH Marine Docent Program  is a volunteer-based effort that brings educational programs to K-12 schools and camps, adults in community groups and organizations, and local events. These programs provide an important link between the university's marine science community and the public.

When schools closed during the pandemic, Marine Docent classroom activities paused. In the interim, Docent volunteers swiftly compiled online resources for a new  Marine Education At Home webpage  designed for teachers, parents, and students with varying interests and age-levels.

The 2019-2020 training class of Marine Docents was unfortunately cut short, however all 17 trainees were able to  graduate virtually  in August. In September 2020, we proceeded with our first-ever fully virtual cohort of new docent trainees. While hands-on activities remain at the core of Marine Docent programs, the adaptability and resilience of our Marine Docent volunteers during online meetings demonstrated their dedication to marine science education in challenging times.

In 2020, NH Sea Grant Extension staff engaged 17 local high school students from 4 coastal NH municipalities in the  Climate in the Classroom  program to build their climate literacy. This program focuses on preparing students as future leaders, as well as engaging with families and other community members, on the topic of climate change. This was the first Climate in the Classroom program held virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NH Sea Grant staff helped create a series of recorded presentations with local experts and supported group projects. Students worked in teams, remotely, to develop and present resilient and sustainable building designs. At the end of the program, the students reported gaining an increased awareness of local impacts, thinking about actions they and their families can take, and considering potential career paths working on climate.

Coming in summer 2021! A new training and development program from NH Sea Grant aims to bolster our workforce – with a focus on early and mid-career professionals – to address these coastal needs. New Hampshire  CoastWise  is a year-long, cohort-based immersion program for students and professionals working on coastal resilience and marine resource management issues in the state. Designed to build new skills and stronger networks, CoastWise seeks to cultivate an engaged and diverse workforce to better tackle the challenges facing our coasts (including upland watersheds) to support more engaged and impactful coastal research across disciplines. 

New Hampshire CoastWise will forge connections between students, researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers around the state to build a more resilient and sustainable future. Throughout the year, CoastWise participants will come together to attend workshops and spend time in the field – learning about coastal issues, building a repertoire of skills, networking with peers and partners, and gaining first-hand knowledge of and connections with individuals and communities across the state.

In January 2019, New Hampshire’s Governor Chris Sununu requested the establishment of an offshore energy Task Force for the state. Given the regional nature of offshore wind energy development, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) established a regional  Task Force  for the Gulf of Maine – including representation from New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Maine, and federally recognized Tribes in the area.

On December 12, 2019 at the University of New Hampshire, Governor Chris Sununu addressed a standing-room only crowd of 200 people as he kicked off the  first meeting  of the Intergovernmental Renewable Energy Task Force for the Gulf of Maine. The regional task force will ultimately be engaged in a process of spatial planning and analysis, leasing, assessment, construction, and operation of offshore wind platforms.

NH Sea Grant is involved on several levels in working with interested parties in New Hampshire to explore the opportunities and risks associated with potential development of offshore wind in the Gulf of Maine. NH Sea Grant’s role as a convener, facilitator, and honest broker of objective, science-based information positions us well to contribute to the process.

Here is a partial list of ways that NH Sea Grant has been engaging in the ocean renewable energy development process:

Spring 2020

• As part of the UNH School of Marine Science and Ocean Engineering’s spring seminar series, NH Sea Grant co-hosted a panel discussion at UNH entitled “Gulf of Maine Offshore Renewable Energy: Federal and State Perspective and Lessons Learned from the Block Island Offshore Wind Farm”

Spring 2021

• Northeast Sea Grant programs together with the U.S. Department of Energy and NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center announced a regional request for research proposals,  “Advancing Research for the Co-Existence of Fishing, Coastal Communities and Regional Ocean Renewable Energies” 
• Northeast Sea Grant programs collaborated to design a regional Extension effort that will complement the regional research RFP

Summer 2021

• NH Sea Grant’s Director co-mentored a UNH Sustainability Fellow who is developing a website and fact sheets for the New Hampshire Commission on Offshore Wind and Port Development.
• NH Sea Grant provided best practices for a state RFP to invest $250K in reports to provide an overview of opportunities and risks for New Hampshire with respect to: Jobs, Energy, and Environment.
• NH Sea Grant is facilitating engagement of commercial fishing industry with the New Hampshire Commission on Offshore Wind and Port Development and the BOEM offshore energy development process.
• NH Sea Grant is working with UNH experts to produce an economic ‘snapshot’ of the current recreational and commercial fishing industry in New Hampshire to inform engagement activities.
• NH Sea Grant is pursuing a  joint hire with NERACOOS  that will support engagement and spatial analysis of the economic impact of proposed offshore energy development areas on New Hampshire’s fishing industries and other socio-economic interests.