Massachusetts Maritime Academy/ MIT Sea Grant Joint Program in Marine Fisheries and Marine Advisory Services

Lead Pi: Cameron Gifford · 8/1996 - 2/1998

Project Personnel: Richard Morris

MIT Sea Grant
Project number: 1996-E-5
advisory atlantic bait bay billfish bloom bluefish boating bow bulkhead buoy butterfish bycatch canal cargo chart chemistry clam clean up coastal cod conservation course crab ddt deck diesel dogfish door dragger drowning ecosystem engine environnment fender fiberglass fintfish fish fisheries fouling fuel Georges Bank groundfish hydraulics hypothermia lane lecture licensing life support line marina mechanics mooring navigation New England Offshore oil pier port power radar radio safety tanker toxic training trawler water weather welding work boat

Objectives:The objectives of this project are to develop new courses in our existing Marine Advisory Program, but, more importantly, to expand our offerings in the Marine Safety area. We are fortunate to have CDR Joseph Steen USCG (Ret.), a former port safety officer, as an associate investigator and will use his expertise in the Marine Safety areas. Our biggest effort will be in the new direction of Marine Environment Protection. Mass. Maritime is expending great effort and large sums of money in this category. The fisheries program intends to move in parallel.Methodology:We intend to develop at least fifteen new courses in the areas of Marine Advisory, Marine Safety, and Marine Environmental Protection over the next two years. Most of the courses will utilize the new equipment purchased recently, especially the 1.5 million dollar Oil Spill Simulator. These new simulators provide opportunities to greatly expand our program at very little cost. We are expanding into the exciting field of Marine Environmental Protection in response to demand from the public and will utilize to enormous energy created in the Environmental Protection Program at MMA to develop our new curriculum. The Oil Spill Simulator provides us a platform for not only simulating spills on the high seas, but local bays and harbors can be highlighted to simulate environmental disasters for local municipalities. The Oil Spill Simulator can also simulate navigational problems.Rationale:Unlike oil spills from super tankers spreading over miles of beautiful beaches and making newspaper headlines through the world, we are building our program on local bays and harbors where small spills occur with much greater frequency and are far easier to contain and prevent. We are offering education programs at a very low coast aimed at a variety of people who, once aware, will be able to improve the environment in small but measurable increments . We shall also be able to offer courses in realistic navigational problems using not only the Oil Spill Simulator but also the Bridge Simulator, the Fisheries Simulator and also the interface computer in the Fisheries Lab at a low price to a cross section of the local population.