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Implementation Plan 2008 - 2013

Implementation Plan
2009 - 2013

May 2009

Texas Sea Grant Program
2700 Earl Rudder Freeway South, Suite 1800
College Station, Texas 77845
Tel: (979) 845-3854
Fax: (979) 845-7525
http://texas-sea-grant.tamu.edu

Coastal Science Serving Texans

Introduction

      The Texas Sea Grant College Program revised its strategic plan and aligned it with the National Sea Grant Office Strategic Plan in 2008. The present document is a further revision of the Texas Sea Grant Implementation Plan to align it more closely with the style and format of the National Sea Grant Office’s plan and to take into consideration changes in circumstances that have arisen since the previous draft of the plan. This Implementation Plan will ultimately be used as a foundation to generate performance benchmarks to determine Texas Sea Grant’s progress in meeting the goals in its Strategic Plan.

      Guidance for the general research priorities for the next two funding cycles (February 1, 2010, through January 31, 2012, and February 1, 2012, through January 31, 2014) was provided on two occasions by the Texas Sea Grant Advisory Committee, which is made up of individuals from state and federal agencies, the private sector and academia. The first meeting was on June 28, 2006, and the priorities established at that time were reaffirmed at a second meeting of the committee on October 21, 2008. The three priority research areas for Texas Sea Grant are:

      This Implementation Plan follows the format of the Strategic Plan by outlining the strategies under each of the four objectives and discussing the topics that are of particular interest. The performance metrics associated with research under the various strategies will only apply when successful proposals that relate to the strategies are funded through a rigorous competitive process.

Objective 1. Addressing Critical Issues

Strategy 1. Aquaculture (Priority = Low)
      There is a well-established mariculture industry in Texas that involves production of penaeid shrimp, red drum and striped bass. That industry is growing to an extent, and is serviced primarily by the Texas Sea Grant Aquaculture Specialist. Interest in aquaculture by researchers is generally associated with assisting enhancement activities conducted by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) in fish nutrition.
      Goal 1. Develop the technology required to produce additional species for enhancement stocking in coastal waters.
            Rationale: TPWD has been stocking red drum to enhance the recreational fishery for more than 20 years, and that fishery appears to be healthy and productive. TPWD is now looking at other species, such as spotted seatrout and southern flounder, as species of interest for new enhancement programs.
            Performance metrics: The recreational fisheries of Texas support a multi-billion dollar annual revenue stream. Enhancing the marine recreational fisheries will provide sport fishermen with additional opportunities to catch fish and further enhance the economy of the state. Performance can be measured, in part, through determination of additional fishing licenses sold as new species are added to the enhancement list in the state.
            Time frame: Impacts from enhancement stocking of new species should be seen within about five years after enhancement efforts are initiated.
      Goal 2. Develop technology in support of open ocean aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico.
            Rationale: The offshore waters of Texas may be suitable for open ocean aquaculture. The Gulf of Mexico Fisheries Management Council has finalized its management plan that would provide a mechanism for permitting aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico EEZ. Early in 2009 the plan was sent to NOAA for final approval. If approval is granted, there may be interest in establishing one or more offshore mariculture facilities off Texas. Texas Sea Grant is poised to assist the industry in various ways.
            Performance metrics: The establishment of offshore facilities, development of the species necessary to make the ventures profitable and development of the hatchery technology to produce fingerlings of such species as cobia and tuna will be indicators of success. Texas Sea Grant’s contribution will be measured in terms of successful research supported by the program and efforts in outreach to those interested in establishing commercial aquaculture in the offshore environment.
            Time frame: Given that no industry currently exists in the offshore waters of Texas, the minimum time frame for evaluation of movement toward success will be about five years once a permit for establishment of a facility is granted.
      Goal 3. Ensure that technologies associated with aquaculture activities are developed with the objective of producing aquatic organisms in a manner that imposes the least possible environmental impact.
            Rationale: It is virtually impossible to develop aquaculture facilities adjacent to or in the marine environment without producing some measurable level of environmental change, whether positive or negative. To be sustainable, aquaculture needs to focus on developing technologies and approaches that are as environmentally friendly as possible. Texas Sea Grant will consider research proposals that address this issue in relation to the development of new species as well as expansion of the culture of current species.
            Performance metrics: Comparison of environmental conditions before and after establishment or expansion of facilities will provide a measurable effect of the change on the local environment. If that change is negligible, the approaches developed can be said to approach, if not reach, sustainability.
            Time frame: Success in achieving the desired results should be apparent within one year after a facility is stocked to permitted capacity.

Strategy 2. Resilient Coastal Communities (Priority = High)
      In recent years, tropical storms have caused extensive flooding along the Texas coast. The most recent storm, Hurricane Ike in 2008, caused hundreds of millions in property damage and was responsible for many deaths and injuries. Development of coastal communities often occurs without regard to location relative to river flood plains or susceptibility to storm surge. Texas Sea Grant is heavily involved in research and outreach through our Coastal Community Development program, which is headed by an extension specialist in the Houston/Galveston area. Clearly, much more activity to develop awareness of the vulnerability of the Texas coast to storms and research to create more resilient coastal communities are needed.
      Goal 1. Improve storm surge and flooding predictions, beginning in the Houston/Galveston area.
            Rationale: The Sea Grant atmospheric science specialist located at the University of Oklahoma works closely with the National Severe Storms Laboratory and the North and South Carolina Sea Grant Programs and is involved in developing a plan to couple instantaneous rainfall activity and a new storm surge model to better predict flooding during severe weather events. The program has been dubbed CIE-Flow. Once it is tested in the Tar River Basin of North Carolina, it will be introduced to the Houston/Galveston area. The model should provide emergency managers with much better predictions of the extent of flooding associated with tropical storms and hurricanes. By knowing the probable additive effect of rainfall runoff and storm surge, making better decisions on areas to be evacuated, for example, will be possible.
            Performance metrics: Performance will be based on the timeliness with which CIE-Flow is established in Texas and how it performs during the first and subsequent storm events once it is in place. Preliminary discussions with emergency managers with the Texas General Land Office and others indicate a strong interest in the model.
            Time frame: It is anticipated that CIE-Flow will be introduced as early as 2010. It is not possible to determine when major storm events will occur, though it is likely that one or more will hit the Houston/Galveston area within five years after the model is in place.
      Goal 2. Better position Sea Grant to assist in the response to hurricanes that strike the Texas coast.
            Rationale: Texas Sea Grant extension agents and specialists were virtually helpless after Hurricane Ike with respect to being able to assist. Attempts to interact with FEMA and establish a role for Sea Grant were made after Hurricane Rita, but were unsuccessful. Following Hurricane Ike, Sea Grant personnel took it upon themselves to try and assist the commercial fishing industry in various ways, as well as finding recreational boats that were often miles from the water, taking photographs and recording the registration numbers and turning the information over to the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department. In this way, boat owners could be notified as to where their boats had ended up after the storm and they could then work with their insurance carriers to file damage claims. Location and positive identification of vessels greatly speeded damage award settlements.
            Soon after landfall, even as local, state and federal agencies rushed relief supplies to the affected areas, urgent requests were being made for accurate assessments of hurricane damage to area infrastructure, housing, businesses, forestry, agriculture and fisheries. While good estimates were provided for most of the aforementioned categories, reliable and accurate data was severely limited for agriculture and fisheries damages. Having a close working relationship with the commercial and recreational fisheries, Texas Sea Grant personnel set out to survey various user groups within the fishing industry. Survey results will be shared with state and federal agencies assisting in the hurricane recovery process.
            Texas Sea Grant helped fishing communities in other ways as well, such as by holding public meetings to provide information on how those who lost their boats or businesses might seek governmental assistance. Agents provided information in layman’s terms and helped those in need navigate the FEMA process.
            In order to be more effective after future storm events, Texas Sea Grant needs to develop a clearly defined role to assist in recovery. That role may be to develop a better organized approach to assisting the commercial and recreational fishing industries, through the now developed economic impact surveys which can be custom tailored to suit any given fishery and area on the Texas coast. Another role Texas Sea Grant can fill is taking GPS-linked photograph of marinas, processing plants and other boating-related structures. After a storm, the same locations can be photographed from virtually the identical position to document structural damage. That information will then be available for use in conjunction with settling insurance claims.
            A post-Ike debriefing/summit is planned for all Texas Sea Grant personnel to identify strengths, weaknesses and lessons learned from the storm. This summit will provide valuable insight into how we can leverage our small size and flexibility to maximize our impact during future storms.
            Performance metrics: Performance will be measured by the success the program has in obtaining before and after photographs in conjunction with major storms and the use of the photographs by insurance companies and others.
            Economic impacts survey forms will be posted online and readily available. These surveys took months to develop and beta-test. Success will be measured by whether the utilization of these forms following future storms will allow economic impact data to be gathered more quickly and more accurately.
            Time frame: Photographing facilities will be an ongoing process. Economic impact survey forms will be posted online in summer 2009. The post-Ike “Lessons Learned Summit” will be conducted in summer 2009.

Strategy 3. Ocean Observing (Priority = Low)
      Texas Sea Grant is involved with the Gulf of Mexico Coastal Ocean Observing System (GCOOS) program primarily through outreach and education. The director of Texas Sea Grant is the chair of the Stakeholder Council. The Stakeholder Council attempts to bring in representatives from all groups and industries that have an interest in observing systems and works with GCOOS administration in developing topics and planning meetings of various stakeholder groups to gather information on the types of information those groups would like to obtain through an observing system.
      Goal: Assist GCOOS with obtaining user input to the process of developing an ocean observing system for the Gulf of Mexico and disseminate information on GCOOS and its products to user groups and the public.
            Rationale: Sea Grant is in the information development and transfer business and there is a significant need to inform potential user groups and the general public why ocean observing systems are important to them. The extension of such information is often not done well by the scientific community, but it can be and is done well through Sea Grant outreach and communication pathways. All four Gulf of Mexico Sea Grant programs are involved with GCOOS.
            Performance metrics: Success in supporting this goal can be measured in terms of the numbers of groups and individuals reached with GCOOS programs and informational materials and collaborative activities established by Sea Grant with other agencies at the state, regional and national levels.
            Time frame: GCOOS is a long-term program and Texas Sea Grant is committed to continuous involvement.

Strategy 4. Coastal Ecosystems and Fisheries (Priority = High)
      Research and outreach on this strategy have been the foci of Texas Sea Grant since its inception and continue to be a high priority. It has become increasingly apparent that as people continue to move to the coast, the anthropogenic pressures on natural resources has increased at a rapid and often alarming rate. As a result, Texas Sea Grant has been attempting to solicit input from social scientists in helping address coastal issues that were once focused on only by the more traditional marine scientists. While involving social scientists and, as importantly, getting them to work collaboratively with their counterparts in the biological and physical sciences has developed slowly, it will continue to be emphasized by the program.
      Goal 1: Develop a partnership with the Mission-Aransas National Estuarine Research Reserve and promote development of research proposals that will be conducted in the MANERR.
            Rationale: The MANERR is the most recent of the nation’s estuarine research reserves and its establishment was strongly supported by Texas Sea Grant. The site provides an extensive field laboratory site (it is the second largest NERR in the nation) at which longitudinal ecological studies can be conducted that will be important in monitoring the long-term health of our state’s estuaries.
            Performance metrics: Performance can be measured in terms of the number of successful proposals that are funded in the MANERR over the course of this implementation planning period and by the formal relationships established between Texas Sea Grant, the MANERR and users of the MANERR. All proposals will be given equal considerations among those received during each proposal cycle, but no preference will be given to those that are related to the MANERR.
            Time period: The relationship between Sea Grant and the MANERR is planned to extend well into the future. No termination of the relationship is planned or anticipated.
      Goal 2: Support wetland restoration projects and monitoring.
            Rationale: In recent years, Texas Sea Grant has, largely through the involvement of the Cameron County Coastal and Marine Resources Agent, been involved in the restoration of the 4,500 ha Bahia Grande project in South Texas, which is aimed at changing what had become a dry salt pan area back into a productive estuary by reestablishing pathways that allow tidal water flow. By June 2008, some pathways had been reopened to water flow, thus eliminating the necessity of removing blown sand from areas that had been previously impacted, but circulation levels were not yet at a level to support a sustained wetlands ecosystem. When completed, the Bahia Grande can serve as a model for other marsh restoration projects. The majority of the Sea Grant involvement in this activity will be through outreach and extension efforts, though some research will also be appropriate.
            Performance metrics: Performance will be measured by the documented evidence of a standing stock of appropriate marine species within the restored estuary.
            Time frame: The establishment of a standing stock of appropriate marine species will be dependent on refinement to the project such that tidal flushing of the area will be enhanced, a funding-critical effort.
      Goal 3: Continue the certification activity with Texas marinas under the Clean Marina program.
            Rationale: The Clean Texas Marina Program (CTMP) is administered by the Texas Sea Grant Marine Business Specialist with support from the Marina Association of Texas (MAT).  During its formative years, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) (then Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC)), Texas General Land Office (TGLO) and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) provided the program with funding and legitimacy.  During 2006, the program was shifted from TCEQ oversight with administration by the Texas Sea Grant program to MAT oversight and continued administration by Sea Grant.  By June 2008, the program consisted of 72 certified marinas and 45 pledged to become certified out of a marina population in the state of 371. The Clean Texas Marina Program is integrated into the Texas Coastal Non-Point Source Management Plan, required under provisions of the Coastal Zone Management Program, and plays a significant role in managing water quality in coastal as well as inland water bodies.
            Performance metrics: Performance will be measured in the number of marinas becoming certified as a Clean Texas Marina as well as the number of marinas pledging to become certified.
            Time frame: The program is ongoing for certification of marinas new to the program and for the required periodic recertification of participating marinas.
     Goal 4: Address issues related to protection of non-jurisdictional wetlands through improved land use planning or decision support methods.
            Rationale: Wetlands are a critical part of the coastal-marine ecosystem. Both so-called "isolated" freshwater and estuarine brackish wetlands are under threat from rapid urbanization and other changes in land use patterns. Local citizens and elected officials are becoming more aware of the value of these wetlands and the role they play in the long-term sustainability of the region. Ecotourism, for example, is widely recognized as a pillar of the coastal economy, with wetlands being recognized as important to sustaining the bird and fish populations that draw many tourists to the area. Some local officials and citizens have recently expressed a strong interest in exploring growth patterns that would help save much of the remaining habitat and the coveted "coastal charm."
            Performance metrics: Examples of measurable elements of this goal include the number of workshops and number of planning charrettes conducted, number and extent of projects started that could be attributable to this goal, and number of policies changed to facilitate sound growth, as well as the number and quality of urban and open space plans developed.
            Time frame: This is a long-term effort, so the estimated time frame is the next 20-30 years.

Strategy 5. Marine Education (Priority = High)
      Goal 1. Employ a marine educator.
            Rationale: Texas Sea Grant took over coordination of the northern Texas regional competition of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB) in the fall of 2005 and has used a graduate student to oversee the activity during the first three years of Sea Grant involvement. That graduate student will be leaving her position in spring 2009 and will need to be replaced. A marine educator will be employed, in part, to coordinate NOSB and will also work closely with K-12 educators around the state, conduct educational research and work closely with the coordinator of Texas Sea Grant’s Floating Classroom Program in curriculum development.
            Performance metrics: Productivity in producing curricular materials for the K-12 level and the Floating Classroom Program and the extent of their adoption in Texas schools will be a primary measure of success. Continuation of a successful series of NOSB competitions will be another benchmark.
            Time frame: Hiring is expected during the spring of 2009.
      Goal 2. Move the Floating Classroom Program to Corpus Christi and expand its activities.
            Rationale: The Floating Classroom Program (FCP) and its vessel, the M/V Karma, has provided quality hands-on exploratory marine education to thousands since being launched in 2001. Its homeport and associated partnerships in Matagorda, Texas, provided considerable dockage space, a large outdoor educational pavilion, and easy access to protected bay waters rich in diversity.
            However, its remote location proved to be too far to reliably draw urban schools from the greater Houston and Galveston areas, due in large part to the travel times and the increased costs of buses and fuel.  The FCP has also been consistently underutilized in the winter and summer months, and hoped for partnerships never materialized.
            With a rapidly urbanizing state, there is a strong need to move the operation to an urban center in order to reach underserved youth and adult audiences. The decision to relocate was not an easy one, and two locations stood out as logical choices, the Houston/Galveston area and the Corpus Christi area.
            While the Houston/Galveston area had great initial appeal, the vessel would be restricted to operate only in sections of Galveston Bay, and these areas of operation are further than the preferred distance from schools. The ultimate deciding factor was provided by Hurricane Ike, which left the preferred Houston/Galveston area dockages in ruins.  Further investigation determined that despite dockage losses, the Corpus Christi area proved a better fit for relocation.
            Benefits of Corpus Christi as homeport included:

            As part of the relocation and expansion at the Karma’s new homeport, a new captain and crew will be needed. Therefore a captain with a 110-ton for-hire license will be hired, as will an Extension Demonstration Technician (naturalist) to conduct hands-on exploratory educational programming onboard the Karma.
      A Floating Classroom Program Coordinator will be hired to oversee the program’s day-to-day operations, develop partnerships, seek grants and external funding, and work with the Marine Education Specialist to provide teacher and volunteer curriculum training workshops.
            Performance metrics: The extent of educational cruises booked aboard the Karma, as well as the adoption and expansion of FCP curricula in Corpus Christi-area schools, will be the primary measures of success. Other performance measures will include tracking, over time, the science and math scores of students participating in the FCP compared to their contemporaries not participating to determine the effectiveness of the program. Teacher impressions of their students’ overall interest in these subjects prior to and after participating in the FCP also will be tracked over time and will prove valuable as secondary measures of success.
            Additional metrics will include successfully securing the necessary external funding through grants and donations to underwrite the FCP, thus making it as affordable as possible to as many as possible.
            Time frame: Some of these metrics will be performed in 2009, while others, such as longitudinal studies of math and science scores, will be long term.

Strategy 6. Invasive Species (Priority = Medium)
      Goal: Remain vigilant with respect to identifying problems associated with the appearance or recurrence of marine invasive species or harmful algal blooms (HABs) and support innovative research on the topic.
            Rationale: Texas Sea Grant extension staff continues to monitor the situation with respect to problems such as brown tide, red tide and brown mussels, which were problems in the past that are currently abated but could recur. Extension staff also works with agencies, including the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, on issues dealing with aquatic invasive species and HABs. A volunteer organization coordinated by some members of the extension staff have developed the “Red Tide Rangers” to serve as a monitoring and sample collecting service for state agencies and local governments.  Expansion of this program is seen as advisable by various entities with oversight in the HAB area. Through the Marine Information Service, publications on invasive species have been produced in the past and additional publications, including news releases, will be prepared and distributed as appropriate. Texas Sea Grant will remain open to competitive research proposals on this topic.
            Performance metrics: While outbreaks of aquatic nuisance species and HABs are often not predictable with any degree of accuracy, the response to such problems can be determined and documented in the form of performance measures (e.g., number of news releases and public information publications developed and placed in media outlets). Performance on funded research will be measured through advancement of the science and its adoption by agencies as well as numbers of publications produced. Development of an ocean observing system to enhance monitoring of parameters critical to invasive species or HAB “blooms” as well as the success of geographical expansion of the “Red Tide Rangers” program may also be useful elements to evaluate performance.
            Time frame: This will be an ongoing activity.

Strategy 7. Seafood Safety and Quality (Priority = Medium)
      The shrimp fishing industry in Texas is in a severe economic situation due to high fuel prices and, very importantly, the importation of large quantities of marine shrimp that are available at prices that depress what can be paid to domestic fishermen.
      Goal 1. Assist the fishing industry in implementing harvest and handling practices that lead to enhanced product quality.
            Rationale: To compete profitably with large quantities of imported shrimp, domestic harvesters must continue to develop harvesting and handling techniques that ensure shrimp quality, enhance flavor and minimize product defects.  To this end, Texas Sea Grant extension staff members continue to engage in result demonstrations, workshops and individual instructions as well as the development of quality certification procedures and beneficial on-board handling techniques. Initial support for these effort are from the USDA Intensive Technical Assistance program and state and shrimp industry organizations.
            Performance metrics: Performance will be measured by monitoring the level of quality and defects of domestically harvested shrimp and any preferential value given to these shrimp at the first point of sale.
            Time frame: Based on the condition of the domestic shrimp industry, this effort will be long-term.
      Goal 2. Help the fishing industry improve fuel efficiency in conjunction with seafood harvesting and processing.
            Rationale: Long the major commercial fishery in the western Gulf of Mexico, the shrimp fishery is a typical fuel-intensive trawl fishery.  Recent history has shown that the per gallon cost of the principal fuel, diesel, went from between $.60 and $.80 to between $4.05 and $4.15 as of June 2008, with the possibility of additional price increases. With the larger vessels using from 20 to 30 gallons per hour, fuel has become the major expense for the domestic industry, and any opportunity to be more efficient with fuel will have a significant positive impact on sustaining the fishery.  Discovering technology that can be made applicable to the Gulf shrimp industry and working with industry innovators to incorporate appropriate items is at the heart of Sea Grant. The Marine Fisheries Specialist has begun working with shrimp fishery captains to test new trawl doors for shrimp boats that decrease fuel consumption without significantly decreasing the catch. Reports show savings in fuel consumption ranging from 19 to 27 percent. Given that the median offshore Texas trawler uses between 60,000 and 80,000 gallons per year, the annual savings range from 11,400 to 22,000 gallons. It is estimated that half of the active shrimp vessels in the ports of Brownsville and Port Isabel in South Texas will have converted to the new gear prior to the opening of the Texas Shrimp Season on July 15, 2008, and extrapolations of fuel savings from just these two ports, based on historical consumption averages, could approach two million gallons.
            Performance metrics: Success on this goal will be measured by the level of industry adoption of the new technology throughout Texas and the rest of the Gulf of Mexico states.
            Time frame: While the process of technology discovery, demonstration and adoption will be ongoing to ensure the long-term sustainability of the Texas shrimp fishery, based on the current and near-term prognosis for survival of the current industry, successful accomplishment of this goal throughout Texas will be required within two to three years.
      Goal 3. Help the fishing industry develop niche or value-added products.
            Rationale: As transportation, communications and sourcing of products have improved, seafood has truly become a world commodity.  Domestic seafood harvesters who have relied on seasonality, supply cycles and tradition to receive a favorable market are faced with the reality of the global marketplace.  Advantages such as aquaculture development, low labor costs and reduced regulatory frameworks have, in many cases, given market advantage to imported seafood products.  While trade acts have been enacted to mitigate any real or perceived foreign advantage, these are generally short-lived, prejudicial and subject to political uncertainties.  It is generally assumed that to remain relevant to the domestic seafood supply, domestic harvested products must find elements of the market in which they would have an advantage.  Identification and implementation of a plan to accommodate these niche markets appears to be critical for the sustainability of a domestic seafood harvesting/producing industry.
            Performance metrics: Success of this goal will be realized in the identification and accommodation of niche markets for domestic seafood products.  Ultimately the final analysis will be the quantification of increased product value at first point of sale into a niche market.
            Time frame: While global variations in specific or general seafood supplies often mitigate the critical nature of this goal, normalization of the issue yields an urgency for the next five years and an ongoing effort to ensure sustainability.

Objective 2. Enhancing Products and Resources

Strategy 1. Redesign and reinstitute Texas Shores (Priority = High)
      Texas Shores magazine is the flagship publication of the Texas Sea Grant College Program and is widely considered one of the best Sea Grant publications in the nation. The magazine’s ability to deliver essential information in plain language to the citizens of Texas is critical to their ability to make wise decisions about the conservation and use of the state’s marine resources. Staff changes forced suspension of the magazine’s production, which in the short term has impeded Texas Sea Grant’s ability to convey marine science information to its stakeholders. Over the long term, the suspension allows Marine Information Service (MIS) staff to overhaul the magazine so it better serves the needs of its readers.
      Goal 1. Create an e-newsletter.
            Rationale: While Texas Shores is in hiatus, Texas Sea Grant needs a vehicle through which it can continue distributing information about the program’s research, education and outreach efforts, as well as keeping stakeholders updated on pressing issues facing the state’s marine environment. A regularly produced (at least one every quarter) e-newsletter is envisioned to fill this need within the current MIS staffing restrictions. A limited run of hard copies may be produced to satisfy mandatory distribution requirements of the National Office and Sea Grant Library.
            Performance metrics: The initial number of subscribers and the trend in the subscription rate, as well as reader feedback, will demonstrate the success of the e-newsletter.
            Time frame: Launch of the newsletter is envisioned in the fall of 2009 and production will be ongoing until Texas Shores production resumes.
      Goal 2. Strive to obtain a long-term financial commitment from private entities or other grant support of Texas Shores.
            Rationale: As far as can be determined, Texas Shores is the only news magazine devoted exclusively to issues facing the Texas marine environment. As such, it is a much-desired resource. The magazine’s subscribers comprise the general public, marine businesses, academicians, regulators, legislators, secondary schools and institutions of higher education. Obtaining long-term financial support will allow the magazine to expand its staff and content and grow its subscriber base.
            Performance metrics: Success on this goal will be measured by the number of donors found/grants obtained and the amount of support received.
            Time frame: This will be an ongoing activity.
      Goal 3. Conduct a readership survey.
            Rationale: The content and form of a magazine like Texas Shores are necessarily driven by the informational needs and aesthetic tastes of its readers. The magazine must change over time as its readership demographic evolves. Periodic readership surveys are the most effective tools for determining subscribers’ preferences.
            For most of its history, Texas Shores has been mailed free of charge to Texas addresses. However, the time has come to explore the possibility of charging a modest subscription fee to both defray the cost of production and give the magazine a heightened sense of value in the eyes of its readers. The readership survey will ask subscribers if they are willing to pay for the magazine.
            Performance metrics: Performance will be demonstrated by positive reader feedback.
            Time frame: The initial survey will be conducted within 12 months of the launch of the e-newsletter. Further surveys will be conducted regularly, most likely at five-year intervals.
      Goal 4. Change the magazine’s format.
            Rationale: Since its inception, Texas Shores has employed a thematic approach to the content of each issue. Every magazine dedicates the majority of print space to a single subject involving Texas’ marine environment. Currently, Texas Shores comprises a lengthy feature article, a column focusing on Texas Sea Grant-supported research, a periodic personality profile and several news briefs. This format has been acceptable to subscribers thus far, but the trend with other news magazines has been toward more diverse and shorter articles that readers can enjoy during brief breaks in their increasingly hectic lives. Popular components of the e-newsletter may also be incorporated into the new format.
            For the past 20 years, the magazine has been 32 pages, including covers, in size. The issues facing the state’s marine environment continue to grow in number and complexity, straining Texas Shores’ ability to cover them adequately within the allotted space. More pages must be added if the magazine is to adequately serve its readers. The physical mechanics of the printing process used to publish Texas Shores dictate that space increase in eight-page increments.
            Performance measures: Performance will be based on the continued success of expanding Sea Grant support by Congress and by the entrepreneurial activities of the Texas Sea Grant staff. By moving the Floating Classroom Program to a metropolitan area, additional funding should become available. The overriding metric will be how much funding above the current core budget of Texas Sea Grant is obtained.
            Time frame: Initial format changes will occur within two years and will be determined by responses from the readership survey.
      Goal 5. Modernize the magazine’s layout.
            Rationale: Texans are constantly exposed to the increasingly slick multi-media images of the visual technology revolution. Computer-enabled special effects in movies, cyberspace and print media have raised the bar for what consumers expect to see in top-flight media products. To keep pace with subscribers’ expectations, Texas Shores will modernize its layout and employ more eye-catching graphics.
Performance measures: Success will be demonstrated by positive reader feedback, both anecdotal and as gauged by periodic readership surveys.
Time frame: Some changes have already been made, but the evolution of the magazine’s design will be an ongoing activity.

Strategy 2. Additional Support (Priority = High)
      Goal. Further expand the sources and amounts of funding from NOAA and other sources.
            Rationale: Sea Grant was reauthorized in 2008, but the budget for 2009 did not contain an increase in funding for the national program. If annual increases do occur in future years as outlined in reauthorization, this goal will be easily realized. However, Texas Sea Grant also intends to look at other avenues to increase support. This will be in the form of soliciting grants and contracts, soliciting support from private industry for certain Sea Grant activities, and, if possible, establishing an endowment. Some successes have already been achieved. The Coastal Communities Extension Specialist has developed sufficient soft money funding to support five staff members, the Floating Classroom Program has obtained donations from private sources and support from the state’s Coastal Management Program, and increased funding for MarinaNet and other programs has been obtained. The Director and Associate Director also have participated on various grants as co-investigators, bringing in some additional funds.
            Performance metrics: Performance will be based on the continued success of expanding Sea Grant support by Congress and by the entrepreneurial activities of the Texas Sea Grant staff. By moving the Floating Classroom Program to a metropolitan area, additional funding should become available. The overriding metric will be how much funding above the current core budget of Texas Sea Grant is obtained.
            Time frame: This will be an ongoing activity.

Objective 3. Engaging Stakeholders

Strategy 1. University Linkages (Priority = High)
      The research community with capabilities to conduct research in the areas of interest to Texas Sea Grant is robust and widely distributed among a number of universities across the state. Over the past several years, Texas Sea Grant has developed a list of potential principal investigators in Texas and maintains contact with them via email. While a small number of those individuals receive funding through Sea Grant in any given year, there are other opportunities for them to obtain research grants and contracts. Sea Grant makes every effort to apprise the research community of such opportunities.
      Goal. Demonstrate the effectiveness of linking university researchers with state agencies.
            Rationale: By holding positions on the Coastal Coordination Council (CCC) and its Executive Committee, Texas Sea Grant has the opportunity to keep the research community informed about funding opportunities through the state’s Coastal Management Program (CMP) and other sources.
            Performance metrics: The degree to which university investigators not only become aware of but can successfully compete for CMP funding will be a measure of success.
            Time frame: Ongoing.

Strategy 2. New and Expanded Programs (Priority = High)
      Efforts are continually made to position Sea Grant for opportunities that may develop at the local, state, regional or national level.  Challenges occur as competition for these opportunities is encountered.  Success of opportunistic efforts is often problematic; however, to the extent that resources will allow, opportunities should be pursued to fruition or extinction. 
      Goal: Expand the impact of the Coastal and Marine Resource Agents.
            Rationale: In 2006, working closely with Texas Cooperative Extension, the Sea Grant-supported county agents’ title was changed from “Marine” to “Coastal and Marine Resources” for a full title of “County Extension Agent – Coastal and Marine Resources.”  The concept behind the change was to recognize the expanded venue of the agents and the various initiatives they conduct through the full range of the coastal and marine environments. The timing of this change reflected the enhanced considerations given to the coastal and oceanic arenas by such documents as An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century produced by the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the U.S. Ocean Action Plan produced by President George W. Bush’s administration. Furthermore, as Sea Grant’s standing on the CCC continues to develop, more opportunities for agents to become higher profile and be the “go to” people in the county for coastal and marine issues should materialize.
            Performance metrics: Success in achieving this goal will be quantified by improved communications between Coastal and Marine Resources Agents and coastal management resources staff at the state, regional and national levels. A measure of this will be the engagement of the agents as conduits for technical assistance on coastal and marine issues provided to county leadership.
            Time frame: As this is an evolving mode of operation for the Coastal and Marine Resources Agents, it will be an ongoing effort.

Objective 4. Extending Our Reach

Strategy Gulf Regional Programs (Priority = High)
      Many of the issues and problems that exist along the Texas coast also exist throughout the Gulf of Mexico. Texas Sea Grant and the other three Sea Grant programs in the Gulf have worked collaboratively in the past and strengthened that collaboration for the 2008-2010 proposal cycle by developing a regional research program in coastal resiliency. Each program agreed to provide $50,000 annually during the cycle in support of regional research, with successful proposals needing to involve researchers from at least two of the four Gulf Sea Grant programs. The regional research program expanded for the 2010-2012 funding cycle in two ways. The Gulf Sea Grant programs increased their input to $75,000 a year each and some partners indicated their interest in participating in funding and reviewing proposals.
      Goal. Participate in the Gulf Regional Research Program.
            Rationale: Texas Sea Grant participated in the program during the 2008-2010 funding cycle and is participating during the 2010-2012 cycle. Texas Sea Grant will continue to assist in the review process and provide the requisite funding for each of the two years. It is anticipated that any proposal funded will produce results that are relevant to all states that border the Gulf of Mexico.
            Performance measures: The success of the program will be judged on the expansion of the program during 2010-2012 and its continued success in generating high-quality research proposals for future projects.
            Time frame: Ongoing.

Publication supported in part by Institutional Grant NA06OAR4170076 to Texas A&M University by the National Sea Grant Office, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. •100 June 2008 • A/I-1

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