NOAA To Issue Report Card on U.S. Coral Reefs in Ft. Lauderdale
WHAT:
Researchers from NOAA's Coral Conservation Program and the National Centers for Coastal Monitoring and Assessment will release the first report since 2005 on the conditions of coral reef ecosystems under United States jurisdiction.
The 569-page document details coral reef conditions in the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, Navassa Island, southeast Florida, the Florida Keys, Flower Garden Banks, the Main Hawaiian Islands, the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands, American Samoa, the Pacific Remote Islands, the Republic of the Marshall Islands, the Federated States of Micronesia, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam and the Republic of Palau.
In-Person Press Conference & Teleconference Availability
WHEN:
Monday, July 7, 2008, 11:00 a.m. EDT
WHERE:
International Coral Reef Symposium, Broward County Convention Center, Ft. Lauderdale, Fla., Room 123
WHO:
Tim Keeney, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere and
Co-Chair of the United States Coral Reef Task Force
Kacky Andrews, Director, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program
Jenny Waddell, NOAA Marine Biologist, Report Lead Editor
Chantal Collier, Coral Reef Program Manager, Florida Department of Environmental Protection
Reporters not present at the conference site will be able to ask questions via teleconference following the report presentation.
Please contact Ben Sherman, NOAA Public Affairs at 202-253-5256 for the telephone call-in number and conference password and for directions on obtaining an embargoed copy of the report's press release. Embargo remains in effect until the start of the press conference at 11:00 a.m. EDT.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, an agency of the U.S. Commerce Department, is dedicated to enhancing economic security and national safety through the prediction and research of weather and climate-related events and information service delivery for transportation, and by providing environmental stewardship of our nation's coastal and marine resources. Through the emerging Global Earth Observation System of Systems (GEOSS), NOAA is working with its federal partners, more than 70 countries and the European Commission to develop a global monitoring network that is as integrated as the planet it observes, predicts and protects.