Coast Guard rescue missions failing after running into unexpected currents. Surprise atmospheric river storms flooding downtown San Francisco. Seafood contaminated by unseen algal blooms.
California scientists fear these scenarios, and more, are possible under the Trump administration’s recommendation to reduce the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s budget by $1.7 billion.
Several scientific programs in California are slated for significant reductions or elimination if the budget proposal is pushed through Congress. Scientists say the cuts would hamper weather forecasting, disrupt critical ocean data collection and decimate climate research.
One of the programs at risk is the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System. The association receives roughly $3.3 million annually from NOAA to manage instruments that monitor winds, water levels, ocean currents, heat and other data critical for business, forecasts and safety.
“It’s confusing that this work is slated for elimination when it so clearly aligns with many of the administration’s priorities around commerce, shipping, trade and national security,” said Alex Harper, deputy director of the Central and Northern California Ocean Observing System.
Dick Ogg, a commercial fisherman in Bodega Bay, utilizes the data to maximize his salmon and crab catch. Information on water temperatures, currents and potential harmful algal blooms is fed into predictive modeling Ogg says is critical for his business.
“If we don’t have that (data), we’re back to the Wild West where we just basically guess and hope that we’re right,” Ogg said.
Buoys, pier stations and sub-surface gliders measure oxygen, pH and salinity levels in the water, key data for aquaculture businesses such as Hog Island Oyster Co. in Tomales and Humboldt bays, which has five restaurants in the Bay Area and employs more than 300 people.
“I rely on integrated ocean observation systems,” said Terry Sawyer, vice president of Hog Island Oyster Co. “I have to have models that help make decisions about what my labor, production and market availability is going to be…”
