Answer:

Summary information on NOAA funding for FY 1996 and FY 1997 (to date) of trade associations and professional, environmental or other organizations is provided below. Supporting detail is provided as Attachment G.

Q21. Please provide a list of advisory committees, a description of each, and the amount budgeted for each in FY 1996, FY 1997 and FY 1998, the source of the funding for each, and the work product or products of each.

Answer:

1.

Title of Advisory Committee: Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC) Description: MAFAC was established by a Decision Memorandum dated December 28, 1970. MAFAC is the only Federal Advisory Committee with responsibility to advise the Secretary of Commerce on living marine resource policies and programs. MAFAC ensures that the Nation's living marine resource polices and programs meet the needs of commercial and recreational fishermen, and environmental, state, consumer, academic, and other national interests. This advice is essential to meet the needs of the fisheries and of those concerned with the fisheries.

MAFAC is composed of 21 members, including representatives of the conservation

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community, academia, and, and the recreational and commercial fishing industries. MAFAC is one of the most diverse advisory committees in Commerce, with balanced male-female participation and a membership which includes blacks, whites, Hispanics, and Pacific Islanders.

Work Product(s): MAFAC produces specific recommendations on all aspects of fisheries policy. Reports and recommendations in 1996 focused on bycatch solutions, environmental justice challenges, habitat policy, data collection issues (and the related status of the NOAA fleet), and federal policy with respect to seafood inspection.

The committee makes recommendations to the Department of Commerce, in the form of oral guidance to the Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, written reports and in some instances, formal resolutions. However, since the function of the committee is agency guidance through private sector feedback, specified products are only produced if there is a problem, and, the need to do so is perceived by consensus opinion of MAFAC membership.

2. Title of Advisory Committee: Sea Grant Review Panel

Description: Established by the Secretary of Commerce, as directed by Section 209 of the National Sea Grant Program Act of 1976, as amended, 33 U.S.C. 1121. The Panel advises the Secretary of Commerce, the Under Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, and the Director of the National Sea Grant College Program with respect to applications or proposals for, and performance under grants and contracts awarded under Section 205, 206, and Section 3 of the Act; the Sea Grant Fellowship Program; the designation and operation of Sea Grant Colleges and Sea Grant Regional Consortia; the operation of Sea Grant Programs; the formulation and application of the planning guidelines and priorities established under Section 204(a) and 204 (c)(1) of the Act; and such other matters as the Secretary or Under Secretary refer to the Panel for review and advice.

Work Product(s): The committee developed recommendations on the allocation of funds; developed criteria for program evaluations, development of regional Sea Grant Programs, directions for national research efforts, and outreach to minority institutions by Sea Grant; and produced one report, the Allocation of Sea Grant Funds - July 29-30, 1996.

3. Title of Advisory Committee: Modernization Transition Committee (MTC)

Description: The MTC is responsible for reviewing any proposed certification under section 706 of PL 102-567 and any proposed certification where there is a serious possibility of degradation of weather services. This committee represents the many user groups of weather information and indirectly the American public. The MTC may prepare reports evaluating proposed certifications based on the modernization criteria with respect to the requirement there will be no degradation of services to the Secretary.

The MTC advises the Secretary and the Congress on the implementation of the strategic plan and the establishment and implementation of modernization criteria. The MTC also advises the Secretary and Congress on all matters of public safety which relate to the modernization.

Work Product(s): To date, the MTC has consulted on 92 certification actions for the National Weather Service modernization. They have also consulted and concurred on the criteria used for determining that there will be no degradation of services as a result of the modernization actions taken by the National Weather Service.

NOAA Laboratory Funding

Q24.

Answer:

What is the level of funding for each NOAA laboratory, by program/subprogram, for each of FY 1996, FY 1997 and 1998?

The requested information on NOAA Laboratories is provided as Attachment H.

Ocean Resources Conservation and Assessment: Coastal Ocean Program's Participation in the National Harmful Algal Bloom Program, GLOBEC and ECOHAB

Q43.

On page 39 of NOAA's FY 1998 Budget Request Summary document, it is stated: "Funds totaling $0.4 million, a decrease of $0.6 million, are also requested to reduce COP's participation in the National Harmful Algal Bloom program. This subactivity includes continued support for COP's academic and other NOAA partnerships to improve predictions in the areas of fisheries productivity, marine habitat, and coastal flooding. Highlights include a joint Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics (GLOBEC) venture between the National Science Foundation (NSF) and NOAA, which will study

salmon fisheries and northeast Pacific ecosystem responses to climate variability; and an interagency national research program on the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB)."

Q42a. Why is funding being decreased for COP's participation in the National Harmful Algal Bloom program, and what are the impacts of this funding decrease?

Answer:

COP will provide $400,000 for a regional research study in FY 1998 and thereafter through the Ecology and Oceanography of Harmful Algal Blooms (ECOHAB) program. The regional study will be completed in FY 2001, with a summary report of harmful algal bloom (HAB) dynamics, impacts and mitigation strategies produced for the U.S. coastal site. The research will complement other regional studies on HABS funded through NSF and EPA in ECOHAB, providing critical information for U.S. coastal areas impacted by these HABS. These results, coupled with completion of additional regional studies for the remaining HAB areas early in the next century, will provide researchers, managers, public health officials and the fishing industry with the basic information needed to ameliorate the impacts of these increasingly frequent natural events in our coastal ecosystems.