PSN

Update nautical surveys of the Nation's coastlines and coastal oceans using full-bottom coverage technologies.

Provide mariners with predictions of water levels, tides and currents, and
weather conditions in ports.

Transform the obsolete geodetic reference frame into a Global Positioning
System-based system of monumented marks and continuously-operating

reference stations (CORS) to support the digital revolution in mapping, charting
and surveying.

Benefits. New technology including full-bottom nautical surveys, digital charting, and satellite positioning (Global Positioning System) promise to reduce maritime transportation risks, enhance environmental protections, and heighten the competitiveness of the U.S. shipping industry. Electronic charts can prevent one third of all commercial vessel groundings, collisions and rammings, and be very cost effective by comparison to other safety measures such as double hulls.

FY 1997 Accomplishments. During FY 1997, NOAA:

Dramatically increased the production of new nautical chart editions from 235 to 338.

Entered into a cooperative agreement with a private partner to research,
develop, and implement a commercially viable national PORTS.

Tested GPS technology designed to measure real-time under-vessel clearance for ships.

Evaluated new technology to improve the efficiency of shoreline mapping for nautical charts and other coastal geographic needs.

Set the stage for private sector partnerships to update nautical surveys.

Witnessed the success of its cooperative agreement with a private partner to develop and provide electronic charts, which resulted in sales of 1 million nautical charts.

Installed 132 horizontal Federal Base Network (FBN) stations and 62 vertical
FBN stations, and 28 Continuously Operating Reference Stations.

Key FY 1999 Activities.

Conduct hydrographic surveys to continue making progress toward the reduction of the backlog of critical areas to be surveyed, and use these data to produce up-to-date nautical charts that are critical to promoting the safety and efficiency of maritime transportation.

Complete the addition of vector data to the digital nautical chart database in
order to provide mariners with the accurate, up-to-date, electronic chart data
needed to safely and efficiently navigate waterways using today's computer
and positioning technology.

Continue to improve the ability to measure heights using GPS, resulting in more accurate tide measurements and enabling larger ships to pass safely into our Nation's ports.

Continue to improve access to the National Spatial Reference System by adding reference points to the system and increasing the availability of

quality-controlled GPS reference data by bringing more Continuously Operating Reference Stations on line, resulting in significant safety and economic benefits to a broad range of industries, academia, local, state and federal governments, and other entities.

Provide quality assurance of real-time information supplied directly to the user, including PORTS data used to facilitate critical life and property decisions, by ensuring that all sensors/instruments are operating correctly, are continuing to provide accurate data, and have the need for corrective maintenance identified in an efficient manner.

PSN

*The vector database is being built by adding data layers (or themes), rather than by one chart at a time. For instance, all shoreline data are being collected for a region, rather than for an individual chart. Once every them has been added to the database, all charts will be completed at essentially the same time in FY 1999.

Build Sustainable Fisheries

Total Request $327,891,000

BSF

Vision. NOAA's vision for the next decade is to increase greatly the Nation's wealth and quality of life through sustainable fisheries that support fishing industry jobs, safe and wholesome seafood and recreational opportunities.

Challenge. Billions of dollars in economic growth,
thousands of jobs and countless recreational fishing
opportunities are being wasted as a result of
overfishing and overcapitalization in commercial and
recreational fisheries. While many fisheries are well
managed and producing positive benefits, others are
severely depleted, and must be restored to realize
their long-term potential. For example, the
historically important New England groundfish
fishery closed in 1994 due to the collapse of stocks.
Transboundary resources can be especially vulnerable
as they require international cooperation to achieve
effective conservation and management. U.S. fisheries
are troubled by bycatch, including juvenile and
protected marine species, controversial allocation
decisions among elements of fishing industries, and
degradation and loss of essential fish habitat.
Uncertainty in scientific information makes
management decisions difficult.

Implementation Strategy. The objectives of this goal

are to:

Assess the status of fishery resources, through
stock assessments and population dynamics
research, to improve the scientific basis for policy decisions.

Advance fishery predictions through research and applications.