Press Release

For Immediate Release
April 1, 2010

Contact
Becky Shortland
912-598-2381

Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary
Advisory Council Meeting - April 9, 2010

The Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary (GRNMS) will hold a public meeting of the Sanctuary Advisory Council on Friday, April 9, 2010, at the College of Coastal Georgia (SE Conference Center, Satilla Room) in Brunswick, Georgia, from 10:00 am - 4:00 pm. The Council will focus on the GRNMS research and monitoring program and receive a presentation on CO2 monitoring from Dr. Scott Noakes of the University of Georgia.

All meetings are open to the public. Public comment is tentatively scheduled for 3:45 pm. To receive more information, or to request a complete meeting agenda, please contact GRNMS Advisory Council Coordinator Becky Shortland at (912) 598-2381.

The sanctuary advisory council was established in August 1999 to provide advice and recommendations on management and protection of the sanctuary. The advisory council, through its members, also serves as liaison to the community regarding sanctuary issues and represents community interests, concerns, and management needs to the sanctuary and NOAA.

Designated in 1981, the sanctuary is one of the largest near shore live-bottom reefs off the southeastern United States, encompassing approximately 22 square miles. The Gray's Reef sanctuary consists of a series of sandstone outcroppings and ledges up to ten feet in height, in a predominantly sandy, flat-bottomed sea floor. The live bottom and ledge habitat support an abundant reef fish and invertebrate community. Loggerhead sea turtles, a threatened species, also use Gray's Reef year-round for foraging and resting, and highly endangered North Atlantic right whales are occasionally seen in the sanctuary.

NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources.