National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Organization and Missions

Sea Power, Jan 2004

NOAA's role is to assess and predict environmental changes, protect life and property, provide decision makers with reliable scientific information, manage the nation's living marine and coastal resources, and foster global environmental stewardship.

NOAA's budget ($3.33 billion for fiscal year 2003) is included in the appropriations bill for the Departments of Commerce, Justice, and State. The key components within NOAA are: the National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information Services (NOAA Satellites and Information); National Marine Fisheries Service (NOAA Fisheries); National Ocean and Coastal Services (NOAA Oceans and Coasts); National Weather Service (NOAA Weather Service); Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (NOAA Research); Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (NOAA Marine and Aviation Operations); NOAA Finance and Administration; and the NOAA Corps. NOAA's goals require complete intra-office cooperation and collaboration with local, state, other federal agency, and international programs for success.

Ecosystem Management

NOAA's first goal is to protect, restore, and manage the use of coastal and ocean resources. During the first decade of the 21st century, the greatest challenge will be to implement an integrated ecosystem management approach to all of NOAA's living resources responsibilities by all NOAA components.

Coastal areas are among the most developed regions in the nation. Coastal counties are growing three times faster than other counties, adding more than 3,600 people a day to their populations. Every year, 180 million tourists visit America's coastal communities. Coastal waters support more than 28 million jobs and generate more than $54 billion annually in goods and services. The commercial fishing industry contributes more than $28 billion a year to our economy while more than 17 million Americans spend about $25 billion a year on recreational marine fishing activities.

NOAA Fisheries is responsible for the protection and sustainable development of U.S. territorial waters-more than one-fifth of the world's most productive marine waters. To maintain sustainable fisheries, NOAA studies the life history, stock size, and ecology of economically important fishes and the effects of climate and ocean processes on fish populations.

An ecosystem approach to management will require better understanding of the pressures-both natural and human-induced-that change ecosystems. Increasingly, international cooperation will be required to protect large marine ecosystems and areas beyond our national jurisdiction. Monitoring and observing these ecosystems and communities will provide basic understanding of habitats and human activities that affect them. For example, tuna and swordfish stocks fished in the waters of the Western Pacific under U.S. jurisdiction are healthy and yield enormous returns to the nation. Northern Pacific groundfish stocks remain the most productive and wealthiest in U.S. waters. Restoration of many depleted fish stocks such as New England groundfish, Gulf of Mexico red snapper, and Atlantic bluefin tuna is showing signs of significant progress.

Many federally protected marine animals, including whales, dolphins, sea turtles, and many stocks of salmon are affected by fisheries and other human activities as well as by environmental change. The Endangered Species Act and the Marine Mammal Protection Act are essential tools NOAA Fisheries uses domestically, and in guiding international cooperative programs, to protect and restore marine species. The California gray whale became the first marine mammal to be removed from the list of endangered species. Many endangered and threatened Pacific salmon stocks now are under federal protection.

NOAA Oceans and Coasts provides the nation with reliable and timely information to promote the sensible and sustainable use of coastal resources. Through the National Marine Sanctuary and National Estuarine Research Reserve programs, NOAA ensures the long-term enjoyment, preservation, and study of these unique natural and cultural areas. Today, 18,000 square miles of ocean and coastal waters in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans and the Great Lakes are protected under the sanctuary program, and 440,000 acres across a wide range of coastal and estuarine habitats are protected as research reserves.

The ecosystem management concept includes understanding climate variability and change to enhance society's ability to plan and respond. Given the stresses of population growth, drought, increasing demand for fresh water, and emerging infectious diseases, decision makers need reliable climate information to guide them in managing resources to maximize benefits and minimize the impacts of climate variations.

NOAA Research uses a closely coordinated network of 12 federal environmental-research laboratories, 11 joint or cooperative institutes, 30 Sea Grant colleges and universities, six National Undersea Research Centers, the Office of Ocean Exploration, Arctic Research, and the Office of Global Programs to develop innovative technologies and observing systems.