MA: Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Nearly $2 Million to Aid Climate Resiliency on Cape Cod
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Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Nearly $2 Million to Aid Climate Resiliency on Cape Cod | MassTech Skip to main content Healey-Driscoll Administration Awards Nearly $2 Million to Aid Climate Resiliency on Cape Cod The Project will Convene the Largest Cooperative Network of Fishing Boats and Environmental Sensors in the Country to Study Rising Temperatures and Boost the Local Blue Tech Economy October 31, 2024 Source: Innovation Institute at MassTech SANDWICH, Mass. – Today, the Healey-Driscoll administration announced $1,999,982 to the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance through Massachusetts Technology Collaborative’s (MassTech’s) Innovation Institute to support ocean monitoring and data collection that will aid search and rescue operations, support marine transportation planning, and study the impacts of a changing climate on commercially harvested species of fish. “Coastal communities across Massachusetts are wrestling with an uncertain future and will need to respond to challenges brought on by the impacts of climate change,” said Economic Development Secretary Yvonne Hao. “The equipment deployed through this investment will expand our understanding of how rising temperatures are impacting our blue tech economy and coastal resiliency.” “This project is an entry point for monitoring and leveraging data to better understand our oceans,” said Innovation Institute Director Pat Larkin. “This project advances technology for our coastal communities and provides them with a better understanding of the ocean ecosystem that we all rely upon.” The Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance project builds on the Environmental Monitors on Lobster Traps and Large Trawlers (eMOLT) program, which distributes low-cost sensors to lobstermen throughout New England and has been collecting data since the late 1990s. The lobstermen extract information about the waters they fish and record millions of measurements that informed fish stock assessments that resulted in a model for the changing environment off the New England coastline. The funds announced today will enable Lowell Instruments, eMOLTS long-time technology development partner, to equip 150 commercial fishing vessels with wireless devices to record temperature, conductivity, depth, and dissolved oxygen, creating the largest cooperative network of fishing boats and environmental sensors in the United States. In addition to providing fisherman with data collection equipment, this project will support workforce training opportunities by enabling cadets at the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) to be trained on the use of the equipment. Project partners will also develop a new curriculum for Massachusetts high school students to understand how the equipment works and what it is used for. This expansion of the eMOLT program will also provide bluetech companies with access to affordable ocean observing technology. “I want to make sure we have a sustainable fishery for years to come, so the nex
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