Five-year Grant Awarded for Critical Weather Buoy System

Press Release

After sending multiple letters in support of the program, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree today applauded a five-year grant from NOAA that would keep a system of weather buoys in the Gulf of Maine operating for the commercial fishermen, mariners, and other users who depend on them.

"Thousands of people in Maine make their living on the water and for their safety it's critical that they know what the weather's doing offshore. These buoys have been enormously successful in getting our captains and fishermen the most accurate and up-to-date information possible. It lets them prepare for bad conditions or make the call to not go out on certain days," said Pingree. "As one of the thousands of Mainers who live on an offshore island, I know how much people rely on our ferry captains to have the information they need to get us back and forth safely. I've been proud to work with Maine organizations to help secure this funding. I'm very excited that we will be able to keep this piece of infrastructure secure and improve it over the next five years."

NOAA announced the five-year plan yesterday. It will fund the program with $1.77 million the first year with more funding the following years.

Pingree has been a leading supporter of investing in the buoy system. She originated and got dozens of cosigners for several letters urging the need for funding, including one last May to NOAA and another to the Appropriations Committee. Her work with NOAA was also pivotal to getting the C-MAN weather station on Matinicus Rock repaired last year.

The system of buoys in the Northeast region--formerly known as GMOOS--is run by the Northeast Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS). The group's Maine partners include the University of Maine, which originally designed and built the buoys, as well as the Gulf of Maine Research Institute.

Information collected by the buoys includes real-time weather data, wave conditions, and wind conditions. Users can access the information online at http://www.neracoos.org/ or with a smart-phone app.

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