Connecticut Sea Grant College Program Annual Report 2001

An annual report of Connecticut Sea Grant funded activities, projects, and financial records for the year 2001. While this past year may have been punctuated by such major practical and programmatic events, our office has continued to focus its efforts on facilitating the critical work of the marine research community on such pressing issues as the die-off of lobsters in Long Island Sound. In September we joined the rest of the nation in reacting to the tragedy of the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, followed by the death of a Connecticut woman due to anthrax contamination in the U.S. mail. Some program events and projects were postponed due to those events, but we expect to carry on and implement those deferred in 2002. As we recover as a nation, programs like ours must continue the work we've begun. There are bright spots to report in 2001. For the first time, the federal awards in support of our Connecticut Sea Grant Program in 2001 well exceeded $2,000,000. Indeed, I'm pleased to note that federal funding for this program has grown five fold since 1986, representing a more than 10% per annum growth over this extended interval. If history is any guide, 2002 will be an exciting, if not hectic, year. And as we enter this new year, it is well to recollect what has been accomplished in 2001 by the many participants in our Connecticut Sea Grant program. The report that follows will recall for us just some of the activities of this past year.