NCCOS staffrecently trained partners in field operations and fish and coral data collection for theNational Coral Reef Monitoring Program (NCRMP), a core component of NOAA's Coral ReefConservation Program. Approximately seventy scientists from St. Thomas, USVI and the U.S. East Coast received classroom andpractical instruction on protocol execution, in situ implementation, and data management to prepare them to participate inreef surveys throughout the USVI during 2015.

NOAA partners receive training in St. Thomas, USVI for upcoming 2015 National Coral Reef Monitoring Program field season. Additional training sessions were held in Miami, Florida; Beaufort, North Carolina; and Silver Spring, Maryland. Credit: NOAA.

NCRMP collects biological, physical, and socioeconomicmonitoring data throughout all U.S. coral reef jurisdictions, while NCCOS co-leads the biological monitoringcomponent in the Caribbean and the Gulf of Mexico. The data collected will provide information about the status and trends of environmental conditions, living reef resources, and the people and processes that interact with coral reefs. Partners in this effort include NMFS Southeast Fisheries Science Center, the National Park Service, the University of the Virgin Islands, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the Virgin Islands Department of Planning and Natural Resources, and The Nature Conservancy.

For more information, contact Sarah.Hile@noaa.gov.