Contact:

Dave White, New York Sea Grant, Recreation/Tourism Specialist, P: 315.312.3042, E: dgw9@cornell.edu

Watertown, NY, June 18, 2013 - A small army of college students is helping educate those who use New York's waters about the dangers of aquatic invasive species.

New York Sea Grant's Recreation/Tourism Specialist Dave White says they're called launch stewards.
 
As White tells the newscasters at Watertown's WWNY-TV 7 News This Morning studios, these stewards station themselves at state boat launches to help educate boaters, fishermen and divers about how to prevent invasive species from spreading between bodies of water.

"It's really anything that comes in contact with the water that can contribute to this problem," says White, citing not only boats and trailers, but also nets, fishing poles, bait buckets, boots and diving equipment.

"Sea Grant is working with New York State and the NYSDEC to not only further develop this program, but also to work with the boating and angling communities to be aware of any chances for changes in legislation."

"This is a real voluntary effort, so the more we can get engaged to help prevent the spread of aquatic invasive species, the better it is going to be for everybody."

A few of the big concerns now: Asian Carp as well as Hydrilla, the latter of which, as White explains, is a very aggressive aquatic weed that was found in Ithaca and western New York. "It's of great concern because it forms very dense mats and can cost millions of dollars a year to control.

For more on this topic, check out the video clip.



And there's more "NYSG Great Lakes Boating & Marine Trades" News available via the "News/Topics" link in the left-hand sidebar at www.nyseagrant.org/marina.

Information on NYSG's Launch Stewards program and AIS efforts can be found, respectively, at www.nyseagrant.org/ccdstewards and www.nyseagrant.org/ais.


Since April 2006, White has been bringing Sea Grant's "message" to the morning masses at WWNY TV 7, a Fox affiliate in downtown Watertown, during one of the highest rated TV blocks in the "wake-up hours," the 6:30-7 am stretch.

Sea Grant's 'five minutes of fame' - which potentially reaches around 10,000 viewers in New York's Jefferson and Northern Oswego Counties - has featured topics over the years such as boating safety, aquatic invasive species, diving in search of sunken wrecks, the dune and Salmon River stewards program, shoreline land issues, tourism, and marine safety. 

More Info: New York Sea Grant

New York Sea Grant (NYSG), a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, is one of 33 university-based programs under the National Sea Grant College Program (NSGCP) of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The NSGCP engages this network of the nation’s top universities in conducting scientific research, education, training and extension projects designed to foster science-based decisions about the use and conservation of our aquatic resources. Through its statewide network of integrated services, NYSG has been promoting coastal vitality, environmental sustainability, and citizen awareness about the State’s marine and Great Lakes resources since 1971.

For updates on Sea Grant activities: www.nyseagrant.org has RSS, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube links. NYSG also offers a free e-list sign up via www.nyseagrant.org/coastlines for NY Coastlines, its flagship publication, which, in 2014, merges with the program's e-newsletter, Currents. NY Coastlines is published several times a year.