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In October 1972, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Peter G. Peterson designated the University of Wisconsin a Sea Grant College for its "sustained excellence in research, education and public service dedicated to wise use of America’s marine resources."
PAGE INDEX
Living Resources (Fisheries) | Microcontaminants & Water Quality | Estuarine & Coastal Processes | Aquaculture | Seafood Technology | Policy Studies | Diving Physiology and Safety | Outreach and Education | More Information |
For a free 25th anniversary booklet of these
UW Sea Grant Institute accomplishments,
please contact:
Linda Campbell
UW Sea Grant Communications Office
Goodnight Hall, 1975 Willow Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1103
USA
Phone (608) 263-3259
See also: 25th Anniversary Page | Governor's Proclamation News Release
Back to Wisconsin Sea Grant Homepage
Milestones in UW Sea Grant Living Resources Research, 1972-97
- Development and application of computer models of the bioenergetics of fish growth — an internationally recognized contribution to the advancement of fishery science as well as a practical forecasting tool now used by fisheries managers throughout the United States and abroad.
- Experiments on the artificially imprinting of stocked Great Lakes trout and salmon — seminal evidence of the odor imprinting mechanism by which anadromous salmonids return to their natal streams to spawn.
- Innovative application of acoustic technology for measuring the distribution and abundance of fishes in connection with field studies of thermal niches, a key ecological concept involving the specific water temperature preferences of different species of fish.
- Identification of the mechanisms governing early life survival among Lake Michigan chubs — the American Fisheries Society’s "Most Significant Contribution of 1987" for its insights into one of the great mysteries of fisheries ecology: what processes govern recruitment success in fish populations?
- Coordinated a Great Lakes-wide study of the prey preferences of lake trout and salmon in partnership with the region’s other Sea Grant programs, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and other Great Lakes fisheries management agencies.
Top of Page | Living Resources Subprogram
Milestones in UW Sea Grant Microcontaminants & Water Quality Research, 1972-97
- Long-term, fundamental research on the sources, movements, environmental fates and human health effects of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls), dioxins and other toxic contaminants that accumulate in Great Lakes water, sediments and fish.
- Identification of the atmosphere as a major source of PCBs and other toxic contaminants in the Great Lakes — and that the lakes also release contaminants in vapor form back into the air.
- Major contributor of data, funds and expertise for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s landmark national Green Bay PCB Mass Balance Study — the first complete input-output model of all sources, movements and fates of a chemical contaminant in an aquatic system. Completed in 1993, the five-year, $12 million study indicated that attempting to remove all PCB-contaminated sediments from the bay and Fox River was ill-advised in that such a lengthy perturbation might prolong PCB problems in the bay instead, thus saving taxpayers and industry hundreds of millions of dollars in additional and potentially counterproductive clean-up costs.
- Key early research on the sources and cycling of phosphorus and nitrogen in causing the growth of nuisance algae in Lake Michigan.
- Definitive work showing how the levels of PCBs and other similar toxic chemicals in Great Lakes fish result from bioaccumulation via the aquatic food web. Related work has shown that the PCB levels in different species of trout and salmon increase over time relative to the PCB levels of the specific kinds of prey that each species prefers to eat. Knowing this, current research is examining alternative trout and salmon stocking strategies that will reduce the PCB levels in these Great Lakes sport fish by manipulating their use of the food web.
- Established that PCBs accumulate in breast tissues and can be passed on to nursing infants via their mothers’ breastmilk — today a standard warning in all sport fish consumption advisories.
- Epidemiological studies of Great Lakes fish consumption, PCB levels and the relative health of the people of Green Bay, Sheboygan and other Wisconsin communities.
- Identification of toxic chemical contaminants as a primary suspect in the 30-year-old mystery of the failure of stocked lake trout to develop self-sustaining populations in the four lower Great Lakes.
Top of Page | Microcontaminants & Water Quality Subprogram
Milestones in UW Sea Grant Estuarine & Coastal Processes Research, 1972-97
- Two decades of comprehensive, multidisciplinary research focused on Green Bay, Lake Michigan, making it one of the most rigorously studied estuarine systems of its size in the world and contributing significantly to reversing its previous status as one of the world’s most polluted bays.
- Technical assistance in development of the Remedial Action Plan for the Lower Green Bay-Fox River Area of Concern — the first such plan to be completed as mandated by the U.S.-Canadian International Joint Commission for each of the 43 severely polluted "Areas of Concern" around the Great Lakes basin.
- Engineering studies of coastal erosion, bluff slumping and flooding — and the creation of manuals and workbooks to help lakeshore property owners, zoning commissions, real estate agents, lending institutions and insurance companies evaluate these risks, especially during periods of high lake levels.
- Development of satellite remote imaging and Geographic Information System technology for analysis and improved management of Great Lakes resources and coastal watersheds.
- Delineation of the impact of fertilizers and other terrestrial nutrients on the structure of and interactions within the Great Lakes food web.
Top of Page | Estuarine and Coastal Processes Subprogram
Milestones in UW Sea Grant Aquaculture Research, 1972-97
- Exploration and development of a wide range of basic techniques for the domestic production of perch, walleye, rainbow trout and other cool-climate, freshwater fishes.
- Development of fundamental fish propagation husbandry techniques, including spawning and egg incubation, fingerling production, pond management, habituating fish to formulated feeds, and disease control and treatment.
- Identification of key environmental conditions for rearing fish, including optimal water temperatures, oxygen levels and light intensities, and the identification of key nutritional and dietary requirements for developing higher quality and less costly fish feeds.
- Manipulation of natural endocrine and genetic mechanisms to control gender and increase the growth of perch and walleye, and selective breeding of new stress- and disease-resistant strains of these fish.
Top of Page | A quaculture & Seafood Technology Subprogram
Milestones in UW Sea Grant Seafood Technology Research, 1972-97
- Identification of the specific compounds that give different species of fish their unique flavor profiles — a breakthrough in flavor chemistry and a substantial contribution to food science in general.
- Identification of the bacterial processes that make fish smell and taste "fishy" — and the development of new processing and packaging techniques for keeping fish fresher and safer over longer periods of time.
- Development of new processing techniques for utilizing so-called "trash fish" for both human and pet food products.
- Development of liquid fertilizer and composting techniques for the environmentally friendly means of disposing of fish wastes.
Top of Page | A quaculture & Seafood Technology Subprogram
Milestones in UW Sea Grant Policy Studies Research, 1972-97
- Cost-benefit analyses that established the economic justification for extending the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Seaway shipping season to year-round.
- Determination of the economic value and impacts of Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan recreational and commercial fisheries — essential fundamental information for state and federal policy- and decision-makers.
- Identification of the socioeconomics and demographics of Great Lakes-related recreational activities and tourism.
- Comprehensive analyses of the rates of consumption of Great Lakes water by cities, industry and agriculture, and of the potential regional economic and hydrologic impacts of proposed diversions of Great Lakes water to other regions.
- Initial development of the concept and practical applications of transferable discharge permits — the use of market forces rather than government edict to regulate and reduce air and water pollution. The trading of air emissions permits on the Chicago Commodities Market today is an outgrowth of this work.
- Creation and successful application of a dynamic "bioeconomic" fisheries management model to evaluate the costs and benefits of alternative strategies for rehabilitating Green Bay’s valuable yellow perch fishery.
Top of Page | Policy Studies Subprogram
Milestones in UW Sea Grant Diving Physiology and Safety Research, 1972-97
- Prototype development of wristwatch "dive computers" that calculate and alert a diver to remaining air supplies and the proper length of ascent decompression stops — now a standard part of scuba diving equipment.
- Leading research on the prevention, diagnosis and treatment of decompression sickness — including the risks diving poses to the fetuses of pregnant women, and the discovery of "limb bends," bone death, "the chokes" and paralyzing spinal cord hits among commercial and recreational divers who repeatedly make short, deep "bounce" dives.
- Investigation of the under-estimated risks of panic among divers, especially in cold waters like the Great Lakes, and the development of a test that predicts with 88 percent accuracy which novice divers are prone to panic.
Top of Page | Safety at Sea Thematic Area
Milestones in UW Sea Grant Outreach and Education
- Provided research experience and financial support through graduate student assistantships that have helped nearly 400 Wisconsin students earn their master’s and Ph.D. degrees since 1968.
- Recognized with 30 professional awards for the high quality of its communications, outreach and educational programs, including four Gold Medals from the prestigious national Council for Advancement and Support of Education in the last seven years.
- Sponsored of eight Wisconsin students selected for Knauss Marine Policy Fellowships, a competitive national Sea Grant program providing one-year internships with federal legislators and agencies in Washington, D.C., for graduate students interested in national policy-making on marine, ocean and Great Lakes resources.
- Sponsor of Earthwatch Radio — a 25-year-old weekly series of five 2-minute public service programs co-produced by the UW-Madison Institute for Environmental Studies. The nation’s longest-running program on science and the environment on radio today, Earthwatch was named to the United Nations Environment Programme’s "Global 500 Roll of Honor" in 1992.
- Host and organizer of Madison JASON, part of an interactive science and technology program currently involving nearly 2,000 Madison-area students and teachers annually.
- Sponsored or hosted numerous state, regional, national and international conferences and workshops on such topics as toxic contaminants, dock and marina design, underwater mining, the future of Great Lakes resources, aquaculture, and zebra mussels and other nonindigenous species.
- Production of more than 600 reports and publications since 1968. Some 750,000 copies of these publications have be distributed on request, along with millions of fact sheets, "Zebra Mussel Watch" cards and other public information handouts, over the last 25 years.
Top of Page | Advisory Services Subprogram | Education Subprogram | Communications Subprogram
For more information, contact:
Anders W. Andren, Director
University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
Goodnight Hall, 1975 Willow Drive
Madison, WI 53706-1103Phone (608) 262-0905
Fax (608) 262-0591
Headquartered at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the UW Sea Grant Institute is a part of a national network of 29 university-based programs of research, outreach and education dedicated to the protection and sustainable use of the United States' coastal, ocean and Great Lakes resources. The National Sea Grant Network is a partnership of participating coastal states, private industry and the National Sea Grant College Program , National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration , U.S. Department of Commerce .
Written by Stephen Wittman
Web page created August 1997 by Wittman
Last revised 05/15/2001
by Wittman
© 1997 University of Wisconsin Sea Grant Institute
www.seagrant.wisc.edu/communications/25years/milestones.html
