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| ![](media/image1.png){width="7.527777777777778in"                     |
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| **NOAA In Your Territory**                                            |
|                                                                       |
| **Puerto Rico**                                                       |
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| *NOAA\'s work touches the daily lives of every person in the United   |
| States and in much of the world. Our products and services are the    |
| result of the hard work of NOAA's dedicated staff and partner         |
| organizations located in program and research offices throughout the  |
| country. The following is a summary of NOAA programs based in, and    |
| focused on, your territory. The entries are listed by region and then |
| by districts and cities or towns.*                                    |
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| ***PR***                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| ***Aguadilla***                                                       |
|                                                                       |
| **National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)**                          |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Law Enforcement**                                         |
|                                                                       |
| **Field Office**                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| NOAA\'s Office of Law Enforcement is dedicated primarily to the       |
| enforcement of laws that protect and regulate our nation's living     |
| marine resources and their natural habitat. Special agents and        |
| enforcement officers have specified authority to enforce over 37      |
| statutes, as well as numerous treaties related to the conservation    |
| and protection of marine resources and other matters of concern to    |
| NOAA. Stretching across the Gulf of Mexico, up the eastern seaboard   |
| from the Florida Keys to the northern shore of North Carolina and     |
| covering U.S. territorial waters in the Caribbean, the Southeast      |
| Enforcement Division\'s responsibility is vast. The Division is home  |
| to the nation\'s large shrimp trawl fishery, and is widely known for  |
| its vast coral reefs fisheries, turtle beaches, and highly prized     |
| saltwater game fish.                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/se_southea                             |
| st.html]{.underline}](http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/se_southeast.html) |
|                                                                       |
| ***Aguirre***                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management**                   |
|                                                                       |
| **Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve**                     |
|                                                                       |
| In 1981, approximately 2,880 acres of mangrove forest and freshwater  |
| wetlands on the southern coast of Puerto Rico were designated as the  |
| Jobos Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve. The lead state agency  |
| is the Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources. |
| The reserve includes fifteen tear-shape islets known as Cayos Caribe, |
| and the Mar Negro area, which consists of a mangrove forest and a     |
| complex system of lagoons and channels interspersed with salt and mud |
| flats. Freshwater wetlands and subtropical dry forest vegetation are  |
| found on the northern island boundaries. Coral reefs and seagrass     |
| beds with small beach deposits and upland areas fringe Cayos Caribe   |
| islets. The reserve\'s research priorities are to define the          |
| physical, chemical and biological aspects that will help understand   |
| estuarine and coral reef processes, climate-related trends, and to    |
| examine land-based sources of marine pollution. The reserve           |
| constitutes an accessible and extraordinary site for education,       |
| interpretive, and training activities.                                |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://ne                                                           |
| rrs.noaa.gov/JobosBay/]{.underline}](http://nerrs.noaa.gov/JobosBay/) |
|                                                                       |
| ***Boqueron***                                                        |
|                                                                       |
| **National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)**                          |
|                                                                       |
| **Protected Resources Division**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Caribbean Field Office**                                            |
|                                                                       |
| The Caribbean Field Office is located on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife   |
| Refuge. This office analyzes the impacts of projects throughout       |
| Puerto Rico on species and habitat protected by the *Endangered       |
| Species Act*. These analyses ensure important projects can be         |
| completed without jeopardizing the sustainability of threatened and   |
| endangered species or the habitat critical to their survival.         |
|                                                                       |
| ***Coastal***                                                         |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Coastal Services Center (CSC)**                                     |
|                                                                       |
| **Coastal Management Fellowship**                                     |
|                                                                       |
| The NOAA Coastal Management Fellowship matches postgraduate students  |
| with state coastal zone programs to work on two-year projects         |
| proposed by the state.                                                |
|                                                                       |
| [http://http://www.csc.noaa.gov/cms/fellows.html]{.underline}         |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Coastal Services Center (CSC)**                                     |
|                                                                       |
| **Needs Assessments and Social Science Tools**                        |
|                                                                       |
| Surveys, needs assessments, and other social science-related tools    |
| are useful in gathering information and making informed decisions.    |
| The Center has provided the U.S. Virgin Islands with technical        |
| assistance in conducting such activities to ensure high-quality       |
| results and usable information.                                       |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Coastal Services Center (CSC)**                                     |
|                                                                       |
| **N-SPECT Applications**                                              |
|                                                                       |
| The Nonpoint-Source Pollution and Erosion Comparison Tool (N-SPECT)   |
| is a GIS-based screening tool that models basic hydrologic processes, |
| including overland flow, erosion, and nonpoint source pollution for   |
| watersheds. Assistance was given to resource managers in Puerto Rico  |
| and several states as they used N-SPECT to estimate runoff in various |
| land cover scenarios. Staff members also work with the Environmental  |
| Protection Agency and private sector groups that want to use N-SPECT  |
| with their programs.                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Coastal Services Center (CSC)**                                     |
|                                                                       |
| **Training**                                                          |
|                                                                       |
| The Center provides training to the coastal resource managers of the  |
| nation in three focus areas: geospatial technology, coastal           |
| management, and building process skills. Training can take place at   |
| the Center's training facility for some courses but most often is     |
| taken to coastal managers in the field.                               |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://www.csc.noaa.gov/bins/resources/training.htm                 |
| l]{.underline}](http://www.csc.noaa.gov/bins/resources/training.html) |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) Program**                  |
|                                                                       |
| **IOOS Regional Association**                                         |
|                                                                       |
| The Caribbean Regional Association (CaRA) is one of 11 Regional       |
| Associations being established through IOOS. CaRA is developing the   |
| Integrated Coastal Ocean Observing System for the Caribbean covering  |
| Puerto Rico, the American Virgin Islands and the Island of Navassa    |
| west of Haiti. Sustained and integrated observation of the coastal    |
| ocean is an international initiative that will provide substantial    |
| benefits to the economy, to security, and environmental conservation. |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://                                                             |
| cara.uprm.edu/cara.html]{.underline}](http://cara.uprm.edu/cara.html) |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management**                   |
|                                                                       |
| **Coral Reef Conservation Program**                                   |
|                                                                       |
| Puerto Rico's coral reefs are dominated by fringing reefs and have    |
| significant cultural and economic value to the island. These reefs    |
| are under stress from climate change, substantial sediment and        |
| nutrients from the discharge of large rivers on the island and        |
| intense pressure from fishing. The NOAA Coral Reef Conservation       |
| Program (CRCP) conducts mapping, assessment and characterization, and |
| monitoring activities in each U.S. jurisdiction with coral reefs. A   |
| shallow-water habitat map atlas has been completed for Puerto Rico    |
| and is aiding in the study of Marine Protected Area placement.        |
|                                                                       |
| The CRCP also conducts research to better understand coral reef       |
| structure, function, and health. Each U.S. jurisdiction receives      |
| coral reef grants annually to conduct research, monitoring, and       |
| management activities and in addition have developed Local Action     |
| Strategies to promote effective local management of coral reefs. A    |
| coral reef status report is produced every 2-3 years based on         |
| monitoring and research conducted in each jurisdiction. The program   |
| also strives to increase the use and effectiveness of coral reef      |
| Marine Protected Areas (MPAs) as a management tool.                   |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://http:/                                                       |
| /www.coralreef.noaa.gov]{.underline}](http://www.coralreef.noaa.gov/) |
|                                                                       |
| ***Entire Territory***                                                |
|                                                                       |
| **National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)**                          |
|                                                                       |
| **Southeast Region**                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| **Southeast Fisheries Regional Office and Southeast Fisheries Science |
| Center**                                                              |
|                                                                       |
| NMFS is responsible for the management, conservation and protection   |
| of living marine resources within the United States\' Exclusive       |
| Economic Zone (water to 200 miles off the seaward boundaries of       |
| coastal states). Using the tools provided by the *Magnuson-Stevens    |
| Act*, NMFS assesses and predicts the status of fish stocks, develops  |
| and ensures compliance with fisheries regulations, restores and       |
| protects habitat and works to reduce wasteful fishing practices, and  |
| promote sustainable fisheries. Under the Marine *Mammal Protection    |
| Act* and the *Endangered Species Act*, NMFS recovers protected marine |
| species (i.e. whales, turtles). The Southeast Regional Office         |
| (located in Saint Petersburg, FL) is composed of four divisions: (1)  |
| Sustainable Fisheries; (2) Habitat Conservation; (3) Protected        |
| Resources; and (4) Operations, Management and Information, which      |
| houses constituent services and grants.                               |
|                                                                       |
| he region manages 175 fish species or multispecies complexes in the   |
| Gulf of Mexico, South Atlantic, and Caribbean Sea under 17 fishery    |
| management plans. The Southeast Fisheries Science Center is           |
| headquartered on Virginia Key, Miami, FL. The Center is comprised of  |
| five NMFS Laboratories (Galveston, TX; Pascagoula, MS; Panama City,   |
| Fl; Miami, Fl; and Beaufort, NC) and two satellite facilities         |
| (Lafayette, LA; Stennis Space Center, MS) in the region. The Center   |
| implements a science and research program that provides information   |
| and technology for fishery resource conservation; habitat             |
| conservation, and; the recovery of protected and endangered species.  |
| The Southeast Regional Office and Science Center are responsible for  |
| the inland states of Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Missouri,      |
| Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Tennessee, the coastal states of  |
| North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama,            |
| Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico,   |
| and the U.S. Virgin Islands.                                          |
|                                                                       |
| <http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/index.html> and                            |
| [http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov](http://www.sefsc.noaa.gov/)               |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)**                  |
|                                                                       |
| **Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory**              |
|                                                                       |
| **Hurricane Research**                                                |
|                                                                       |
| The Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory\'s Hurricane |
| Research Division (HRD), located in Miami, FL, conducts research to   |
| advance the understanding and prediction of hurricanes and other      |
| tropical weather, benefiting Puerto Rico. HRD's research is based on  |
| a combination of models, theories, and observations, with particular  |
| emphasis on data obtained with research aircraft. These observations  |
| are primarily collected in our annual field program using the two     |
| NOAA turboprop aircraft and jet operated by the NOAA Aircraft         |
| Operations Center. The goals of this research are to; advance the     |
| prediction of tropical cyclone intensity change, improve the          |
| prediction of tropical cyclone tracks, improve the understanding of   |
| and ability to predict tropical cyclone frequency and intensity, and  |
| enhance the ability to diagnose and predict the impact of tropical    |
| cyclones on life and property.                                        |
|                                                                       |
| [http://www.aoml.noaa.gov/hrd/index.html]{.underline}                 |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)**                  |
|                                                                       |
| **National Sea Grant College Program**                                |
|                                                                       |
| **Puerto Rico Sea Grant College Program**                             |
|                                                                       |
| NOAA\'s National Sea Grant College Program is a federal-university    |
| partnership that integrates research, education, and outreach         |
| (extension and communications). Sea Grant forms a network of 32       |
| programs in all U.S. coastal and Great Lakes states, Puerto Rico and  |
| Guam. Puerto Rico Sea Grant is located at the University of Puerto    |
| Rico and is devoted to the conservation and sustainable use of        |
| coastal and marine resources in Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands  |
| and the Caribbean region. The program\'s mission is two-fold: to      |
| conduct excellent scientific research in the areas of water quality,  |
| fisheries and mariculture, seafood safety, marine recreation and      |
| coastal tourism, coastal hazards and coastal communities economic     |
| development; and to apply scientific knowledge to solve a variety of  |
| problems their communities of users face every day. Puerto Rico Sea   |
| Grant disseminates research findings through its magazine: Marejada,  |
| as well as through a variety of other educational products.           |
|                                                                       |
| [http://seagrant.uprm.edu]{.underline}                                |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)**                  |
|                                                                       |
| **Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory**                           |
|                                                                       |
| **NOAA Center for Tsunami Research (NCTR)**                           |
|                                                                       |
| The Tsunami Research Program at the Pacific Marine Environmental      |
| Laboratory (PMEL), headquartered in Seattle, Washington, seeks to     |
| mitigate tsunami hazards to all U.S. coastal states and territories,  |
| including Puerto Rico. A tsunami is a series of very large ocean      |
| waves caused by underwater earthquakes, landslides, volcanic          |
| eruptions, explosions, and even meteor impacts. Capable of flooding   |
| hundreds of meters inland past the typical high-water level, the      |
| fast-moving water associated with an inundating tsunami can crush     |
| homes and other coastal structures. More common occurrences, and      |
| devastating in an economic sense, are false alarms that lead to       |
| expensive evacuations of coastal areas. The PMEL NCTR staff conducts  |
| research and development activities in close collaboration with the   |
| National Weather Service (NWS) Tsunami Warning Centers, National Data |
| Buoy Center (NDBC), and the coastal states. Activities focus on the   |
| development of site-specific forecast models for coastal population   |
| centers. These models are integrated into a PMEL-developed            |
| operational tsunami forecasting system at the Tsunami Warning         |
| Centers. PMEL developed the original real-time DART tsunami-measuring |
| buoy, which has been transitioned to NDBC. Engineering development is |
| underway at PMEL to improve the cost-effectiveness of these           |
| platforms. Tsunami research at PMEL focuses on model improvements and |
| tsunami hazard mitigation.                                            |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov]{.underline}](http://nctr.pmel.noaa.gov/) |
|                                                                       |
| ***Guaynabo***                                                        |
|                                                                       |
| **National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS)**                          |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Law Enforcement**                                         |
|                                                                       |
| **Field Office**                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| NOAA\'s Office of Law Enforcement is dedicated primarily to the       |
| enforcement of laws that protect and regulate our nation's living     |
| marine resources and their natural habitat. Special agents and        |
| enforcement officers have specified authority to enforce over 37      |
| statutes, as well as numerous treaties related to the conservation    |
| and protection of marine resources and other matters of concern to    |
| NOAA. Stretching across the Gulf of Mexico, up the eastern seaboard   |
| from the Florida Keys to the northern shore of North Carolina and     |
| covering U.S. territorial waters in the Caribbean, the Southeast      |
| Enforcement Division\'s responsibility is vast. The Division is home  |
| to the nation\'s large shrimp trawl fishery, and is widely known for  |
| its vast coral reefs fisheries, turtle beaches, and highly prized     |
| saltwater game fish.                                                  |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/se_southea                             |
| st.html]{.underline}](http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/se_southeast.html) |
|                                                                       |
| ***Isabella, San Juan WAAS***                                         |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)**                  |
|                                                                       |
| **Earth System Research Laboratory/Global Systems Division**          |
|                                                                       |
| **Ground- Based GPS Meteorology**                                     |
|                                                                       |
| The Earth System Research Laboratory maintains the Ground-Based GPS   |
| Meteorology project, currently consisting of 400 GPS water vapor      |
| observing systems that provide near real-time integrated precipitable |
| water vapor (IPW) measurements for weather forecasting, climate       |
| modeling, calibration and validation of satellite and radiosonde      |
| water vapor measurements, and research. This project provides water   |
| vapor data available to all users.                                    |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://www.gpsmet.noaa.go                                           |
| v/jsp/raob.jsp]{.underline}](http://www.gpsmet.noaa.gov/jsp/raob.jsp) |
|                                                                       |
| ***La Parguera Natural Reserve***                                     |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)**                  |
|                                                                       |
| **Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory**              |
|                                                                       |
| **Coral Reef Watch Environmental Monitoring**                         |
|                                                                       |
| The Coral Reef Watch program is a collaborative effort between        |
| NOAA\'s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML)   |
| and NOAA\'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information   |
| Service (NESDIS). Remote monitoring stations in the Florida Keys,     |
| Bahamas, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands     |
| continually observe meteorological and oceanographic parameters.      |
| These data are transmitted to AOML where they are processed by        |
| artificial intelligence-based software and compared with              |
| NESDIS-supplied satellite data. The integrated data are used to       |
| predict, monitor, and model incidences of coral bleaching and other   |
| coral-related biological events.                                      |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://www.coral.noaa.gov/crews/i                                   |
| ndex.shtml]{.underline}](http://www.coral.noaa.gov/crews/index.shtml) |
|                                                                       |
| ***Mayagüez***                                                        |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **National Geodetic Survey**                                          |
|                                                                       |
| **Geodetic Coordinator**                                              |
|                                                                       |
| Through a cooperative agreement and part of the National Ocean        |
| Service (NOS) State Advisor Program, the Geodetic Coordinator is a    |
| professor at the University of Puerto Rico at Mayaguez and serves as  |
| liaison between NOS and Commonwealth. In this method, NOS helps guide |
| and assist the Commonwealth\'s charting, geodetic and surveying       |
| programs through technical transfer. This program also provides       |
| assistance in planning and implementing Geographic/Land Information   |
| System (GIS/LIS) projects.                                            |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ADVISORS/AdvisorsIndex.shtm          |
| l]{.underline}](http://www.ngs.noaa.gov/ADVISORS/AdvisorsIndex.shtml) |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services**        |
|                                                                       |
| **National Water Level Observation Network**                          |
|                                                                       |
| The National Ocean Service (NOS) operates six long-term continuously  |
| operating tide stations in Puerto Rico, which provide data and        |
| information on tidal datum and relative mean sea level trends, and    |
| are capable of producing real-time data for storm surge warning.      |
| These stations are located at San Juan, Vieques Island, Culebra,      |
| Aguadilla Pier, Mona Island and Magueyes Island.                      |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://tid                                                          |
| esandcurrents.noaa.gov]{.underline}](http://www.co-ops.nos.noaa.gov/) |
|                                                                       |
| **National Ocean Service (NOS)**                                      |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management**                   |
|                                                                       |
| **Puerto Rico Coastal Management Program/ Puerto Rico Department of   |
| Natural and Environmental Resources**                                 |
|                                                                       |
| The Puerto Rico Department of Natural and Environmental Resources     |
| administer Puerto Rico's Coastal Program and the Puerto Rico Planning |
| Board serves as the primary agency for managing coastal development.  |
| Puerto Rico contains approximately 700 miles of coastline, and Puerto |
| Rico\'s coastal zone generally extends 1000 meters (one kilometer)    |
| inland, but extends further inland in places to include important     |
| coastal resources. The Commonwealth features coastal ecosystems such  |
| as beaches, bioluminescent bays, coral reefs, and mangrove lagoons.   |
| Puerto Rico's diverse habitats support an abundance of marine life,   |
| including a variety of threatened and endangered species. Challenges  |
| in managing its coastal program include sedimentation, erosion,       |
| coastal hazards, and illegal use of the island\'s maritime zone.      |
| Major economic activities involve shipping, tourism, and agriculture. |
| Puerto Rico balances the management of cultural and historical        |
| resources, intense coastal development pressure, and an outstanding   |
| array of natural ecosystems, including mangroves, wetlands, coral     |
| reefs, beaches, and coastal forests.                                  |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/mystate/p_rico.html               |
| ]{.underline}](http://coastalmanagement.noaa.gov/mystate/p_rico.html) |
|                                                                       |
| **Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR)**                  |
|                                                                       |
| **Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory**              |
|                                                                       |
| **Coral Reef Watch Environmental Monitoring**                         |
|                                                                       |
| The Coral Reef Watch program is a collaborative effort between        |
| NOAA\'s Atlantic Oceanographic and Meteorological Laboratory (AOML)   |
| and NOAA\'s National Environmental Satellite, Data, and Information   |
| Service (NESDIS). Remote monitoring stations in the Florida Keys,     |
| Bahamas, American Samoa, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands     |
| continually observe meteorological and oceanographic parameters.      |
| These data are transmitted to AOML where they are processed by        |
| artificial intelligence-based software and compared with              |
| NESDIS-supplied satellite data. The integrated data are used to       |
| predict, monitor, and model incidences of coral bleaching and other   |
| coral-related biological events.                                      |
|                                                                       |
| [[http://www.coral.noaa.gov/crews/i                                   |
| ndex.shtml]{.underline}](http://www.coral.noaa.gov/crews/index.shtml) |
|                                                                       |
| ***San Juan at Carolina***                                            |
|                                                                       |
| **National Weather Service (NWS)**                                    |
|                                                                       |
| **Weather Forecast Office**                                           |
|                                                                       |
| **San Juan WFO**                                                      |
|                                                                       |
| This National Weather Service Weather Forecast Office provides        |
| weather and flood warnings, daily forecasts and meteorologic and      |
| hydrologic data for Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands. This       |
| office also provides marine warnings and forecasts for the waters     |
| surrounding Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands.                  |
|                                                                       |
| [[http                                                                |
| ://www.srh.noaa.gov/sju/ ]{.underline}](http://www.srh.noaa.gov/sju/) |
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| **NOAA's Office of Legislative Affairs**                              |
|                                                                       |
| **Tel: 202-482-4981                                                   |
| [http://www.legislative.noaa.gov](http://www.legislative.noaa.gov/)** |
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