COVID-19 Rapid Response: Sea Grant's #BEachSAFEly, Boater Safety

Stony Brook, NY, July 27, 2020 - New York Sea Grant (NYSG) is rolling out some COVID-19 rapid response projects this summer to assist New York’s coastal users.

#BEachSAFEly

COVID-19 brings considerations beyond the usual beach safety messaging. In response, Sea Grant programs in New York and New Jersey have launched a new summer-long social media graphic with specific safety messages for beachgoers each week..

“The driving force behind ‘Beach Safely’ is that we want people to ‘be safe,’ said NYSG’s Coastal Processes and Facilities Specialist Kathleen Fallon, who is based at Stony Brook University (SBU) and leads the project. “This summer it’s important that people know they can still go outside and enjoy the beach but need to understand how to do so safely.”

This is reinforced in the campaign’s first message, “Stay Social, Be Distant.” Another message highlights how to break the grip of a rip current, which can pose a serious threat for beachgoers. These narrow channels of fast-moving water that pull swimmers away from the shore account for more than 80 percent of lifeguard beach rescues.

Making sure you have your sunscreen and sanitizer as well as keeping an eye on your mask so it doesn’t become marine debris are two other key reminders that will play out during the nine-week long campaign. New #BEachSAFEly posts are released on Thursdays at www.facebook.com/nyseagrant, www.twitter.com/nyseagrant and www.nyseagrant.org/beachsafely.

For Hire Industry

NYSG is providing New York State’s saltwater and freshwater for-hire boating sector with a series of decals to encourage compliance with boating-specific COVID-19 safety precautions. More at www.nyseagrant.org/forhire.

“Angling is an excellent outdoor recreation past time, as long it is conducted in ways to minimize the spread of COVID-19,” said NYSG’s Marine Fisheries Specialist Antoinette Clemetson, based at SBU and one of the leads for this project. “NYSG is pleased to make these signs available to remind both crew and angler passengers about simple actions they can use to help fight this virus. Captains who operate these for hire vessels can visit our website to request a COVID-19 sign kit, while supplies last.”

Clemetson’s co-lead, NYSG’s Coastal Recreation and Tourism Specialist Dave White, is based at SUNY Oswego. White brings to the partnership a series of decals to encourage public compliance with boating-specific COVID-19 safety precautions as part of the 2020 edition of NYSG’s nationally-recognized "Discover Clean and Safe Boating" campaign.

The decals will adhere to boat surfaces to note “Mask Required,” “Use Sanitizer,” “Wear It” with a life jacket symbol, and ”Keep Personal Belongings Personal”; others have a blank line to write a name with an erasable marker to designate person-specific areas aboard the vessel for each individual’s fishing pole or diving gear. There is no cost for the decals to qualified for-hire boating businesses.

“This new outreach for 2020 is aimed at maintaining the opportunity to be on New York’s fabulous boating waters once again for both the public and the marine industry that is an essential economic driver for our coastal communities,” said White. “This project draws inspiration from a marine industry theme from the 1990s that fits today: ‘Boating in NY is good clean fun. . . let’s keep it that way.’”

Seafood Industry

NYSG Seafood Specialist Mike Ciaramella, who is based at SBU, is working with seafood producers to ensure that they have the ability and understanding of how to alter marketing strategies quickly and effectively.

The goal is to provide clarity, as Ciaramella explains: “While a variety of resources exist outlining best practices and alternative strategies for marketing seafood products, the specifics of marketing within every state varies significantly due to differences in infrastructure and regulations.”

The guidance documents to be produced will hopefully allow NY Seafood producers to be more resilient to changing market demands, like those faced during the COVID-19 pandemic.

NYSG also provides additional information that businesses, educators, landowners and other stakeholders can use during the pandemic at www.nyseagrant.org/stayingconnected.

Since 1971, NYSG, a cooperative program of Cornell University and the State University of New York, has been one of 34 university-based programs under the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Sea Grant College Program.