D - F
type: Concept

FOCI
in scheme: projects
definition: FOCI is a collection of NOAA research programs attempting to understand the influence of environment on the abundance of various commercially valuable fish and shellfish stocks in Alaskan waters and their role in the ecosystem. FOCI comprises a number of programs: Shelikof Strait FOCI, Bering Sea FOCI, and Southeast Bering Sea Carrying Capacity, Arctic Research Initiative, West Coast GLOBEC, NSF Inner Front Study, and North Pacific Marine Research Program. Shelikof Strait FOCI and Bering Sea FOCI examine a specific species of fish, walleye pollock Theragra chalcogramma. Southeast Bering Sea Carrying Capacity takes a broader view of the ecosystem of the southern Bering Sea shelf. Other programs address scientific themes that directly relate to FOCI research. Research is conducted by personnel at two NOAA laboratories in Seattle, Washington (the National Marine Fisheries Service's Alaska Fisheries Science Center and the Office of Oceanographic and Atmospheric Research's Pacific Marine Environmental Laboratory), and by scientists at the University of Alaska and other academic and research institutes. For more information, link to "http://www.pmel.noaa.gov/foci/overview.html"
type: Concept