To all interested parties, NOAA's Ocean Acoustics Program is hosting an international symposium on 1-2 May in Silver Spring, MD entitled: "Potential Application of Vessel-Quieting Technology on Large Commercial Vessels". The announcement of the symposium and a detailed, nearly-final agenda for the meeting is now available on the program website: <http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/acoustics/shipnoise.htm> The symposium has been developed around the following specific objectives: Specify rationale and explicit target levels for quieting for vessels of various classes; consider how targets may vary in different geographical areas. Determine (to the extent possible) whether known/existing vessel-quieting technologies used in other applications have the potential to achieve these goals for large commercial vessels. Determine (to the extent possible) the likely costs and any tangible benefits associated with the application of the various technologies on existing ships (retrofitting) and in vessel construction. Produce a formal report summarizing progress on the above objectives; synthesize findings into a "menu" format of the feasibility, costs, and benefits of various vessel-quieting options in different geographical areas. The symposium is open to the public and registration is free. If you are interested in attending, please see the above website for specific details regarding logistics. Also, if you have not already, please send an email to Brandon.Southall@noaa.gov so we will have a record of your interest in attending and can provide you additional information before and after the meeting. Thank you, Brandon Southall ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Brandon L. Southall, Ph.D. Director, NOAA Ocean Acoustics Program National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Science and Technology 1315 East West Hwy, SSMC III #12539 Silver Spring, MD 20910-6233 Brandon.Southall@noaa.gov 301-713-2363 x163 (office) 301-713-1875 (FAX) http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/acoustics/ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~