Lynker drives implementation of groundbreaking American Samoa Ocean Plan (ASOP)
Lynker’s Sarah Pautzke (third from the right) drove the development of the American Samoa Ocean Plan (ASOP) finalized and released December 2018. Ms. Pautzke worked with a team of American Samoa Government (ASG) and federal employees and the assistance of a consultant, Miranda Foley (fourth from the left), with whom Lynker partners. And, it was formatted and turned into its final product by another Lynker employee, Melanie Jordan. Well done!
The ASOP is the first ocean plan to be completed by the United States for the Western Pacific jurisdictions. The purpose of the plan is to ensure compatible ocean use and conservation of ocean resources to ensure the vibrant coastal and ocean environments. There are several tasks that require data collection, particularly GIS data. Please download the plan and have a think about how best Lynker can assist in accomplishing these tasks by partnering with 
federal and ASG agencies.The ASOP is now “owned” by the AS Department of Commerce, who is responsible for its implementation. Thus, it is housed on the AS DOC website.
Links of importance:
- AS Ocean Plan Release: http://doc.as.gov/
official-release-american- samoa-ocean-plan-2018/ - AS Ocean Plan: http://doc.as.gov/wp-
content/uploads/2018/11/AS- Ocean-Plan-FNL-Interactive-2. pdf - Tanalei write up: https://www.talanei.com/2018/
12/05/ocean-plan-for-american- samoa-will-guide-uses- development-in-near-sea/ -
Marine Cadastre mapping interface: https://
marinecadastre.gov/viewers/ 
Great job by our teammates!
If you have any questions about the plan or how to use it, please reach out to Sarah Pautzke, spautzke@lynkertech.com so she can guide you to the correct person with whom to work.
Lynker’s aquarist, Michael “MacGyver” Caban, saves the day for the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries Mokupāpapa Discovery Center for Hawaiʻi’s Remote Coral Reefs. He 
emergency responses to sick, injured, distressed, or dead marine mammals throughout an area covering over 3,700 statute miles (4,306 nautical miles) of shoreline in Washington, Oregon and California. Member groups include cooperating scientific investigators and institutions, wildlife and fisheries agencies, state and federal law enforcement, volunteer networks and individuals. In this high profile role, we ensure timely and professional response to hotline calls, and collect and assess data on entanglements, ship strikes, and other human interactions. Affected by human impacts, fisheries and environmental changes, each marine mammal stranding event is handled on a case-by-case basis and is dependent on local capability, available resources, personnel, and logistics.
Lynker serves as lead scientist for the Environmental Fisheries Sciences Division (EFS), Ecotoxicology Program in conducting studies on oil spill and urban stormwater impacts on the health of marine forage fish in Puget Sound (Pacific herring, sand lance, and surf smelt) and other nearshore species (e.g., juvenile flatfish). We maintain the water intake and filtration system at the field station, have built and managed systems that grow herring, surf smelt, rockfish, salmon and lamprey and have developed methods and materials to raise surf smelt larvae in captivity using enriched live feeds and green water techniques. Preparing, operating and maintaining the facility and water systems for culture of larval fish food and organisms, our work directly contributes to NOAA’s understanding of the effects of oil and petroleum-based pollutants on marine fish at various life stages, informing environmental policy to limit exposure to toxins across the Puget Sound.
For the Alaska Fisheries Science Center‘s Resource Assessment and Conservation and Engineering (RACE) Division, Lynker’s senior scientists assess deep-sea coral and sponge communities via at-sea investigations, image analysis and taxonomic research and their role in providing Essential Fish Habitat to groundfish and invertebrates. Our scientists also investigate species interactions and associations, the types of impacts fishing gear can have on benthic habitats and habitat related factors that influence fisheries productivity. In collaboration with our colleagues at NOAA, Lynker helps RACE measure the distribution and abundance of commercially important fish and crab stocks in the eastern Bering Sea, Aleutian Island and Gulf of Alaska, resources estimated at nearly $4.5 billion a year.
National Marine Sanctuaries (ONMS) Pacific Islands Region (PIR). Our team
Lynker developed a web-based application 
Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary (MBNMS). Our GIS Specialists manage thousands of data layers representing physical and biological data for the ocean. We use data compiled by local, state and federal agencies as well as stakeholders and ensure that the data has the necessary metadata so that we can track the origin and data caveats. We validate the data by overlaying it on other data to ensure management decisions are based on the right spatial and temporal scales. When outliers are identified, we contact the creator of the GIS data to ensure that it is correct.