The NOAA Fisheries´ Southwest Fisheries Science Center laboratory in Pacific Grove recognizes the long and vibrant heritage of fishing, scientific research and management in Monterey Bay and along the entire U.S. west coast by crowning the building with a vibrant public mural, Green Sea/Blue Sea: The California Current, Climate Change and Sustainable Fisheries. Through the telling of the 100-year legacy of the sardine fishery, the mural illustrates how fish, marine mammals, sea turtles and other marine fauna respond to changes in ocean conditions. Using different shades of color, green for high ocean productivity and blue for low ocean productivity, visitors can see the different species that flourish in one regime over another. These alternating climate regimes are most closely identified with sudden and dramatic shifts between regional fisheries for California sardine and northern anchovy. This is illustrated in the mural by changing the composition of fish, marine mammals and sea turtles, whose presence and abundance in Monterey Bay and adjacent waters of the California Current is tied to these regimes, and the sardines and anchovies on which many feed. The mural also illustrates the historic and current research ships and technologies used by fisheries scientists and the innovations in fishing vessels and gear that have occurred over the past several decades. Together, the images depict the interrelatedness of humans, marine animals and climate change as the mural follows the legendary sardine fishery, which crashed off Monterey in the 1940s and then eventually returned as the system recovered through enhanced scientific knowledge, better management and changing ocean conditions.
The mural images were created by renowned artist Ray Troll
and painted on 32 separate panels by public artist Roberto Salas and his team. The panels were then mounted by crane on the outside of the NOAA Fisheries building to form a crowning fresco. The mural is approximately 6 feet 8 inches high and 400 feet long and is the fourth designated by the city of Pacific Grove's Historical Mural Project. The project was funded by the Southwest Fisheries Science Center and by a grant from NOAA's Preserve America Initiative Grant (PAIG), a program that encourages partnerships in the preservation and the dissemination of the historical legacy of the agency. The goals of the PAIG are to inventory, preserve and showcase federally managed historic and cultural, or "heritage," resources and foster tourism in partnership with local communities. NOAA is already working to preserve our heritage resources, from historic maps and charts to buildings and shipwrecks, and make them accessible to the public through innovative programs and partnerships.
For images and more information: http://swfsc.noaa.gov/pg-mural.aspx
