Courtesy Photo In this photo provided by the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary, Matt Brookhart, regional director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, John Armour, director the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, NOAA’s assistant secretary and acting undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, take a look at a remotely operated vehicle students made on Monday at the sanctuary.

ALPENA — National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration leaders visited Alpena this week and discussed the impact of marine sanctuaries.

Visitors included Rear Adm. Tim Gallaudet, NOAA’s assistant secretary and acting undersecretary of commerce for oceans and atmosphere, Matt Brookhart, NOAA’s regional director of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries, and John Armour, the director of the Office of National Marine Sanctuaries.

The officials discussed sanctuaries at the Thunder Bay National Marine Sanctuary Advisory Council meeting on Tuesday.

“He’s the big boss of all of NOAA and was confirmed by the senate in 2017,” Armour said as he introduced Gallaudet. “He’s provided to this agency during this time in transition. He’s been a solid advocate for all of NOAA, in particular sanctuaries. Prior to coming to NOAA, he was in the Navy.”

Gallaudet said he’s very excited to be in Alpena to visit the sanctuary.

He discussed the “Blue Economy” initiative, which was created to help prioritize the great advantages of the oceans and Great Lakes.

“More people are moving to the coasts, we’re seeing a lot of activity,” he said. “It’s a trend we want to ride. Another thing is, fisheries are working to grow. We import 90 percent of the seafood we consume. We’re working with technology transfer to grow fish farming capability in federal waters.”

The other key part to that initiative is tourism and recreation, which sanctuaries such as the one in Thunder Bay help support.

“The transformation that occurred in the city of Alpena over the last decade fosters so much pride,” Gallaudet said. “It’s truly inspiring. What I see as a role model for all our sanctuaries and the important thing we want to do is to expand our sanctuary system.”

During a visit to Alpena earlier this week, U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow said she and U.S. Sen. Gary Peters have secured two years of federal funding for the Thunder Bay sanctuary but were fighting to prevent President Donald Trump’s administration from shrinking the boundaries of the 4,300-square-mile sanctuary.

Gallaudet said he’s very excited to support the sanctuary program and Thunder Bay, in particular.

Jordan Spence can be reached at jspence@thealpenanews.com or 989-358-5687.