The Council has long had an interest in the successful operation and maintenance of weather buoys installed in Prince William Sound (PWS). There have been multiple instances where weather buoys have failed and they have not been serviced in a timely manner.
Committee members and PWS mariners have questioned the location of the West Orca Bay buoy and many believe the buoy should have been installed in a location closer to Naked Island. There was also a desire to transmit near real-time weather data via Automated Identification System (AIS) so it would be immediately available to vessels in the area. The goal of the project was for PWSRCAC to work with the Prince William Sound Science Center (PWSSC) and Micro Specialties Inc. to develop and install a weather buoy at 60.667469N 147.186615W near Naked Island. Data would be disseminated in near real-time via the internet (and if possible, by AIS).