If you’re not a commercial fisherman, boater or scientist, it’s possible you’ve never heard of the Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System.

Called GoMOOS for short, it’s a real-time coastal ocean observation system.

Visitors to its Web site (www.GoMOOS.org) have access to important information about the Gulf of Maine, including wave height, currents, salinity, visibility and wind speed and direction. The resource gives fishermen up-to-the-minute data that can affect where they fish or lay their lobster pots. It’s also used by the navigators who steer ships through Maine’s coastal waters and recreational boaters hoping to avoid rough seas.

In addition to its economic benefits for the fishing and shipping industries, the information is used by scientists to predict Red Tide and track the effects of global warming and climate change. Its data can also help search and rescue operations predict the location of people or boats lost at sea and the direction and speed that chemical spills could travel.

GoMOOS, which partners with the University of Maine, Bigelow Laboratory for Ocean Sciences and other researchers, also helps integrate data collected by instruments from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration for its users.

Unwisely, GoMOOS’s federal funding is being reduced for next year, creating a $1.5 million gap – $2 million turned into $500,000 – between what it needs to keep its system of buoys, land-based radar, satellite information and computer modeling operating.

According to Charles Spies, GoMOOS’s chief operating officer, the agency hopes to have the lost funding restored in future years, but at this point it is looking for resources to keep going for another year.

As GoMOOS’s CEO Philip Bogden said, “This is the kind of organization that Maine can’t afford to lose. It supports cutting edge innovations in computer science and oceanography.”

Its work is nationally and internationally respected, and its Web site draws more than 1.3 million page views a year.

Funding should be available for an organization that provides science-based jobs, important research data and a user-friendly service that supports vital Maine industries and helps keep people safe. If Maine values GoMOOS, and it should, the Legislature should do what it can to keep the buoys afloat.