Ocean and Coastal Ecosystem HealthWhy is Ocean and Coastal Ecoystem Health a NROC Priority?
The Northeastern U.S. coast is a rich and diverse place, from the shallow sea of Long Island Sound to the beaches of Cape Cod, and the rocky shores and complex circulatory patterns of the Gulf of Maine. These ecosystems have abundant resources and have supported coastal communities for generations; for example, fish landings and associated activities contribute over $800 million annually to the regional economy. But these valuable ecosystems are vulnerable.
The impacts of increasing human uses including many new industrial uses, and the effects of fractured management are showing in degraded water quality, depleted fish stocks, and damaged habitat, as evidenced by documented “dead zones” in the Long Island Sound and decreased anadromous fisheries in the Gulf of Maine. The New England states have also identified the links between human activity on the land with the health of our coasts and estuaries with each state having a NOAA-approved coastal nonpoint source pollution plan.
The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy identified ecosystem-based management (EBM) as necessary to protecting the ecological and economic value of coastal ecosystems. This management approach emphasizes ecological rather than political boundaries, since fish and pollutants do not recognize different jurisdictions, and seeks to incorporate scientific information, adaptive management, protecting biodiversity, and participatory, understandable governance into public sector and eventually private sector, decision-making. As our oceans come under increasing stress from the effects of climate change, it is essential to move towards an EBM approach that can utilize regional information and better protect intact, healthy marine ecosystems. The keys to successful EBM are: Possessing adequate information to understand the interrelated nature of ocean and coastal systems, linking that information through modeling and analysis to management and policy decisions, and creating the governance structures to carry-out and sustain those decisions.
Literally thousands of people are working to protect and restore coastal and ocean ecosystem health in the Northeastern U.S. As such, we are uniquely positioned to take a regional ecosystem approach by applying experience from the Long Island Sound Study, Gulf of Maine Council and the region’s scientific and policy expertise. The issues surrounding coastal and ocean ecosystem health are pervasive across all the ocean management issues identified as NROC priorities. Because there are so many people, agencies and organizations already working on the coastal and ocean ecosystem health, NROC’s role should be to enhance communication and collaboration amongst these parties, advocate for what is collectively determined to be the highest priority regional actions, and to help articulate a common vision for management and restoration.
The states have identified four areas of focus within coastal and ocean ecosystem health:
1) Linking observations to management decision-making,
2) enhanced data collection, integration and dissemination, and
3) better governance, coordination and communication.
Towards these ends, NROC should lead efforts that improve regional data and information gathering, apply that information to management decisions, and improve regional governance and coordination.
Ocean and Coastal Ecosystem Health Committee Information
