By KENNY WALTER
Staff Writer
WEST LONG BRANCH — Stakeholders and environmentalists were given the first look at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan, a multi-jurisdictional plan aimed at improving communications between government entities.
John Kennedy, director of the Mid-Atlantic Gateway at U.S. Maritime Administration, said during the July 14 open house that was held at Monmouth University that the plan will allow a better understanding of the Atlantic Ocean, including its environmental sensitivity, work being done and wildlife.
“This is all about us working together,” he said. “There is a lot under sea that we need to make sure of, so when a ship goes to anchor it is not going to tear up some animals or some pipeline.
“We are looking to improve the communication, because even though there is a line on the map that says it is someone else’s jurisdiction, fish aren’t aware of that.”
Kevin Hassell, coordinator of the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection’s Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning, said the aim of the plan is to have the different government agencies involved in the Atlantic Ocean on the same page.
“It’s really about coordination and collaboration — there’s no new regulations, we have no new authority,” he said. “Basically, the whole process is about how we implement our existing authorities and coordinate with different agencies.”
The plan, which encompasses the area between New York and Virginia out to 200 nautical miles, will include laws and plans from all levels of government.
“There is no single management entity responsible for comprehensive, integrated stewardship of our domestic ocean,” the executive summary states. “Responsibilities for ocean management are distributed among numerous federal, state and tribal entities and include hundreds of laws, regulations and policies.
“The distributed system poses challenges to managers striving for efficient, informed and coordinated decision-making. These challenges are increasing as society seeks to accommodate new and expanding ocean uses while simultaneously protecting the health of a rapidly changing natural system.”
The report states that in recent years there has been a growing effort to manage human interactions with marine systems using a more holistic and coordinated approach.
“Because our oceans are managed by so many agencies at various levels of government and ocean waters, marine life and ocean users regularly move across jurisdictional boundaries, improved information sharing and coordinated planning at regional scales are particularly important for ensuring the health and sustainable use of our marine ecosystems.”
The goals of the plan, according to the executive summary, is to improve the understanding on how the ocean waters and resources are being used, managed and conserved; to provide a forum for identifying coordinated actions to address regionally important ocean management challenges; and to engage stakeholders and regional partners to ensure the full breadth of perspectives is accounted for in ocean planning.
The plan will include best practices to inform coordination and the use of data and information.
The plan will also have actions to promote a healthy ocean ecosystem, such as identifying ecologically rich areas and map shifts in ocean species and habitats; developing a mid-Atlantic Ocean acidification monitoring network and a regionally appropriate strategy for marine debris reduction; and seeking indicators of a healthy ocean ecosystem and incorporating traditional knowledge of Tribes regarding ocean health.
The plan will also include actions to foster sustainable ocean uses for national security, ocean energy, commercial and recreational fishing, ocean aquaculture, maritime commerce and navigation, offshore sand management, non-consumptive recreation, tribal uses and critical undersea infrastructure.
Another portion of the plan is an online portal that agencies can log into.
“The data portal really is the heart of this activity because what we’re trying to do is provide the framework for good decision-making,” Kennedy said.
Comments can be submitted via email at midatlanticRPB@boem.gov or by mail to Robert P. LaBelle, Federal Co-Lead, Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body, BOEM, 45600 Woodland Road, Mailstop: VAM-BOEM DIR., Sterling, VA 20166.
The comment period will close on Sept. 6, and the final plan will be submitted to the National Ocean Council for concurrence in the fall.
