Ocean Zone News Blog

By Juliet Eilperin

From the Washington Post; printed in the Boston Globe

WASHINGTON — Partisan battles are engulfing the ­nation’s ocean policy, showing that polarization over environmental issues does not stop at the water’s edge.

Presentation on Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan Use of Decision Support Tools by Nick Napoli and Stephanie Moura of the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership

The Massachusetts Ocean Partnership is developing and applying several tools to support decision making during the implementation of and updates to the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan. The tools include the Cumulative Impacts model and an ecosystem services tradeoff model developed by the University of California at Santa Barbara, the MIMES ecosystem service model developed by the University of Vermont and Boston University, and the MIDAS decision
support interface developed by Boston University. This webinar will provide an overview of these tools, why they were selected, a demonstration of draft and final products, and how they are being applied in Massachusetts. We will also provide some lessons and recommendations for their continued development and potential application within the marine spatial planning context. Learn more about the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership and its work at http://massoceanpartnership.org/.

Editor’s Note:  Germany and the UK are reluctant to sign on to the European ocean zoning  plan.  “Some (United Kingdom and Germany) also expressed misgivings about maritime spatial planning, pointing out that this is a national competence and that subsidiarity applies. Reluctance was also voiced over the social aspect, a “weakness” highlighted by France. But “this dimension is de facto included in the text,” explained Barroso, because “growth and employment are its key elements”. On maritime safety, barely mentioned, Christofias explained that “this question is the competence of the Transport Council, not the IMP”.

From: Euro Politics

From: Isleofman.com

Members of the public are being asked for their views on how proposed marine developments in the Irish Sea should be discussed and agreed.

The Isle of Man Marine Plan aims to provide a strategic approach to the use of the marine environment, taking into account economic, environmental and social issues.

A major factor of the plan is the development of a simple process for applications for marine developments in Manx territorial waters . . which account for 87% of the Island’s total territory.

Offshore energy production is seen as a potentially lucrative income stream for the Manx economy in years to come.

Editors Note: This is an example of how coastal and marine spatial planning is not being implemented as a comprehensive planning tool as it was intended.  Instead marine spatial planning is unequally weighted towards conservation efforts.

From: Fis.com

The Southern Cook Islands Government has committed to a 1 million sqkm marine park — almost twice the size of France and the largest single marine park in the world. At a major international meeting in Abu Dhabi this week, Prime Minister Henry Puna challenged the international community to support developing countries, such as the Cook Islands, which have vowed to protect the oceans.