Marine Cadastre Outcomes

Development of the MarineCadastre.gov began in 2007. The following examples illustrate how marine cadastre is used.

  • The Northeast Ocean Data Portal draws much of its data from MarineCadastre.gov. The Portal integrates these data with regional data sets to support regional-scale planning.

    The Northeast Ocean Data Portal draws much of its data from MarineCadastre.gov. The Portal integrates these data with regional data sets to support regional-scale planning.

    The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal contains a compilation of data to inform regional marine planning from New York to Virginia. To inform such regional planning efforts, authoritative federal spatial data were also required. The MARCO Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal directly accesses federal data that are produced, maintained, and made available through marine cadastre. By using web services from marine cadastre, the MARCO project team reduced the costs associated with collecting and processing spatial data, while providing state, regional, and local practitioners with the most accurate information.

  • A similar effort is underway in the Northeast. The Northeast Ocean Data Portal is a decision support and information system for managers, planners, scientists and project proponents involved in marine planning. The Portal provides access to data, interactive maps, tools, and other information needed for decision making. Some of the data in the Portal are drawn from marine cadastre, and the Portal integrates these data with regional data sets into a format that is useful for regional-scale planning.
  • The marine cadastre project team is working closely with the National Ocean Council, regional planning bodies, and other agencies to develop systems for storing and distributing data required for marine planning.

Next Steps

Currently, marine cadastre does not contain enough biodiversity data to support multi-objective planning efforts intended to address conservation. Following the success of the pilot project with biodiversity data from the eastern United States, The Nature Conservancy is collaborating with federal partners toward integrating more biodiversity data. Adding these trusted data is essential for marine cadastre to support implementation of marine planning and other elements of the U.S. National Ocean Policy, which mandates multi-objective planning encompassing conservation. Based on this pilot project, the following are among the key recommendations:

  • Trusted sources can provide value-added marine habitat and biodiversity data combined from disparate sources to fill authoritative source data gaps.
  • Trusted data sources can represent academic research, synthesis of academic and government research, or compiled information from stakeholders. Including these sources of information in marine planning processes will be required to effectively meet management objectives for diverse marine resource uses.
  • Incorporating marine habitat and biodiversity information into marine planning applications such as marine cadastre can help influence the planning process to include multiple management objectives. The Nature Conservancy’s regional planning work can influence CMSP at different levels, including (a) processes that focus on a conservation objective (e.g., Marine Life Protection Act), (b) processes that focus on energy objectives (e.g., MarineCadastre.gov), and (c) processes that consider multiple management objectives, such as conservation and energy (e.g., Venezuela case study).

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