Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal - Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean
Original (non-English) name
Acronym
Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal - MARCO
Citation
Abstract
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal is an online toolkit and resource center that consolidates available data and enables state, federal and local users to visualize and analyze ocean resources and human use information such as fishing grounds, recreational areas, shipping lanes, habitat areas, and energy sites, among others.
The portal includes Maps as well as a Data catalogue and links to other data resources.
The Governors of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia in 2009 signed the Mid-Atlantic Governors’ Agreement on Ocean Conservation. The Agreement established the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) as a partnership to address shared regional priorities and provide a collective voice.
With competing demands on our oceans at an all-time high, finding ways to engage all stakeholders in coastal and marine planning has never been more important. The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) recognizes that a robust ocean data and information management system that includes a wide range of human use, environmental, socioeconomic and regulatory data will provide the building blocks for multi-use, regional-scale ocean planning.
The Portal serves as a platform to engage all stakeholders in ocean planning from the five-state Mid-Atlantic region-putting essential data and state-of-the-art mapping and visualization technology into the hands of the agencies, industry, and community leaders.