Navigating the Nation’s Marine Managed Areas: Incorporating Information about Marine Managed Areas into the Nation’s Navigational Products
The National Marine Protected Areas Center and NOAA’s Office of Coast
Survey are working jointly to include information about the nation’s
marine managed areas in the U.S. Coast Pilot® series (produced by NOAA)
to improve safe navigation and coastal stewardship. They have released a
public information document that uses the coast of central California as
a model to demonstrate the approach nationally. The specific content
about California MMAs will be reviewed by the appropriate agencies at a
later date.
Marine managed areas (MMAs) and marine protected areas (MPAs) are common
approaches to place-based ocean management, in which areas of the marine
environment are afforded enhanced legal protections. MMAs, and the often
more restrictive subset of MPAs, have been used widely by federal,
state, local, and tribal governments for decades to protect and conserve
some of the nation’s most important marine areas. Some familiar examples
of MMAs include marine sanctuaries, national parks, and state reserves.
While MMAs are common throughout U.S. waters, they remain poorly
understood by the average mariner.
“The U.S. Coast Pilot® and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration nautical charts are two primary sources mariners use to
keep abreast of coastal issues, such as safe navigation, boating
facilities, and maritime regulations,” said Captain Roger L. Parsons,
director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. “The U.S. Coast Pilot is a
federal government publication that has been in continuous print since
1867.”
A series of nine U.S. Coast Pilot books cover the entire coastline of
the United States. Ships of 1600 or more gross tons are required to
carry both the U.S. Coast Pilot and the local NOAA charts for their
areas of transit. Many smaller ships and boats also carry both the U.S.
Coast Pilot and local U.S. charts for informational purposes, although
they are not required to do so.
To date, only limited information on MMAs has been incorporated into
NOAA’s navigational products, which are focused mainly on safe
navigation. The “Navigating MMAs” project, a joint effort between the
MPA Center and the NOAA Office of Coast Survey, is intended to help the
mariner understand and protect these important marine areas, and as
such, will help fulfill NOAA’s mission to promote safe navigation and
protect the nation’s natural marine environment.
“This project will take several years to complete. Each coastal state
will have its MMA information placed in the appropriate U.S. Coast Pilot
as the information becomes available, and a new U.S. Coast Pilot edition
is printed for that particular section of the coast,” said Joseph
Uravitch, director of the MPA Center. “Even after all states have had
their MMA information included, MMA information will be continuously
updated in the U.S. Coast Pilot as information changes.”
To download a copy of the public information document, go to
http://mpa.gov/virtual_library/Publications/nav-mma-doc-2mb.pdf.
For further information, or to obtain a hi-resolution version, please
contact
Navigating the Nation’s Marine Managed Areas:
Incorporating Information about Marine Managed Areas into the Nation’s Navigational Products
The National Marine Protected Areas Center and NOAA’s Office of Coast
Survey are working jointly to include information about the nation’s
marine managed areas in the U.S. Coast Pilot® series (produced by NOAA)
to improve safe navigation and coastal stewardship. They have released a
public information document that uses the coast of central California as
a model to demonstrate the approach nationally. The specific content
about California MMAs will be reviewed by the appropriate agencies at a
later date.
Marine managed areas (MMAs) and marine protected areas (MPAs) are common
approaches to place-based ocean management, in which areas of the marine
environment are afforded enhanced legal protections. MMAs, and the often
more restrictive subset of MPAs, have been used widely by federal,
state, local, and tribal governments for decades to protect and conserve
some of the nation’s most important marine areas. Some familiar examples
of MMAs include marine sanctuaries, national parks, and state reserves.
While MMAs are common throughout U.S. waters, they remain poorly
understood by the average mariner.
“The U.S. Coast Pilot® and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration nautical charts are two primary sources mariners use to
keep abreast of coastal issues, such as safe navigation, boating
facilities, and maritime regulations,” said Captain Roger L. Parsons,
director of NOAA’s Office of Coast Survey. “The U.S. Coast Pilot is a
federal government publication that has been in continuous print since
1867.”
A series of nine U.S. Coast Pilot books cover the entire coastline of
the United States. Ships of 1600 or more gross tons are required to
carry both the U.S. Coast Pilot and the local NOAA charts for their
areas of transit. Many smaller ships and boats also carry both the U.S.
Coast Pilot and local U.S. charts for informational purposes, although
they are not required to do so.
To date, only limited information on MMAs has been incorporated into
NOAA’s navigational products, which are focused mainly on safe
navigation. The “Navigating MMAs” project, a joint effort between the
MPA Center and the NOAA Office of Coast Survey, is intended to help the
mariner understand and protect these important marine areas, and as
such, will help fulfill NOAA’s mission to promote safe navigation and
protect the nation’s natural marine environment.
“This project will take several years to complete. Each coastal state
will have its MMA information placed in the appropriate U.S. Coast Pilot
as the information becomes available, and a new U.S. Coast Pilot edition
is printed for that particular section of the coast,” said Joseph
Uravitch, director of the MPA Center. “Even after all states have had
their MMA information included, MMA information will be continuously
updated in the U.S. Coast Pilot as information changes.”
To download a copy of the public information document, go to
http://mpa.gov/virtual_library/Publications/nav-mma-doc-2mb.pdf.
For further information, or to obtain a hi-resolution version, please
contact