Ocean Planning in the Northeast

There are several opportunities for direct input and participation in Northeast RPB deliberations:

• Public input at Northeast RPB meetings: At its formal meetings, the RPB has ensured time for public comment as specific topics are discussed. RPB meetings are scheduled by considering other existing meetings to avoid potential conflicts and maximize attendance. The RPB also accepts written comments, and such correspondence is made available to the entire RPB and posted online. The RPB has adjusted the way it conducts its meetings in response to public input and will continue to seek input to ensure that its formal meetings are appropriately conducted.
• Public meetings at key decision points: During the drafting of regional ocean planning goals and objectives, the RPB held a series of ten public meetings (at least one in each New England state) to enable participation in the critical step of goal-setting. These meetings were less formal than RPB meetings, allowing for more direct interaction with individual RPB members. The RPB will conduct such meetings in the future at critical decision points in the ocean planning process (see below for information on Upcoming Events and Past Meetings; materials are also posted online).
• Input through state advisory entities:  RPB state members are using existing advisory entities to provide input into the regional planning process. For example:
  • The Massachusetts Ocean Advisory Commission (formally set up as part of the MA Ocean Management Plan process, pursuant to the MA Oceans Act) and the stakeholder advisory panel for the Rhode Island Special Area Management Plan receive updates and discuss regional ocean planning periodically.
  • New Hampshire’s Port Advisory Committee and Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee periodically have regional planning updates and discussions.
  • In Maine, Northeast RPB members have organized an advisory group to discuss regional ocean planning.
  • In Connecticut, existing forums are also being used, such as the state’s Maritime Commission.
• Input online: The Northeast RPB also solicits public input through its website. For example, preliminary draft goals and actions (discussed during the May-June 2013 public meetings) were posted online with an online comment form.

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Engagement is a key aspect of many individual projects, providing opportunities to discuss important ocean planning details. Examples include:

• Commercial fisheries mapping: This project has included more than 50 meetings to date with commercial fishermen, scientists, and managers throughout New England. The approach will continue to be using existing meetings wherever possible (New England Fishery Management Council, state advisory boards, fishing sector meetings, state-specific association meetings, etc.) The purpose of these meetings is to review draft products related to commercial fishing (e.g., approaches to depicting the activity of certain fisheries), identify concerns, and discuss ocean planning issues overall. Future phases of the mapping effort will continue these types of interactions. Work to date has focused on the charter/for-hire portion of the fishery in New England. Future efforts will focus on identifying and implementing projects to appropriately depict recreational fishing activity. The approach would be to engage members of the recreational fishery in scoping and implementing any such project, potentially through partnership with the New England states and SeaPlan.

• Recreational boating survey: In partnership with SeaPlan, this project was designed and implemented with the recreational boating industry (such as Marine Trades Associations and other such organizations in each state). Thousands of boaters in the region participated in the survey that resulted in important products and key feedback for ocean planning.  A series of workshops was held in April 2013 in New England states to review draft survey results and discuss regional ocean planning. Further engagement with the industry will build upon this work.

  Building on this work, in winter 2015, the RPB launched a project to characterize multiple recreational activities in the Northeast, gathering data about where, when, and how people recreate along the coast and in the ocean. Along with input from industry experts (operators and event organizers), stakeholder groups, and an RPB project steering committee, this study is being led by a project team that includes Point 97, SeaPlan, and the Surfrider Foundation.

• Engagement of maritime commerce, energy, and aquaculture sectors:  A series of work sessions was held with New England representatives of these three economic sectors in December 2012. The sessions followed an extensive effort to engage these industries, including  39 individual interviews to help frame engagement. The work sessions, attended by more than 150 people, were designed to discuss regional ocean planning issues and to help develop information characterizing the industries (maps and related data).
• Natural resources characterization:  Through a series of meetings with environmental nongovernmental organizations in each New England state, the environmental advocacy community has been engaged to discuss potential issues for regional ocean planning to address. Additionally, on a parallel timeline, marine scientists in the region are being engaged to identify potential data related to natural resources, and to provide guidance on potential map products depicting natural resource distribution and abundance.Next steps for this work, will include regional workshops bringing resource scientists, environmental organizations, and other interested parties together to discuss potential methodologies for product development.
• Other recreation interests: Through a partnership with Surfrider, other recreational interests beyond boating were engaged throughout the last six months of 2013. This effort had two main purposes: first, to reach out to recreational interests (dive clubs, wildlife viewing, non-motorized boating clubs, and others) to provide information on the regional ocean planning effort and opportunities to be engaged; and second, to explore potential project ideas for obtaining potential additional information related to these interests (e.g., mapping areas of importance). Next steps for this work include scoping and implementing specific project(s) to better characterize recreational activity. Recreational fishing will be the focus of additional work as well (see ”Commercial fisheries mapping” above).

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For general communication, the Northeast RPB uses its website and email list of interested parties as additional vehicles to inform the public of progress, products, upcoming events, and other news. Contractor support through ERG is used to ensure that website content is up to date and timely. The Northeast RPB is also developing a series of fact sheets describing specific projects and the ocean planning effort overall to hand out at meetings and events. These outreach efforts are informed by an overall communications strategy that includes the rationale, intended audience, and focus for each communications vehicle. This strategy also enables the Northeast RPB and ocean planning staff to periodically assess its success, and the success of specific communications vehicles, in meeting the overall goal for an open, transparent process (see “Formal input and participation in the work of the Northeast RPB”).

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