Bringing science to bear on coastal decisionmaking

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Bringing science to bear on coastal
decision-making

• Waves of Change
• September 4, 2003
• David Keeley
• Maine State Planning Office

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Issue Society is expecting informed and
science-based decision-making

• Population pressures cause us to live closer
  together
  
• Resources are more finite
• Decision-making needs to be more precise

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Todays Themes

• Coastal Management Vignettes
• Science to Management Needs
• New Tools for the Coastal Ocean

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Setting a National Context -- Patterns of
Development in Maine 1940 - 2050
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Part 1 - Coastal Management Vignettes Bringing
science to bear

• Coastal Dredging regional local
• Public Access to the Shoreline
• Marine Protected Areas
• Working Waterfronts
• Commercial Fisheries
• Coastal Water Quality Shellfish

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Coastal Dredging regional ports

• National security, jobs economic development
• Channel maintenance
• Side-scan sonar, shoals, buoys redeployment

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Coastal Dredging local ports

• Dredging tidal inlets (e.g., sand budgets,
  marshes and the sand on adjacent beaches. Beach
  nourishment/use of dredged materials
  
• Long-term impacts to beaches and dunes from
  repeated maintenance dredging.

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Access to the Shoreline

• Changing land ownership patterns
• Socio-economic research (e.g. user surveys,
  willingness to pay)
  
• Environmental research (carrying capacity)

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Marine Protected Areas

• Effect of dragging on the ocean floor and species
  
  
• 5-year moratorium call for science and
  traditional knowledge
  
• Report to Legislature

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Working Waterfronts

• Public private access for commercial fishing is
  diminishing calls for action
  
• Socio-economic research to preserve working
  waterfront property

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Commercial Fisheries

• Available species data information impedes
  sound decision-making
  
• Inshore trawl survey emerging fisheries research

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Coastal Water Quality Shellfish

• Bacteria levels exceed standards
• Identify specific sources (humans, wildlife,
  etc.)
  
• Targeted management responses (efficiency,
  priority)
  

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Part Two Science to management needs

• Improved dissemination of existing knowledge and
  research
  
• Research on priority coastal ocean management
  issues
  
• Translation of scientific results into
  information managers can use
  
• Building the capacity of local, state and federal
  managers to manage

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Disseminating science

• We are not fully capitalizing on previous
  investments in coastal and marine science
  
• Work with funders, libraries and others to
  harness the information age

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Investing in new research

• Local, state and federal coastal managers need to
  better articulate their leading management issues
  and corresponding research needs
  
• Sponsors of research (State and federal agencies,
  industry, foundations) need to integrate these
  needs into their funding programs

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Turning data into information

• Managers and scientists need to work
  collaboratively to synthesize data into
  information create products of value to
  managers and decision-makers

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Building capacity (teaching them to fish vs.
fishing for them)

• Local and state managers need to routinely invest
  in themselves
  
• Existing mechanisms need to be reinforced
• National estuary, coastal, ocean programs need to
  place a premium on capacity building

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Part Three Investing in new tools for coastal
ocean management

• National effort to strengthen the monitoring of
  coastal ocean trends and conditions
  
• Ocean Commission priority on more informed
  decision-making making the required investment
  
• Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System (GoMOOS) --
  as an example
  

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Coastal Ocean Observing

• Purpose -- Facilitate safe and efficient marine
  operations, ensure national security, ensure
  sustainable food supply, manage ecosystems,
  mitigate natural hazards, and protect public
  health.

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Critical Elements

• Buoys other sensors in the water
• Land-based radar
• Satellites
• Modeling
• Ships of opportunity
• Analysis, synthesis, products

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Why make this investment?

• To provide data and information that serve public
  and private sector needs to
  
• Solve practical problems,
• Predict events,
• Increase public awareness,
• Further understand natural systems
• A Coastal Oceanic Analog of
• the National Weather Service

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User Needs Payback

• Mariners safety, rescue
• Shipping safety efficiency
• Mammals endangered species assessment
• Aquaculture site selection water quality
• Lobster fishing recruitment prediction
• Petroleum Industry spill response
• Shellfishing spat collection, site selection
• Military national security, operations test
  bed
  
• Coastal Management eutrophication
• Commercial Sport Fishing stock assessments
• Research long-term observations, infrastructure

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Ocean Observing Summary

• It will inspire and facilitate research
• Users will justify the investment
• Users need a 24/7 operational system that
  provides useful, timely informationand drives
  research
  
• GoMOOS cost/benefit (3/30)M/year
• A national OOS will only come to pass if Congress
  hears the same request from all regions!
  

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Closing

• Coastal states have many issues in common a
  history of cooperation
  
• We understand why how science can be better
  applied to coastal management issues the
  benefits
  
• We need a consistent and firm statement from the
  Governors to the Ocean Commission on this matter