WEBINAR DETAILS: Interested parties may participate by webinar from 10– 11 a.m. at the following link:

https://monmouth.adobeconnect.com/mdat_workshop/

Participants should call 866-939-9699 (toll free). When prompted enter the Conference ID: (34593).

The Mid Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) and its Portal Team will hold a workshop on August 17 at the National Aquarium in Baltimore to engage scientists, key stakeholders, and the public in development of marine life and habitat data in support of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body’s Ocean Action Plan (OAP). The workshop will provide participants an opportunity to review and provide feedback on the suitability of best available marine data to be used in a draft framework for identifying Ecologically Rich Areas (the framework is Appendix 4 to the draft OAP) and on the framework itself. Stakeholder Input from the workshop will be provided to the Regional Planning Body for their consideration to help guide ongoing work.

Preliminary Agenda

Objectives:

• Review the draft framework for identifying Ecologically Rich Areas (ERA’s)

• Review and discuss a potential range of criteria for illustrating ERA components

• Identify short and longer term opportunities for data development to fill gaps

• Improve understanding of the complexities involved in identifying ERAs

9:30 am Registration opens

10:00 am Welcome and Introductions, Review Agenda

10:15 am Review of Work to Date

• Base data, modeling approaches and synthetic products

• Review draft definitions for ERA framework, components, and criteria

• Illustrating ERA components: initial concepts and examples

• Questions and Answers

11:00 am ERA Components, Process and Integration Roundtables:

1. Areas of high productivity

2. Areas of high biodiversity

3. Areas of high species abundance including areas of spawning, breeding, feeding, and migratory routes

4. Areas of vulnerable marine resources / Areas of rare marine resources

5. Data integration options and Overall ERA development process

12:15 pm Lunch Roundtables –participants share their impressions of the morning’s best ideas and/or biggest concerns. 

1:15 pm ERA Roundtables (1-5 See above)

3:00 pm Break 

3:15 pm Plenary – Present and Integrate Component Roundtable results (as assigned)

4:15 pm Closing Remarks 

4:30 pm Adjourn 

For more information contact Danica Simmons at dsimmons@monmouth.edu.