The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Ocean Data Portals, in coordination with the Northeast Regional Habitat Assessment (NRHA) and the Marine-life Data and Analysis Team (MDAT), recently released a series of maps that illustrate the relative abundance of severa…
The Portal’s Artificial Reefs map has been updated to include several new and expanded installations along the coasts of New York and Virginia.
In collaboration with a team of researchers based at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and San Diego State University, the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal has added new data products that show how habitat use of highly migratory species has changed …
A new Aquaculture theme on the Portal contains nine maps showing areas along the Mid-Atlantic coast where aquaculture activities are permitted or managed by state authorities. The maps were assembled by MARCO in consultation with the Mid-Atlantic states t…
The following are news releases issued by MARCO partner organizations related to ocean planning topics in the Mid-Atlantic region.
A collection of 240 new maps on the Portal shows monthly surface readings over five years for four parameters that are instrumental for determining acidification levels and events in coastal and ocean waters.
Updated 1/27/26The Mid-Atlantic and Northeast Ocean Data Portals, in coordination with the Northeast Regional Habitat Assessment (NRHA) and the Marine-life Data and Analysis Team (MDAT), have released new maps that illustrate the relative abundance of sev…
Take a tour of the Portal’s deep library of fishing data in a special edition of our "How Tuesday" webinar series held on Nov. 25.
Updated 11/25/25Navigating the Portal’s fishing data just got easier. Our deep collection of maps showing commercial fishing activities and management areas has been reorganized into a new and improved Fishing theme, now available in Marine Planner.
UPDATE 10/12/25: Coast Guard District Northeast closed the period for providing comments to the Coastal Buoy Modernization Proposal (CBMP) advertised in the Local Notice to Mariners (LNM) and directly solicited from stakeholders on October 21, 2025. The C…
A series of new maps based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data show monthly and annual traffic patterns for several types of vessels in 2024.
View areas that have been designated or proposed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) as critical habitat for endangered and threatened bird species with a pair of new map layers on the Portal.
Nine new maps on the Portal show ocean areas, coastal rivers and watersheds along the East Coast that have been designated or proposed as critical habitat for endangered and threatened species by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Natio…
The June 2025 edition of our "How Tuesday" webinar series provided an introductory tour of the Portal's data, tools and features. The session was hosted by Karl Vilacoba of Monmouth University's Urban Coast Institute.
A new map on the Portal shows modifications proposed by U.S. Coast Guard District 1 to its aids to navigation (AtoN) meant to modernize the constellation of coastal buoys throughout New England and the northern reaches of the Mid-Atlantic. Public comment …
BlueTopo, a compilation of the nation's best available bathymetric data, was recently extended to cover Mid-Atlantic waters and can now be viewed on the Portal. Created as an extension of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Off…
Zooplankton are a group of tiny animals that contribute to the base of marine food webs. NROC and MARCO have collaborated in the past with the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center and experts throughout the region to display zooplankton data products f…
Six new data layers display the outputs of geostatistical models that estimate the probability of five geologic and one biogenic substrate types being present at a 250-meter resolution.
You can now view Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal maps on an iPhone or Android device quickly and easily, wherever you may be. The new Portal app was designed to serve as a streamlined, mobile friendly version of the Portal’s “Marine Planner” GIS web app, w…
To visualize and characterize shifts in North Atlantic right whale distribution, the Marine-life Data & Analysis Team (MDAT) has developed a new dataset that has been added to the marine life libraries on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal and Northeast O…
New marine life models show the predicted habitat suitability between 1990-2090 for six species of sharks and large fishes. The model outputs can be viewed by clicking on the Highly Migratory Species Habitat Suitability – Past and Future Sliders in the Po…
Three new map layers in Marine Planner provide a snapshot of the prevalence of balloon litter among the many types of plastic marine debris found on beaches throughout the Mid-Atlantic.
The Portal will undergo scheduled maintenance beginning the week of Dec. 16 until early in the new year. During this time you may experience slower than usual load times and other issues.
A new collection of map layers showing National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-designated Habitat Areas of Particular Concern (HAPC) for seven fish species and groups on the East Coast are now available on the Portal. The purpose of HAPCs is to fo…
A trio of new map layers on the Portal provide a detailed view of navigation channels maintained by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE). The Channel Area, Channel Reach and Channel Quarter layers can be found in the Portal’s Maritime theme by clickin…
The Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council (MAFMC) and the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission’s (ASMFC) Summer Flounder, Scup, and Black Sea Bass Board are jointly developing a framework/addendum to consider potential changes to two exemptions t…
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is seeking public comment through Oct. 21 on a call for information and nominations for a second regional offshore wind energy sale in the Central Atlantic, known as “Central Atlantic 2.” A map showing the boun…
A pair of map layers added to the Portal show areas used by the Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) for the placement and extraction of sand and sediments for dredging and beneficial reuse projects. The USACE National Sediment Management Framework Borrow Area…
Eight new data layers were recently added to the Portal’s Administrative, Water Quality and Oceanography themes. MARCO thanks our data-sharing partners for these additions.
Two areas in the Central Atlantic that will be auctioned by the Bureau of Offshore Energy Management (BOEM) in an Aug. 14 offshore wind energy lease sale can be viewed on the Portal. The BOEM Central Atlantic Final Sale Notice of OCS-A 0557 (A-2) and OCS-…
The June 25 edition of our How Tuesday webinar series provided an introductory lesson on the Portal’s data, tools and features. The webinar was hosted by Portal Project Manager Karl Vilacoba of Monmouth University's Urban Coast Institute.
Two new commercial fisheries datasets are now available in the Portal’s Fishing theme. Both datasets were developed and integrated into the Portal at the request of the commercial fishing industry and fishery managers on the Atlantic coast. Managers and i…
A series of new maps based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data show monthly and annual traffic patterns for several types of vessels in 2023.
(Updated May 21 to include seasonal data information.)Two new data slider features on the Portal show average monthly and seasonal wind speeds throughout the Mid-Atlantic region at near-surface and the approximate hub height of offshore wind turbines.
The North Atlantic right whale models in the Portal’s Marine Life Library were recently featured in a new scientific paper in the journal Marine Ecology Progress Series. The publication documents the first-ever use of acoustic data to evaluate and confirm…
Through a collaboration with the Marine-life Data & Analysis Team (MDAT), the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal and Northeast Ocean Data Portal have updated their marine life libraries to include updated marine bird distribution model data products devel…
The following updates were recently made to the Portal’s Renewable Energy theme.
(This article was updated March 25 with info on a new public comment deadline and public meeting date.)The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking public comment through May 17 on a proposal to establish a network of shipping safety fairways along the East Coast. The…
Our March 19 "How Tuesday" webinar provided a tour of the Portal’s coastal and ocean acidification monitoring sites maps and an overview of acidification in the Mid-Atlantic.
In addition to the many updates reported in our News section, the following data additions and enhancements were recently made to the Portal.
In collaboration with the NOAA Fisheries staff, the Marine-life Data & Analysis Team (MDAT) developed new data products that depict the total abundance and species richness of marine mammals in the western North Atlantic (U.S. East Coast) that are vulnera…
A new map on the Portal shows the locations of port facilities that are currently in use or are expected to accommodate offshore wind farm development in the Mid-Atlantic region.
Two areas in the Central Atlantic proposed by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) for offshore wind energy lease sales in 2024 can now be viewed in Marine Planner. The new BOEM Central Atlantic Proposed Lease Sale Areas of OCS-A 0557 (A-2) and OC…
In September of 2023, through a collaboration with the Marine-life Data & Analysis Team (MDAT), the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast ocean data portals expanded their marine life data collections to include new sea turtle surface density model data products…
View the places at sea, in coastal waterways and estuaries where the waters are being monitored for signs of increasing acidity with a collection of maps in Marine Planner.The Portal’s acidification-related maps can be found by clicking on the “Acidificat…
Our Nov. 14 webinar offered a beginner's tour of the Portal's data, tools and features. The session was hosted by Karl Vilacoba, Portal project manager. For additional editions of our How Tuesday series, visit our Webinars page.
Three map layers showing sanctuaries for blue crabs, oysters and submerged aquatic vegetation in the Chesapeake Bay and along Virginia’s shoreline have been added to the Portal’s new Conservation theme.
A series of new maps on the Portal show the sites of thousands of sea turtle strandings reported from 2000 through 2020 from Maine to Virginia. The maps were created from data maintained and provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration …
On Sept. 26, 2023, NOAA Fisheries published a Proposed Rule to implement the New England Fishery Management Council’s Framework Adjustment that would identify a Habitat Area of Particular Concern (HAPC) offshore of Southern New England. This rule would ad…
In addition to the many updates reported in our News section, the following data additions and enhancements were recently made to the Portal.
A new Conservation theme has been created in Marine Planner to highlight areas where ocean and coastal conservation measures are proposed or currently in place in the Mid-Atlantic.
The Sept. 19 edition of the Portal’s “How Tuesday” webinar series highlighted two state tools serving coastal and ocean data: the new-and-improved New York State Geographic Information Gateway and Virginia Coastal GEMS. The session featured demos and tips…
Through a collaboration with the Marine-life Data & Analysis Team (MDAT), the Northeast Ocean Data Portal and Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal have expanded their marine life map collections to include new sea turtle surface density model data products …
A map showing three final Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Central Atlantic Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) off the coasts of Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia can now be viewed on the Portal.
(Updated 7/26/23)In addition to the many updates reported in the News section, the following data additions and enhancements were recently made to the Portal.
Take an online cruise through thousands of miles of coastal water trails in the Mid-Atlantic with a collection of interactive maps in the Portal’s Recreation theme.Ten new maps show the routes for publicly designated and accessible water trails in coastal…
Find a nearby ramp to launch your boat with a new collection of interactive maps showing the locations of hundreds of publicly accessible facilities along the Mid-Atlantic coast.Portal users can click on the “Boat Ramps” dropdown in the Recreation theme f…
A new map in the Portal’s Oceanography theme models typical wave heights, directions and intervals at sea and in major estuaries from Maine to Florida.
View monthly and annual traffic patterns for several types of vessels in 2022 with a series of new maps based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.
In collaboration with the Northeast Regional Council on the Ocean and the Marine life Data & Analysis Team (MDAT), the cetacean data products on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal have been updated to reflect the latest model outputs developed by the …
On April 25, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) announced the publication of the Gulf of Maine’s Call for Information and Nominations (Call). The Call invites public comment on, and assesses interest in, possible commercial wind energy developme…
The Portal’s Unexploded Ordnance Areas and Unexploded Ordnance Locations map layers have been replaced by a new Munitions and Explosives of Concern (MEC) layer, now available in the Security theme. The map, first published by MarineCadastre.gov, consolida…
The Coast Guard is seeking public comment on an update to its Consolidated Port Approaches and International Entry and Departure Transit Areas Port Access Route Studies (CPAPARS). The CPAPARS includes a series of recommendations and alternatives for shipp…
Five new maps showing the proposed locations for offshore wind energy infrastructure such as turbines, transmission cables, and substations throughout the region can now be viewed on the Portal. The map layers present the most up-to-date publicly availabl…
A two-part mini-series of “Ocean Stories” features on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal offers an educational look at the basics of offshore wind energy transmission siting.
Portal project manager Karl Vilacoba demonstrated how to use the site's interactive maps to get acquainted with the Hudson Canyon during a Jan. 31 Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean webinar on marine sanctuaries. The canyon is currently under…
A new map in the Portal’s Socioeconomic theme reveals which of the region’s coastal counties see the greatest spikes in summer employment tied to ocean tourism. The Ratio of Summer Peak to Off Peak Leisure & Hospitality Sector Employment map layer is …
Seventeen new map layers showing seasonal averages for net primary productivity (NPP) from Newfoundland, Canada, to northern Florida have been added to Marine Planner. With the latest additions, the Portal’s collection of NPP map layers now covers every s…
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is seeking public comment on a group of eight draft wind energy areas (WEA) under consideration from Delaware to North Carolina. Portal users can view and analyze the areas, which cover approximately 1.75 milli…
Nine new commercial fishing vessel activity data products are now available. These are the result of a multiyear collaboration among the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC), the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO), and the Responsible O…
Registered Portal users can now import GIS files from their desktops in addition to drawing and saving polygons, multi-segment lines and points with the Shapes tool, accessible via a quick start button and in the MyPlanner tab in Marine Planner. The tool,…
Learn about the volumes, sources and sites of wastewater discharge in the ocean and its tributaries with three new map layers available on the Portal. The Wastewater Outfalls and Discharge Flow, Wastewater Outfall Pipes, and Wastewater Facilities maps can…
The Portal’s Maritime theme now includes a pair of maps showing the routes of Marine Highways designated by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) and the locations of marine roll-on/roll-off facilities throughout the region.
NOAA Fisheries is proposing changes to the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis) vessel speed regulations to further reduce the likelihood of mortalities and serious injuries to endangered right whales from vessel collisions, which are a leadin…
We’re pleased to announce the following recent data additions and updates to the Portal.
The Submarine Cables and Pipelines map collection found in the Portal's Maritime theme has been reorganized to reflect the receipt of updated federal data. As part of these changes, the NASCA Submarine Telecom Cables and NOAA Charted Submarine Teleco…
Registered Portal users can now display a wider selection of map data types from outside websites on Marine Planner using the Map Layer Import Tool. The improved tool also now allows for imported map layers to be saved in the MyPlanner tab along with book…
View the most popular areas for whale and dolphin watch tourism off the Mid-Atlantic coast with a new map in the Portal’s Recreation theme.
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal has published a series of new maps charting the locations of marine mammal stranding events reported over the course of two decades from Virginia to Maine. The maps were created with data maintained by the National Ocean…
The June 2022 edition of our How Tuesday webinar series offered a beginner lesson on the Portal's data, tools and features. The session was hosted by Portal Project Manager Karl Vilacoba of Monmouth University's Urban Coast Institute.
Over the past year, the Marine life Data & Analysis Team (MDAT) and the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC)-Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) Marine Life Fish Work Group collaborated on new fish biomass data products derived from …
Portal users can study annual and monthly vessel traffic patterns from 2021 with a series of new maps based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has published a Call for Information and Nominations to assess commercial interest in and obtain public input on potential wind energy leasing activities in federal waters of the Central Atlantic. An interactiv…
A map showing the boundary for the U.S. Coast Guard-led Approaches to Maine, New Hampshire, and Massachusetts Port Access Route Study (MNMPARS) is now viewable on the Portal.
A Sand Resources map added to the Portal shows offshore areas where sediments usable for projects such as beach nourishment, shore protection and coastal wetlands restoration may exist. The map was created by the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management …
The cetacean data products developed by the Marine life Data & Analysis Team (MDAT), including all summary products, now include the latest North Atlantic right whale models developed by the Duke University Marine Geospatial Ecology Lab (MGEL). In add…
An anchorage area first proposed by the Coast Guard in 2020 to accommodate vessels near the approaches of the Cape Fear River in North Carolina has been amended and can now be viewed on the Portal.
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal has assembled a new Indigenous Nations, Communities & Cultures map collection to assist with ocean planning and increase awareness of the region’s deep American Indian heritage and history.
The First Coast Guard District has completed a Northern New York Bight Port Access Route Study (NNYBPARS) to evaluate the adequacy of existing vessel routing measures and determine whether additional ones are necessary for port approaches to New York and …
The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) is seeking public input on a newly released BOEM Central Atlantic DRAFT Call for Information and Nominations Area, which can now be viewed on the Portal.
A new BOEM NY Bight Final Sale Notice Areas (2022) map shows six areas off the New Jersey-New York coast that will be up for bid in a federal offshore wind energy lease sale on Feb. 23.
Two new data layers showing the Mid-Atlantic’s robust network of ferry routes and terminals have been added to the Maritime theme in Marine Planner. Both datasets are provided and maintained by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Bureau of Transportat…
In collaboration with the University of Massachusetts School of Marine Science and Technology (SMAST) and Northeast Ocean Data Portal, a new map has been published on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal that shows the results of a multi-year survey to char…
A new map layer depicting the first satellite tracks of the endangered black-capped petrel has been added to the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal in collaboration with the U.S. Geological Survey South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, U.…
Our 11/16/21 edition of the Portal’s “How Tuesday” webinar series provided a tutorial on using Groups and the Portal’s other advanced tools.
Registered Portal users can now create and save lines, points and polygons with the improved Drawings tool, accessible via a new quick start button in Marine Planner.
Maritime industries, government agencies, researchers and members of the public will have access to improved oceanographic data through a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System…
MARCO and MARACOOS have published a series of new maps on the Portal that estimate average monthly sea bottom temperatures in ocean and estuarine areas from Nova Scotia to Cape Hatteras.
Portal Groups offer co-workers, classmates and like-minded users an easy way to share saved maps and drawings and collaborate on projects. With Portal Groups, you can eliminate the hassle of emailing links back and forth or creating Google Docs with long …
Portal users can now examine a network of shipping safety routes and anchorage grounds recommended by the U.S. Coast Guard’s recently published Port Access Route Study: Seacoast of New Jersey Including Offshore Approaches to the Delaware Bay, Delaware dra…
In collaboration with the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center Passive Acoustic Research Program and the Regional Wildlife Science Entity (RWSE), the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal and Northeast Ocean Data Portal have added data layers to represent the…
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal, in coordination with the Marine-life Data and Analysis Team (MDAT), the NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), OceanAdapt, and the Northeast Ocean Data Portal, announce the release of updated maps depicting th…
In the Sept. 14 edition of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal’s “How Tuesday” webinar series, presented in partnership with the Coast Guard and Northeast Regional Ocean Council, Coast Guard personnel presented information on findings, public comment oppor…
The U.S. Coast Guard has published a Northern New York Bight Port Access Route Study (NNYBPARS) draft report that recommends a series of routing measures designed to accommodate vessels heading to and from the New York Harbor area and around proposed offs…
Our June 29, 2021, "How Tuesday" webinar offered an introductory tutorial on the Portal's interactive maps and features. The session was hosted by Karl Vilacoba of the Portal Technical Team and Monmouth University's Urban Coast Institu…
The U.S. Coast Guard has announced the availability of a draft report for its Port Access Route Study (PARS) for the Approaches to the Chesapeake Bay, which was first launched in November 2019. A new map layer on the Portal shows a network of shipping saf…
A pair of new maps showing the areas of a proposed Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) offshore wind energy lease sale in the New York Bight have been added to the Portal’s Renewable Energy theme.
Portal users can study annual and monthly vessel traffic patterns from 2020 with a series of new maps based on Automatic Identification System (AIS) data.
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal has added 350 interactive map layers that model annual and monthly impacts of fishing gear on the seafloor as well as the types of sediments commonly found along the bottom of ocean areas and estuaries throughout the reg…
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal has made several major updates to its collection of maps of fisheries management areas and closures based on feedback received from fisheries managers and industry members. The feedback was gathered as part of a collabor…
On April 12, the U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) posted a supplemental notice of study to seek additional information related to the notice of study that was published on June 29, 2020, regarding the Northern New York Bight Port Access Route Study (NNYBPARS). Fol…
Portal users can now view and analyze a 15-square-mile anchorage area proposed by the U.S. Coast Guard to accommodate future vessel traffic to port facilities in New York and New Jersey. The USCG Proposed Ambrose Anchorage Ground can be accessed by clicki…
The Portal’s BOEM Wind Planning Areas map has been updated to include nearly 800,000 acres of newly designated Wind Energy Areas (WEAs) in the New York Bight, between Long Island and the New Jersey coast. The map can be found by clicking on the Planning a…
A new theme has been created to house and provide more direct access to the Portal’s growing collection of Seafloor Habitat maps, recognizing the importance of understanding seafloor characteristics as an important driver of ecological processes and an im…
The Portal’s growing collection of maps depicting water pollution and changes in ocean chemistry are now organized in a new Water Quality theme.
Portal users can view the boundaries of nearly a dozen new and expanded artificial reef areas proposed and currently under evaluation by the State of New York. Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently committed to doubling New York's existing reef acreage by expanding …
A map showing the Coastal Zone Management Act boundaries for each of the Mid-Atlantic states is now available in the Portal’s Administrative theme. The map represents the extent of the nation's coastal zone, as defined by the individual states and territo…
The first offshore wind turbines in U.S. federal waters are now producing power off the coast of Virginia and their locations are charted on the Portal.
Retrace the paths of the Atlantic Coast’s most powerful hurricanes and learn which regions have historically faced the greatest exposure from major storms with a series of new maps on the Portal.
Our Sept. 15, 2020, "How Tuesday" webinar provided an introductory overview of the Portal's data and tools. If you're interested in organizing an online training for your organization, email us at portal@midatlanticocean.org.
Learn which offshore areas tend to experience the strongest winds each month or all year round with a collection of 13 new maps on Marine Planner.
Portal users can now view and analyze a network of Atlantic Coast shipping safety fairways that are under consideration by the U.S. Coast Guard. The interactive Potential Fairways map, which can be found in the USCG Proposed Areas and Studies collection i…
The boundaries for four U.S. Coast Guard-led Port Access Route Study (PARS) areas along the East Coast are now presented in a single consolidated map on the Portal. In addition, this Port Access Route Study Areas layer includes the boundary for a new Nort…
What areas of the Mid-Atlantic see the most intense shipping traffic each year? How much does overall vessel traffic change from its peak summer months to the winter? Where do vessel activities show strong connections with other features such as artificia…
Our June 16 “How Tuesday” webinar centered on a Coast Guard Port Access Route Study (PARS) area extending offshore from Long Branch, New Jersey, to Ocean City, Maryland, and a proposed anchorage area near the Cape Fear River in North Carolina. Jerry Ba…
Maps showing the areas of federal marine sanctuaries surrounding the wreck of the legendary Civil War ironclad USS Monitor off the coast of North Carolina and a fleet of sunken World War I ships in the Potomac River can now be viewed in Marine Planner.
Two new maps showing a U.S. Coast Guard-led New Jersey Seacoast/Delaware Bay Port Access Route Study (PARS) area and a proposed anchorage area near the approach to North Carolina’s Cape Fear River have been added to the Portal. Both maps can be accessed b…
Our 4/22/20 webinar examined a series of maps on the Portal illustrating shifts that have taken place over the last five decades by several commercially and recreationally important fish species living along the East Coast.
In the April 14 edition of the Portal’s “How Tuesday” webinar series, Michael Crowley, technical director of MARACOOS and the Rutgers University Center for Ocean Observing Leadership, and RPS North America Executive Director of Ocean Science Kelly Knee di…
A series of interactive maps published on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal illustrates the shifts that have taken place over the last five decades by several commercially and recreationally important fish species living along the East Coast.
We’re pleased to announce the following data additions and improvements in Marine Planner.
A new map showing the focus area for a North Carolina Port Access Route Study (NCPARS) being led by the U.S. Coast Guard is now available in Marine Planner. The NCPARS is being conducted to determine whether existing or additional vessel routing measures …
The Portal has published its first series of map layers showing typical sea surface current patterns for each season in Mid-Atlantic and southern New England waters.
The Portal has added 12 new map layers showing the monthly densities of tagged loggerhead sea turtles throughout southern New England and the Mid-Atlantic Bight.
In this January 2020 "How Tuesday" webinar, guest presenters Jerry Barnes and Matt Creelman of the Fifth Coast Guard District demonstrated how to use the Portal to analyze proposed anchorage areas in the Delaware and Chesapeake Bay vicinities, and a new P…
We’re pleased to announce the following recent improvements and data additions to the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal.
In partnership with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM), nine new map layers showing the core use areas of three diving bird species – the northern gannet, red-throated loon, and surf scoter – during s…
The U.S. Coast Guard (USCG) and Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal team have partnered to create three new maps showing proposed anchorage grounds in the Chesapeake and Delaware Bay areas and a Port Access Route Study (PARS) area extending offshore from Cape …
Nine new map layers depicting offshore wind project areas and infrastructure in the Mid-Atlantic and New England have been added to Marine Planner. In addition, four dropdown categories have been added to the Renewable Energy theme in an effort to organiz…
Two new maps in Marine Planner’s Socioeconomic theme provide a glimpse at which coastal counties’ economies are most closely linked with the ocean. Both maps are digitized, interactive versions of maps that first appeared in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Coun…
Our 7/31/19 webinar provided a tour of new and improved fish and marine mammal data available on the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portals.
The Portal’s Artificial Reefs map has been expanded to include dozens of new sites in the Chesapeake Bay and revised to update the footprints of some installations at sea.
Three new maps showing the approximate routes of telecommunications and power lines and submerged oil and gas pipelines in the Mid-Atlantic have been added to Marine Planner.
For the first time, users can now search the Portal’s Marine Life Library for maps depicting the distribution and biomass of individual fish species in both the spring and fall seasons using methods developed by NOAA’s Northeast Fisheries Science Center. …
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO), the MARCO Portal Team, and the Mid-Atlantic Regional Association Coastal Ocean Observing System (MARACOOS) have partnered to create a series of maps depicting average monthly sea surface temperatures…
Our June 18, 2019, webinar provides an introductory tour of the Portal. Presented by Karl Vilacoba of the Monmouth University Urban Coast Institute.
Draw a line to measure the distance from one point to another with the new Linear Measurement Tool in Marine Planner. The easy-to-use feature was created at the request of users and provides accurate distances in kilometers, miles and nautical miles.
Cape Henry Lighthouse. Old Barney. The Twin Lights of the Navesink. Montauk Point Light. The Mid-Atlantic is home to some of America’s most storied and iconic lighthouses. No longer the critical aids to navigation they were in eras past, the region’s ligh…
Explore the Mid-Atlantic’s sea bottom in greater detail than ever before with four new maps in our Oceanography theme. We’ve added two high-definition bathymetry maps covering the full East Coast and a pair of maps illustrating natural sediment drift in o…
Five new maps showing jurisdictional or agency service area boundaries relevant to coastal and ocean management have been added to the Administrative theme in Marine Planner.
A new map in Marine Planner allows users to examine areas along the Mid-Atlantic coast where sand and gravel resources may be available.
A panel at the March 20, 2019, Mid-Atlantic Ocean Forum focused on the Portal and regional ocean data priorities. Members of the Portal Team provided a preview of map products and site improvements planned for 2019, while several users presented case stud…
You can now automatically animate maps with the click of a button or toggle through layers showing the same data types from different time periods with our new slider and animation tool.
A group of six new maps in Marine Planner provide a comprehensive view of the places at sea, in coastal waterways and estuaries where the waters are being monitored for signs of increased acidification.
The Portal’s collection of Fishery Management Areas has been updated to reflect the most current boundaries published by the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service Greater Atlantic Regional Fishery Office.
Scan the Mid-Atlantic for cargo ships sunk by German U-boats, vessels long last at sea and other mysteries of the deep with the newly added Wrecks & Obstructions map in Marine Planner.
Our Dec. 11 webinar covered the Portal’s Automatic Identification System (AIS) vessel traffic maps. Portal Team member Karl Vilacoba walked users through the maps in Marine Planner and offered a peak at a new tool that will enable users to animate and …
A map showing the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) Identified New York Bight Draft Wind Energy Areas of Recommendation can now be viewed in Marine Planner.
Learn where and when vessel traffic is most concentrated along the East Coast with 29 new maps in Marine Planner. The Portal’s collection of Automatic Identification System (AIS) maps, which previously covered 2011-13, has been updated with 2015-17 data, …
Middle, high school and university level teachers can download a free set of interactive classroom exercises focused on the Portal at Green Fire Productions’ new Exploring Ocean Frontiers Educator Resources web page.
The Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portals offered a joint webinar on Sept. 28, 2018, that covered how the sites' collections of roughly 3,000 marine life maps were aggregated and demonstrated how to access the data.
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal, in coordination with the Northeast Data Portal, the Marine Cadastre and the Marine-life Data and Analysis Team (MDAT), announce the release of updated (“Version 2”) marine life data products. Roughly 3,000 maps showing …
Our 6/12/18 How Tuesday webinar explored the Portal’s library of nearly 1,000 commercial fishing maps and its new Communities at Sea search tool. With demos from Portal team members Jim Trimble of the Grant F. Walton Center for Remote Sensi…
Where do the fishing vessels you see passing through the inlet go? How have the Mid-Atlantic’s fishing hot spots changed over the last 20 years? Which areas of the ocean are most important to your local fishing port and economy? A new collection of intera…
Four new areas off the New York and New Jersey coasts that are being considered by the federal government for their suitability to accommodate offshore wind installations can now be viewed and analyzed in Marine Planner. An interactive map showing these N…
Forty new maps showing Fronts Probability and Net Primary Productivity along the East Coast have been added to Marine Planner, bringing these datasets up to date to cover every season from 2010 through 2017. The maps are the first installment in a long-pl…
The Portal’s collection of Security maps was recently updated based on input from the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. The changes include the consolidation of several maps showing individual military training areas into a smaller set tha…
Based on suggestions from users like you, we recently created a new homepage and reorganized the site to make it more intuitive and easier to find key content.
Watch our Jan. 9 How Tuesday Open Tutorial webinar, which provides an introductory tour of the Portal's data and features.
Portal users can now compare new sites that the State of New York is examining for offshore wind development with thousands of other map layers showing shipping traffic, fishing activity, marine life distributions and more in Marine Planner.
Our Oct. 24 How Tuesday webinar covered the Portal’s seven coastal and ocean acidification monitoring sites maps and featured an informative discussion about the issue in the Mid-Atlantic. The session was hosted by Mid-Atlantic Coastal Acidification Netwo…
How did the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Portal come to be and how is it being used for marine spatial planning? Find out in this article published Aug. 8 in the journal Frontiers in Marine Science.
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) is working closely with the states of Delaware, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, and Virginia to better understand how and where people in the region participate in recreational activities in the ocean…
Two new map layers in the Portal’s Marine Life collection offer a tour of the locations of the Mid-Atlantic’s diverse estuarine wetlands and seagrass areas. Taken together, the maps will serve as a valuable resource for coastal planning and management dec…
Our July 11 webinar showcased online mapping tools in the Mid-Atlantic that illustrate risks posed to coastal areas, such as flooding, severe storms and sea level rise.
Find out where ocean, coastal and estuarine acidification is being monitored throughout the Mid-Atlantic on our new map in Marine Planner.
Portal users can now see how population densities line up with key ports, beach resorts and other coastal features in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast in Marine Planner.
Our May 16, 2017, How Tuesday webinar covered how to use Marine Planner's many tools -- drawings, bookmarks, the Active tab, Portal Groups, the ArcGIS Service Input Tool, and more.
Congratulations to the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body (RPB), which was honored with the prestigious Peter Benchley Ocean Award on May 11 for its work developing the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan.
My, how we’ve grown. At the start of 2016, the Portal had a collection of just over 150 map layers in Marine Planner. By year’s end, there were over 3,000 – roughly 20 times more. It’ll be tough to maintain a growth rate like that, but Portal users can st…
How valuable is the ocean to your local economy? Find out with a new collection of economic data viewable in Marine Planner.
Watch our March 7, 2017, How Tuesday webinar for a tour the Portal's latest tools and features.
Marine Planner users can now access maps and find the locations of three ocean areas off the Mid-Atlantic and New England coasts which recently received special protections from the federal government. Maps for the Atlantic Canyon Withdrawal and the North…
Watch as we unveil the Portal’s Marine Life Library of approximately 3,000 map layers depicting individual species of fish, birds and marine mammals in the Mid-Atlantic.
Roughly 3,000 maps showing populations and abundance for individual species of fish, birds and mammals along the East Coast have been added to the Portal’s new searchable Marine Life Library.
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal was one of four virtual exhibits featured by the U.S. Department of State in a mobile app for its 2016 Our Ocean Conference, held Sept. 15-16 In Washington, D.C.
Over 100 new maps depicting a trove of data related to the distribution and abundance of marine life throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Northeast and East Coast regions are now available in Marine Planner.
Throughout July we had the pleasure of meeting hundreds of you as we hit the road in support of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan’s release. At each stop, we heard lots of questions.
A dozen new map layers added to the Portal’s Security theme portray Department of Defense (DOD) at-sea training and testing areas as well as locations of pertinent infrastructure. In sharing this unclassified data for use in the Portal, the DOD has made a…
Get a 101 lesson on ‘How Tu’ use the Portal with this 8/9/16 webinar hosted by Portal Team member Karl Vilacoba. The session concludes with an open Q&A with attendees.
Take a guided online tour of the Portal’s new “Communities at Sea” maps and other data related to commercial and recreational fishing in the region with our June 21 "How Tuesday" webinar. The session was hosted by Portal Technical Lead Jay Odell of The …
Registered users can now combine data from outside mapping sites with the Portal’s nearly 200 map layers using our innovative new ArcGIS Service Input Tool.
Our May 3 “How Tuesday” webinar focused on the Human Use Data Synthesis (HUDS) project, which created a collection of 10 map layers that depict the many places and ways that people interact with the Mid-Atlantic Ocean. HUDS project lead Melanie Schroeder …
Over two dozen maps now available on the Portal present a more detailed picture than ever before of the extent and locations of commercial fishing activities throughout the upper East Coast.
Marine Life Data and Analysis Team (MDAT) project lead Professor Patrick Halpin of the Duke University Geospatial Ecology Lab shares his insights on the MDAT effort and the data it is producing. The data will soon take the form of several new maps on t…
It’s going to be a very busy spring for the Portal Team. Taking questions from the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body at its March 23 meeting, MARCO Director Kate Killerlain Morrison and Portal Technical Lead Jay Odell of the Nature Conservancy provided …
From the depths of the Mid-Atlantic’s canyons to its sandy shores, explore the physical and chemical properties of the ocean with the Portal’s new Oceanography theme.
Guest hosts Peter Taylor of Waterview Consulting and Emily Schumchenia of E&C Enviroscape led a guided tour of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Assessment (ROA) and its links to the Portal during our March 8 “How Tuesday” webinar. Watch the recording b…
The many places and ways people interact with the Mid-Atlantic Ocean are summarized in 10 new easy to understand maps on the Portal.
A collection of nine new map layers on Marine Planner will help to begin fill a gap in available data related to recreational use in the Mid-Atlantic. The maps present a regional picture of the beachfront and offshore areas in the Mid-Atlantic that a…
The Regional Ocean Assessment (ROA), an interactive report summarizing the region's ocean ecosystem and the many ways people interact with the Mid-Atlantic Ocean, is now available online at roa.midatlanticocean.org. In addition, information from the Mar…
For Shinnecock citizen Kelsey Leonard, becoming a leader in the Mid-Atlantic ocean planning movement was a natural extension of her heritage.
An article in the December issue of The Nature Conservancy Magazine highlights the MARCO Portal and the valuable contributions made to it by members of the Mid-Atlantic’s fisheries.
Two new datasets – labeled EFH Highly Migratory Species and AIS Shipping Data (2013) – have been incorporated into Marine Planner, bolstering the Portal’s growing inventory of marine life and maritime information.
The coming year will see several major improvements to the Portal along with the adoption of a first-ever Ocean Action Plan (OAP) for the Mid-Atlantic region. An important milestone for both projects was reached in September when government officials, T…
New data depicting the locations of in-service and out-of-service undersea cables is now available for viewing on Marine Planner. The data was supplied by the North American Submarine Cable Association (NASCA), an industry group that represents the majori…
Registered Portal users can now export their custom-made drawings in four file formats that can be used on outside programs.
This week, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) and partners launched a redesign of the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal (http://portal.midatlanticocean.org) – an online toolkit and resource center that helps stakeholders find and visualiz…
The Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal team is helping the U.S. Coast Guard Fifth District to conduct an analysis of the existing network of seacoast navigation aids (or buoys) in the region.
Through a collaborative partnership between the Surfrider Foundation, Monmouth University, The Nature Conservancy, and Point 97 there is now new, non-consumptive recreational use data available for the Mid-Atlantic region.
In celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Star-Spangled Banner, the National Aquarium hosted the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s exploration ship, the Okeanos, from Sept. 10-14, 2014.
Maureen Bornholdt has a lot to celebrate: This year, the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body Co-Chair – along with her colleagues – is marking the first anniversary of the multi-state, intergovernmental group leading a new era of regional marine planning.
“Fishing is a way of life driven by passion,” said Colin Warwick as he kicked off the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council’s (MAFMC) Offshore Wind Best Management Practices Workshop this past February in Baltimore, MD.
Margaret Davidson, acting director of NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, and Darlene Finch, Mid-Atlantic regional coordinator, both understand the pressures related to regional ocean planning. Often they are working to facilitate disc…
On April 18, the Mid-Atlantic Fisheries Management Council (MAFMC) held a participatory mapping workshop in Baltimore to develop options for their Squid, Mackerel and Butterfish Fishery Management Plan (Amendment 16). MAFMC invited the MARCO Portal Team t…