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Transmission Series Part I: Siting Cables in Federal Waters

The following is the first in a two-part series focused on offshore wind energy transmission siting. Part II looks at the design and construction process for a cable connecting to the first two active turbines in federal waters, located off Virginia Beach…
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Transmission Series Part II: The CVOW Cable Route

The following is the second in a two-part series focused on offshore wind energy transmission siting. Part I provided an introduction to the planning process involved with designing power cables in federal waters.As the first transmission line to connect …
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MARCO Improves Fishing Map Collection with Insights from Industry

The commercial fishing industry has been woven into the Mid-Atlantic region’s cultural fabric and economy for over 300 years. Today it generates a half-billion dollars in landings revenues annually, with sea scallops, blue crabs, ocean quahog clams and sq…
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Group Aims to Make Field More Diverse, Provide Guidance for Young Practitioners

It started with a tweet. Tiara Moore, a postdoctoral scholar at the University of Washington, had been following the variety of “Black In” science weeks that were launched after the harassment of a Black bird-watcher inspired #BlackBirdersWeek. She wonder…
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Charter Captain Tours Busy N.J. Waters with Classic Boats

The big wheels keep on turning for the Navesink Queen. After a long run serving passengers in Virginia as a ferry, the old-time paddle wheeler was purchased by Capt. Dan Schade in 2019 and restored for service as a charter vessel in Atlantic Highlands, Ne…
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Shining a Light on Region’s Deep-Sea Corals

Twenty thousand years ago, the vast underwater plain we know as the Mid-Atlantic’s continental shelf was dry land and the region’s beaches were 100 miles east of where they are today, near the current shelf break. Where pre-historic rivers met the sea, th…
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Offshore Energy Lease Areas in the Mid-Atlantic

The importance of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, achieving energy independence, and relieving congested energy transmission routes has elevated renewable energy on U.S. public policy agendas and in the public consciousness.
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Citizen Scientists Track Resurgence of Humpbacks in New York Harbor

It’s Black Friday, and while millions in the New York City area are out spending greenbacks, a group of about 50 is getting ready to search for humpbacks.
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A Day in the Life: The F/V Christian and Alexa

Kenny and Art Ochse, owners of the fishing vessel Christian and Alexa, recently welcomed Ocean Stories aboard to observe a typical day at sea. Come along with our trip diary and learn how scallops make it from the sea bed to your grocery store. Be sure to…
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For Lenape, Ancient Cultural History Lies Beneath the Sea

Chief Dennis Coker has become a prominent voice on Mid-Atlantic ocean planning issues, often representing his tribe and other members of the Confederation of Sovereign Nanticoke Lenape Tribes of the Delaware Bay (with members from Delaware and New Jersey)…
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Vessel Tracking Pioneer Recalls System's Post-9/11 Origins

The growth of satellite AIS technology has somewhat mirrored that of the Internet itself. Initially created for security purposes, its use expanded exponentially once the private sector got its hands on it. Now satellite AIS is used for maritime safety, o…
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Survey Shows Where Boaters Go and How They Spend Time, Money

A survey of Mid-Atlantic saltwater boaters found that the average annual cost of owning and maintaining a vessel runs about $7,722. The survey, which was conducted over the course of six months in 2013 by the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MA…
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Submarine cables: Preserving the Mid-Atlantic’s telecommunications superhighway

Telecommunications play an integral role in our everyday lives. The speed and consistency that we are able to make phone calls and access information online is supported by a large network of services, many of which are literally unseen by most end users.
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Tug and barge industry juggles traditional routes with offshore wind development

Tugboats, towboats and barges are the worker bees of maritime transportation.
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Long-time fisherman keeps watch over Maryland’s coral reefs

In the nearly 35 years Captain Hawkins has been fishing off Maryland’s coast, he’s seen an increase in some fish populations as well as a decline in others.
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Recreational survey covers the coast

Through a collaborative partnership between the Surfrider Foundation, Monmouth University, The Nature Conservancy, and Point 97 there is now non-consumptive recreational use data available for the Mid-Atlantic region.
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Coast Guard marine traffic data a boon for ocean planning

The success of ocean planning in the Mid-Atlantic relies on the ability for disparate groups to effectively communicate their concerns and needs to one another.
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The Portal connects agency, industry, and community leaders who are shaping the future of our ocean to the best available data on ocean science, maps, and each other through a state-of-the art data visualization, storytelling, and networking platform.