ANNAPOLIS, Md. – The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO) today released a first-of-its-kind report at the Mid-Atlantic scale that examines the vulnerabilities of several critical economic sectors to climate change. The report quantifies the potential impacts of threats like sea level rise, rising ocean temperatures and changes in the ocean’s chemistry to communities and businesses in 63 counties and independent cities along the...

In fall 2017, MARCO and Surfrider Foundation co-hosted a series of four workshops throughout the Mid-Atlantic region, on behalf of the Mid-A RPB’s Non-consumptive Recreation Work Group, to engage the public in a discussion of the value of important non-consumptive recreational areas and the activities they sustain. Non-consumptive recreational uses represented included surfing, beach combing, kayaking, paddleboarding, boating, and scuba diving,...

MARCO has been working with a project team consisting of the Consensus Building Institute (CBI) and other contractors, to help begin implementing the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body’s action to develop regional Healthy Ocean Ecosystem Indicators as expressed in the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan Healthy Ocean Ecosystem Action 5. This Action establishes that a healthy ocean ecosystem indicator monitoring and assessment program is...

In May and November 2017, MARCO hosted two workshops, on behalf of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body’s Ecologically Rich Areas (ERAs) Work Group, to convene stakeholders and scientists to discuss ERAs.  Day-long workshops were held in the spring in Dover, DE (May 19) and in the fall in Crownsville, MD (November 2).  Workshops were conducted in support of implementation of the Mid-Atlantic Regional Ocean Action Plan action: Identify and...

After the launch of the Mid-Atlantic Coastal Acidification Network (MACAN) in the fall of 2016, the Network has been focusing on achieving its objectives, three of which were the primary focus during MACAN’s first workshop held on May 9, 2017 in Annapolis, MD. A full workshop summary is available here.   While all Network objectives were touched on during the workshop, the primary goals of the workshop were to work towards: Providing a...

In April 2017, MARCO and MARACOOS co-hosted a workshop to identify and rank means for identifying and communicating the effects of changing ocean conditions related to fisheries and fisheries management in the Mid-Atlantic Region.   Workshop planning started in September 2016, with a Steering Committee selected for its representation of industry, and state, federal scientists and managers, and university researchers. The workshop was...