This year marks MARCO’s 10 year anniversary! Since the creation of MARCO in 2009, there has been major progress in ocean planning and partnerships. The collaborative work on ocean science generated by MARCO and fellow regional ocean partnerships has a significant impact on ocean resource management. Reflecting on this milestone, MARCO and staff have been working hard to update the content of the MARCO website to keep stakeholders and partners abreast of the new and exciting priorities and issues on which MARCO has, and continues to work.
The MARCO website features new content and format under the same four priority topics (climate change adaptation, water quality, renewable energy, and marine habitats) and a new section dedicated to ocean planning. The content updates on the priority pages highlight work groups and collaborative efforts MARCO states are co-leading, new resources developed over the last 5 years from those efforts, and coordinating data layers found on the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal. The content is cross referenced to provide easy flow between some overlapping topics such as ocean acidification which crosscuts between water quality and climate change adaptation.
The ocean planning tab features information about the newly formed Mid-Atlantic committee on the Ocean (MACO) including the purpose and goals of the state, tribal, federal government, and stakeholder partnership. Under this section you will also find resources such as videos and materials about the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Forum hosted in March 2019 at Monmouth University in West Long Branch, NJ.
MARCO will continue to update the website content when new products and workgroups are formed, and will be rolling-out a new look and feel to the website in the coming months. Stay up-to-date on the website and projects from MARCO by checking out the Website Updates section of MARCO News next quarter!