Using seafloor maps to improve management of the Gulf of Maine
Human uses of the seafloor are growing rapidly in variety and intensity, as population expands, technologies develop, and new economic activities emerge. In the Gulf of Maine, trawling, dredging, aquaculture, mining, engineering of fiber-optic and electric power cables, installation of oil and gas pipelines, construction of wind farms, and other activities can affect seabed habitats, which support a diversity of animals and plants. Successful management of these activities, to balance ecological impacts and conflicting uses, requires comprehensive maps of seafloor characteristics. Fishermen, oil and gas companies, and other businesses also find such maps valuable.
1. An increasing need for seafloor mapping
2.
Only 15 percent of Gulf is adequately mapped
3.
New technology allows unprecedented mapping
4.
Introduction to applications
5. Case study 1: Routing a fiber-optic cable
6. Case study 2: Assessing effects of a fishery closure
7. Case study 3: Improving management of a lobster fishery
8. Case study 4: Identifying low-impact sites for aquaculture
9. Case study 5: Reducing impacts & improving
efficiency of scallopers
10.
Mapping the future: Gulf of Maine Mapping Initiative
Links: More information about seafloor mapping
Download a 4-page, printer-friendly PDF version of "Mapping the undersea landscape: Using seafloor maps to improve management of the Gulf of Maine."
To obtain printed copies of the publication, contact Susan Snow-Cotter.
This publication was produced by the Gulf of Maine Council's Science Translation Project.
Image credits: Bedford Institute of Oceanography (top left); United States Geological Survey (right); Ginette Robert, Bedford Institue of Oceanography and Canadian Offshore Scallop Industry Mapping Group (bottom left)