Science Insights
Report looks at ecosystem-based management ‘on the ground’
By Peter H. Taylor

Many government agencies and non-governmental organizations in the United States and Canada are collaborating to advance ecosystem-based management (EBM) in the Gulf of Maine.

The Gulf of Maine has a long tradition of fishing, marine transportation, coastal development and recreation. Because of the growing variety and intensity of human uses, effective management is essential for ecosystem health and economic prosperity in the region.

Among the many efforts under way to move EBM from concept to practice are the recently released Gulf of Maine EBM Toolkit Survey Report and a new guide called Seascapes: Getting to Know the Sea Around Us.

In September and October 2007, I conducted the Gulf of Maine EBM Toolkit Survey in collaboration with COMPASS (Communication Partnership for Science and the Sea) and the EBM Tools Network. We released the Gulf of Maine Ecosystem-Based Management Tookit Survey Report on the findings in April 2008.

The survey provided insight into the on-the-ground realities of how people are trying to advance EBM in the region, challenges they are facing and potential ways to address the challenges. Survey participants were involved in ocean and coastal management in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, and U.S. and Canadian federal waters.

Based on the survey, people engaged in ocean and coastal management around the Gulf of Maine appear to accept the broad concept of EBM. However, they are grappling with the specifics of how to advance EBM in their day-to-day work. For example, survey participants said they primarily need two types of information: practical information about how to do EBM in the Gulf of Maine, and information about the ecosystem context for management. The main findings of the survey are summarized in the box below. The complete findings are in the survey report.

Released in spring 2008, the 80-page Seascapes guide will help address the need for information about the Gulf of Maine ecosystem. Working with the Quebec-Labrador Foundation (QLF)/Atlantic Center for the Environment, I wrote Seascapes as a guide to characterizing marine areas. In recent years, people have sought to bring together information about the ocean and coast in a way that fosters more holistic understanding of the ecosystem and improved management of human activities. Collectively, these information-gathering and sharing efforts can be referred to as marine area characterizations.

Generally, the goals of a marine area characterization are to gather and integrate information about a marine area, to communicate the information and to use the information to guide resource management decisions. The purpose of Seascapes is to enable people to learn about the ocean and coast through conducting marine area characterizations. These projects could provide very useful information for EBM.

How does one go about characterizing a marine area in a meaningful way? What information is needed? Where can the information be obtained? How can the findings be communicated so they are useful? The Seascapes guide answers these questions. QLF brought together experts in biology, oceanography, history and other fields from several organizations. They generated a slew of ideas that we shaped into Seascapes. The document can be downloaded from http://www.waterviewconsulting.com.

After five years of consulting for the Gulf of Maine Science Translation Project, this is my final article for the Gulf of Maine Times. I’ve enjoyed being in contact with Times readers and hope that you will continue to contact me through my Web site and blog, http://www.waterviewconsulting.com, as I pursue exciting new projects.