Updated Marine Mapping Tool Offers New Features that Sharpen the Focus on the Atlantic Ocean Marine Ecosystem

The Nature Conservancy is announcing an update to its Northeast Marine Mapping Tool, a resource that can help inform ecosystem-based mitigation decisions and is designed to improve outcomes for marine life and habitats. The ocean is a busy place. People use the ocean to ship goods, fish and harvest seafood, generate clean energy and more. Fish, whales, birds and other marine life also rely on habitats in the ocean and along the coast. To make the best choices about which mitigation actions are most useful for protecting and restoring marine life, decision-makers need to see the connections between species and their habitats both inside and outside of the ocean areas that people use.

Originally designed to inform users about the types of marine life present in specific areas of the Atlantic Ocean from Maine to North Carolina, the Marine Mapping Tool updates now allow users to connect marine species to the important habitats they use on the coast. It does this by showing a species’ known range and identifying the location of coastal habitats that matter to them, such as saltwater marsh and eelgrass. It distinguishes which marine animals and habitats are threatened or vulnerable. It also shows how people are using certain areas of the ocean, such as fishing communities.

This type of information enables users to choose the best actions to support and improve marine life. For example, in New Jersey, TNC is restoring coastal salt marsh to help protect juvenile sharks. The restored wetlands provide stable and abundant food, like crustaceans, fish and rays and improves shark pups’ odds for survival before they head out to the ocean. It also provides ripple benefits for a spectrum of marine species, such as stingrays and migratory birds.

New Features to the Northeast Marine Mapping Tool

The Northeast Marine Mapping Tool was developed by TNC in collaboration with potential users to answer questions that tool users have about identifying critical habitats that species rely on, and the vulnerability of certain species and habitats. The new features allow users to make more informed conservation decisions and improve outcomes for marine plants and animals. 

Benefits of the tool:

• It is free to use and available to anyone with internet access

• It provides trusted information that has been peer reviewed by scientists 

• It takes decades of complex data and makes them understandable for all parties and stakeholders.

“Developing the tool was a collaborative process with the people and scientists who use the data to make decisions. We wanted to provide enough information so they can use the tool to make decisions, enough transparency so they can trust the data they see, and also enough context to the data to help users understand what the numbers mean. We’re excited to debut these updates to support mitigation and other conservation decisions," said TNC’s Marta Ribera, designer of the Marine Mapping Tool.

The Nature Conservancy | https://www.nature.org/