Resources

What happens to island and coastal communities in a shifting ocean? This is a question many of Maine’s island and coastal communities are beginning to ask. With changing conditions above and below the ocean, it is important to start identifying these shifts and what coastal communities can do to start preparing.

The Global Marine Hotspots Network was created because the oceans are not warming evenly and those areas that are warming the fastest – ocean warming ‘hotspots’ – can be considered as the world’s natural laboratories to provide the knowledge and tools to enable us to adapt wisely, efficiently, and effectively to meet the challenges of a warming environment.

Atlantic salmon populations have declined throughout North America and Europe in recent decades. These declines have exhibited similar patterns over broad geographic areas, and previous studies have shown correlations between salmon declines and changing marine ecosystem conditions.

The North-central California coast and ocean is a globally significant and extraordinarily productive marine and coastal ecosystem that boasts an array of local, state and federal protected areas and other managed lands. Despite this richness and attention to conservation, this region is still vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

The California Coastal Commission Sea Level Rise Policy Guidance serves as interpretive guidelines for addressing sea level rise primarily in local coastal program (LCP) certifications and updates, as well as in coastal development permit (CDP) decisions (California Coastal Commission 2015).

Special Area Management Plans (SAMPs) have been used for over 30 years in Rhode Island and are now being applied to state waters. Since the 1980s, the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council (CRMC) has zoned coastal areas as part of its shoreline management planning.

In February 2013, the Broward County Board of Commissioners added a Climate Change Element (CCE) to the county’s comprehensive plan with the goal of creating a framework to reflect environmental and socioeconomic factors related to climate change.

The United Kingdom established the Marine and Coastal Access Act 2009, requiring the development of marine plans under the guidance of the Marine Management Organization. Approximately eleven plans will be developed for the sustainable development of various uses and activities in ocean regions around England by 2021.

The North Sea is located between the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, France, Great Britain, and Scandinavia, encompassing an area of approximately 220,000 square miles. The Netherlands’ Policy Document on the North Sea 2016-2021 guides the country’s spatial use of the Dutch Exclusive Economic Zone and territorial sea, approximately 22,400 square miles.