New Hampshire / Southern Maine Ocean Uses Atlas

The Ocean Uses Atlas Project is an innovative partnership between the Coastal Response Research Center (CRRC) and NOAA's Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management (OCRM). The Project was designed to enhance ocean management through geospatial data on the full range of significant human uses of the ocean environment from the shorelines of New Hampshire and Southern Maine to the EEZ boundary. The data were gathered from regional ocean experts and users through participatory GIS methods. For more information on the project scope, background and related data products, please visit http://www.crrc.unh.edu/workshops/ocean_uses/index.html or http://marineprotectedareas.noaa.gov/dataanalysis/atlas_nhsm/.

The New Hampshire / Southern Maine Ocean Uses Atlas Project fills a critical information gap in ocean management by providing an unprecedented, comprehensive, consistent and spatially explicit picture of human uses for management agencies, policy makers and stakeholders interested in sound and equitable ocean governance. Using participatory GIS concepts and applications, the Atlas Project generated spatial data and map products illustrating patterns, intensity, and temporal changes in a wide range of human uses in three broad categories of use: (i) fishing, (ii) non-consumptive, and (iii) industrial activities. The resulting datasets depict patterns of ocean use on a broad scale appropriate for a variety of ocean planning and management needs. Specifically, the data will be used in the Environmental Response Management Application (ERMA) during the March 2010 Spill of National Significance (SONS) drill.

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The New Hampshire / Southern Maine Ocean Uses Atlas bins human use data into 3 sectors: fishing, industrial, and non-consumptive. Each sector has a unique dataset, and expanded information on use definitions and data processes for each sector can be found in each dataset's metadata file. Ancillary datasets used for processing and analysis are also included. Fishing dataset - contains data on commercial dive fishing, commercial fishing with benthic fixed gear, commercial fishing with benthic mobile gear, commercial kelp and algae harvest, commercial lobster fishing, commercial pelagic fishing, kayak fishing, shore-based fishing, recreational dive fishing, recreational fishing from boats - benthic species, recreational fishing from boats - pelagic species, and shore-based recreational harvest; Industrial dataset - contains data on aquaculture, cruise ships, military operations, mining and mineral extraction, offshore alternative energy, offshore oil and gas, shipping, and underwater cables; Non-Consumptive dataset - contains data on beach use, motorized boating, paddling, sailing, scuba and snorkeling, surface water sports, swimming, tidepooling, and wildlife viewing at sea; Ancillary dataset - contains project boundaries and shoreline; All use datasets contain a field that reflects the use name, and a value of 1 for that field indicates a "yes" for the use's presence.

For more information on use definitions and types, see the readme document supplied with the data or visit http://www.crrc.unh.edu/workshops/ocean_uses/index.html.

Atlas data describe broad uses of the ocean, and are not intended to be used for navigational purposes or provide information on regulations affecting human activities.

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Atlas data describe broad uses of the ocean, and are not intended to be used for navigational purposes or provide information on regulations affecting human activities.

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