Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean (MARCO)          

website link

MARCO is a compact of five coastal states; New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland and Virginia.  As such, MARCO has a broad mandate to consider cross-cutting ocean planning issues and interests common to the five contiguous states.  The MARCO website features  a workplan and strategic documents.

Of particular importance is the Mid-Atlantic Ocean Data Portal, a powerful user-friendly mapping tool accessible to the general public, planners and researchers alike.   With the Data-Portal, planners have assembled available economic, social, oceanographic, ecological and biological information in a consistent format which allows data from different categories to be layered for comparison.   Public input is welcome for continuous improvement of the modeling.

Mid-Atlantic Regional Planning Body (Mid-A RPB)

website link

The Mid-A RPB is convened under the Obama Administration National Ocean Policy.  The five MARCO states’ agencies are represented, as well as the state of Pennsylvania, federal agencies with ocean jurisdictions, and native American tribal governments.  Recently formed (April 2013), the Mid-A RPB is in process of developing its public outreach capacity and forming a strategic plan for its future activities.  With the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management as its federal co-lead, the present home for the Mid-A RPB website is linked to the BOEM web presence.

The Mid-A RPB is focused on specific goals of the National Ocean Policy, of which the primary long-term objective is a plan for consistency in ocean governance across all state and federal jurisdictions.  The National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan link here.