Updated Marine Mapping Tool offers new features that sharpen the focus on the Atlantic Ocean marine ecosystem
TNC's free tool makes it easier for environmental mitigation experts to choose actions that improve outcomes for marine life.
Media Contacts
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Julia Leopold
Associate Director of Communications, Renewable Energy
The Nature Conservancy
Email: julia.leopold@tnc.org
Today, 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.
Quote: Tricia Jedele
The Marine Mapping Tool brings all the up-to-date and important information together to help users see the relationships between critical places, species, use and function.
Explore the Marine Mapping Tool
Learn how the tool will support actions that improve outcomes for nature.
Learn More“The animals that rely on the ocean do not stay in one spot and they are connected to each other and habitats as part of a broad and complex system,” says Tricia Jedele, TNC offshore wind policy manager. “The Marine Mapping Tool brings all the up-to-date and important information together to help users see the relationships between critical places, species, use and function. By providing a sharper focus on this dynamic environment, we can support better and more integrated mitigation actions that improve outcomes for nature.”
The new features incorporate decades of rich, complex data that have been peer reviewed by scientists from organizations including the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean and the Northeast Regional Ocean Council. The data is distilled down into language that is easy-to-understand and connects data to internationally recognized criteria used to evaluate ecosystem health.
“Developing the tool was a collaborative process with the people and scientists who use the data to make decisions,” says TNC’s Marta Ribera, designer of the Marine Mapping Tool. “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.”
Anyone can use the Marine Mapping Tool, which is free and available to the public, but it is intended to help experts choose the most effective mitigation actions for species and habitats in the marine environment. This includes offshore wind renewable energy projects, environmental regulators, and conservation experts.
“TNC’s Marine Mapping Tool is a valuable, credible, and accessible resource for understanding marine biodiversity context and identifying priority features at an ecologically relevant scale,” says Claire Fletcher, technical director of BlueDot Associates. “Notably, it also offers useful insights into the relationship between people and marine biodiversity. The information provided supports the identification of meaningful actions to achieve net positive impact for marine biodiversity at the appropriate seascape scale and relevant to individual site-level activities.”
“TNC's mapping tool is unique, as it allows me to explore the complex spatial interconnections between marine ecology and human activities,” says Annie Murphy, principal scientist at INSPIRE Environmental. “As our reliance on this dynamic ecosystem continues to expand, concurrent with the ecological shifts we are witnessing in the ocean today, TNC's mapping tool pushes the envelope of marine spatial planning to consider the movement of species and human behavior to ensure sustainable management of marine resources.”
To learn more about the Marine Mapping Tool and register for a live workshop about how to use the tool, visit www.nature.org/marinemappingtool.
The Nature Conservancy is a global conservation organization dedicated to conserving the lands and waters on which all life depends. Guided by science, we create innovative, on-the-ground solutions to our world’s toughest challenges so that nature and people can thrive together. We are tackling climate change, conserving lands, waters and oceans at an unprecedented scale, providing food and water sustainably and helping make cities more sustainable. The Nature Conservancy is working to make a lasting difference around the world in 81 countries and territories (40 by direct conservation impact and 41 through partners) through a collaborative approach that engages local communities, governments, the private sector, and other partners. To learn more, visit nature.org or follow @nature_press on X.
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