The NROC is a state-federal partnership that serves as a forum to identify the challenges and opportunities facing coastal and ocean management. Its overall goal is to create a more effective regional approach to ocean management. Its initial priorities included identifying areas for conservation, facilitating the siting of marine energy systems, and reducing conflict among ocean uses.

The NROC has developed into a regional mechanism to build the foundational elements of coastal and marine spatial planning, an important element of the Obama Administration’s National Ocean Policy of 2010.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and private foundations awarded $2.5 million to the NROC to begin the stakeholder involvement process to develop the goals and objectives for regional ocean planning, and conduct baseline characterizations of ocean resources and uses.

One key project was the creation of the Northeast Ocean Data Portal, a single, publicly accessible location for data, maps, tools and other information to support regional marine planning.

The mission of the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC) is to enhance coordination and collaboration among the New England states relative to the challenges and opportunities of coastal and ocean management.

Objectives

The NROC has established the following objectives:

• Achieve state and regional renewable energy goals.
• Strive for healthy, resilient marine ecosystems.
• Enable sustainable coastal economies.
• Facilitate multiple uses while minimizing conflict among uses and between uses and natural resources.

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island agencies, including:

• Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection
• Maine Coastal Program
• Maine Department of Marine Resources
• New Hampshire Coastal Program
• Massachusetts Office of Coastal Zone Management
• Rhode Island Department of Environmental Management
• Rhode Island Bays, Rivers an Watersheds Coordination Team
• Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council

The council consists of up to two senior-level representatives from the five participating New England states. Six federal agencies are equal members of the council. The position of chairman rotates among the states. Decisions are made by consensus. An annual report is given to the New England Governors’ Conference.

Executive Committee

The Executive Committee includes six people – the current, previous, and future council chairmen and vice chairmen. The committee handles administrative duties between meetings, develops recommendations for the council, and evaluates and reports on council progress.

Council Committees

The council can form committees to tackle specific issues or projects as needed.

The New England governors endorsed Carcieri’s proposal, hoping to remedy a fractured management system and bring greater coordination to the many coastal and ocean initiatives in the region. They wanted to create a common vision for the region and create a mechanism that could communicate the region’s needs to federal partners. They also sought to support existing regional initiatives, such as the Gulf of Maine Council. 

The varied ecosystems along the Northeast coast support diverse marine life and resources that are critical to the region’s economy. For instance, fish landings and associated activities are worth $800 million annually.

Threats

Human activities have degraded water quality, depleted fish stocks and damaged habitat.

The Northeast Regional Ocean Council is supporting coastal and marine spatial planning in the New England region. It has established a set of operating principles that include:

• Initial priorities should include energy siting, environmental conservation, and the support of multiple human uses of the marine environment.
• Scale and level of detail of the plan should be commensurate with the data available.
• The process should engage and reflect participation of stakeholders and the public.

The council is working on engaging stakeholders and the public, acquiring the necessary science and data to resolve information gaps, and developing data products to inform the planning process.

The system would include indicators to assess performance, a monitoring program to collect data on the indicators, and periodic evaluations of the data.