Mid-Atlantic Releases First-Ever Ocean Plan for Region

WASHINGTON – Mid-Atlantic states from New York to Virginia, along with federally recognized tribes, the regional fishery management council, and eight federal agencies together released a draft ocean plan yesterday to coordinate sustainable use and conservation of the ocean along the Atlantic coast.

The following is a statement byAlison Chase, a senior policy analyst for the Oceans Program at the Natural Resources Defense Council:

“Our oceans have become busy places. There’s soaring demand for wind development, offshore sand mining and other activities. Planning together—and ahead—helps us avoid conflicts in how we use our oceans.”

“This plan represents a new way of governing. Instead of working in silos and sometimes at cross-purposes, states and federal agencies, fisheries managers and tribes are working collectively to help guide ocean conservation and development decisions.”

For more, please see Alison Chase’s blog on the plan.

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