Conservation Mooring Study

Most boaters who moor their vessels in Massachusetts waters have traditionally employed free swinging moorings that use heavy bottom chain. In important sensitive habitats such as eelgrass beds, these types of moorings often have negative impacts on the benthic habitat – from the circular movement of the chain around the anchor point, and/or from the anchor itself. This document objectively describes the different characteristics of conventional moorings versus conservation moorings designed to minimize disruption to the benthic habitat. This report includes discussions on the following topics: Technologies available Ecological impacts Functional differences Economical differences Regulatory issue

Padanaram Harbor Management Plan

The Padanaram Harbor Management Plan was developed over a two‐year period, from 2017–2019, by a broad spectrum of Dartmouth governmental officials, citizens of the Town, regional and state agency staff, and representatives of non‐governmental organizations. There was significant public involvement through open meetings and an online survey. During the entire process, drafts of elements of the Plan were posted on the website of the Planning Board as they became available. The work was supported in consultation with staff of the Urban Harbors Institute from the University of Massachusetts Boston. Funding was provided through a grant from the Massachusetts Seaport Economic Council and a local match

Nantucket Shellfish Management Plan

Nantucket’s shellfish resources are an important part of the Island’s history, culture, and economy. Nantucket waters support one of the country’s last wild-caught bay scallop fisheries. Elsewhere along the Atlantic coast, fishing pressure, habitat loss, and disease have severely depleted bay scallop populations. Although Nantucketers continue to make a living harvesting shellfish from the Island’s waters, many do so with concern for the future of the resources and the habitats that support them. Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) provided technical assistance to the community to develop a Shellfish Management Plan (SMP) that addresses issues of water quality, habitat loss, climate change, shellfish propagation, regulatory concerns, and the sustainability of the commercial and recreational fishery. Of particular value is the outline of future research needed to support management activities. Species addressed include: Bay scallop, Conch, Mussel, Quahog, Oyster, and Soft-Shell Clam

2010 Massachusetts Recreational Boater Survey: Final Report Submitted to the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership

The Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan (Plan) completed in 2009 recognized recreational boating as an activity with “significant actual and prospective conflicts among multiple waterway uses in Massachusetts” and included the economic value of recreational boating as a key socio-economic indicator that will be used to inform coastal management. At the time of Plan completion, statistically robust recreational boating data were identified as an important need for comprehensive ocean planning. To fill this data gap, the 2010 Massachusetts Recreational Boater Survey gathered information on boating activity in Massachusetts’ coastal and ocean waters directly from recreational boaters. Researchers sent 10,000 surveys to owners of Massachusetts registered and documented vessels in the spring of 2010 asking for participation in the six month study. Over 22% responded and provided detailed information through monthly surveys between May and October about their boating trips including expenditures, recreational activities, and routes. Boaters plotted their spatial data (routes and activity areas) using an innovative online open source mapping tool. Using statistical methods and economic models, the demographic and economic information from the sample of boaters was generalized to the population of Massachusetts boaters. Results revealed the economic contribution of this activity to the Massachusetts economy - an estimated $806 million in 2010. Information gathered through the survey was also compiled into comprehensive maps depicting recreational boating patterns and density, and was used to better understand details of the recreational boating community, such as the most common boat size, the typical age of Bay State boaters, etc. The research findings will be incorporated into the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan and can be used by resource managers, the boating industry and others in many ways, such as ensuring boating routes and destinations receive appropriate attention in ocean planning efforts

Developing Performance Indicators to Evaluate the Management Effectiveness of the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan

In June 2009, the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) released its draft Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan (draft plan) for public comment. The plan is required by the Oceans Act of 2008 to, among other things, be adaptive to evolving knowledge and understanding of the ocean environment. The plan’s Science Framework establishes a blueprint for future research and data acquisition and ensuring that the plan evolves and its management measures adapt to this new and enhanced information. As stated in Chapter 5 of the draft plan, an important part of the science framework is the development and implementation of a performance evaluation system with a series of indicators to help EEA and stakeholders evaluate the implementation of the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan, identify the environmental and socio-economic impacts of plan management decisions, and identify new or emerging issues. Volume 2 of the draft plan contains a section entitled Development of Evaluation Measures for the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan. This section outlines a proposed process “to identify measures of success or indicators that can be used to measure performance of management strategies in achieving desired outcomes.” As the development of indicators is a high priority of the draft plan, the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership (MOP) in consultation with EEA contracted with the Urban Harbors Institute (UHI) of the University of Massachusetts Boston (UMass Boston). The project team1 and other professionals from organizations and agencies experienced with the selection and use of indicators conducted the process outlined in Volume 2 of the draft plan to identify and select a set of environmental, socio-economic, and governmental indicators to evaluate the effectiveness of the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan. The work described in this report also contributes to a broader interest and goal of the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership which is to coordinate indicator initiatives to inform ocean management and to advance the development and use of indicators of the ocean’s ability to provide ecosystem services. Currently, there are a number of initiatives, focusing on the coastal and ocean areas of the Northwest Atlantic/Gulf of Maine region, to develop indicators for various purposes and audiences. The process and products of this work in support of the Massachusetts Ocean Management Plan (e.g., the list of indicators and associated data) will be useful in collaborative efforts to integrate and coordinate these regional efforts

Compatibility Determination: Considerations for Siting Coastal and Ocean Uses (DRAFT)

This draft report is one of several prepared under contract to the Massachusetts Ocean Partnership (MOP) to support the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA) in its development of the integrated coastal ocean management plan mandated by the MA Oceans Act of 2008. Among other requirements, the Oceans Act states that the plan shall “identify appropriate locations and performance standards for activities, uses and facilities allowed under sections 15 and 16 of chapter 132A.” To fulfill this requirement, the EOEEA planning team wanted to utilize compatibility determinations as a tool for considering the appropriate locations for activities, uses and facilities relative to one another. This report was prepared for Massachusetts ocean planning purposes but contains information that may be useful to coastal ocean resource managers in other locations

Nantucket Shellfish Management Plan

Nantucket’s shellfisheries are significant both locally and nationally. Locally, commercial and recreational shellfishing are critical to the Island’s history, culture, and economy. Nationally, the Island’s largest commercial shellfishery — the Nantucket bay scallop fishery is one of the last wild-harvest bay scallop fisheries in the country, but there is growing concern over the health of the overall population and the sustainability of the fishery. Given the importance of the shellfisheries on Nantucket and the drastic decline of bay scallop populations elsewhere along the Atlantic coast, there is a compelling interest in ensuring that the Town’s shellfish are managed to sustain both the shellfishing industry and the resources. This is the first official management plan for commercially and recreationally harvested shellfish in Nantucket waters. The Plan addresses bay scallops, quahogs, oysters, mussels, soft‐shell clams, and conchs

Feasibility of Harbor-wide Barrier Systems: Preliminary Analysis for Boston Harbor

The aim of this study is to provide the City of Boston with a preliminary assessment of the feasibilities and potential benefits, costs, and environmental impacts of three harborwide barrier configurations. While this study is not comprehensive, and there are many ways that further research could refine and extend its findings, those findings were clear enough to justify making recommendations for next steps. The authors recommend that the City continue to focus its climate resilience strategy for the next several decades on the shore-based multi-layered approach described in Climate Ready Boston. Shore-based solutions would provide flood management more quickly at a lower cost, offer several key advantages over a harbor-wide barrier, and provide more flexibility in adapting and responding to changing conditions, technological innovations, and new information about global sea level rise. These shore-based solutions would be needed in any case over the next few decades to manage coastal flooding during the design and construction period of a harbor-wide barrier if a decision was made to build one in the future

Planning Framework Options for The Massachusetts Ocean Plan (DRAFT)

The Massachusetts Ocean Partnership (MOP) Planning Frameworks Team, in consultation with the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs (EEA), and based on collective experience and a review of ocean, coastal and resource management programs from the US and other countries, suggests that nine elements are essential components of the framework for the Massachusetts Ocean Plan and its implementation. While management plans and programs generally have these elements in common, there are a range of options for carrying out each program component. These options were presented to structure and inform the development of the Massachusetts Ocean Plan. For the most part, the range of options represents those that were considered to be appropriate under the Commonwealth’s existing legal and administrative structure and responsive to the requirements of the Massachusetts Ocean Act. However, the general concepts these options represent are likely to be transferable to other jurisdictions (especially in the United States) and can inform future ocean management and planning in Massachusetts. Additionally, options or their core elements can be combined to create additional alternatives within one of the nine planning components

Identifying Ocean and Coastal Research Opportunities in Haiti

Haiti is experiencing a wide variety of coastal and marine issues, including overfishing, mangrove destruction, sedimentation from deforestation, marine debris, and others, which in turn impact the livelihood of the local Haitians. In September 2016, with seed funding from UMass Boston, UHI traveled to Haiti to research the coastal and marine issues that the country is facing. UHI met with and interviewed coastal and marine experts working in Haiti, and discussed the top issues, current efforts to address these issues, and potential future projects. As a next step, UHI will work with partners in Haiti to secure funding that will help address the most pressing coastal and marine issues