Massachusetts Ocean Management Task Force
Issues Identified at the July 30-31, 2003, Workshop

[The following issues are not listed in any order of priority.]

1. Principles and policies for balancing the relationships among economic activity in and affecting the ocean, and aesthetic and other features of the natural resources of the oceans.
2. Mechanisms, policies, practices, approaches for determining the appropriate ways for different commercial and recreational users to use shared infrastructure.
3. Compatibility of residential/retail/commercial uses of the ocean, with marine and port uses.
4. Statistics on various economic activities in the ocean, along with metrics for understanding trends in natural resource characteristics (e.g., volume of hauls, fisheries trends, number of registered boaters, volume of whale watchers, value of tourism related to the oceans, trade volumes in and out of the ports, wind resources, number of infrastructure miles proposed).
5. Practical means for planning for and carrying out appropriate sequencing of economic activities that now occur serially (e.g., laying down pipeline, dredging in the same corridor, etc.), so as to minimize environmental impacts.
6. Articulation of the environmental foundations/premises for most of the economic activities associated with the use of the ocean resources (e.g., tourism, commercial and recreational fisheries, recreational boating, research).
7. Characterization of the wind and other energy-related resources in the ocean, and the relationship between the state's energy policy and exploitation of these resources.
8. Issues relating to sand mining: trends, pressures, impacts.
9. Relationships among growth and development trends and characteristics on the land and coastal areas, with impacts on the ocean.
10. Relationships among natural security issues (e.g., targets for terrorism activities) associated with activities taking place on Massachusetts ocean resources (e.g., port-related trade and traffic, LNG shipments, etc.).
11. Expansion/extension of local jurisdiction over local coastal waters.
12. Enhancement of shorefront access for traditionally excluded groups.
13. Experience (e.g., success rates) of "created habitats" (e.g., wetlands restoration).
14. Trends, policies and practices relating to ocean discharges (from point sources, from vessels).
15. Aesthetic/cultural/historic values associated with ocean resources, and integration of these values into development patterns and resource management tools.
16. Identification of "ankle biters" - small scale issues that can be cleaned up and dealt with in regulation, and which will bite you if they're not dealt with.
17. State/federal jurisdiction - overlaps, gaps.
18. Ballast water exchange rules - update and implications of federal policy.
19. Over-fishing and non-overfishing of various species:
a. What is the science telling us?
b. Role of science in setting levels of
c. Role of politics in setting levels
d. Are we taking adequate resource management steps?
e. What would happen to working waterfronts if fisheries management plans put fishermen out of work?
f. What's worse for job(s) in the short run: fishing, or overfishing?
20. Within industrial harbors, what are the implications for dredging requirements (e.g., depths, frequency, width) associated with competing interests in an area (e.g., ferry service, commercial boats, luxury liners).
21. Are there appropriate key "state of the resource" indicators that we should recommend adopting?
22. To what extent can a state "go it alone" in managing resources?
23. Collect bibliographical materials on natural resource topics.
24. What are some of the trends in pollution - discharges? Concentrations? Etc.?
25. Is the time set aside during agency reviews provide enough time for meaningful participation?
26. Ocean Sanctuary Act: any internal inconsistency between (a) prohibited uses, and (b) uses allowed if public convenience and necessity is determined to require the development?
27. Are fees for use of public trust resources appropriate, given the fair market value of the use of the resource (under the Public Trust Doctrine)?
28. Methodologies and approaches for reviewing the cumulative impact of project proposals as well as the cumulative impact of multiple users and uses.
29. Need a presentation and/or overview of the Energy Facilities Siting Board.
30. Preparation of a permitting notebook describing all potentially relevant permits and requirements.
31. State economic interests v. more global env/natural resource interests (e.g., major fisheries collapses, water quality).