At the June 17, 2003 kickoff meeting for the Massachusetts Ocean Management Task Force, Environmental Affairs Secretary Ellen Roy Herzfelder charged the Task Force to:

• Develop principles to guide statewide planning and governance efforts for ocean resources.
• Evaluate the adequacy of existing legal and policy framework governing ocean resource management and make recommendations to enhance our ability to proactively manage ocean resources.
• Evaluate the information base necessary to make ocean management decisions and make recommendations on key scientific, mapping use characterization, and socioeconomic data needs.
• Make recommendations: (1) for an institutional arrangement that ensures ongoing coordination of state and federal management of ocean resources; (2) to ensure that statewide interests are addressed in an equitable manner; and (3) on staff support and oversight needed to develop area-wide ocean management plans.