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Using GIS to Improve Coastal Marine Spatial Planning Building Community-Based CMSP Programs with GIS Maps of Local and Regional Coastal Usage Patterns By Peter Becker Co-Chair COEXISTPROJECT.US Port Angeles, Washington Gavin Burnell Co-Principle Investigator COEXISTPROJECT.EU Cork, Ireland and Dr. Tetsuzan Benny Ron Aquaculture Program Coordinator University of Hawai'i at Manoa Honolulu, Hawaii G IS technology merges mapping, statistical analysis and database technologies. Advances in high-spatial-resolu- tion data generation over the past 50 years have markedly im- proved the ability of GIS to relate the dimensions and multitude of activities in coastal regions. GIS-based coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP) in the Eu- ropean Union (EU) was mandated in 1992, along with ecosystem- based management of the water- sheds and coastal waters out to the continental shelf break. In the U.S., CMSP is one of the nine strategic actions of the fed- eral government's National Ocean Policy and has been promoted to address present and future ecosys- tem-based management of coastal marine environments. Similar ap- proaches have been adopted by other countries. The EU-funded COEXISTPRO- JECT is a multidisciplinary CMSP plan with 13 partners from 10 Eu- ropean countries, coordinated by the Institute of Marine Research in Norway. It addresses the interac- tions of aquaculture with fisheries, with approximately €3 million in funding from the European Commission Seventh Framework Program from April 2010 to March 2013. This project includes six case studies at locations from the Adriatic Sea to the Baltic Sea. The aim is to provide management tools to support the in- tegration of fishing and fish-farming sectors with other coastal stakeholders. In comparison, CMSP in the U.S. has a total an- ticipated funding of approximately $3 million, subject to the availability of fiscal year 2013 appropriations. Past failed CMSP attempts were rooted in government in- ability to translate complex data interactions to stakeholders. Successful CMSP programs, i.e., in Connecticut, Maryland, Alaska, British Columbia, Hawaii, Oregon and the Western Dr. Flaxen Conway of Oregon State University presented this draft GIS product representing all existing ocean uses from 0 to 200 nautical miles off the coast of Oregon. Conway's research shows that maps are not adequate to site a use, but rather a first step in indicating who needs to be engaged in the negotiation about a site and its use. www.sea-technology.com AUGUST 2012 / st 29