NOAA NCCOS, in partnership with NOAA NMFS SEFSC, is hosting two marine spatial planning data development workshops in the U.S. Caribbean.
These workshops will focus on data development to inform marine spatial planning in Puerto Rico and the US Virgin Islands (USVI), with an emphasis on data needs for offshore wind and aquaculture development. The goals of the workshop are to:
- Learn more about NOAA’s marine spatial planning approaches and activities,
- Inventory available spatial data for the US Caribbean,
- Document data shortcomings and gaps,
- Increase local capacity and resources for regional ocean spatial planning, and
- Further develop a community of stakeholders to inform future marine planning efforts.
The workshop will be professionally facilitated by Seatone Consulting and a workshop report will be
published. This event serves as an initial step towards developing a comprehensive spatial database
through a community of stakeholders to inform future marine planning efforts in the region.