Habitat Mapping Needs and Applications Off the U.S. West Coast

Summary: Accurate benthic habitat mapping provides vital information for a broad range of applications, including energy development, aquaculture development and management, fishery management, and climate change adaptation. Off the U.S. West Coast, planning for offshore wind energy development has begun, is expected to increase rapidly, and underscores the critical need and direct applicability for these data. For instance, delineating and characterizing sensitive habitats that are more vulnerable to adverse impacts can support appropriate project siting, adequate impact analyses, and development of conservation and offsetting measures. Although seafloor mapping coverage has continually increased throughout its EEZ, the U.S. still lacks adequate benthic habitat data to understand the potential effects of new offshore activities, or even where to best site those activities. As a result of our involvement in recent efforts to prioritize mapping needs, including the IWG-Ocean and Coastal Mapping West Coast Spatial Priorities Study, we understand the geographic areas most needing new benthic habitat mapping efforts. Different applications require different mapping data, processing, and final products. Therefore, any benthic mapping data that is collected should be in the most broadly applicable format to ensure maximum utility for Federal agencies, co-managers, stakeholders, the broader ocean community, and the general public (Map Once, Use Many Times). Addressing these urgent data needs now will inform both short-term (e.g., offshore wind energy projects) and long-term (e.g., climate change adaptation efforts) objectives. Given the roles and compositions of SOST and their Interagency Working Groups (e.g., IWC-Ocean and Coastal Mapping), we believe support for targeted, collaborative, and comprehensive benthic habitat mapping off the U.S. West Coast, as espoused in NOMEC, aligns well with the intent of advancing Federal ocean science and technology priorities, and with preparing our nation to address and mitigate the effects of climate change. We hope to be able to elaborate on this idea at the roundtable event on July 19, 2022.

Sector: Government
Organization: NOAA's National Marine Fisheries Service
POC: Eric Chavez, Eric.Chavez@noaa.gov