About
Marco
The Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean is a Regional Ocean Partnership between Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York, voluntarily convened by governors to address cross-jurisdictional ocean matters.
The Mid-Atlantic’s Coastlines and Oceans
The Mid-Atlantic is an economically valuable region, spanning from New York to Virginia and home to over 34 million people.
It supports various economic sectors, contributing $2 trillion (14% of U.S. GDP) through activities like:
- Fishing
- Research
- Transportation
- Renewable Energy
- Tourism
- And more
Ocean Management in the Mid-Atlantic: Balancing Challenges and Opportunities
With the most densely populated coastline in the country, the Mid-Atlantic has many ocean management challenges and opportunities for protecting ocean and coastal economic and ecological vitality. These opportunities and challenges span state and agency jurisdiction.
With that in mind, the Governors of New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia signed a partnership in 2009 to work together to understand and address shared ocean and coastal management priorities via the Mid-Atlantic Regional Council on the Ocean.
Ocean Planning and the Governors’ Agreement
MARCO uses regional ocean planning as a means to advance priorities identified in the Governors’ Agreement.
Ocean planning is a process to improve understanding of how ocean resources and places are being used, managed, and conserved, and to establish a common foundation that will guide actions to address the shared regional priorities.
A Partnership for Effective, Efficient Solutions
MARCO leverages existing state and federal resources, knowledge, and partnerships to build a stronger base of information and experience to make well-informed decisions in the best interest of the states and their constituents. Leading MARCO’s efforts is the MARCO Management Board, which comprises senior coastal managers and policy advisors from each of the five member states and is responsible for implementing MARCO’s regional priorities.
A United Approach to Ocean Management
By working together, while recognizing the partners’ varying respective interests and needs, MARCO provides the states with expanded capacity to address pressing management challenges to improve ocean health, achieve sustainable use of ocean spaces and resources, and grow the vital ocean-based economy.
Additional Support for Regional Ocean Planning is Provided By:
