The Massachusetts Ocean Management Task Force Reports and Recommendations

The Massachusetts Ocean Management Task Force released final reports and recommendations in March, 2004. The recommendations focus on strengthening state agencies to address environmental, planning, and public trust issues in both state and federal waters; establishing an ecosystem-based protocol to improve management of federal waters; and initiating ocean education and stewardship initiatives.

Links to the Task Force's Waves of Change report and recommendations and the accompanying Massachusetts Ocean Management Task Force Technical Report are provided below. Also available are, public comments on the Task Force reports and recommendations. For more information, see the Massachusetts Ocean Management Initiative website.

The Waves of Change Report and Recommendations

Waves of Change: The Massachusetts Ocean Management Task Force Report and Recommendations includes an introduction, detailed descriptions of key ocean management themes (governance, management tools, scientific understanding, and public outreach), the Task Force's six guiding ocean management principles, and its 16 recommendations with justifications and notes on implementation.

• Full Waves of Change Report and Recommendations (PDF, 6 MB)
• Cover Page, Task Force Members, Table of Contents, and Acknowledgements, Letter from the Task Force Chair, Executive Summary, Summary of Recommendations, Introduction, and Map of Ocean Jurisdiction (PDF, 2 MB)
• Principles of Ocean Resource Management (PDF, 600 KB)
• Recommendations
  • Summary of Recommendations (PDF, 100 KB)
  • Governance of Ocean Resource Management (PDF, 630 KB)
  • Management Tools (PDF, 550 KB)
  • Scientific Understanding (PDF, 960 KB)
  • Outreach (PDF, 610 KB)
• Conclusion, Appendix (Table of Contents for the Task Force Technical Report), and Working Groups of the Ocean Management Task Force (PDF, 500 KB)

Technical Report

The Massachusetts Ocean Management Task Force Technical Report is a compendium of separate ocean resource briefings prepared for the Task Force and includes chapters on the Massachusetts public trust doctrine, a descriptive overview of traditional and emerging ocean uses, an overview of data trends and needs, a summary of state and federal regulatory authorities relating to ocean resources, and other information.

• Full Technical Report (PDF, 3 MB)
• Cover Page, Task Force Members, Table of Contents, Acknowledgements, and Introduction (PDF, 210 KB)
• Trends in the Demographics of Human Population and the Massachusetts Marine Economy (PDF, 320 KB)
• Characterization of Ocean Uses (PDF, 160 KB)
• Summary of Alterations by Human Activity and Cumulative Impacts (PDF, 1 MB)
• Oceanography, Weather Patterns, and Climate Change (PDF, 150 KB)
• Living Marine Resources (PDF, 1 MB)
• Estuarine and Marine Habitat (PDF, 370 KB)
• Sediment and Water Quality (PDF, 140 KB)
• The Ocean as a Public Trust Resource (PDF, 120 KB)
• Policy (PDF, 140 KB)
• Appendix (Glossary of Terms) (PDF, 280 KB)