Marine spatial planning in Large Marine Ecosystems (LMEs)

The idea here is to develop comprehensive plans to cover multiple uses of large areas that encompass systems that are well-defined in biophysical terms but that often cut across jurisdictional boundaries. The Arctic Council has identified 17 LMEs located in the Arctic. The Canada-US pilot project in the Beaufort Sea, now evolving under the auspices of PAME, exemplifies this approach. The new report of the US Ocean Task Force is based squarely on the idea of Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning (CMSP).