NOAA's Coral Reef Conservation Program

Protecting Corals, Saving Ships

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NOAA Seal "... a project funded in part by the NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program ..."

Graphic of Cruise Ship and Corals

For quick reference on the status of the project and on-going activities, check the

Quick Reference Fact Sheet.


PROJECT:

Graphic of a Cruise Ship

This project is designed to protect coral reef habitats from physical destruction and pollution from ships by integrating coral, marine protected areas (MPA), and other pertinent environmental features and related information into electronic navigation safety systems, such as Electronic Navigation Charts or ENCs. By displaying the location of coral reefs and other Marine Protected Areas along with the electronic navigational charts that are being increasingly used by mariners, NOAA′s Office of Coast Survey ″Protecting Corals, Saving Ships″ project will soon provide an improved means to protect delicate coral reef ecosystems from physical destruction and pollution caused by passing ships. In addition to protecting marine resources, it will improve safety of navigation and to provide important information for both resource managers and navigators.



General Project Description and Background:
This initiative aims to bring critical coral habitat and other Graphic of Corals environmental protection-related information to the mariner while enhancing the flow of key geospatial information for conservation and resource management applications. Specifically, it will pilot the integration of coral and other environmental information into Electronic Nautical Charts, and propose the development of a new Product Specification for Marine Environmental Protection (MEP) data as well as new cartographic symbols for coral, Marine Protected Areas (MPAs), etc. International approval and acceptance of this Product Specification will increase the accessibility of hydrographic data for environmental users and provide a worldwide standard by which scientists, environmental stewards, and natural resource managers could reliably exchange and use hydrographic data for the purposes of marine environmental protection. The project will strengthen NOS on-going initiative within the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO) to introduce nautical chart standards for coral and MPAs. Specifically, the project proposes to:

  • Complete construction to provide ENC coverage of the FKNMS pilot area;
    • Graphic of an ENC
  • Collect and verify all relevant MIO data in the pilot area;
  • Develop technical formats (Product Specification) for international adoption;
  • Initiate consensus-building efforts with the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and IHO;
  • Establish linkages with the Global Environment Facility (GEF)-funded international waters initiatives, such as the Gulf of Honduras and the SE Asia Marine Electronic Highway projects;
  • Advance stakeholder consultation process;
  • Complete technical development;
  • Test prototypes;
  • Work with U.S. Government agencies and maritime industries to expand the pilot for use with all NOAA ENCs;
  • Submit project information to the IMO and IHO and start formal process leading towards the adoption of international standards and symbology for integrating environmental features and data into navigation systems; and
  • Work with GEF projects to expand and replicate the pilot internationally.
Expected Outcomes:
  • Improved dialogue and coordination between data producers and users;
  • Increased awareness of coral, MPAs and other environmental features;
  • Renewed efforts to incorporate environmental symbology and data into navigation systems;
  • Decreased risks of coral damage due to availability of real-time critical data for making informed decisions and availability of such information in automated accident-avoidance systems;
  • International approval and standards for use of the resulting symbols, features, and data in integrated navigation systems.