Coastal Aquaculture Planning Portal (CAPP)
A Toolbox for Sustainable Aquaculture Coastal Planning and Siting
The Coastal Aquaculture Planning Portal (CAPP) is a toolbox of coastal planning tools designed to assist managers, planners, and industry with sustainable aquaculture development. This toolbox was developed in partnership with Digital Coast, a product of the NOAA National Ocean Service Office for Coastal Management. Explore the portal by filtering Subportal, Keyword, and Region.
This map is intended to be a platform for sharing information and data for coastal and marine spatial planning in the Pacific Islands.
Aquaculture application: Development and planning for aquaculture activities.
Contributing Partners: NOAA, BOEM, MarineCadastre, NOAA PIRPB
Turn complex data into easy-to-understand stories, complete with charts and graphs.
Aquaculture application: Map a coastal county’s use of the ocean and wetlands for economic contributions and potential introduction of new aquaculture for continued and sustainable economic growth.
Contributing Partners: NOAA OCM
Cormix Is a USEPA-supported mixing zone model and decision support system for environmental impact assessment of regulatory mixing zones resulting from continuous point source discharges. The system emphasizes the role of boundary interaction to predict steady-state mixing behavior and plume geometry.
Aquaculture application: Assists in the site selection of aquaculture facilities located in close proximity to point source discharge.
Contributing Partners: MixZon Inc
The Cultured Aquatic Species Fact Sheet collection provides baseline information of environmental conditions needed for some aquaculture species.
Aquaculture application: Provides a general overview of various aquaculture aspects including production systems, diseases and control measures, production statistics, and market and trade for the most important species in global aquaculture.
Contributing Partners: FAO
The Ecological Marine Units (EMU) map seeks to portray a systematic division and classification of physiographic and ecological information about features in the ocean. The explorer brings a fully interactive map to users, of marine ecology that is fully 3D and covers all of the oceans will make it possible for users to navigate through the ocean and observe a wide range of ocean parameters such as salinity and oxygen levels, as you explore from the surface down to the ocean floor.
Aquaculture application: This application allows for coastal managers and the aquaculture industry to have a rough characterization of dissolved chemical components at various depths throughout the World’s oceans. These estimates can aid in screening areas for aquaculture.
Contributing Partners: ESRI
Identify and download the NOAA Nautical Chart needed for a specific planning area. This simplifies the use of electronic navigational charts, and ensures the user has the most up-to-date ocean-use information.
Aquaculture application: Users can access NOAA’s up-to-date nautical charts to assist in aquaculture screening and siting.
Contributing Partners: NOAA OCM
This tool streamlines the task of obtaining and comparing economic data, at both the county and national scale, for the six economic sectors dependent on the ocean and Great Lakes.
Aquaculture application: This interactive tool allows users to quickly access and view summary data for various ocean economies including: living resources, marine construction and transportation, offshore mineral resources, ship and boat building, and tourism and recreation. This can aid users in gauging the economic impacts of new aquaculture operations on U.S. coastal ocean region’s working waterfronts.
Contributing Partners: NOAA OCM
The FAO Guidance on spatial technologies for disaster risk management in aquaculture provides concepts and technical information to raise awareness and improve knowledge of the spatial technologies available to decision-makers, managers and technical personnel involved in disaster risk management (DRM) for aquaculture. Also includes:
Aquaculture application: Used for planning, risk reduction, preparedness, and use of spatial technologies for aquaculture application.
The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture (SOFIA) is the flagship publication of the FAO Fisheries and Aquaculture Department. This premier advocacy document is published every two years to provide policy-makers, civil society and those whose livelihoods depend on the sector a comprehensive, objective and global view of capture fisheries and aquaculture, including associated policy issues.
Aquaculture application: Compiles a world perspective on capture fisheries and aquaculture providing updated information on production, policy changes across the globe, and innovative technology.
Contributing Partners: FAO
The National production page includes a map on aquaculture production of aquatic animals for human consumption (tonnes) in 2009.
Aquaculture application: These mapping efforts depict a global overview of aquaculture production by category (fish, shellfish, etc.) helping the user assess the global market.
Contributing Partners: FAO
FishStatJ is a downloadable desktop application providing users with access to a variety of fishery statistical datasets.
Aquaculture application: Allows decision makers and stakeholders access to statistical datasets browsing, data mining, charting and reporting, filtering, grouping and aggregation aquaculture and fisheries related data.
Contributing Partners: FAO
160,000 datasets (data, web services, press releases, articles, and more) registered to facilitate a unique, geospatial-oriented social experience, with shared resources at its core. Use these resources to collaborate with other users, solve critical problems, and foster science-based decision-making.
Aquaculture application: One-stop shop for geospatial data that can be used in collaborative aquaculture planning and siting efforts.
Contributing Partners: GeoPlatform.gov
A global map depicting all the aquaculture facilities that have the Best Aquaculture Practices (BAP) Certification. These aquaculture operations have met certain quality standards to receive the BAP certification.
Aquaculture application: The map identifies the locations of all BAP-certified farms, hatcheries, feed mills, processing plants and repackaging plants.
Contributing Partners: Global Aquaculture Alliance
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The Gulf AquaMapper is a web-mapping application designed to assist managers in identifying suitable areas for aquaculture development in the Gulf of America (formerly Gulf of Mexico). The application provides high resolution maps to improve the coordination and transparency of permits and siting, which in turn reduce planning costs on industry and regulatory agencies and allow for more investment opportunities in domestic seafood production.
Aquaculture application: Online spatial screening tool consisting of aquaculture relevant data for the Gulf of America.
Contributing Partners: NOAA, Marinecadastre.gov, OCM
Created by utilizing 3D seismic data which covers more than 90,000 square miles of enhanced resolution bathymetry data for the deep waters of the Gulf of America.
Aquaculture application: Enhanced high resolution imagery of deepwater bathymetry allows for a more informed aquaculture site suitability analysis. High-resolution, accurate bathymetry increases accuracy of estimates for oceanographic, habitat-related, and hydrographic parameters within a given area.
Contributing Partners: BOEM
Requirements: Download
GOMAportal.org is a metadata catalog and data repository for Gulf of Mexico related geospatial datasets.
Aquaculture application: Users can identify and research data available for planning, screening, and siting for coastal aquaculture in the Gulf of Mexico.
Contributing Partners: Gulf of Mexico Alliance, GOMA Ecosystems Integration and Assessment Priority Issue Team, Harte Research Institute for Gulf of Mexico Studies, NOAA National Coastal Data Development Center
State Partners: Alabama Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, Marine Resources Division, Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission Fish and Wildlife Research Institute, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, Mississippi Department of Marine Resources
University Partners: Florida Institute of Oceanography, University of New Orleans Pontchartrain Institute for Environmental Sciences, University of Southern Mississippi Gulf Coast Geospatial Center
These data show ocean use patterns (general use areas and dominant use or hotspot areas) for 27 separate uses of the ocean off the state of California. The data set includes input from commercial and recreational fisheries, offshore energy, tourism, ports, shipping and navigation, national security, recreational users (e.g., surfers, boaters, wildlife viewers, etc.), and conservation groups.
Aquaculture application: Development and planning for aquaculture activities.
Contributing Partners: MarineCadastre, NOAA
This website hosts the multibeam bathymetry and backscatter synthesis for the main Hawaiian Islands. Data has been collected and processed for visualization of all available bathymetry data for the Main Hawaiian Islands.
Aquaculture Application: Bathymetric data can be used for screening and planning of aquaculture activities.
This story map highlights the various types of marine aquaculture in the U.S. The map is not exhaustive and does not feature every domestic farm. It does provide a general overview to highlight the general landscape of marine aquaculture production in California and the U.S.
Aquaculture application: Learn about where, and what type of aquaculture is occurring around the nation.
Contributing Partners: Aquarium of the Pacific
This portal contains ecological datasets including marine environmental, benthic habitats, fishes, sea turtles, marine mammals and seabirds off the Main Hawaiian Islands.
Aquaculture application: Datasets may be used to assist in siting offshore aquaculture operations in federal waters.
Contributing Partners: NOAA/NCCOS, BOEM
Collaboration to produce “base layer” predictive model products with associated uncertainty products for 29 marine mammal species or species guilds and 40 avian species, and three geospatial products for 82 fish species.
Aquaculture application: Decision support tools for aquaculture coastal managers and stakeholders to view numerous sets of biological data, as well as derived data products.
Contributing Partners: Duke University (MGEL), NOAA, NCCOS, Loyola University
Supplies baseline ocean planning data and allows for high quality visualizations for marinecadastre.gov data. Data and metadata can be viewed and downloaded as well.
Aquaculture application: Download and visualize 249 various data layers for coastal planning, including spatial data for the Nation’s aquaculture industry (search for the “aquaculture” layer).
Contributing Partners: BOEM, NOAA OCM
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This highly-functional online toolkit and resource center consolidates available data and enables a multitude of stakeholders to visualize and analyze ocean resources and human use information such as fishing grounds, recreational areas, shipping lanes, habitat areas, and energy sites, among others.
Aquaculture application: MARCO serves as a platform to engage all stakeholders in the five coastal mid-Atlantic states, assembling much of the essential data needed for aquaculture screening in the region. MARCO uses a customized, state-of-the-art mapping and visualization technology to better engaged all stakeholders in the ocean planning process.
Contributing Partners: MARCO
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The National AquaMapper provides aquaculture-relevant data for offshore waters of the United States in one easy-to-use map viewer.
Aquaculture application: This tool is designed to support and inform screening of ocean areas for aquaculture through visualization of numerous siting parameters.
Contributing Partners: NCCOS
The National production page includes a map on aquaculture production of aquatic animals for human consumption (tonnes) in 2009.
Aquaculture application: This map depicts a global overview of aquaculture production by category (fish, shellfish, etc.) helping the user asses the global market.
Contributing Partners: FAO
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Allows users to interactively view data, aerial imagery, dive photography, underwater video and related publications developed for the benthic habitat mapping of many U.S. coral reefs. In addition to viewing benthic habitat data, users can examine the attributes of the data and view different thematic representations. Photos and videos taken during dive missions are linked to the location of the dives.
Aquaculture application: The application allows aquaculture coastal managers and industry to visualize the benthic habitat, and make screening and siting decisions based on benthic composition.
Contributing Partners: NOAA, NCCOS
Description: Search geographically for studies and data available from NOAA’s NOS NCCOS. This map viewer allows users to search, locate, download, and utilize data for a chosen area of interest.
Aquaculture application: Users can search for data and information on scientific studies carried out within an area of interest for aquaculture operations. Data needed can then be downloaded in a number of user-friendly formats.
Contributing Partners: NOAA, NCCOS
Users can preview coastal aquaculture research NOAA conducts in many coastal states of the nation. This interactive map viewer provides a comprehensive overview of aquaculture research projects carried out by NOAA aquaculture scientists.
Aquaculture application: Users can explore the many exciting projects conducted by NOAA scientists, glimpsing into new and emerging research and technology being carried out to ensure sustainable and environmentally conscious aquaculture for the future.
Contributing Partners: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
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This interactive viewer allows for the identification of NOAA bathymetric data for both visualization and download. The viewer contains single-beam tracklines, multibeam surveys and mosaics for data visualization, the NOS hydrographic surveys, BAG footprints and shaded imagery, digital elevation models (DEMs), and coastal LiDAR datasets available.
Aquaculture application: Coastal managers and the aquaculture industry can identify potential bathymetric data available for a specific location. This data can be downloaded and used for planning purposes.
For combined bathymetric/topographic data, estuarine bathymetry, and more go to the NCEI World Data Service for Geophysics.
Contributing Partners: NOAA NCEI
BlueTopo is a compilation of the nation’s best available bathymetric data. BlueTopo details the depth of lake beds and seafloor beneath navigationally significant U.S. waters.
Aquaculture application: BlueTopo displays bathymetry in a layer behind a nautical chart, which provides more context to the user and encourages a deeper understanding of the seafloor. This is helpful when determining aquaculture gear type(s) that would be compatible in those areas.
Contributing Partners: NOAA Office of Coast Survey
A compilation of geospatial data to create a national framework for coastal and marine spatial planning, complete with data, tools, and information to bolster transparent, science-based decision-making to enhance regional economic, environmental, social, and cultural well-being.
Aquaculture application: Provides access to data and a platform for collaborative, regionally-based planning and aquaculture siting.
Contributing Partners: NOAA
Based on the idea of a traditional atlas, the Gulf of Mexico Data Atlas provides an interactive platform to view and download many data layers pertinent to ocean planning. Data layers are grouped by theme, including physical, biotic, living marine resources, socioeconomic conditions, environmental quality, and jurisdictions in the U.S. portion of the Gulf of Mexico.
Aquaculture application: The interactive Gulf of Mexico Data Atlas provides numerous themed data layers that users can visualize and download for aquaculture screening in the Gulf of Mexico.
Contributing Partners: NOAA NESDIS; NOAA NCEI
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The Spatial Prioritization Widget is a tool to gather mapping priorities from stakeholders in a study area. This customizable tool can be configured to identify not only the desired locations and the temporal priorities of the respondents, but also their rationales to justify these decisions or the type of mapping products they need.
Aquaculture application: Aquaculture education, ocean education. The data can be further analyzed to identify consensus areas of highest priority.
Contributing Partners: NCCOS
The Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) and its predecessors have gathered oceanographic data along our nation’s coasts for over 200 years to provide accurate forecasts. Here you can access those data and the associated map products.
Aquaculture application: Real time maritime and atmospheric data, as well as forecasted data, can be utilized by the aquaculture industry, and coastal managers, for management and planning.
Contributing Partners: NOAA CO-OPS
Users can identify and download water column sonar data, the acoustic backscatter from the near-surface to the seafloor, to ascertain physical and biological characteristics of the seafloor including the spatial distribution of plankton, fish, methane seeps, and underwater oil plumes.
Aquaculture application: Coastal managers and the aquaculture industry can identify water column sonar data available for a specific location. This data can be downloaded and used for planning purposes.
Contributing Partners: NOAA NCEI
This interactive map viewer and data portal provide a comprehensive suite of up-to-date aquaculture relevant data, themed maps for the Northeastern United States (New York to Maine).
Aquaculture application: The application has many of the data layers needed to make relevant coastal aquaculture (shellfish, finfish, and algae) planning decisions at the region to local level. An additional case study of offshore shellfish aquaculture presents an excellent example of proper planning for sustainable aquaculture.
Contributing Partners: Northeast Ocean Data
These data highlight a number of major species groups, habitats, and processes in the Northwest Atlantic and include coastal analyses, benthic habitats, ecological marine units, and multiple fish, mammal and sea turtle analyses.
Aquaculture application: Development and planning for aquaculture activities.
Contributing Partners: MarineCadastre, TNC
Draw a custom area anywhere in U.S. waters or pick from a predefined list of locations to get instant custom reports. Reports include descriptive infographics and supporting data that can be used for offshore planning, permitting, environmental review, public relations, and more. New features allow printing by industry, sharing, and adding custom coordinates.
Aquaculture application: Explore your ocean neighborhood, and use this decision support tool to evaluate your coastal and ocean project area to plan for aquaculture development.
Assessment of protected species (marine mammals, sea turtles, and birds) interactions with marine aquaculture around the globe.
Aquaculture application: This state of science analysis provides information for environmental assessments and consultations for aquaculture permitting.
Contributing Partners: NOAA, NOS, NCCOS
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Users can access fisheries and fisheries-related data at spatial scales that have ecological and policy relevance, such as by Exclusive Economic Zones, High Seas, or Large Marine Ecosystems.
Aquaculture application: This interactive application gives users statistics and visualizations for fisheries and related-data for specific country’s Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and can compare amongst countries to create a global view of current fisheries conditions
Contributing Partners: United Nations (FAO) FishStat database
An interactive portal that displays multiple parameters to include, water quality, weather data, geographical features, essential fish habitat and more.
Aquaculture application: This interactive portal allows you to view biological, chemical and geographic parameters for the siting of aquaculture.
Contributing Partners: SECOORA, IOOS
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This map highlights several major coastal and marine species and habitats for the South Atlantic Bight (North Carolina to the Florida Keys). Building on a diverse suite of available regional and state data, the map shows the regional distribution and status of seafloor habitats and coastal systems.
Aquaculture application: Development and planning for aquaculture activities.
Contributing Partners: MarineCadastre, TNC
This is a digital conversion of the National Marine Fisheries Service original hardcopy anglers’ atlases between the years of 1974–1976 to assist the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) in marine spatial planning efforts, specifically the siting of renewable energy projects on the outer continental shelf (OCS). Other elements from this guide have been pulled out into geospatial data including caution points, lines, and areas, as well as a digital map index.
Aquaculture application: Development and planning for aquaculture activities.
Contributing Partners: MarineCadastre, NMFS
Interactive decision-support tool for the Washington State coastline and near shore waters supporting transparent data sharing and ocean-planning information.
Aquaculture application: This tool is designed to provide users visualizations of ocean and estuarine data for the state of Washington. It can aid in identifying potential risks, siting conflicts and long-term suitability for particular areas in Washington State.
Contributing Partners: Washington State Department of Ecology