Relevance of the Northeast Integrated Ecosystem Assessment for the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary Condition Report (2007-2017)

The Office of National Marine Sanctuaries recognize the strategic importance of assessing the conditions and trends within sanctuary waters relative to the conditions and trends observed at broader geographical scales. This report provides a synthesis of existing data from a wide variety of sources on the condition and trends for the Gulf of Maine region within which Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary is located. Data compiled for the Northeast Integrated Ecosystem Assessment form a major contributor to the information in this report. The report was commissioned to support the latest condition report for Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary with a focus on changes in ecological conditions in the water quality, habitat quality, and living resources that have occurred in the Gulf of Maine since the last condition report in 2006.

Key Words

Ecosystem-based management, indicators, environmental change, seascape context, marine protected areas, Gulf of Maine, habitat quality