THE PACIFIC ISLANDS SCIENCE CENTER MARINE MAPPER, AN ON-LINE SPATIAL DECISION SUPPORT TOOL FOR THE U.S. PACIFIC ISLANDS MARINE PLANNING

The Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center Marine Mapper is a display, analysis and communication  tool designed to support offshore aquaculture development and more generalized marine spatial planning in the U.S. Pacific Islands. It was first developed in 2013-2014 using funding from the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of Aquaculture. The tool provides on-line access to multiple types of data, including political, socio-economic, biological, geological, oceanographic, human use, and regulatory information, that may be useful to offshore aquaculture site-selection and evaluation using a web-accessible, user-friendly mapper interface. These data sets from the Main Hawaiian Islands (MHI), Guam/Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (GCNMI) and American Samoa (AMSAM) are available to decision-makers, regulators, researchers, entrepreneurs, and the general public.  The website products include graphical and tabular data, images, and synthesized information, providing a screening-level mapper and decision support tool to assist users in evaluating proposed offshore developments around the Pacific Islands. The most unique contribution of the Marine Mapper to this genre of site-evaluation research is the decision tool, which allows users to input their own weights to the range of data variables that are used to determine site suitability.

The PIFSC Marine Mapper is independent of and does not reflect any official policy or permitting efforts. It is a data-driven tool designed to serve all those interested in the siting questions surrounding offshore aquaculture and marine planning in the U.S. Pacific Islands. It should be considered no more than a rough screening tool, and additional site assessments and impact statements will be required for any potential offshore developments. We hope it will be useful to aquaculture developers, fed/state managers, educators, conservation groups, and the general public. While no further enhancements are planned at this time, the PIFSC is committed to maintaining the web sites and tool for the foreseeable future.