Feb. 8 – The Economics: National Ocean Watch (ENOW) territorial database project, NOAA
Starting in 2012, NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management has been collecting marine statistics for the coastal states. NOAA has expanded the ENOW marine statistics for the U.S. territories as provided for under the Digital Coast Act or Public Law 116-23. It will be a 3-year project.
In 2021, NOAA began its work to develop Economics: National Ocean Watch (ENOW) marine statistics for the U.S. territories and conducted workshops with the U.S. territories to receive feedback on how to define the ocean economy in each Commonwealth/Territory. Based on that initial feedback, NOAA is working with stakeholders to help define the critical elements necessary to measure an Ocean Economy. The workshops were also focused on gathering existing datasets.
- Presentation: Marine Economy statistics for the CNMI, American Samoa, Guam, the USVI, and Puerto Rico (pdf).
- Overview: The Economics: National Ocean Watch (ENOW) data set features time-series data focused on the six economic sectors that are dependent on the oceans and Great Lakes. ENOW is available for counties, states, regions, and the nation in a wide variety of formats.
- About the Digital Coast Act
- Final Report: Characterizing the ocean economies of Guam, American Samoa, and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, July 2018. Written by the Eastern Research Group of Lexington, MA under contract for the NOAA Office for Coastal Management.
- ENOW Explorer
- Next Steps: Moving forward in 2022 to develop ENOW marine statistics for the U.S. territories, NOAA will continue to host bi-monthly meetings with interested stakeholders in each of the territories. For the latest schedule and if you would like to participate, let us know!
- Contact: Kate Quigley, Economist, NOAA at Kate.Quigley@noaa.gov
Charles Goodhue at Charles.Goodhue@erg.com
For more about NOAA’s Office for Coastal Management, visit their website.