Public Urged To Take Part In Ocean Use Survey
The Bermuda Ocean Prosperity Programme [BOPP] is conducting an Ocean Use Survey and is inviting the public to participate by using an online tool to identify areas of importance and what activities are undertaken in, on and around Bermuda’s ocean.
A spokesperson said, “Bermudians are encouraged to share where they fish, where they surf, where they dive, and even their favorite ocean view. This data will help BOPP understand important areas for conservation, fishing, and recreation and will be combined with other data sets to inform the Marine Spatial Plan. This survey has been open since last fall and is on-going until its conclusion on February 15th, 2021. The survey can be found here.”
Minister of Home Affairs, the Hon. Walter Roban said; “As we near the conclusion of the Ocean Use Survey, I encourage every resident to take the Ocean Use Survey. We need your input to identify areas of importance. Each input collected will help us to better understand priority areas and ocean activities, and thus develop the best possible plan for Bermuda.”
Minister Roban added: “Stakeholder engagement is a critical component to the success of the Programme: It is important that we hear from you about what kind of future you wish to see for Bermuda. BOPP Site Manager Cheryl-Ann Mapp and Communications Coordinator Weldon Wade, along with other Programme leaders, will continue to engage stakeholders and connect with communities throughout the process to further share BOPP’s mission, answer questions, and ensure every voice is heard.”
The spokesperson added, “Marine Spatial Planning is a public process that uses spatial information about natural resources and human uses to develop a comprehensive management system to maximize human and environmental wellbeing.
“BOPP will combine the Ocean Use Survey data with ecological data like coral cover, fish species density, water quality, and existing marine protected areas, along with information on transportation like shipping lanes.
“These data will then be measured against the Principals, Goals, and Objectives developed by the BOPP Steering Committee and stakeholder groups. This modeling process will develop several plans that will be presented to the Steering Committee, stakeholders, and the public for review and discussion.”
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I was not able to define the area of water I use, using the map tool as the area I use involves a very large area. The survey has been configured so one cannot complete the survey if the area of marine usage on the map is not defined. I’m sure the number of participants will be low which may lead those carrying out the survey to believe there is little interest in marine usage. This is not the case. I hope the glitch will be remedied and the time to take the survey extended. Very unfortunate.
why make a survey that is difficult to use. You would get more response if you made the survey easier and more intuitive. I had to cancel my submission.