Public Source of Expert-Reviewed Data & Maps
The Northeast Ocean Data Portal provides free, user-friendly access to expert-reviewed interactive maps and data on the ocean ecosystem, economy, and culture of the northeastern United States from the Gulf of Maine through Long Island Sound.
Made Possible by Many Data Providers and Collaborators
Established in 2009, the Portal was developed and is maintained by the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC). Many organizations contribute data to the Portal, including state and federal agencies, academic scientists, business entities, and non-government organizations (NGOs). All of these groups, plus a variety of stakeholders, review Portal data and advise on data presentation and visualization.
Decision Support Tool for Northeastern US
By bringing together many types of ocean-related data from disparate sources, the Portal facilitates information-gathering and decision-making by government agencies, businesses, NGOs, academic research groups, and individuals.
Supported by Northeast Ocean Data Portal Team
The Northeast Ocean Data Portal Team maintains and updates the Portal’s databases, maps, and website on an ongoing basis in coordination with data providers, subject matter experts, and user groups. Portal Team members represent the Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC), RPS Tetra Tech, Waterview Consulting, Marine-life Data and Analysis Team (MDAT), The Nature Conservancy, NOAA Office for Coastal Management, and Northeastern Regional Association of Coastal Ocean Observing Systems (NERACOOS).
Guide to the Site’s Content
In consultation with NROC, data providers, and Portal users, the Portal Team in 2024-25 carried out a comprehensive process to redesign the site’s user interface, reorganize the content, and update the back-end technology in order to enhance the user experience. Launched in September 2025, the redesigned site includes five main components:
Topic Pages
Topic pages describe the Portal’s 17 main categories of data, including 8 Marine Life & Habitat Topics and 9 Human Dimensions Topics. Each Topic page provides key information about data updates, data sources and providers, subtopics, data considerations, data status, examples of data, and links to view the data in the Data Explorer.
Data Explorer Interactive Map
The Data Explorer interactive map enables Portal users to visualize any combination of data from the 17 Topics. The maps show the richness and diversity of the ecosystem and illustrate the many ways that humans and environmental resources interact.
Get Data
Most of the data layers that are viewable on the Data Explorer are also available to use on other platforms such as desktop GIS. The Get Data page provides links to either download databases hosted by the Portal or access the data from external sources.
Agency Actions
In coordination with US federal agencies, the Portal provides data to inform public review processes for selected agency actions pertaining to the Northeast region. The Agency Actions pages provide centralized access to these resources, which can be used by individuals and organizations when submitting public comments.
Updates
Check the Updates page for information about changes to the Portal’s data resources and Agency Actions pages. Subscribe to the Portal newsletter to receive periodic email summaries of updates.