Offshore Boundary Options 



1 . Territorial sea boundary. 



Pro — Easy to define. The United States 

 controls this area, so management would 

 be simplified. 



Con —It is an artificial boundary having 

 no demonstrable relationship to coastal 

 ecosystem processes. 



2. Two-hundred-mile (322-km) "economic 

 zone." 



Pro— Easy to define. United States has 

 some management control. 

 Con — Artificial boundary having no 

 demonstrable relationship to coastal 

 ecosystem functioning. 



3. Line marking the 30-m (or any) depth con- 

 tour. 



Pro — Fairly easy to define. Is somewhat 

 more related to functioning of ecosys- 

 tems. 



Con — Line is still very artificial and data 

 would not always be comparable along 

 the coast. 



4. Seaward boundary of the Cowardin et al. 

 (1977) classification scheme, which has 

 been adopted by the National Wetlands 

 Inventory. This is the edge of the conti- 

 nental shelf. 



Pro — Fairly easy to determine. Much 

 more related to ecosystem processes 

 than above options. 



Con— May not include all the important 

 processes. Is not completely controlled 

 by the United States. 



5. Line demarking the limit of the important 

 processes in ecosystem functioning. 



Pro — Would best relate to and allow for 

 modeling of coastal ecosystems. 

 Con — Would be very difficult to delimit; 

 this would have to be done for every 

 level I, II, and III division along the 

 coast. Might cause problems of com- 

 parability. 



LEVEL I AND II DESCRIPTIONS 



A U.S. North Atlantic Coast. This division is 

 affected by the Labrador Current. 



Al Northern Gulf of Maine. Rocky, deeply in- 

 cised "drowned" coastline with numerous 

 bays, estuaries, and islands. High tidal range, 

 creating an abundance of intertidal pool 

 communities. Small areas of mudflats and 

 marshes, few shallow areas. 



A2 Southern Gulf of Maine. Some rocky shores 

 from Cape Elizabeth to Cape Ann, mainly 

 sandy beaches south of Cape Ann. Sandy or 

 cobble beaches with high energy except those 

 sheltered within Cape Cod Bay. Marshes 

 more extensive than those in Al, but smaller 

 than marshes further south; some mudflat 

 areas. 



B Middle Atlantic Coast. This division is af- 

 fected by both the Labrador Current and the 

 Gulf Stream. 



Bl Southern New England. Fairly irregular coast- 

 line with several large islands, two large bays, 

 and two sounds (Long Island Sound very 

 large, protected). Mainly sandy beaches, some 

 high energy, with marsh areas behind; some 

 barrier islands, some with dune systems. 



B2 New York Bight. Coastline dominated by 

 wide, sandy, high-energy beaches, often 

 with dune systems on extensively developed 

 barrier islands protecting bays and large areas 

 of marshes. Hudson River estuary included. 



B3 Delaware Bay. Large embayment semipro- 

 tected from ocean. Extensive marshes on 

 both sides of Bay as far as Philadelphia. Tidal 

 energy twice that of Chesapeake Bay. 



B4 Delmarva Shore. Dominated by series of bar- 

 rier islands with some dune systems and high- 

 energy, wide, sand beaches. Extensive marsh 

 systems in protected shallow waters behind 

 islands. 



B5 Chesapeake Bay. Very large, "drowned coast- 

 line" estuary with several riverine subestuary 

 systems. Largely protected from high-energy 

 ocean influence but with pronounced in- 

 fluence by saline waters, marine organisms, 

 etc., on declining gradient northward into 



