A major core of the ecosystem-based management approach is the need to manage within ecological boundaries not just within political boundaries. A variety of systems have been developed to help identify these ecological regions including the development of marine ecoregions and large marine ecosystems. The former are often nested within the latter.

A first step in informing ecosystem-based management is the development of regional assessment. These assessments are a compilation of spatially-explicit information on the biological diversity, natural resources, threats and human uses across a region.

These assessments support a greater understanding of each region's marine environment. Stakeholders have a clearer picture of the state of their natural areas and resources as well as insight into management challenges

These assessments help inform many different types of management activities including the development of gap analyses, marine protected area networks, ecoregional plans and restoration plans as well as ecosystem-based management.

Carolinian Marine Ecoregional Assessment
(download .pdf, 21MB)

Cook Inlet Ecoregional Assessment
(download .pdf, 5.8MB)

Puget Trough Ecoregional Assessment
(download .pdf, 23MB)

Marine/Estuarine Site Assessment for Florida: A Framework for Site Prioritization (download .pdf, 25MB)

Pacific Northwest Assessment (Web site)

The Nature Conservancy Ecoregional Assessments
(Web site)