DEFINING THE MARINE BOUNDARY COMPONENT OF CANADA’S
GEOSPATIAL DATA INFRASTRUCTURE (CGDI)
Sue Nichols, Michael Sutherland, John Hughes-Clarke, David Coleman
Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering
University of New Brunswick
Fredericton, NB
Canada E3B 5A3
A prerequisite for good governance of coastal and ocean resources is appropriate
information about the ownership, stewardship, and use of these resources, i.e., a marine
cadastre. In particular, it is important that any national spatial data infrastructure includes
accurate, complete, and timely information on: a) what property rights exist; b) what
jurisdictional powers affect these resources; and c) what three-dimensional marine spaces
the property and jurisdictional interests affect?
In Canada the current knowledge of offshore property rights and jurisdiction may be
inadequate for the marine management challenges ahead. It is essential that information
be gathered analyzed and managed regarding the range and complexities of marine
boundaries if the objectives of good governance are to be met. A small selection of some
of these marine boundaries might include:
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limits of private and public ownership (e.g., ordinary high water mark);
limits of private rights below high water (e.g., waterlots, aquaculture sites, oil and
gas);
municipal, county, provincial, and territorial limits of jurisdiction and administration;
national and international boundaries, including national coastal baselines;
government departmental limits;
environmental protection areas (e.g., wetlands, marine protected areas, coastal zone
management) [e.g., Monahan et al., 2000]
military limits (e.g., disposal and weapons firing ranges);
pipeline and cable rights-of-way.
One step towards resolving the lack of knowledge on marine boundaries is the use of
geographic information management tools that may serve to enhance visualization of the
marine boundaries that exist, and which may be used to illustrate problem areas and
alternative solutions. These tools include CARIS Spatial Fusion and CARIS LOTS.
CARIS Spatial Fusion is one of the applications that integrate and distribute
geographically referenced information through the Internet. CARIS LOTS is a
geographic information application, based on CARIS GIS, that can be used to aid in the
delineation and delimitation of marine boundaries as required by the United Nations
Convention on Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
This paper will focus on the essential role of boundary information in the Marine
Geospatial Data Infrastructure (MGDI), the ocean portion of CGDI and is based on
preliminary results of a Canadian National Centres of Excellence project examining the
use and value of marine boundaries for good ocean governance. The purpose of the
project is to demonstrate how geomatics technologies can be used to identify boundary
issues, model potential solutions, and analyze the impact of boundary uncertainties. In
this paper the authors will give examples of the major problems surrounding marine
boundaries in the Canadian Atlantic Region, including such issues as aboriginal rights
and overlapping federal/provincial jurisdiction. The problems being addressed in the
project such as analyzing boundary data uncertainty will be outlined. In conclusion, the
paper will illustrate the benefits of using new ocean mapping tools to resolve some of the
legal, social, and technical issues involved in building a marine cadastre.
Key Words NSDI, coastal boundaries, ocean boundaries, marine cadastre, ocean
mapping, law of the sea, information value
Dr. Sue Nichols is a professor in the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering
concerned with property rights issues on land and at sea. She has also been involved in
research on national spatial data infrastructures in the US and Canada since 1990.
nichols@unb.ca, 506-453-5141
Michael Sutherland is a PhD student in the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics
Engineering and is developing global models regarding the need for marine boundary
information in coastal and ocean management. D8kw@unb.ca, 506-453-4698
Dr. John Hughes-Clarke holds the UNB Chair in Ocean Mapping and is responsible for
the technology portion of the project including the use of multibeam sonar and CARIS
LOTS software to define offshore limits. Jhc@omg.unb.ca, 506-453-4698
Dr. David J. Coleman is the Chair of the Department of Geodesy and Geomatics
Engineering at UNB and has been involved in research on and development of spatial
data infrastructures in Canada, the US, Australia, and Europe. Dcoleman@unb.ca, 506453-5194
Principal Author
Dr. Sue Nichols
Department of Geodesy and Geomatics Engineering
University of New Brunswick
Fredericton, NB
Canada E3B 5A3
506-453-5141
506-453-4943 (fax)