Created in 1989, the Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment is a cooperative effort of the Canadian and American federal governments, two provincial and three state governments, academic institutions, non-government organizations and private sector organizations throughout the Gulf of Maine cross-border ecosystem area.

The Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment has developed its 2007-2012 Action Plan which has three major goals:

• That coastal and ocean habitats are in a healthy, productive and resilient condition;
• That environmental conditions in the Gulf of Maine support both ecosystem and human health and;
• That coastal communities in the Gulf of Maine area are vibrant and have marine-dependent industries that are healthy and globally competitive.

To support these goals the Government of Canada is investing $751,000 over five years from the Health of the Oceans component of Canada's Action Plan For Clean Water to four of the Council's Action Plan programs.

The Climate Change Network focuses on the latest scientific information about climate change, its potential impacts in the area, and the latest information about adaptations that the Gulf of Maine community will need to make. The Network's current priorities include preparing regional criteria to identify coastal habitats at risk from sea-level rise and other climate change impacts.  

Gulfwatch is a monitoring program for measuring and assessing the types and concentration of chemical contaminants in the coastal waters of the Gulf of Maine. The funding announced today will assist the program to better track the presence and effects of toxic contaminants which will enable improved decision-making information for people in the coastal waters area.

The Ecosystem Indicators Partnership is developing indicators about the nature of the ecosystem of the Gulf of Maine and integrating data for a new Internet-based reporting system for marine ecosystem and state-of-the-environment information.

Public Education and Outreach's activities include the development of materials and marketing strategies to promote the Council's other three programs. A Council website is updated and maintained and various press releases, fact sheets, and other documents are prepared for public distribution and for use at public events.