ABSTRACT
Maritime spatial planning is a relatively new process. While spatial planning on land has already been present for many years, in the case of the sea, this process became mandatory with the entry into force of Directive 2014/89/EU of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 July 2014 establishing a framework for maritime spatial planning (Official Journal of the EU L 257/135 of 28.08.2014). On the basis of this European provision, national legislation was developed in the form of laws and regulations, on the basis of which the role in the design, that is, the development of maritime spatial plans, was assigned to local maritime administration bodies, such as directors of maritime offices (currently, these are the Director of the Maritime Office in Gdynia and the Director of the Maritime Office in Szczecin). This article presents the legal basis for maritime spatial planning in Poland, describes the tasks of the authorities responsible for maritime spatial planning, including the activities and processes that had to take place before the commencement of maritime spatial planning, and shows the results of the work of maritime offices to date in preparing spatial plans for Polish maritime areas. The article presents information from the perspective of a local maritime administration body, whose tasks and function the author has been performing since mid-2017 until now. At the same time, possible contentious issues and problems related both to maritime spatial planning and those that arose during the delimitation of Polish maritime areas in accordance with the provisions of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, drawn up in Montego Bay on 10 December 1982 (UNCLOS Convention), will be indicated. In the opinion of the author, these issues should be resolved so that the maritime administration bodies, as well as other services and authorities operating in Polish maritime areas could efficiently perform their activities, and so that all activities and duties of the Polish state could be fulfilled in Polish maritime areas.
