Bush Creates Panel to Oversee Ocean Policy

WASHINGTON, DC, December 20, 2004 (ENS) - President George W. Bush on Friday created a cabinet level committee to oversee and coordinate the nation's oceans policy. The committee is at the center of the President's formal response to the final report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, which painted a grim picture of the nation's oceans and coastal areas.

"The President is going to advocate for a comprehensive national approach to the responsible use and stewardship of our oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes over the next generation," said James Connaughton, chair of the White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Connaughton, who will chair the new panel, said its mission is to assure "strong management from the top, accountability for results in implementing the action plan, and then a more effective integration of policy."

The U.S. has more square miles of oceans under its control than it does land. (Photo courtesy Oceana)

The President's plan calls for a few immediate actions, including support for legislation to strengthen the mission and structure of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), stronger action to safeguard coral reefs, and support for U.S. ratification of United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea.

The accord, which has been ratified by more than 140 nations, sets forth international standards for navigating the oceans by commercial and military vessels, fishing on the open seas, mining the sea bed, laying communications cable, and protecting the marine environment.

A handful of Republican Senators have blocked ratification of the treaty - they contend it gives the United Nations too much power.

Ocean advocates called the move an important step in revamping federal ocean policy, but said it falls far short of what is needed.

"The administration's plan contains modest measures that do not match the seriousness of the problems plaguing our oceans," said Sarah Chasis, director of the Natural Resources Defense Council's Coastal and Water Program.

"We need a specific presidential directive to the committee to implement a policy that will restore and protect our oceans," Chasis said. "Right now there is no clear mandate for the committee."

Beaches face pressure from increasing numbers of visitors, as well as pollution from coastal areas and hundreds of miles inland. (Photo courtesy Clean Beaches Council)

The commission's report - the first federal review of U.S. oceans policy in more than three decades - called for dramatic action.

It laid out more than 200 recommendations to transform U.S. ocean policy, which is currently a haphazard mix of federal, state and local authorities and regulations.

More than 60 congressional committees and subcommittees oversee some 20 agencies and permanent commissions with ocean related activities, which are governed by more than 140 federal ocean related statues.

The commission said this current regime fails to coordinate goals and is hampered by a lack of funding.

As a result many species are overfished, coastal wetlands and estuaries that serve as nurseries are polluted and disappearing, commercial fishing interests are suffering, and invasive species are gaining a stronger foothold in many ecosystems.

There can be no doubt the oceans are in trouble and the government is not prepared to deal with the crisis, said U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy Chairman James Watkins. (Photo courtesy U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy)

Retired Admiral James Watkins, chair of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, offered measured praise for the White House plan.

"The President has spoken of the need for fundamental change in core government operations, and we hope that his plan will extend this vision to our nation's oceans, coasts, and Great Lakes," Watkins said. "However, given the detailed nature of the President's plan, additional time is needed to review its contents."

Watkins said he and other commission members are unsure how the plan addresses their report's recommendations or how Bush plans to find funding to implement them.

The cost of the Commission's recommendations is about $1.3 billion in the first year, $2.4 billion in the second year, and $3.2 billion annually thereafter.

Coastal development is putting added strain on the very ecosystems people are so keen to visit and live within. (Photo courtesy National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration)

The White House did not endorse that concept, which has not found strong support in Congress.

"We will be working on our own budgeting," Connaughton told reporters. "We believe in budgeting as we assign priorities and think that is the better way."

The failure to designate funding will doom any effort to revamp ocean policy, advocates said.

"To show that he is serious about addressing the problems facing our oceans, the president needs to put some money where his mouth is," said Gerald Leape of the National Environmental Trust.

The Bush oceans plan can be found here.