U.S. Oceans Commission: Vulnerable Seas Need Urgent Action

By J.R. Pegg

WASHINGTON, DC, September 21, 2004 (ENS) - The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy delivered its final report to the White House and the Congress on Monday, calling for lawmakers to seize "an unprecedented opportunity" to revamp and strengthen the nation's commitment and framework for managing the oceans and coastal areas.

Members of Congress and the Bush administration praised the work of the commission, but there is broad concern among ocean advocates that its warnings and recommendations will fall victim to politics and go unheeded.

The final report, "An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century," draws on more than two years of work by the 16 member commission, which was authorized by Congress in 2000 and appointed by President Bush in 2001.

It calls for a new governance framework, more investment in marine science and a new stewardship ethic by all Americans.

The report, which is the first federal review of U.S. oceans policy in more than three decades, paints a grim picture of the nation's oceans and coastal areas, "Yet all is not lost," the Commission says.

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

The scope of the task is daunting - the final report lays out 212 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 retired Admiral James Watkins. (Photo courtesy U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy)

In addition, it calls for strengthening the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency (NOAA), which is the lead oceans agency in the federal government.

The commission urges a doubling of investment in ocean research, strengthening the link between coastal and watershed management, and implementing the national Integrated Ocean Observing System.

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.

It calls for an Oceans Trust Fund to be established to pay for implementation of its recommendations - the fund would use some $4 billion of the $5 billion annually collected as federal revenues from Outer Continental Shelf oil and gas development and would include any future rents from permitted uses of federal waters.

The earmarked money currently goes into the U.S. Treasury.

The commission released its draft report in April - since then it has been digesting the comments received from 37 governors, five tribal leaders, one regional governors association, 800 interested stakeholders and other technical experts.

In response to those comments, the final report addresses concerns raised by several governors that the trust fund concept could be used as an excuse to roll back a federal moratorium that bans drilling off much of the nation's coast.

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 final report further stresses the key role states should play in restoring oceans and coastal areas, including within the revamp of regional ocean councils and regional research efforts.

Although there has been bipartisan praise for the efforts of the commission, many lawmakers have raised doubts about the political feasibility of implementing its recommendations.

Some lawmakers appear skeptical of the plan to create the National Oceans Council and even less certain there will be support for setting aside a dedicated oceans trust fund.

Several bills implementing various recommendations laid out by the commission are already in play in Congress, but it appears unlikely any of them will be pushed through during the last few weeks of the current session.

The law that created the commission calls on the White House to send Congress its response to the report within 90 days.

Coastal development is putting added strain on the very ecosystems people enjoy visiting and inhabiting. (Photo courtesy NOAA)

Implementing the commission's findings "is not a 90 day exercise," Connaughton said. "This is an exercise that will go on over decades. Our main mission is to take a close look at our budgets and to align priorities of the report with the priorities of the administration."

Ocean advocates - and some members of Congress - contend dramatic action is needed now.

They note similar recommendations were laid out in a report released last year by the Pew Oceans Commission, an 18 member panel drawn from fields of marine science, commercial and recreational fishing, private industry, conservation, government and economics.

"Thanks to the two commissions, President Bush has a blueprint to reverse the serious decline of our nation's oceans," said Natural Resources Defense Council President John Adams, who served on the Pew Oceans Commission. "Now it is time for him to act."

The final report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy is found at: http://oceancommission.gov/documents/welcome.html