May 29 2008
Today, as Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick signed into law the historic legislation to develop a comprehensive ocean management plan, Ocean Conservancy applauds the progress and urges Congress to follow suit by passing federal legislation. Now more than ever, as the ocean faces the onslaught of devastating threats such as climate change, overfishing, habitat destruction, and pollution, a sensible roadmap is needed to make the ocean stronger and more resilient. The Massachusetts Ocean Act establishes an advisory panel that will include state agency representatives, legislators, and stakeholders from the fisheries, environmental and marine industry sectors.
"Now more than ever, we must bring order to our ocean to prepare for the devastating impacts of climate change and other threats to the marine environment. Massachusetts, like much of the country has a strong and proud maritime history - and this state legislation will provide managers with the tools necessary to make the ocean more resilient while helping to grow the coastal economy," said Vikki Spruill, president and CEO of Ocean Conservancy. "This comprehensive approach to ocean management is the first of its kind in the nation and is urgently needed for all U.S. waters. We need a new national strategy -- our ocean is sick. Congress should build on this historic success in Massachusetts by passing OCEANS-21."
At the national level, Representative Sam Farr (D-CA) has introduced the Oceans Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for the 21st Century Act, or OCEANS-21. OCEANS-21 will unify ocean management under a national policy to protect, maintain, and restore marine ecosystem health, and would help ensure that major decisions affecting our ocean are consistent with that policy. In addition, the bill streamlines and elevates federal ocean oversight and decision-making by strengthening the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and improving executive coordination, and enhances efforts to manage and protect ocean resources on a regional basis with joint federal-state ocean management partnerships.
In April, the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Fisheries, Oceans and Wildlife approved OCEANS-21 Ocean Conservancy applauds the subcommittee's action, and urges Congress to continue its efforts to enact this legislation to help restore and protect the health of our oceans.