U.S. Ocean Report

[Roger B Griffis]

- Apologies for cross-postings -

U.S. Ocean Report Released

Last week U.S. federal agencies submitted the first National Ocean
Report to the President entitled "Turning to the Sea: American's Ocean
Future".  The report from the Cabinet responds to President Clinton's
request at the National Ocean Conference (June 1998) for recommendations
on a coordinated, focused, long-term federal ocean policy.

The Report contains nearly 150 recommended actions to protect, restore,
and explore America's ocean resources (including coral reefs). The Vice
President, in accepting the report, launched a high-level task force to
oversee implementation of key recommendations.

The report is available on-line at

www.publicaffairs.noaa.com

or by sending an email with your name and address to

Robert.C.Hansen at hdq.noaa.gov

Thank you.
__________________________
From: "The White House" <Publications-Admin at Pub.Pub.WhiteHouse.Gov>,
on
09/03/1999 5:20 PM:
To: internet[<Public-Distribution at pub.pub.whitehouse.gov>]

                            THE WHITE HOUSE

                     Office of the Press Secretary

________________________________________________________________________

For Immediate Release                                  September 2,
1999

                        REPORT FROM THE CABINET:
                  AN OCEAN POLICY FOR THE 21ST CENTURY
                           September 2, 1999

At the National Ocean Conference last year in Monterey, President
Clinton directed the Cabinet to report back with recommendations for
a
comprehensive ocean policy to guide federal efforts in the 21st
century.
In a report presented today to Vice President Al Gore, entitled
"Turning
to the Sea: American's Ocean Future," the Cabinet recommends nearly
150
actions to protect, restore, and explore America's ocean resources.
The
Vice President, in accepting the report, launched a high-level task
force to oversee implementation of key recommendations.

Recommendations from the Cabinet include:

Sustaining Economic Benefits
-    Create new incentives to reduce overfishing, allowing fish
stocks
to recover and become more commercially viable.
-    Develop guidelines for environmentally sound and sustainable
aquaculture and promote domestic and international compliance with
them.
-    Increase support for sustainable harvesting and testing of
marine
resources with potential pharmaceutical benefits.
-    Help state, local and tribal governments adopt and implement
sustainable development plans for coastal zones.

Maintaining Global Security
-    Work with the Senate to ensure that the United States joins the
Law
of the Sea Convention as soon as possible.
-    Improve U.S. capability to conduct surveillance, detection,
identification, classification, and interdiction of maritime threats
before they reach U.S. shores.
-    Coordinate initiatives to maintain and exercise freedom of
navigation.

Protecting Marine Resources
-    Coordinate federal programs with "smart growth" initiatives at
the
local level.
-    Coordinate efforts among federal agencies to effectively address
polluted runoff and other sources of coastal pollution.
-    Strengthen efforts to protect and restore essential fish habitat
as
required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management
Act.
-    Examine the concept of marine wilderness areas and its
application
to U.S. marine protected areas.

Discovering the Oceans
-    Improve coordination of data collection among coastal,
open-ocean
and seafloor observation stations and expand their data gathering
capabilities.
-    Integrate relevant ocean science disciplines to advance basic
and
applied research in ocean and coastal issues.
-    Support expansion of underwater exploration by federal agencies
and
through private exploration initiatives.
-    Establish a nationally coordinated effort to improve and promote
ocean science education.

To oversee implementation of the Cabinet recommendations, the Vice
President announced a new high-level Oceans Report Task Force.  The
Task
Force will prioritize the recommendations, appoint lead agencies for
implementation of key recommendations, and meet quarterly to review
progress.  The Task Force will be co-chaired by the Chair of the
Council
on Environmental Quality and the Deputy National Security Advisor and
will include high-level representatives of agencies with
responsibility
for ocean affairs.

                                 # # #


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