Oceans and Coastline Face Environmental Troubles; Report Urges New
Policies

By JOSHUA SABATINI

A report that details the findings of the U.S. Commission on Ocean
Policy halfway through its 18-month study of the nation's seas
paints a bleak picture of coastal waters.

"The oceans are in trouble," the report says. "Our
coasts are in trouble. Our marine resources are in trouble . . . all,
perhaps, in serious trouble."

At this point in the study, the 16-member commission chaired by
James D. Watkins, a former chief of naval operations and national
security expert, has only highlighted critical points.

The report points to poor management as a reason for the
oceans' poor conditions.

"Dramatic increases in population and pollution along our
shorelines clearly indicate that the nation's capability to manage
our coasts is inadequate," it says.

The report acknowledges that swimming, boating, fishing and diving
are a major source of revenue for coastal communities, but also that
such activity "has had serious and deleterious effects on the
health of estuaries, coastal waters and the oceans."

Reducing such activity, however, could have serious fiscal impacts.
"The 180 million visitors who enjoy coastal areas and coral reefs
each year currently account for 85 per cent of U.S. tourism
revenues," the report states.

One of the problems the commission has found is the continuous
depletion of fish stocks. It cites inadequate fisheries management as a
reason for the decline.

"Marine fishery management has an uneven, and often poor,
record. Scientific advice has been ignored all too often at the expense
of fisheries and the long-term sustainability of the fishing
industry," the report says.

The nation's coastal waters are an important area for the
reproduction of fish; the same areas account for more than
three-quarters of the U.S. commercial fish catch, according to the
report.

One striking statistic in the report is that about 40,000 acres of
coastal wetlands disappear each year.

The study emphasizes that the nation's oceans, once treated as
a boundless resource, have been shown to be a limited asset after all.

"Of the 23 per cent of U.S. managed fish stock that have been
fully assessed," the report says, "over 40 per cent are
considered depleted or are being fished beyond sustainable
levels."

Striking a sympathetic tone with the Vineyard community and those
like it, the report says, "All Americans should be able to enjoy
clean and healthy beaches and wholesome seafood."

Threatening such a right is pollution.

"Ocean pollution is a growing problem, much of it caused by
nonpoint sources, such as farming practices, urban runoff and air
pollution deposition," the report says. "The sources are
numerous and dispersed while the solutions are elusive and
challenging."

Contributing to the pollution is the boat traffic in and out of
American ports.

"Over 95 per cent of the cargo volume moving into and out of
the United States is by ship, and this is expected to double by the year
2020," the report says.

In the report, the commission acknowledges that it is imperative
that U.S. port infrastructure be designed to handle the projected
increase in traffic. This increase furthermore will pose a significant
environmental threat to the surrounding port waters.

The challenge, the report says, is to protect and conserve the
critical coastal and marine resources "through environmentally
sound planning for port expansion, dredge material disposal, and
management of ballast water and other discharges from commercial
ships."

The report says, "Twelve billion tons of ballast water is
shipped around the world each year, spreading alien and invasive
species."

The commission acknowledges that a proper balance must be reached
between economic gain and environmental issues.

To improve the management of the oceans, the commission emphasizes
the need for further study of the relationship between the climate and
the oceans.

"Through greater understanding of the oceans, we can better
position ourselves to predict droughts, with their devastating effect on
agriculture; hurricanes and storm surges that affect coastal areas, and
public health threats now shown to emanate from a warming ocean,"
the report says.

The commission has listened to testimony during the first half of
its study in locations from Florida to Alaska. According to the report,
a number of presenters urged the development of "integrated ocean
and coastal observing and prediction systems."

During the public hearing process, the commission also heard about
"abrupt climate changes."

"Although the oceans clearly play a crucial role in
controlling climatic events, this is not understood in sufficient detail
to predict or take action in a timely fashion on rapid climate change
events and their impacts," the report says.

The report also shows that the commission wants to learn more about
the Arctic Ocean, "the least understood of all of the
world's oceans."

The Arctic Ocean remains vitally important to the United States, the
report says: "The Arctic is a key component of global climate
change, a known sink for contaminants, the habitat for one of the
nation's largest and most valuable fisheries and the basis of
subsistence for northern peoples."

Examining the best methods to protect important coastal areas, the
commission charges that policies governing the oceans are convoluted.

The commission points out that "jurisdictional and legal
confusion and ambiguity are not uncommon in our coastal laws";
clarifying ocean laws and policies would make for easier management, it
says.

Ocean conditions are not just for scientists and government
officials to solve, the report adds. Americans themselves have a role to
play in the future challenges to protect and improve the nation's
oceans.

"All Americans affect the oceans wherever they may
live," the report says. "Yet, we do not fully understand the
nature of these interactions and relationships."

Education, management and investment strategy, the commission
suggests, may foster a better relationship between citizens and their
oceans.

"The commission is optimistic that it can provide answers to
many serious challenges, yet it is concerned whether there is a
sufficient sense of national urgency to implement a coordinated and
comprehensive national ocean policy to address these challenges,"
the report says.

The commission intends to provide a range of possible solutions to
these challenges in a final June 2003 report to the President and
Congress.

The midway report was sent on Sept. 17 to President Bush, House
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert and Senate majority leader Tom Daschle.

The report says, "A better understanding of how our oceans
work and their importance to our lives is the key to the cultivation and
promotion of the ocean stewardship ethic that is needed to promote and
protect the health of our ocean resources."