Fishing industry blasts exclusion from Ocean Council

Jun 28

From: SeaCoastOnline.com

By Shir Haberman
 
EXETER — In July 2010, President Barack Obama issued an executive order that established the first comprehensive national policy for the stewardship of the ocean, coasts and Great Lakes. On Monday, members of the National Ocean Council, which was established under this order, held a public listening session at Exeter High School to get input on the nine strategic plans developed by the council.

While virtually everyone who spoke praised the initiative, several voiced warnings and concerns about what was and was not included in the plans. Hampton resident Ellen Goethel, representing local and regional commercial fisherman, questioned why those she represented were not included on the council.

“What are you thinking, leaving out the fishermen and the (national and regional Fisheries Management) councils?” Goethel asked. “This executive order circumvented the will of Congress (as expressed in the 1996 Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, which established the fishery councils to manage the nation’s fisheries).”

The failure of the executive order to include fishermen in the debate over how best to manage the nation’s oceans was yet another example of the government’s bias against those who earn their livings from the sea, Goethel said.

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The Aquarium of the Pacific is Leading the Dialogue on Urban Ocean Issues

Jun 21

From: Zoo and Aquarium Visitor

By Marilyn Padilla

Long Beach, CA – The Aquarium of the Pacific has announced that it will be leading a gathering of key stakeholders in making the first attempt in the nation to apply coastal and marine spatial planning (CMSP) on Southern California’s urban ocean in late July. CMSP is among the recommendations for ocean stewardship published by the Obama administration’s Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force. “The Aquarium is leading the dialogue on urban ocean issues at local and national levels, raising awareness among the public, and bringing together stakeholders to make innovative plans for the future,” said Margaret Davidson, director, NOAA Coastal Services Center.

This past weekend, the Aquarium of the Pacific celebrated the unique, vibrant section of coastline shared by humans and diverse wildlife in Southern California with the public during its second annual Urban Ocean Festival. During the festival, the Aquarium launched its summer-long Urban Ocean boat cruise, which gives the public the opportunity to see local wildlife, ports, and other activities off the coast. The Aquarium has also been highlighting urban ocean issues with lectures, CMP sessions, and by raising awareness of the urban ocean through presentations at national conferences, including Capitol Hill Ocean Week on June 9, the Blue Vision Summit in Washington, D.C. on May 22, and on May 24 at the Headwaters to Ocean (H2O) Conference in San Diego, where the Aquarium’s President & CEO Dr. Jerry R. Schubel presented a keynote address on CMSP.

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Rules overhaul lies ahead for coastal fishing

Jun 14

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Marine Spatial Planning and the Shipping Industry: If you’re not at the table…

Jun 07

From: The Maritime Executive

Written by:  Paul Holthus, Executive Director World Ocean Council

Marine spatial planning (MSP) is moving ahead rapidly in Europe, Australia and the U.S., creating a significant threat and opportunity for maritime industry access and operations in the marine environment. Unfortunately, the shipping industry is often not actively engaged in MSP in a coordinated manner. There is a substantial risk that the efficiency and safety of shipping will be compromised by the predominance of other stakeholder interests if there is not consistent, coordinated business presence at the MSP table.

Collaborating with other industries as a strong, collective, pro-active “ocean business community” is the best opportunity for maritime industries to shape the future of ocean use. To support this, the first-ever survey of ocean industries on MSP has just been launched and the cross-sectoral business forum on MSP convenes in July 13-14 in Washington D.C.

MSP is a defined by UNESCO as a public and political process of analyzing and allocating the spatial and temporal distribution of human activities in marine areas to achieve ecological, economic and social objectives. The reality is that environmental interests are driving MSP in most areas and ocean industries are not at the table much of the time as ocean planning moves forward.

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Independent Review of All Scientific Findings Used to Support Current Environmental Regulations

Jun 01

Editor’s Note: The following is the Heritage Foundation’s 5th Component of a Healthy National Energy Policy.  The complete document, American Energy Freedom: The Basis for Economic Recovery, is attached below.

Congress should require an independent review of all scientific findings used to support current environmental regulations under the purview of the Department of the Interior, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and the EPA. Congress should repeal or amend those regulations that fail to meet the scientific integrity review. In July 2010, the Obama Administration issued an executive order called the Ocean Policy Initiative that subjects all of America’s waterways and the Great Lakes to federal zoning laws. A newly created National Ocean Council will oversee “coastal and marine spatial planning.” The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) released a “Next-Generation Strategic Plan” that will use “[c]omprehensive planning to address competing uses to protect coastal communities and resources from the impacts of hazards and land-based pollution on vulnerable ecosystems.”

The EPA, a member of the National Ocean Council, could, for example, state that greenhouse gas emissions are harming the oceans, and use this avenue to regulate carbon dioxide if proposed cap-and-trade legislation does not become law. Essentially, this new unelected council bypasses Congress as well as state and local governments in determining land-based and water-based activities and allows new regulations to be established under the Clean Air and Clean Water Acts.

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