Ocean Zone News Blog

From:  Columbia Journalism Review

By Curtis Brainard

Last October, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar called on the press to pay more attention to the Obama administration’s achievements in environmental conservation.

In response, The Miami Herald’s Carl Hiaasen suggested that the government give journalists more to write about, and he had a point. On Sunday, The Washington Post’s Juliet Eilperin had a revealing article (which should’ve gotten higher billing in the paper) about the president’s “modest personal interest in wilderness protection.” But Salazar had a point as well. Articles like Eilperin’s are all too rare. Case in point: Obama’s National Ocean Policy.

the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative released its 2012 U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card assessing the nation’s progress toward implementing the National Ocean Policy, which is critical to our national security, coastal economies, and the health of our ocean resources. The report card praises state and regional efforts to implement the National Ocean Policy. While the report card also commends solid steps taken by the Administration to lay the foundation for success, it highlights that overall implementation has fallen short of expectations and Congress has failed to show leadership on the issue. The report card calls on national, state, and local leaders to fully implement the National Ocean Policy and for the Senate to act on the Law of the Sea Convention. The report card also identifies 15 specific action steps necessary to ensure the health of our ocean resources now and into the future.

From: Heartlander

Alaska state officials are pressing the Obama administration to exercise restraint in implementing a new National Ocean Policy that threatens to shift power from the states to the federal government.

Decisions Move to DC

Appearing at a U.S. House of Representatives Natural Resources Committee Field Hearing April 3 in Anchorage, state officials joined citizens and entrepreneurs in expressing concern an executive order signed by President Barack Obama last summer will lead to a costly National Ocean Policy that stifles local economic activity and shifts power from state and local officials to federal bureaucrats thousands of miles away.

From: Dive News Network

The National Ocean Policy is currently coming into question regarding its verbiage and its potential to unnecessarily harm the terrestrial and marine economic landscape. Concerned divers are stepping up to question congressional representatives about the affects the NOP may have on agriculture, commercial and recreational fishing, as well as construction, manufacturing, marine commerce and renewable energy. The concern is if the NOP and its funding is not protected it could affect jobs and the U.S. economy.

The U.S. House of Representatives last week approved an amendment from Congressman Steve Southerland that would prohibit federal funding for expansion of so-called “catch shares” in the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic fisheries during the coming fiscal year.

Southerland’s amendment to the Commerce, Justice and Science Appropriations act was approved by a 220-191 margin. The appropriations bill must still be approved by the U.S. Senate.

“This is a small victory for recreational and commercial fishermen, and coastal communities,” said Chip Blackburn, who captains the charter boat Miss Mary out of Mexico Beach.  “Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to try and implement an agenda.