Frances Beinecke’s Blog

Obama Administration Maps the Way toward Better Oceans Management

Many Americans are familiar with the pleasures of swimming, fishing, and beachcombing along our ocean waters. But few people know how much the oceans contribute to our national economy. In 2009, ocean-related tourism and recreation alone generated more than 1.8 million jobs. In fact, oceans contribute more to our nation’s economic output than the entire U.S. farm sector.

I had the privilege of serving on the National Commission on the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and Offshore Drilling. My experience talking with fishermen, tourist business operators, and coastal residents brought home for me just how much Americans depend upon healthy ocean waters.

Yet for decades, America lacked a comprehensive system for managing our ocean riches and protecting the jobs that healthy oceans create. People who depend upon the sea had to navigate over 100 different laws and policies, managers had a hard time balancing competing interests, and state and local leaders had few opportunities to create long-term plans for marine ecosystems

The Obama Administration is helping change that. On Thursday it released a draft implementation plan for America’s first-ever National Ocean Policy. The draft plan is a blueprint of what we need to do in order to help address some of the biggest challenges facing ocean life – from ocean acidification to threatened water quality to habitat degradation. This plan will help us achieve the National Ocean Policy’s goal to protect and restore our ocean resources.

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