Posted on 08/23/2002 11:48:27 AM PDT by cogitator
Alaska Governor Calls for National Oceans Policy Act
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, August 22, 2002 (ENS) - Saying our oceans are critical for Alaska and the nation, and yet in peril, Alaska Governor Tony Knowles Wednesday called for comprehensive legislation that sets national policy to protect, maintain and restore our oceans and ocean resources. In a speech before the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, Knowles called for creation of a National Oceans Policy Act.
The 16 member Commission on Ocean Policy is mandated by law to undertake an 18 month study and to make recommendations to the President and Congress for a national ocean policy for the United States. The commission has been holding regional hearings around the country.
"Alaska's oceans are vital to life in the 49th state," Knowles told the panel. "Alaska has more coastline, 44,000 miles, than the rest of the United States combined. We are bordered by three seas, the Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort; two oceans, the Pacific and the Arctic; and the Gulf of Alaska."
Alaska produces roughly half the seafood landed in the United States, he said, and nearly 75,000 Alaskans work in the commercial fishing industry. Sport fishing supports over 10,000 jobs annually, and of foremost importance to many Alaskans is the subsistence harvest of fish, marine mammals, and shellfish.
Knowles praised the goal of the commission to look at concerns regarding coastal development, pollution, commercial fishing, and governance of our oceans.
"The health of America's oceans is in peril," Knowles said. "Half of America's population already lives along our coastlines and that's projected to increase to 75 percent over the next two decades. Our scientists say this increased development will impair water quality in coastal streams and can damage coastal wetlands that are vital nursery grounds for many marine species."
"Pollution from cities and farms ultimately finds its way into the oceans. Oil running off our streets and driveways reaches our oceans in amounts equal to an Exxon Valdez spill every eight months," the governor said.
Fisheries, devastated by overharvesting, are limited in their ability to recover by habitat destruction and wasteful bycatch, he said. Ocean pen farmed fish pose a growing threat of disease, pollution, and invasive and genetic threats to wild stocks. "Governance is fragmented at best and often hopelessly gridlocked."
Modeled after the National Forest Management Act, Knowles proposed the Oceans Policy Act to serve as a compass for managing and preserving America's 200-mile Exclusive Economic Zone.
The Oceans Policy Act would be binding on all activities affecting United States ocean waters and resources, require federal and state actions and programs be consistent with its purposes and policies, provide clear standards against which performance can be measured, and assemble a mechanism through which compliance can be assured.
"Our earth is known as the blue planet because three-quarters of its surface is covered by oceans," Knowles said. "Alaska's and America's environment and economy are inextricably linked to the health of our oceans and watersheds. Let's make sure the blue planet stays blue and that the next frontier remains a place of great beauty and great abundance."
Historically Alaskans have been poor stewards of the seas that surround them. Clean up your own mess before taking on the world.
Oh goody, lets just do to the oceans what the Forest Service has done to the National Parks. I'll bet the Sierra Club just can't wait to get started.
Now that is a good idea, lets use something that has been a total disaster for a model.
Care to elaborate?
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