Wear Blue for Oceans

The Value

Our ocean, coasts, Pacific Islands and Great Lakes are not just places of wonder and beauty -- they provide valuable jobs, food, energy resources, recreational and tourism opportunities. Our ocean and coastal waters also provide habitat for an incredible array of fish and wildlife. These waters have been central to our way of life as a maritime nation for generations. Healthy oceans, coasts and communities represent our heritage and our future.

Now is our chance to show the President that the public supports the newly established first ever national policy that will protect, maintain and restore the health of our ocean, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems! - Aaron Viles - Gulf Restoration Network

The Problem

Currently, our ocean, coastal and Great Lakes resources are managed by more than 20 federal agencies and administered through a web of more than 140 different and often conflicting laws and regulations. This complex legal system often results in inadequate management of public and private activities, such as pollution control, fishing and shipping. A strong national policy would help to untangle the regulatory jumble by guiding and coordinating the work of all government agencies and their activities affecting ocean resource management.

Solutions

On June 12, 2009 President Obama created a 23-member Ocean Policy Task Force to develop a first ever National Policy for our oceans, coasts and Great Lakes. From August through November 2009 the Task Force hosted six public hearings around the nation (Alaska, the West Coast, the East Coast, the Pacific Islands, the Gulf Coast, and the Great Lakes) to gather public input on the need for a unifying National Policy for oceans, coasts and Great Lakes.

On July 19, 2010, President Obama signed the Executive Order establishing an integrated National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Our Coasts, and Great Lakes. The National Ocean Policy (NOP) was developed through the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force, based in part on the wealth of input from the public, stakeholders, state and local governments, tribes, and ocean industries. The Task Force recommendations and resulting NOP designed to “maintain healthy, resilient, and sustainable oceans, coasts and Great Lakes resources for the benefit of this and future generations.” At its core, the NOP directs federal agencies to coordinate management activities, implement a science-based system of decision making, support safe and sustainable access and ocean uses, respect cultural practices and maritime heritage, and increase scientific understanding of ocean, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems. The NOP is implemented through a new body of 25 federal agencies and departments called the National Ocean Council (NOC).  For more information, go to: http://www.whitehouse.gov website.

What you can do to help

The Task Force's final report to the President is out and signed, please take a moment to thank President Obama for making the National Ocean Policy a reality. Thank the President.