Ocean Zone News Blog

Posted by Will Ramos on Friday, November 6th, 2009 at 11:22 am

Filed under: Action, Headline, News & Resources, Policy

President Obama charged the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force with recommending a framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning by December 2009.

Marine Spatial Planning (MSP) is a future-oriented, adaptive, science-based tool that requires fundamental understanding of physical, biogeochemical and ecological patterns and processes and human interactions in the ocean; the ability to observe and measure these characteristics; and finally the capability to forecast these conditions. Successful management of the marine environment needs to be based on the best available science and will require continual information gathering to establish baselines, monitor ecosystems, and evaluate the efficacy of marine spatial plans. These tasks are essential to wisely plan for sustainable resource use into the future.

The Congress Blog

By Ocean Conservancy Executive Vice President Dennis Kelso

Today Congress takes up a critical issue for our health and the health of our economy—how to manage our use of the ocean wisely. The ocean may seem like an endless space that can absorb whatever we put in it, and offer infinite supply of whatever we want from it, but as science has proven time and again, this simply is not true. Now, momentum is building for a national plan to manage our ocean—the Obama Administration’s Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force is set to provide recommendations next month, and Congress should support this critical effort, because the ocean affects all of us each day.

North Coast
by Dan Bacher
Tuesday Nov 3rd, 2009 3:19 PM
In this superb commentary, John and Barbara Stephens-Lewallen urge the California Assembly to stop the private takeover of California’s public trust ocean resources by the Resource Legacy Foundation.
California Assembly: Stop Funding MLPAI Process!

by John & Barbara Stephens-Lewallen, Mendocino Sea Vegetable Company

The tragic consequences of the private-foundation takeover of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative (MLPAI) are spreading from California’s coastal communities to people dependent on ocean food for health. All ocean food providers in California are stressed by MLPAI permanent area closures either declared or threatened by the MLPAI process.

Written by Steve Chittock November 02, 2009 Daily Triplicate

More than 70 people showed up Thursday night to talk to officials involved with the effort to create marine protected areas along California’s coast.
A frank discussion focused on the fact that some North Coast residents, including fishermen, harbor commissioners and county supervisors, feel left out of the process.

And while many of the attendees left still frustrated, Marine Life Protection Act Initiative officials felt the session was a good step in developing communication with the community.

Posted: 11/01/2009

Steve Scheiblauer

Will the State’s Marine Protected Areas be a model for dealing with threats from over-fishing, climate change and habitat destruction? No, and here’s why.

A report by 21 international scientists studied the status of 10 large eco-systems. They found our California current eco-system to be the best managed. The likelihood of having sustainable fisheries here was 95 percent, confirming what NOAA says: West Coast fisheries are sustainable.