Ocean Zone News Blog

From: The Maritime Executive

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has reaffirmed its commitment to supporting sustainable maritime development, during a side-event organized by IMO on 20 June at the Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Presenting his vision at the panel discussion on “Sustainable Maritime Development – Contribution of Maritime Transport to Green Growth and Inclusive Development”, IMO Secretary-General Koji Sekimizu said that the promotion of sustainable shipping and sustainable maritime development would be one of the major priorities of his tenure as IMO Secretary-General.

From: Afloat

In a wide-ranging speech on Saturday Simon Coveney T.D., Minister for Agriculture and the Marine promised an integrated marine plan – to be published within months – which will ensure that the development of Ireland’s enormous offshore zone [more than ten times our land area] will take place in a planned, sustainable and environmentally friendly manner.

The announcement came at the weekend when Coveney addressed the Glandore Classic Boat Summer School.

From: Center for American Progress

By: Michael Conathan

Earlier this week, Cape Wind—a proposed wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts—quietly turned aside one of its few remaining challenges by coming to a landmark agreement with the Martha’s Vineyard/Dukes County Fishermen’s Association, which had filed a challenge to the project because fishermen feared they would be displaced from traditional fishing grounds. This compromise helps the project move forward, keeps fishermen in business, and shows how a new concept known as ocean-use planning will be fundamental to future management of our ocean space.