From: Dive News Network

The National Ocean Policy is currently coming into question regarding its verbiage and its potential to unnecessarily harm the terrestrial and marine economic landscape. Concerned divers are stepping up to question congressional representatives about the affects the NOP may have on agriculture, commercial and recreational fishing, as well as construction, manufacturing, marine commerce and renewable energy. The concern is if the NOP and its funding is not protected it could affect jobs and the U.S. economy.

Divers and the dive industry are concerned about the meaning of the policy, how it will be implemented and the potential impact on the economy, budget, existing statutes and regulatory processes. The government administration in charge of either changing the policy or redesigning it already predicted there may be some “uncertainty and anxiety among those who rely on these resources”. They are expecting their current actions to generate questions about how it will affect existing processes and budget challenges.

In the eyes of the dive industry, the risk of unintended consequences is a concern because of the unprecedented geographic scale of the policy. The policy has already been used as justification in a federal decision restricting access to certain areas for commercial activity. It is this type of “back writing collateral damage that the dive industry is concerned about. For instance the zoning component known as “Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning,” has not been established by scientific data and information based on realities on the ground and for this reason divers are concerned about its implementation.

And then there is the money which will be spent on putting the current NOP into the fray of already constrained public resources. According to government sources, federal agencies have been instructed to prioritize the National Ocean Policy in the Fiscal Year 2013 budgets. There is concern they are being asked to determine how funding can be repurposed in order to support the new initiative. Dive industry leaders think the funds would be used to create a whole new infrastructure to support the new initiative. They believe funds should instead be used to support existing entities, programs and activities that have already been authorized by Congress.

Currently the dive community and industry are asking that Congress hit the pause button on NOP. They would like to see the policy better defined in terms of both how it is laid out and how it is paid for. There is a concerted effort to gain the attention of the Appropriations Committee so they can be encouraged to include language in all Fiscal Year 2013 appropriation bills prohibiting the use of funds to implement the National Ocean Policy. Revisiting the bill for changes could produce a friendlier policy to both the planet and then dive and water recreational communities. Proponents of the effort are asking for more time for oversight and examination of potential impacts as well as how it reflects and enhances the role of an NOP on the oceans, coastal areas and marine ecosystems. Many believe what we do with our oceans have a huge effect on society as a whole. Any ocean policy should be designed to stimulate job creation and economic growth while conserving the natural resources and marine habitat.