Fisheries Management Reform Act of 2004

Mr. Speaker, five months ago yesterday, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy released a Preliminary Report outlining the imperiled state of our oceans. Yesterday, the U.S. Commission moved our country one step closer to being better stewards of our oceans by submitting to the President and to Congress a Final Report on ``everything oceans.'' This comprehensive document makes recommendations on a wide range of topics, from improving governance of ocean resources to promoting greater marine stewardship and education, from recognizing the need to manage the oceans on an ecosystem basis to suggesting greater exploration of unknown areas of the sea, from discussing reform of fisheries management to arguing for increases in our marine science research budget, and from speaking to the connections between coastal land uses and the oceans to implementing an integrated ocean observation system.

Submission of the Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy is truly an historic event. It has been more than 30 years since we, as a nation, have evaluated our relationship with the sea. I sincerely hope that our evaluation does not get ignored, but instead serves as a springboard for increased protection of this country's largest public trust resource.

The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy was mandated by the Oceans Act of 2000, legislation on which I am an original cosponsor and which is based on bills that I initially introduced in 1997 and 1999. In the Oceans Act,

we gave the Commissioners an enormous task and today I want to recognize the efforts of the 16 Commissioners, 26 Advisors, and countless staff who helped to create such a comprehensive report. All of these people have spent a large portion of the past five months reading comments on the Preliminary Report provided by Governors, tribal interests, non-governmental organizations, and members of the public--not a small task. I am sure that the Commission's excitement over the release of the Final Report, an endeavor embarked upon roughly three years ago, approximates the thrill felt by those of us who love, care deeply about, and want to protect the oceans.

The Final Report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy details the crises facing our oceans. Building on the Preliminary Report, the Final Report includes refinements in a few areas: the funding mechanism is provided in detail, marine cultural heritage is included, more attention is given to how climate change will affect the oceans, the intent to include all coastal areas such as the Great Lakes and Territories is clarified, and the important role that states should play in protecting ocean resources is emphasized.

While we have many crises--at home and abroad--that require our immediate attention, we cannot overlook the fact that our oceans are in a state of crisis, too. It is my sincere hope that both Members of Congress and the Bush Administration will read the U.S. Commission's Report and realize that our oceans need attention--now--and that the country is looking to us--their leaders--to act. I look forward to analyzing the President's response to the Final Report, a response that, under law, must be submitted within 90 days of today.

We all depend on our oceans and coasts, from the person who lives off the water to the person who visits once in a lifetime. The oceans provide food, jobs, vacation spots, scientific knowledge, and opportunities for reflection. Despite our inability to measure the many non-market values associated with our oceans and coasts, we are able to quantify some of the benefits they provide. For example, over a trillion dollars is added to our economy each year by ocean and coastal economies. I trust that we can all agree that this is a huge contribution; a contribution that must be protected so the returns keep coming.

Protection of our oceans will require a change of course. Unfortunately, all too often we take our oceans for granted: we underestimate their value and we ignore the negative consequences human-related activities can have on them. Our oceans represent the largest public trust resource in the U.S. and cover an area nearly one and a half times the size of the continental United States. Americans expect the Government to safeguard this vast resource and I hope that the Final Report will be the impetus for us to actually begin to do so.

Simply put, our current ocean and coastal management system, created over thirty years ago, is archaic and incompatible with new knowledge about how the oceans and coastal waters function as a whole. Our policies are fragmented, both institutionally and geographically. For example, Mr. Speaker, today we find ourselves with over ten federal departments involved in the implementation of more than 130 ocean- related statutes. It is time to re-consider this incoherent and oftentimes incompatible management situation and bring order to our ocean governance structure. The U.S. Commission's Report offers some guidance on how to do just this.

One of the biggest advances in our understanding of oceans to occur since our last national review of ocean policy is that the natural world functions as ecosystems, with each species intricately connected to the other parts that make up the whole. The U.S. Commission's Final Report, as well as the independent Pew Oceans Commission Report released in June of 2003, clearly states that we must adopt a new policy framework that is based on the concept of ``the whole,'' an ecosystem-based approach rather than one based on political boundaries. This approach will not be as easy or straightforward as our previous approaches, but we must dedicate ourselves to making it a reality. With a comprehensive national ocean policy explicitly written to maintain healthy ocean ecosystems, our oceans will be a bountiful resource in which we can all take pride.

The Final Report released yesterday also stresses the importance of instilling a new ecosystem-based stewardship ethic. Involved in instilling this ethic is increasing ocean-related education for all Americans at all levels, from first-graders learning how to read to graduate students investigating intricate scientific processes. The U.S. Commission details suggestions on how we can instill a new stewardship ethic by emphasizing and investing in greater marine science education. I see this recommendation--that of committing ourselves to teaching people about all aspects of the oceans and how our activities can have negative consequences for ocean ecosystems--as being fundamental to ensuring a better future for our oceans.

It is up to each of us to not let this unprecedented opportunity pass us by--we cannot wait any longer to clean up this mess we have created for our oceans. On this point both the Pew and U.S. Commission reports are adamant: we must rethink the way we look at the oceans. We are at a turning point in oceans management and we have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to take the momentum created by the two ocean reports and make long lasting changes to protect our seas.

Within the Legislative Branch, I have been working to bring attention to oceans issues. I worked with my fellow co-chairs of the bi-partisan House Oceans Caucus, Mr. Jim Greenwood (R-PA), Mr. Tom Allen (D-ME), and Mr. Curt Weldon (R-PA), to introduce a comprehensive oceans bill, H.R. 4900 (informally known as OCEANS-21). OCEANS-21 answers the calls of the Pew and U.S. Commissions by establishing a clear national oceans policy and by providing a framework for addressing the many problems outlined in the reports. I hope that those in the majority party will recognize the bi-partisan nature of OCEANS-21 and give it consideration during this session of Congress. In addition to my efforts on H.R. 4900, I am working closely with Mr. Rahall, Ranking Member of the House Resources Committee, on his efforts to implement those recommendations from the Pew and U.S. Commissions that address management of our nation's fishery resources (H.R. 4706). The specific elements of this bill include separating the biological science from the allocation decisions, implementing conflict of interest requirements for members of the fishery councils, and broadening representation on the councils. I am also the lead sponsor on H.R. 4100, a bill that addresses the problem of pollution from cruise ships, and am a cosponsor of both H.R. 4897, a bill to protect deep sea corals, and H.R. 5001, a bill to establish an ocean observation pilot project that will move us closer to having an integrated ocean observation system. Individual members of the House of Representatives have been working hard to introduce legislation that implements the changes needed to ensure that the oceans we pass to the next generations are oceans that we can be proud of. We are now looking to the House leadership to consider our bills and to make good on the collective responsibility we have to future generations.

Within the Executive Branch, the Bush Administration has a prime opportunity to take the steps necessary to instill a new ocean ethic in our government. In fact, Pew and U.S. Commission recommendation-based action by this Administration could very well save our largest public trust. The time for leadership is now. I am dedicated to providing it in Congress, with the help of my fellow Oceans Caucus co-chairs and other colleagues concerned about ocean issues, and I hope the President will provide it in the White House.

Mr. Speaker, I would like to close with a quote from the Final Report that encapsulates my thoughts on the importance of yesterday's historic occasion:

The responsibility of our generation is to reclaim and

renew the oceans for ourselves, for our children, and--if we

do the job right--for those whose footprints will mark the

sands of beaches from Maine to Hawaii long after ours have

washed away.

Mr. Speaker, I urge all of my colleagues to dedicate themselves to shaping a better future for our oceans.