PEW
Oceans Report
by Jerald Horst, Sea Grant Extension Fisheries Specialist
Posted:
6/12/03
After
two years of work, the Pew Oceans Commission has released
its long awaited report, America's Living Oceans:
Charting a Course for Sea Change. The 18 commissioners
traveled around the country and spoke to thousands of people
who live and work along U.S. coasts. According to the report,
"The story that unfolded is one of a growing crisis in
America's oceans and along our coasts." Their report
is the first national review of ocean policies since the Stratton
Report was released in 1969. Another report, from the U.S.
Commission on Ocean Policy, will be completed later in 2003.
The Pew Report identified nine major threats to oceans, and
proposes some ways to address them.
Threats
Identified by the Report
Overfishing. As of 2001, the government could
only assure that 211 of 959 fish stocks (22%) were not being
overfished. The report says that even this figure is optimistic
because the legal definition of overfishing does not account
for the health of other species or the ecosystem. "The
intent of ecosystem-based management is to maintain the health
of the whole as well as the parts." According to the
report, one of the most promising new approaches to marine
conservation is the development of marine reserves (marine
protected areas), where all activities that upset the ecosystem
or take things from it are prohibited. This includes fishing.
Bycatch.
Scientists estimate that fishermen worldwide discard about
25% of what they catch — about 60 billion pounds. This
reduces catches in other fisheries and can alter ecosystems.
Bycatch in longline fisheries affects sea birds and sea turtles.
Nonpoint
Source Pollution. This is pollution that can't be
identified as coming from specific points, but rather from
broad sources, such as runoff from land or deposits from the
air. It is estimated that the oil entering the oceans from
runoff from U.S. streets and driveways equals an Exxon
Valdez oil spill — 10.9 million gallons —
every 8 months. The greatest threat, the report says, to coastal
marine life is the runoff of excess nitrogen from fertilized
farm fields and cities. Nitrogen runoff from animal feedlots
is considered to be point source pollution and adds to the
problem. It also enters the ocean from the air, where it comes
from industrial smokestacks and automobile exhaust pipes.
The excess nitrogen in the ocean fertilizes the massive growth
of microscopic algae, which removes oxygen from the water
when it dies and decays.
Point
Source Pollution. Point source pollution comes from
identifiable sources. In the U.S., animal feedlots produce
about 500 million tons of manure each year, more than 3 times
the sanitary waste produced by the human population. In one
week, a single 3,000 passenger cruise ship produces about
210,000 gallons of sewage, 1,000,000 gallons of shower, sink,
and dishwashing water, 37,000 gallons of oily bilge water,
over eight tons of solid waste, and toxic wastes from dry-cleaning
and photo processing.
Invasive
Species. Alien species of plants and animals are
establishing themselves at an alarming rate in coastal waters,
often crowding out native species and changing habitats and
food chains. In San Francisco Bay alone more than 175 species
of introduced marine fish, invertebrates, algae, and higher
plants live.
Aquaculture.
Farmed fish can escape, compete with wild fish for space and
food, and interbreed with them, producing young less fit for
survival in the wild. A salmon farm of 200,000 fish can release
as much nitrogen as is in the untreated sewage of 20,000 people,
as much phosphorus as for 25,000 people and as much fecal
waste as for 65,000 people The report said that the oyster
disease dermo (Perkinsus marinus) was likely introduced to
the Atlantic and Gulf coasts by aquaculture.
Coastal
Development. Sprawl development is consuming land
at 5 times the rate of population growth in many coastal areas.
Coastal counties, which are 17% of the U.S. land area, hold
more than half the U.S. population. One of the most harmful
parts of development is the creation of hard surfaces —
roads, parking lots and rooftops — that prevent water
from soaking into the soil. They collect pollutants, which
then run off rapidly to natural waters. A one-acre parking
lot has 16 times the runoff of a one-acre meadow.
Habitat
Alteration. Fishing gear that drags along or digs
into the bottom, the report says, destroys seafloor habitat
needed by marine wildlife. It can take 5 years for bottom-living
invertebrates (animals without backbones) to recover from
one pass of a dredge.
Climate
Change. World air temperatures are expected to rise
by 2.5-10.4° F in this century, causing sea levels to
rise by 4-35 inches. A 2° F temperature rise may destroy
the world's coral reefs, and an increase in water temperatures
could possibly shut down the Gulf Stream.
One
Problem Identified in the Report
One of
the major problems that the report identified is that the
U.S. has a fractured ocean policy. Instead of a system, it
is a hodgepodge of 140 separately-passed laws that involve
at least 6 federal departments and dozens of agencies. What
is needed, the report says, is application of the following
6 principles:
- Upholding
the public trust by the government being a steward
for the oceans.
- Practicing
sustainability by taking no more living things
from the ocean than the ocean can replace and adding no
more contaminants than the oceans can safely absorb.
- Applying
precaution by erring on the side of protecting
ecosystems when science is uncertain.
- Recognizing
interdependence between human well-being and the
well-being of our coasts and oceans.
- Ensuring
democracy by not allowing the needs and desires
of a few people to override the benefits to all people.
- Improving
understanding of coastal and marine ecosystems
with more research.
Challenges
and Recommendations
The Pew
Oceans Commission identified 5 main challenges, and made recommendations
for changes in U.S. law to meet those challenges.
Challenge
1, Ocean Governance in the 21st Century. The U.S.
should enact a National Ocean Policy Act (NOPA) with clear
and measurable goals and standards. As part of NOPA, Congress
should create "regional ecosystem councils" to plan
ocean use, practice ocean zoning and reduce user conflicts.
Congress should create a national system of marine reserves
(marine protected areas). Congress should also create a new
national oceans agency, under which should be placed as many
as practical of the oceans programs now under other agencies.
Finally, Congress should establish a permanent interagency
oceans council. The head of the new national oceans agency
should chair the council and its membership, should include
the heads of federal agencies whose activities affect oceans.
Challenge
2, Restoring America's Fisheries. The main goal of
American fisheries policy should be redefined to be to protect,
maintain and restore marine ecosystems. Conservation and allocation
decisions should be separated, with conservation always given
priority over economic or political considerations. The government
should practice marine zoning and ecosystem planning. Fishing
should not be allowed until after considering how it affects
the entire ecosystem. Fishing gear such as trawls and dredges
should be zoned into specific areas and then only allowed
if scientists find that the gear can be used with minimum
problems. Fishing should only be allowed under bycatch monitoring
and management plans, with the goal being near-zero bycatch.
Allocation plans that limit access and allocate catch, and
meet conservation goals should be developed before fishing
is allowed. A permanent fisheries trust fund should be established
to fund research data collection, management, enforcement,
habitat management, license buyback, and community development
programs.
Challenge
3, Confronting Urban Sprawl. Nonpoint source pollution
action plans should be developed for watersheds. Critical
ecosystem habitat should be protected from development. At
all levels of government, development should be managed for
compact growth, reduction of hard surfaces and to discourage
development in some areas. Government subsidies and programs
should be directed away from development and towards activities
such as restoration.
Challenge
4, Cleaning Coastal Waters. Congress should establish
water quality standards for nutrients such as nitrogen and
require the use of best management practices to control runoff
from agriculture and development. EPA and the states should
ensure that water quality standards are in place for pollutants
such as PAHs, PCBs and heavy metals such as mercury. Air emissions
of nitrogen, mercury and other pollutants should be reduced.
Waste water discharges from animal feed lots and cruise ships
should be brought under control and ballast-water treatment
for vessels should be required. A national electronic permitting
system should be created to track imports of live species
that may get loose in the environment. Congress should provide
more funding to develop invasive-species management plans.
The U.S. should ratify the Stockholm Convention on Persistent
Organic Pollutants. Congress should pass legislation that
allows other chemicals to be added to the "dirty dozen"
list. More seafood monitoring should occur.
Challenge
5, Sustainable Marine Aquaculture. A new national
marine aquaculture policy based on conservation principles
should be created for the location, design and operation of
ecologically sustainable fish farms. Until such a policy and
its standards are passed, Congress should place a moratorium
on new marine finfish farms. Also, until a review process
can be established, a moratorium should be placed on use of
genetically engineered species. The U.S. should provide international
leadership for sustainable marine aquaculture practices.
Some
Reactions to the Report
Not everyone
agrees with the assessments of the Pew Commission. NOAA Fisheries
(National Marine Fisheries Service) points to the number of
fisheries species recovering under fisheries management plans.
Thor Lassen, President of Ocean Trust said "The fact
is most major U.S. stocks, which make up 99 percent of U.S.
landings, are fished sustainably. The 16 percent of major
stocks that are overfished are either recovering under rebuilding
plans or otherwise protected by federal law." Columnist
John Fiorillo for News@thewaveonline said, "This report
and the work of the commission represent little more than
an attempted power grab by environmentalists."
The Seafood
Coalition, speaking for 32 fisheries trade associations and
four corporations said "The Pew Commission would create
several new layers of bureaucracy, eating up any new funding
that Congress might provide for fisheries research, "and
warned U.S. Congressmen and Senators "Don't be fooled
by the negativism in the Pew Commission's report." In
a co-written press release, The Trawlers Survival Fund and
the Associated Fisheries of Maine called the commission a
"traveling road show" funded by the Pew Charitable
Trusts, which also funds the environmental law advocacy group
Oceana. They called the Pew report "alarmist" and
"gloom-and doom".
Finally,
U.S. Congressman Richard W. Pombo of California, Chairman
of the House Resources Committee, says "The pictures
are nice, but this study contributes about as much to fisheries
management as a coffee table book about coffee tables. Unfortunately,
criticism always sells, regardless of fact. How would they
justify the huge expense of time and money if the report supported
the great progress we've made in fisheries management? Pew
is naturally calling for more of what sustains it and every
other radical environmental entity: bigger government and
more regulation. They use outdated regulations to file frivolous
lawsuits, plunder taxpayer dollars from the U.S. Treasury,
and pay the rent on their offices." Pombo added, "Remember,
the Pew Commission is funded by the same foundation that has
funded some of the more radical environmental groups and has
been funding the environmentalists' attack on fisheries management
through the courts. That is exactly why Congress created the
U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, which will release its report
this fall. We cannot expect such a group to issue non-biased
recommendations."
The Pew
Oceans Commission was funded by a grant from the Pew Charitable
Trust, which supports nonprofit activities in the areas of
culture, education, the environment, health and human services,
public policy, and religion. Additional funding was provided
by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, the Rockefeller
Brothers Fund, and Oxford Foundation.
| Sources:
|
America's
Living Oceans: Charting a course for Sea Change.
Pew Oceans Commission 2003. Pew Commission: Show Us
the MONEY, Spare Us the Dog and Pony Show.
John Fiorillo, News@thewaveonline, June 4, 2003. The
Ocean's Bright Future. Thor Lassen, News@thewaveonline,
June 4, 2003. Open letter from The Seafood Coalition.
June 2, 2005. Fishing Groups Call Report on Oceans
Alarmist. Doug Frazer, Cape Cod Times, June 4, 2003.
Press Statement from Congressman Richard Pombo. June 4,
2003. |
Download:
news_pewoceanrpt.pdf
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