Oceans and Coastal Esturaries

The biggest fishing trip of all time: $1bn survey unravels mysteries of the deep

An ambitious 10-year international marine census due to be completed in 2010 has thus far cataloged 38,000 marine species and is discovering new forms of life at the rate of two per week. The project, designed to better understand the world's aquatic realms, shows, among other things, that the increase in carbon emissions have made oceans more acidic, contributing to the decline of coral reefs and other delicate biota. The Guardian (London) (11/23)

At Sea Over Oceans

THE BUSH administration's formal response to the report of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy contains some encouraging elements.

New Panel to Direct U.S. Policy on Oceans

President Bush created a White House panel yesterday to consider ways to clean up the world's oceans by better managing fish populations, regulating pollution and more thoroughly examining future threats to ocean life.

Law of the Sea opponents hurt U.S. security

Commentary: U.S. should ratify Law of the Sea Convention Efforts in the Senate to block the U.S. ratification of the Law of the Sea Convention that governs the use of the world's oceans are ill-founded and counter to American interests, write Thomas Graham Jr. and Ben Friedman in the International Herald Tribune. While some opponents of ratification, specifically conservatives, fear the international treaty approved by 145 countries represents a loss of sovereignty for the U.S. and could undermine new security efforts, Graham and Friedman argue that sovereignty over the oceans is already non-existent, and support for the treaty from the U.S. Navy and other government bodies indicate it will make America safer. International Herald Tribune (4/21)

Out to sea

This commentary urges the U.S. not to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, which governs what countries may and may not do on the world's oceans. Although U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice favors signing the treaty, Ed Feulner, president of the Heritage Foundation, writes here that it does not serve U.S. national security or economic interests. The Washington Times (3/8)

Scientists Draft Blueprint To Protect World Oceans

International scientists are mapping out a plan for a network of marine parks to save the world's oceans from fish stock depletion and growing pollution.

President's Budget Cuts Funding for Fisheries Programs

WASHINGTON — Five months after a presidential commission recommended spending billions more to protect the nation's oceans, the White House has proposed a budget that would reduce funding for fisheries and eliminate the Pacific Islands regional office in Hawaii.

Troubled Oceans

Time is running out for the Bush administration and Congress to take action to arrest the alarming decline of this country’s ocean resources.