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By Cat Lazaroff
Environmental News Service
ASSATEAGUE, Maryland, (ENS) - Fragile stretches of America’s beaches, coasts and ocean resources could receive new protections under a plan announced Friday by the White House. The proposal would create a new nationwide system of marine conservation areas and devise permanent protections for Hawai’i’s spectacular coral reefs.
President Bill Clinton traveled to Assateague Island National Seashore, a barrier island off the coast of Maryland, to sign an executive order directing the Departments of Commerce and the Interior to develop a coordinated national system of marine protected areas. The project would strengthen the management, protection and conservation of existing marine protected areas and establish new or expanded marine protected areas. "Our oceans ... are far more than a playground," said Clinton. "They have a central effect on the weather, on our climate system. Through fishing, tourism and other industries, ocean resources - listen to this - support one out of every six jobs in the United States of America. Coral reefs and coastal waters are a storehouse of biodiversity." The president noted threats from global warming, overfishing, polluted runoff, oil spills and reduced biodiversity. Under his plan, designated marine protected areas would be free of fishing, oil and gas exploration, mining, dumping and other potentially damaging activities. "We do not have today an integrated, comprehensive system of marine protected areas that represents all of the nation's coastal and marine environments," said D. James Baker, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), in a press briefing this morning. "We need to have an expanded and strengthened comprehensive system of marine protected areas to conserve our natural and cultural heritage, and for the economically and ecologically sustainable use of U.S. marine waters." "We know that if these are properly designed and effectively managed, these protected areas can safeguard natural resources, they can provide public access and enjoyment of ocean and coastal areas, and they can sustain economic opportunities by protecting and restoring ocean and coastal habitats," Baker said. The federal National Marine Fisheries Service uses traditional fishery management practices catch quotas, size limits and similar measures that have often failed to protect fish populations or the ecosystems on which they depend. Almost half the ocean fish the government has assessed are overfished or approaching that condition, up from about a third just a few years ago.
The Commerce and Interior Departments will work with other federal agencies to develop a scientifically based national system of marine protected areas, representing all U.S. marine ecosystems and cultural resources. The agencies were directed to create regulations that will help prevent harm to marine protected areas from federally conducted, approved or funded activities. The president also directed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to take new steps to limit pollution of beaches, oceans and coasts, by beginning to develop new science based water quality standards for marine waters. These new standards will guide the agency when it reviews proposals for onshore and offshore activities that result in discharges to ocean or coastal waters. Under the Clean Water Act, EPA may set higher levels of protection in particularly vulnerable or valuable areas. "This could be a key step in limiting harmful discharges from both land and water into sensitive coastal and marine waters," said Chasis. There are now more than 1,000 areas within U.S. waters granted some level of special protection by the federal or state governments. Federal marine protected areas include the 12 National Marine Sanctuaries, certain National Parks and Wildlife Refuges, National Estuarine Research Reserves and other areas. These designations help to protect natural and cultural resources, such as coral reefs and historic shipwrecks like the USS Monitor. Protected marine areas also help promote sustainable use of fisheries and other marine resources, provide educational and recreational opportunities, and preserve unique areas for scientific study. Still, only about one tenth of one percent of the ocean within U.S. jurisdiction is afforded the highest level of protection - a total ban on fishing and other extractive uses of resources. That represents about 50 square miles of ocean. To determine the best way to select and protect sensitive marine regions, NOAA and the Department of Interior will establish a marine protected area center to develop a framework for the new national system. In partnership with federal, state, territorial, tribal and local governments, as well as non-governmental organizations, the agencies will work to provide information technologies and strategies to support the national system.
As a first step, Clinton directed the Secretaries of Commerce and Interior to work with the state of Hawaii and the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council to develop a plan within 90 days to permanently protect the coral reef ecosystem of the northwest Hawaiian Islands. This 1,200 mile long string of uninhabited islands includes almost 70 percent of the coral reefs in U.S. waters. The reefs support threatened sea turtles, endangered Hawaiian monk seals, and other marine life found nowhere else on Earth.
"The world’s coral reefs - our tropical rain forests of the water - are in serious decline," said Clinton. "These important and sensitive areas of biodiversity warrant special protection." The order would expand protection in and around the Hawaiian Islands National Wildlife Refuge, designated in 1909 by President Theodore Roosevelt and one of the nation’s oldest wildlife refuges. The archipelago includes Nihoa and Necker Islands, French Frigate Shoals, Maro Reef, and Pearl and Hermes Atoll, and is surrounded by some of the most extensive and pristine coral reefs in U.S. waters. The reefs extend from near shore areas just beneath the ocean surface to a depth of 100 fathoms (600 feet), as much as 100 miles out to sea. The president drew on a report released earlier this year by the Coral Reef Task Force, which urged specific protections for U.S. coral reefs, over and above current regulations. Clinton ordered the Secretaries to assess ongoing efforts to protect the coral reef ecosystem, including proposed no-take ecological reserves and the work of the Western Pacific Fisheries Management Council. The agencies will identify what further measures are needed to protect the threatened and endangered species of the ecosystem, including the endangered monk seal, sea turtles and short-tailed albatross. These measures could include restrictions on fishing and some recreational activities. "With this new effort, we are taking strides to fulfill the goal of the Coral Reef Task Force to protect our precious coral reefs for the benefit of future generations," Clinton said. "We've set aside more than 200 million acres of wilderness and national parks to provide sanctuaries for wildlife and ourselves," says John Adams, president of the Natural Resources Defense Council. "But we have until now neglected our oceans, even though most of our population lives near the sea. Less than a hundredth of a percent of our oceans currently are true wilderness areas." "We expect the executive order to lead to a national system of ocean ‘wilderness areas' similar to the wilderness system that protects our national treasures on land," Adams said. Because President Clinton has directed the creation of a marine protected area network through an executive order, it is possible that a future president could overturn his action. Political pundits consider this unlikely, however, because such sweeping environmental actions generally find public approval. This order is the latest in a recent series of environmental moves made by the White House as Clinton looks to solidify his legacy in the waning months of his presidency which ends January 20, 2001. |
Studies show ocean wilderness reserves sustain a richer diversity of life and harbor larger, more prolific fish than areas that are managed by traditional practices, says Sarah Chasis, a senior attorney with the Natural Resources Defense Council. Several studies, including one at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, also indicate that wilderness reserves enhance fishing opportunities nearby. "We know these safe havens help marine wildlife thrive," Chasis said.
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