Bush's win-win plan to protect the oceans

PRESIDENT BUSH'S announcement of a comprehensive new initiative to protect our oceans and enhance ocean-science programs puts conservation on the front burner for his second term.

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The president's plan includes a new Cabinet-level Committee on Oceans Policy, chaired by the head of the Council on Environmental Quality, and a program to coordinate state and federal agency action and fund ocean research. It's an ambitious program that strives to balance the need to protect resources with the needs of millions of Americans who depend on fishing for food and work.

The health of the oceans has been the subject of several major studies in recent years, including a major report by the US Commission on Ocean Policy, released earlier this year. The commission's recommendations and the president's response to them mark a clear and promising strategic direction for ocean protection.

Both move towards a science-based ecosystem management, which means that scientists, not special interests, set the overall harvest levels for fisheries, and that fisheries managers are required to stay within those limits.

Both call for market-based solutions to conservation, stressing local, regional, and state decision-making and the flexibility to address unique local conditions. Local decision-making is embodied in the Regional Fishery Management Council system established under the Magnuson-Stevens Act in 1976.

While the system has been criticized for its decentralized approach, the results cannot be denied. In Alaska, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has provided sustainable fisheries year after year and protected fish habitat. Other councils have also shown success in balancing the needs of conservation and industry. All Americans should be pleased that the president has encouraged that this system continue.

Finally, both USCOP and the president's initiative would strengthen America's marine research and science programs to provide information critical for oceans conservation. Only 25 years ago, the United States began integrating biological and oceanographic research to better understand fish stocks off our coast. Funding for that work should get a significant boost under the administration's plan: the development and implementation of an ocean research priorities plan will allow for continued development of a high-tech international oceans observation system, coordinated ocean mapping and more than $75 million in ocean exploratory and survey vessels. We look forward to working with the administration and Congress to secure funding for these vital programs.

The president's recognition of the economic importance of ocean industries is also very encouraging. Some 28 million Americans depend on healthy oceans for their livelihood. US consumers spend over $55 billion on fishery products each year. The president has put forward a plan to enhance conservation and keep this economic engine running well into the future.

The president showed great leadership in putting conservation on the agenda, particularly amid a domestic dance-card crowded with important priorities. His announcement was that rarest event in political ebb and flow: It lifted all boats.

Dave Benton is executive director of the Alaska-based Marine Conservation Alliance.