Free PDF AccessFree Resources |
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||
|
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Below are the first 10 and last 10 pages of uncorrected machine-read text (when available) of this chapter, followed by the top 30 algorithmically extracted key phrases from the chapter as a whole.
Intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text on the opening pages of each chapter.
Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.
Do not use for reproduction, copying, pasting, or reading; exclusively for search engines.
OCR for page 1
c~,l"
INTRODUCTION
__ 1
Dine oceans are integral to the economy,
environment, and security of the
United States. It is thus no surprise
that the federal government addresses
a variety of coastal and oceanic issues on a daily
basis. A 1998 report from the National Research
Council's Ocean Studies Board, Opportunities in
Ocean Sciences: Challenges on the Horizon, highlighted
three critical research areas that "present great
opportunities for advances in the ocean sciences and
will lead to concrete improvements for human life
on this planet." The topics identified were under-
standing coastal ocean processes, sustaining marine
ecosystems, and predicting climate variations.
Although support for the research enterprise contin-
ues to be critical, this document provides a different
emphasis. It does not focus on research, but rather
calls attention to two significant ocean issues -
nutrient pollution and sustainable fisheries that
are likely to require high-level attention and policy
decisions during the coming four years. Both of these
issues have been addressed in some detail by in-
depth reports from the Ocean Studies Board (listed
under "Further Readings. Needless to say, these
are not the only important ocean issues, but they are
sure to demand attention from policy makers in the
near future.
NUTRIENT POLLUTION OF COASTAL WATERS
THE PROBLEM
Protection of the nation's coastal areas—where a
variety of commercial, subsistence, residential, and
recreational activities come together- has been a
priority for decades. Over the past 40 years, environ-
mental laws have greatly reduced harmful discharges
into coastal waters of the United States. This effort
has focused largely on reducing industrial effluents
containing toxic substances and controlling municipal
wastewater. However, no comparable effort has been
made to control the flows of nitrogen and phosphorus
. ~ .
entering waterways trom numerous non-po~nt
sources, such as farm fields, livestock pens, urban
runoff, or air pollution. As a result, inputs of non-point
pollutants, particularly nitrogen, have increased dra-
matically. As explained in a recent National Research
Council report, Clean Coastal Waters: Understarldingo~nd
Reducing the Elects of Nutrient Pollution, non-point pol-
lution from nitrogen and phosphorus (also referred to
as "nutrient pollution") now represents the largest
pollution problem facing U.S. coastal waters.
OCR for page 2
Nutrient pollution is the common thread that links
an array of problems along the nation's coastlines,
including eutrophication, harmful algal blooms,
"dead zones," fish kills, loss of seagrass and kelp
beds, some shellfish poisonings, coral reef destruc-
tion, and marine mammal and seabird deaths. The
damage from nutrient pollution goes well beyond
unappealing, murky water bodies it also threatens
the suitability of water for human contact and con-
sumption and impairs the production of useful forms
of aquatic life. Nutrient pollution degrades the
entire marine food web that fosters biological diver-
sity and supports commercially valuable fish and
shellfish. According to a 1999 assessment by the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration,
the No`tior~al Est~arir~e Entropy icartion Assessment:
FINDING SOLUTIONS-
Reducing excess nutrient delivery to coastal waters
will require individual, societal, and political will.
Clear Coastal Waters recommends that, as a minimum
goal, the United States should begin to reverse the
effects of nutrient pollution in the most highly
degraded coastal systems by 2010, and take action to
assure that currently healthy coastal areas do not
develop symptoms of nutrient pollution.
In some coastal systems, improved nitrogen removal
during treatment of human sewage may be sufficient
to reverse the detrimental effects of nutrient pollution.
In most coastal systems, however, the solutions will be
1955 1960 1965
1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995 2000
Year
Effects of N?~trier~t Enrichment ir' the Nation' s Estuaries,
more than 60 percent of the coastal rivers and bays
along the shores of the continental U.S. are moder-
ately to severely degraded by nutrient pollution.
more complex, involving possible controls on nitrogen
compounds emitted during fossil fuel combustion,
attention to urban runoff, incentives to reduce over-
fertilization of agricultural fields, and better manage-
ment of animal wastes from livestock operations.
Local and state efforts will be key in many instances.
Steps should be taken to provide local and state
decision-makers with the tools needed to make
real progress in reducing nutrient pollution. One
of these tools is information. Sound management
depends on accurate data to understand what the
major sources of nutrients are, and to judge whether
cleanup strategies are working. Federal agencies can
play a useful role in developing a consistent nation-
wide program for monitoring nutrient pollution in
coastal settings. Because a significant component of
the problem involves watersheds under multiple
jurisdictions, addressing these areas may require
changes in the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act,
or the Coastal Zone Management Act. Nutrient pol-
lution is a nationwide problem affecting water and
air across state boundaries and any solution will
require federal assistance and leadership.
OCR for page 3
SUSTAINABLE FISHERIES MANAGEMENT
THE PROElLEIVI
Marine fisheries in the U.S. constitute a multi-billion
dollar industry. They provide a significant source of
jobs, protein for human consumption, and recre-
ational opportunities. Fishing is also a traditional
and valued way of life in many communities. As
fisheries have grown, however, a number of econom-
ic and environmental problems have arisen.
Many fish stocks are overexploited and unable to
support catches at a high and sustainable level. This
has resulted in poor economic performance in many
fisheries, including unemployment and small busi-
ness failure in many coastal communities. The often
significant capture of untargeted organisms (referred
to as "bycatch") illustrates the inherent difficulties
in controlling exactly what is caught. Fisheries pro-
ductivity is diminished and valuable fish products
can go to waste. Bycatch of marine mammals, birds,
and reptiles can also lead to conflicts between fish-
eries and species conservation goals. Finally, there is
a growing recognition that we need to consider the
effects of fishing practices on ocean habitats and
marine ecosystems, including coastal habitats, coral
reefs, and the seafloor. The troubling situation in
U.S. and worldwide fisheries, along with suggestions
for improvement, are thoroughly discussed in the
1999 OSB report, Sastair~ir~gMarir~e Fisheries.
For any given fishery, not all of these conditions
apply, but the problems are widespread over a num-
ber of species and regions and stem from a variety
of underlying causes. Incomplete understanding of
fish populations and limited survey data make it
difficult for managers to determine sustainable
catch levels. Many problems arise because of over-
. . · ~ TO · -
capac1ty in the industry. Existing management sys-
tems have had great difficulty establishing meth-
ods for allocating fisheries resources fairly among
competing user groups. Management systems that
might increase incentives for conservation and
rebuilding fisheries resources, such as those that
establish some form of individual or community
"property rights," have not been widely imple-
mented. Finally, a lack of funding has led to insuf-
ficient data collection and limited monitoring and
enforcement of existing regulations.
Landings of N.E. Groundfish and Flounder (x 1,000 I)
800 -
600 -
400 -
200 -
1960 1965 1970 1975 1980 1985 1990 1995
Year
F:INDING SOLUTIONS
Recommendations for addressing these problems can
be found in a number of the reports listed at the end
of this document. Allocating fisheries resources among
different communities, groups, and individuals has
been extremely difficult under our current system.
One major topic that faces policy makers is the cur-
rent legislative prohibition on individual fishing quo-
tas (IFQs), a system that has been proposed as one
way to eliminate the "race for fish" and create
incentives to rebuild depleted stocks and conserve
healthy ones. A 1999 OSB report, Sharing the Fisl:
Toward a National Policy on Individual Fish id
Quotas, concluded that, with careful planning, IFQs
can serve as a useful tool for regional management
OCR for page 4
councils to consider on a fishery by fishery basis. A
review of the appropriateness of this option will be
required of the next administration.
Other changes to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act should also be
considered in the search for solutions to the current
problems. Although there is some room within the
existing legal framework for the National Marine
Fisheries Service and the regional councils to
address these problems, more profound changes in
our institutional structures may help.
The establishment of marine protected areas
(MPAs), where fishing and other human activities
are substantially limited, provides another promis-
ing approach for enhancing fisheries. Although
promotion of marine protected areas was the
subject of a recent Presidential Executive Order,
this approach remains controversial. The potential
benefits of creating such protected areas are dis-
cussed at length in the just-released OSB report
Marine Protected Areas: Tools for Sustaining Ocean
CONCLUSION
The two broad ocean issues described above
nutrient pollution and sustainable fisheries - will
undoubtedly be the subjects of vigorous policy
debates over the next four years. Decision makers
within the White House, Congress, and the federal
agencies would do well to recognize these problems,
learn more about them, and formulate plans for
actively addressing them before they get worse.
An improved understanding of natural processes will
certainly play a role in helping the nation cope with
these problems, and relevant research should be
actively pursued. However, it is interesting to note
two other themes common to both issues:
1. the need to coordinate multiple decision mak-
Ecosystems, along with recommendations for facili-
. . . .
tatting their Implementation.
Finally, policy makers will need to wrestle with the
issue of funding for fisheries management. As
explained in Improving the Collection, Mo~r~agemerlt,
arid Use of Marine Fisheries Data, sound management
relies on the kind of detailed information gained
from adequate monitoring, data collection, and
research, but these are all costly endeavors.
ing bodies at many levels of government and
2. a requirement for more and better informa-
tion to support sound management decisions.
Management of both nutrients and fisheries are
characterized by complex and overlapping geo-
graphic and congressional jurisdictions. These com-
peting authorities can hinder effective action. In
many instances, solutions have been limited more
by the decision-making process than by lack of basic
understanding. The newly mandated Commission
on Ocean Policy will be examining questions of
coastal and ocean management in the United States,
and the National Research Council looks forward to
working with that body when it is established.
OCR for page 5
All management decisions depend on the availabili-
ty of adequate, reliable information to design sound
policies, assess their performance, and fine tune
them to maximize results. In the areas of fisheries
and coastal protection, data are collected by many
entities, including private individuals. scientists.
O r
1 1 1 r 1 1
ano ioeai, state, tecterai, and international bodies.
In order to maximize the utility of all this informa-
tion, there is a growing need to develop more un~-
form data collection protocols so that information
can be made widely accessible and be aggregated
to achieve a more complete picture. In some areas,
however, the needed information is simolY not
1 · 1 1 . 1 TO
.
---I -a
being eoi~eete0. ~eeause sustained, high-quality
. . . . . ,~
monitoring requires an ongoing commitment ot
funds and human resources, an appropriate observ-
ing system should be carefully designed to maxi-
. .
maze cost-effectiveness.
A range of scientific and political opinion exists
about how to deal with the problems described in
this document. Many of the specifics are addressed
in detail in the reports listed below. Whatever
course is followed, responsible, coordinated deei-
sions, informed by objective, sound knowledge. will
, , ala ~ ~
1 r
OCR for page 6
THE NATIONAL RESF^RCH COUNCIL was organized by the National
Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technolo-
gy with the Academy's purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal gov-
ernment. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy,
the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of
Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the govern-
ment, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is admin-
istered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts
and Dr. William A. Wulf are chairman and vice chairman, respectively, of the National
Research Council.
THE OCF^N STUDIES BOARD is a unit of the National Research Council
created to advise the federal government on issues of ocean science, engineering, and
policy. In addition to exercising leadership within the ocean community, the Board
undertakes studies at the request of federal agencies, Congress, or other sponsors, or upon
its own initiative. The Board explores the science, policies, and infrastructure needed to
understand, use, and protect coastal and marine environments and resources.
In recent years, the Board has conducted studies in the following areas:
· the status of marine and coastal environments;
· the ocean's role in the global climate system;
· technology and infrastructure needs;
· ocean-related aspects of national security;
· fisheries science, management, and policy;
· living and non-living marine resources;
· reviews of specific agency programs;
· ocean education; and
· the future of the field in the United States and abroad.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
OCEAN STuDiEs BOARD (HA-470)
THE NAT~oNA~ ACADEMIES
2101 Constitution Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20418
202-334-27 14
http://www. nas. edu/osb
Photos courtesy of the National Oceanic arid Atmospheric Administration.
Representative terms from entire chapter:
marine fisheries
