Ocean Champions is the only political voice for ocean health. We take a non-partisan approach in working with
the U.S. Congress to ensure ocean health through electoral and legislative action.

National Ocean Policy

The ocean is vital to the health of the planet and to human survival. It provides critical habitat for marine species, helps regulate climate, and provides half the oxygen we breathe. It provides food, energy, shipping lanes and of course, incredible recreation. Given all these diverse functions, it’s no surprise that 20 different Federal agencies have jurisdiction over some aspect of our oceans, coasts and great lakes, and that over 140 different laws govern ocean issues. This patchwork system can best be described as managed chaos, and while it is well intentioned, it is no match for the growing threats our marine resources face from poorly planned coastal development, pollution and now climate change.

President Obama recognized this last June, when he issued a Presidential Memorandum highlighting the severity of threats facing America’s oceans and creating an interagency task force to research and develop recommendations for a national ocean policy to protect the health of these ecosystems and resources. Ocean Champions has been working in a leadership role as part of a broad ocean coalition to reform ocean governance. Originally, this involved moving H.R. (Oceans) 21, a sweeping bill that addresses many shortcomings in how our oceans are governed. More recently, the group has sought opportunities to advance critical pieces of Oceans 21, and has been working closely with the Council on Environmental Quality and the President's task force to bring forth a strong National Ocean Policy.

President Obama's task force was given 90 days to develop a recommendation for: (1) a national policy that protects, maintains, and restores ocean, coastal and Great Lakes ecosystems, (2) a framework for policy coordination, and (3) an implementation strategy. They were also given 180 days to recommend a framework for effective coastal and marine spatial planning. The vision for both National Ocean Policy and Marine Spatial Planning came into clearer focus with the release of two Interim Reports by the White House Council on Environmental Quality:

Ocean Policy Task Force Interim Report

Interim Framework for Effective Coastal and Marine Spatial Planning

These reforms assert that healthy oceans are a national priority, and that we as Americans have a stewardship responsibility to protect, restore and maintain ocean health. They provide a vision to align the work and decisions of the 20 federal agencies engaged on ocean governance, and impart a conservation ethic to the task of managing the long term productivity of our ocean resources. Ocean Champions will continue to work with the Administration and with our friends on Capitol Hill to advance this issue.