True or
False? The oceans are vast and inexhaustible in resources. While not too long ago scientists believed
this to be true, it is resoundingly false.
While the oceans are vast, the resources they provide the planet must be
managed effectively to ensure a healthy planet and healthy people. No matter where we live, whether it is on the
coast or hundreds of miles inland, the ocean affects our everyday life. The ocean provides much of the oxygen for planet
Earth through the photosynthesis of phytoplankton, algae, and other aquatic
plants; the ocean regulates the planet’s
weather and climate; we rely on the ocean for
transportation of goods; the ocean provides us with food;
the ocean floor provides us with natural resources including oil and natural
gas; the ocean provides other resources that are used in medicine. If the ocean is not healthy, we are not
healthy.
Over
the last two centuries, the human population has exploded and technology has
advanced at breakneck speed. This made
areas once remote and inaccessible to people within reach. Coastal development contributed to pollution
of estuaries and near shore areas. The
need for food caused a gold rush of sorts to the coast where fishers exhausted
fisheries to the point of collapse.
Something needed to change, and proactive measures needed to be taken to
ensure that our ocean resources could endure for generations.
1972
was a good year for environmental legislation.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) are two well known
pieces of legislation that passed into law in 1972. They were landmarks for conservation, giving
agencies the obligation to regulate clean water and punish individuals or
organizations that harm marine mammals, many of which are threatened or
endangered. However, another act was
also passed that same year. It is just as
important as the CWA or MMPA. It
addresses some of the challenges described above and the goal of this act is to
ensure that future generations can enjoy the cultural, economic, and ecological
benefits of the marine environment: The National Marine Sanctuaries Act (NMSA).
The NMSA
gives authority to the Secretary of Commerce to
designate areas of the marine environment as national marine sanctuaries. These areas may be selected based on conservation
needs, economic or ecological benefits they provide, or their cultural archaeological
or educational qualities they possess. Currently,
there are 14 National Marine
Sanctuaries in U.S. waters, and each protects a precious resource for us and
for future generations. Sanctuaries may
protect a significant archaeological site from degradation, nursery areas for
commercially important fish, breeding grounds for fish and marine mammals, or
may have a high diversity of organisms in that area.
Currently the NMSA is under reauthorization. This means that the Act may be updated so that it can adapt to current management regimes for marine resources, In addition, it may also allow for more sanctuaries to be added to the national system. More sanctuaries means more areas where fish and other marine animals can escape from intense pressures from people. More marine sanctuaries means healthier oceans: future harvest for fishers, scenic places for divers and snorkelers to enjoy, and refuges for marine animals.
Yellowtail Snapper on a coral reef. From http://celebrating200years.noaa.gov/magazine/coral_spills/sanc0201_650.jpg
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