June 6, 2002
Ocean policy experts to meet in Seattle
Sixteen of the nation’s top ocean-policy experts, scheduled to meet in Seattle June 13 and 14, want to hear what Pacific Northwest residents consider to be the most pressing coastal and ocean issues facing the region and the nation.
The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy is in the midst of conducting the first comprehensive survey in more than 30 years of U.S. ocean resources, according to Marc Hershman, director of the UW’s School of Marine Affairs. Hershman and Seattle’s William Ruckelshaus are two of the 16 commission members appointed a year ago by President Bush.
The commissioners are expected to submit recommendations for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy to Congress and the president by the end of the year. The Seattle meeting is one of nine being conducted across the nation for commissioners to gather information, Hershman says.
The public is welcome to attend the commissioners’ meeting in the Commission Chambers at the Port of Seattle Building June 13 from 12:30 to 6 p.m., and June 14 from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
On June 14 between 2:50 and 5 p.m., members of the public may have five minutes each to speak.
The public also is welcome to attend sessions where commissioners will hear from invited speakers, four of them from the UW. Arthur Nowell, dean of the College of Ocean and Fishery Sciences, and Robert Spindel, director of the UW’s Applied Physics Laboratory, will speak on ocean science, exploration and education. Ray Hilborn, professor of aquatic and fisheries sciences, is scheduled to talk about science and policy interface in fisheries management. And Kenneth Chew, professor emeritus of aquatic and fisheries sciences, is among the speakers discussing aquaculture.
Detailed location and agenda information is at http://www.oceancommission.gov/.
“The U.S. ocean is huge, more than 3.4 million square miles,” Hershman says. “Currently, we have competing conceptions of how to use ocean resources. The commission is trying to help form a more coherent ethic of ocean stewardship.”
The appointment prompted Hershman to launch a special UW Project on Ocean Governance, complete with special seminars and access to commission information, so that UW students and faculty can be part of the process. See http://www.sma.washington.edu/pog/index.html.
Those unable to attend the commission meetings can submit written comments. Go to http://www.oceancommission.gov/publicomment/welcome.html for e-mail, fax and mailing information.
