The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative released its annual U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card which highlights some modest improvements in state and regional efforts at ocean policy reform and in efforts to ratify the Law of the Sea Convention. John Connelly, President National Fisheries Institute (NFI), told that authorities from Capitol Hill to the State Department NFI has been working with a broad delegation in support of Law of the Sea. He further said that after ratification of the convention the US will be able join the international body that maintains the rules for sustainable global ocean resource use, including fisheries.
The commission reported that in 2007 very few stocks were overfished or experiencing overfishing. Connelly said that the main of industry to provide American families with healthy seafood while at the same time conserving plenty for future generations. The report also contains the assessment of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
The commission praise the report saying it will encourage the creation of a new federal marine management entity as part of the Ocean Conservation, Education, and National Strategy for 21st Century Act (OCEANS 21). Connelly said that NOAA and the National Marine Fisheries Service should be fully funded to work effectively and carry out their management and sustainable mission top preserve the marine eco-system.
