June 15, 2009
Obama Calls for Ocean Task Force
BY: Emily Fisher
Looks like President Obama has been listening. On Friday he signaled that protecting and conserving the oceans is a major goal for his Administration.Obama issued a Memo to federal agencies, paving a path for achieving comprehensive ocean conservation and management. The Memo calls for an interagency task force led by the Council on Environmental Quality to protect, maintain and restore marine ecosystems by creating a national ocean policy. It also identifies the steps needed to implement that goal. Additionally, the task force is charged with developing science-based, comprehensive ocean ecosystem planning to balance competing uses of our oceans. President Obama also proclaimed June 2009 to be “National Oceans Month.” He called on all Americans to learn more about the oceans and what can be done to save them.Oceana CEO Andy Sharpless was quoted in the Reuters article:”With the oceans facing the triple threats of overfishing, pollution and climate change, they need attention at the highest levels of government,” Oceana chief executive Andy Sharpless said.