Coastal areas

Washington, DC - 11/12/2009 - During this year’s Global Week of Action, a week devoted to farmed salmon awareness, the Pew Environment Group today raised concern about the creation of fish farms in U.S. waters without adequate uniform national aquaculture standards in place.

In the past two months, tens of thousands of farmed salmon have escaped from open-net fish farms in British Columbia, Norway and Scotland. This poses serious threats to wild salmon populations and coastal marine ecosystems. While monetary losses amount to millions of dollars, the ecological damage caused by these fish is immeasurable. Escaped fish spread disease to wild fish and compete and interbreed with wild salmon populations.    » read more »

Water Quality Pilot Program Will Be Duplicated in Florida, Hawaii and Pacific Islands

WASHINGTON, Nov. 5, 2009- Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack today announced the launch of a new initiative to conserve coral reefs. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) will provide $1 million from the Environmental Quality Incentives Program (EQIP) in Fiscal Year 2010 to reduce sediment and nutrient run-off from the watershed to help protect near shore coral reef ecosystems in the Guánica Bay Watershed in southwest Puerto Rico.

Agriculture Deputy Under Secretary for Natural Resources and Environment Ann Mills made the announcement today on behalf of Secretary Vilsack at the U.S. Coral Reef Task Force's bi-annual meeting in San Juan, Puerto Rico.    » read more »

October 26, 2009 -- Representatives from NOAA and the states of North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, announced the formation of a partnership to better manage and protect ocean and coastal resources, ensure regional economic sustainability, and respond to disasters such as hurricanes. The announcement was made during the annual meeting of the Coastal States Organization in Charleston, S.C.    » read more »

10/19/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La., today released the following statement regarding the Ocean Policy Task Force's public meeting this evening in New Orleans. Sen. Landrieu has been a staunch supporter of creating a clear federal policy that eliminates the chronic delays of implementing coastal protection projects, increases multi-agency coordination and partnership with the State, and establishes a long-term program to secure Louisiana's vibrant coast.

Sen. Landrieu said:    » read more »

16-Oct-2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (D-Md.), a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, today announced Senate passage of the 2010 Energy and Water Development Conference Report. The bill includes more than $15 million for Eastern Shore priorities. It now heads to the President to be signed into law.

“The Chesapeake Bay is part of who we are as Marylanders – it is part of our heritage and part of our culture – and it’s our greatest natural resource. This funding is a federal investment in the lives and livelihoods that depend on the Bay,” Senator Mikulski said. “I will continue to fight to keep the Bay and Eastern Shore communities priorities in the federal checkbook.”

The bill includes:    » read more »

Vancouver, British Columbia - 10/08/2009 - Major shifts in fisheries distribution due to climate change will affect food security in tropical regions most adversely, according to a study led by the Sea Around Us Project at The University of British Columbia.

In the first major study to examine the effects of climate change on ocean fisheries, a team of researchers from UBC and Princeton University finds that climate change will produce major shifts in productivity of the world’s fisheries, affecting ocean food supply throughout the world. The study is published today in the journal Global Change Biology.    » read more »

October 5, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC -- Congressman Barney Frank, along with five coastal Members of Congress, urged Dr. Jane Lubchenco, Undersecretary for Oceans and Atmosphere and NOAA Administrator, to take the necessary action to fund the Scallop observer program currently managed through the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Congressman Frank was joined by Congressmen Walter Jones, William Delahunt, Robert Wittman, James Langevin and John Adler in urging Ms. Lubchenco to fund the observer program “until an appropriate set-aside management approach can ensure the proper compensation to scallop vessels and their crew.”    » read more »

Jun 30, 2009 -- BATON ROUGE – Today, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announced a commitment of more than $7 million in federal stimulus funds for coastal restoration efforts in Plaquemines and Jefferson Parishes. The funds were provided by a grant program through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).    » read more »

A column by United States Senator Mary L. Landrieu, D-La.

06/23/2009 -- WASHINGTON -- Last summer, Americans were reeling from the largest oil price spike the nation ever experienced. Oil prices had increased from $51 per barrel in January 2007 to nearly $150 in July 2008 — a nearly 200 percent increase in 18 months.

Skyrocketing energy prices led millions of hardworking families to demand that Congress change our policies to allow for more domestic oil and gas production. Americans from coast to coast were ready to cut ties with unfriendly foreign governments and produce our own energy right here at home.    » read more »

June 9, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- In a Senate Commerce Committee hearing examining the role of oceans in our economic future, U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today extolled the present and future contributions of oceans to our national economy, from renewable energy to the fishing industry. Currently, the world’s oceans face numerous threats to their productivity and viability, including the looming threat of climate change.    » read more »

June 09,2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC – Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), chair of the Senate Commerce Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries and Coast Guard, held a hearing on “The Blue Economy: The Role of the Oceans in our Nation’s Economic Future.”

The blue economy is comprised of economic activities that emerge from our ocean, Great Lakes, and coastal resources. The oceans and coasts provide many goods and services to the nation; however, they are rarely recognized as a crucial part of the U.S. economy.    » read more »

June 4, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Reps. Frank Pallone Jr. and U.S. Senator Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) praised the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for passing legislation that requires tough new beach water quality testing and public notification standards so beachgoers are better informed about the safety of their beaches.

The Clean Coastal Environment and Public Health Act of 2009 reauthorizes grants awarded to states through the Beaches Environmental Assessment and Coastal Health (BEACH) Act through 2013. It will also increase the annual grant levels from $30 million to $40 million.    » read more »

May 21, 2009 -- OLYMPIA – Washington Governor Chris Gregoire today issued an executive order, directing state actions to reduce climate-changing greenhouse gas emissions, increase transportation and fuel-conservation options for Washingtonians, and protect our state’s water supplies and vulnerable coastal areas.

“We can’t further delay action on climate change,” Gregoire said. “This executive order benefits our economy as much as our environment. It will protect our natural resources, while creating thousands of green-collar jobs and strengthening our state’s competitiveness in the global race for a clean energy economy.”    » read more »

May 20, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. – The U.S. Senate Commerce Committee today passed the Gulf of the Farallones and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuaries Boundary Modification and Protection Act, legislation introduced by Senators Barbara Boxer and Dianne Feinstein (both D-CA).

The bill will permanently protect the coastal waters and estuaries of Sonoma County and portions of Mendocino County by extending the boundaries of existing marine sanctuaries. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) has reintroduced a companion bill, which the House passed last year.    » read more »

May 11, 2009 -- WASHINGTON, D.C. – Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today asked the Department of Justice to seek clarification from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on the scope of its April 17, 2009 decision that Bush Administration officials did not conduct sufficient scientific and environmental analysis before scheduling oil and gas lease sales on the Outer Continental Shelf off Alaska.    » read more »