I Agree with Obama?? Maybe for the first time!

WOW - for the first time I think I agree with Obama!


Read this article below - I have made my comments along the way where I believe it really matters for those 
of us who make a living on the water.

Obama task force calls for National Ocean Council

The Obama administration on Thursday released the first glimpse of a plan to strengthen the way the nation
manages the oceans, coasts and the Great Lakes.

President Barack Obama's Ocean Policy Task Force - comprised of 24 officials from the U.S. Department of
Interior to the U.S. Navy - recommended creating a new National Ocean Council with power to coordinate and hold accountable myriad federal agencies in conservation and marine planning efforts.

"Right now (ocean policy) is done on a piecemeal basis, one agency regulating fisheries, one shipping, one
water quality, another national security and there's no real mechanized thinking on how sectors interact
with each other," said Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and a task force member.

"Today is a historic day. For the first time, we as a nation say loudly and clearly that healthy oceans
matter," she said.

The president created the task force to coordinate federal response to pollution from industrial and
commercial activities, rising sea levels and ocean acidification, among other problems.

The new National Ocean Council would replace the Committee on Ocean Policy, instituted by President George W. Bush in 2004, which the task force called "moderately effective." (Re-writing of the Magnusun-Stevens Act?)?

"(The report) delivers on President Obama's request for recommendations that will move this country towards
a more robust national policy for our oceans, coasts and the Great Lakes," said Nancy Sutley, chair of the
White House Council on Environmental Quality.

Beyond creating the new ocean council, the task force identified a number of priorities for improving the
health of the seas and Great Lakes. Among them is to improve the ability of coastal communities and the
Arctic to deal with the effects of climate change, especially rising sea levels and higher ocean acidification due to increased carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
(Higher acidification? I think this means a carbon tax for all boats)

The council would help coastal communities - whether it be a struggling fishing industry in Northern
California or a hurricane-damaged area on the Gulf Coast - through better coordination and strategic
planning.
(Maybe they will look at the economic statistics of fishing communities and take a more liberal (I can't believe I am using that word) approach to fisheries management).

The report also recommends that the federal government view all ocean policy with a "ecosystem-based
approach," meaning decisions would be made with an emphasis on understanding how all life would be affected in a given area. Officials said this would be a key philosophical shift in the nation's approach.
(Ditto the previous comment)

The report is short on details about how and when these goals would be achieved, but environmental groups
applauded the White House's efforts, calling it is an important first step in achieving badly needed reform.

 (There is no better time than NOW to get involved with the environmental groups and "Work with them" 
instead of "Against them" - the only way to get changes done in a manner which will help us instead of 
hinder us).

"It's the first time that an administration has identified a series of laudable goals for managing the
nation's marine environment," said Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Group.
"Runoff of fertilizer is really an issue for the Department of Agriculture, transportation runoff from
highways and roads is the Department of Transportation ... municipal discharges from sewer systems is the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. So when you're proposing trying to manage an area of the ocean, you're trying to take into account all of these variables in a very complicated process," Reichert said.


(Runoff and fertilizer is the MAJOR CAUSE of the problem with the fisheries as a whole! I have been saying 
that all along! The road runoff and fertilizers that run into the estuaries during the spring rains kills 
millions of fish larvae, create the algae blooms that choke off oxygen in the water that ends up killing 
millions more small fish that survived the fertilizer kill! I firmly believe this is the real cause of the 
fishery problem and if this is addressed, the fisheries will come back like nothing we have ever seen).


Now may the time to think about getting involved in the fishing business! Either full or part time. If you 
are interested in learning how to get basic information about the industry, go to Salt Water Fishing Jobs 
and learn more.