Shifting Baselines Blog

US Ocean Commission Report: Kudos to Oceana

The U.S. Ocean Commission released its preliminary report this morning. Most of the major conservation groups put out press releases in response, but as far as I can see, only one of them did a good job of critically assessing the report -- Oceana. Their press release offers the standard praise for such a thorough study, but they point to the lack of a clear action plan to actually change the course of ocean decline.

Here's a sample of their press release.

"The oceans have been mismanaged for decades, to the point that they're now on the brink of collapse," said Ted Morton, Oceana's Federal Policy Director. "The commission's report acknowledges as much, and we applaud it for recognizing the oceans as vital ecosystems that must be treated as such. Unfortunately, many of the recommendations rely too heavily on voluntary approaches and minor changes to existing systems that have proven ineffective."

Very well said.

Posted by Randy Olson at April 20, 2004 05:46 PM