Below is a brief description of the ninth public meeting, the seventh in a series of nine regional meetings. The agenda, minutes, testimony and responses to follow-up questions will be posted when they become available.

Description
Site Visits
Agenda (including links to speakers' written statements and follow-up questions)
Summary
Minutes (pdf 336kb)

The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy held its ninth public meeting July 23-24, 2002, in the Historic Faneuil Hall, 0 Faneuil Hall Square, Boston, Massachusetts.

At the meeting, the Commission heard presentations on coastal and ocean issues of concern to the Northeast Region. The agenda included invited speakers representing local and regional government agencies and non-governmental organizations and comments from the public.

Issues highlighted at the meeting included:

• Ocean Observing and Prediction
• Science
• Regional Coordination of Ocean Policy
• Public Interest
• Marine Industry
  

The Commission will use the information received at the meeting to help formulate its recommendations for a coordinated and comprehensive national ocean policy, as required by the Oceans Act of 2000. This was the seventh in a series of nine region-specific meetings to be held by the Commission.

• Mr. Bob Durand (pdf, 112kb) – Secretary of the Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, State of Massachusetts
• Mr. David E. Hartman (pdf, 76kb) – Manager, New Hampshire Coastal Program, New Hampshire Office of State Planning
• Mr. Evan D. Richert (pdf, 320kb) – Director, Maine State Planning Office - State of Maine Recommendations on Ocean Observing, Coastal, and Fisheries Management
• Ms. Jane K. Stahl (pdf, 64kb) – Deputy Commissioner of Environmental Protection, State of Connecticut
  

1:30 – 2:35 p.m.

• Dr. Rita R. Colwell (pdf, 112kb) – Director, National Science Foundation and Chair, National Ocean Research Leadership Council
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 114kb)
    
• The Honorable William K. Reilly (pdf, 112kb) – Chairman, Board of Directors, World Wildlife Fund - Restore the Seas! Endangered Fish, Reefs, and Coasts: A Call for Action
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 104kb)

2:35 – 4:15 p.m. - Ocean Observing and Prediction

• Dr. J. Frederick Grassle (pdf, 136kb) – Director, Institute of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey – The Use of Observing Systems to Monitor Life in the Ocean
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 84kb)
    
• Dr. Philip Bogden (pdf, 132kb) – Chief Executive Officer, Gulf of Maine Ocean Observing System – The History and Future of GoMOOS: Elements of a Successful Partnership
• Dr. David Keeley (pdf, 168kb) – State Planner, Maine State Planning Office – Coastal Managers User Needs for Ocean Observing Data and Information
  

4:15 – 4:20 p.m. - Break

4:20 – 6:00 p.m. - Science Panel

• Dr. Robert B. Gagosian (pdf, 104kb) – President and Director, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – Basic Science Requirements for Ocean and Coastal Research
• Dr. Steven Murawski (pdf, 1.2Mb) – Chief, Population Dynamics Branch, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA - Scientific Challenges in Supporting Living Marine Resource Management
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 88kb)
    
• Dr. Donald M. Anderson (pdf, 2.1Mb) – Senior Scientist, Biology, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution – Harmful Algal Blooms – An Expanding Problem in the U.S. Coastal Zone
• Dr. Thomas C. Malone (pdf, 128kb) – Professor, University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science and Co-Chair, U.S. GOOS Steering Committee – The Need for a Regional Approach to Detecting, Understanding and Predicting Changes in U.S. Coastal Waters
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 156kb)
    

6:00 p.m. - Adjourn


WEDNESDAY, JULY 24 2002

8:30 – 10:30 a.m. Regional Coordination of Ocean Policy

• Mr. Robert Ostrom (pdf, 72kb) – Chief Counsel, Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation - Our Nation's Marine Transportation System: Relieving Congestion Through Intermodalism
• Colonel Thomas L. Koning (pdf, 181kb) – Commander, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New England District - New England District USACOE Ocean Policy Issues
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 180kb)
    
• Ms. Patricia A. Kurkul (pdf, 156kb) - Regional Administrator, National Marine Fisheries Service, Northeast Region - Federal Agency Coordination on Ocean Policy
• Dr. Jamie Geiger (pdf, 84kb) – Assistant Regional Director, Northeast Region, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
• Mr. Thomas W. Skinner (pdf, 96kb) – Director, Office of Coastal Zone Management, Executive Office of Environmental Affairs, State of Massachusetts - Gulf of Maine Council on the Marine Environment: Transboundary Perspective on Regional Governance
  

10:30 – 10:40 a.m. Break

10:40 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. - Public Interest

• Mr. Peter Shelley (pdf, 292kb) – Vice President, Conservation Law Foundation - Looking Forward: Developing a Strategic Federal Vision for the Gulf of Maine
• Ms. Sharon B. Young (pdf, 200kb) – Field Director, Marine Issues, Humane Society of the United States – Sea Change: Planning for the Future with Lessons from the Past
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 88kb)
    
• Dr. Rebecca Goldburg (pdf, 112kb) – Senior Scientist, Environmental Defense - Marine Aquaculture and the Environment: All Fish are Not Created Equal
• Mr. Curt Spalding (pdf, 116kb) – Executive Director, Save the Bay, Narragansett Bay – Restoring Hope for Estuaries: Toward a Coordinated National Strategy
• Mr. Richard F. Delaney (pdf, 136kb) – Director, Urban Harbors Institute, University of Massachusetts Boston - Public Issues and Trends: Waterfronts, Harbors and Coasts
  

12:30 – 1:15 p.m. Lunch Break

1:15 – 3:15 p.m. Marine Industry

• Mr. Michael Leone (pdf, 84kb) – Port Director, Massachusetts Port Authority – Importance of Ports
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 80kb)
    
• Mr. Paul E. Shorb, III (pdf, 272kb) – Senior Attorney, AT&T Corporation – Issues Facing the Submarine Cable Industry
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 68kb)
    
• Mr. Thomas R. Hill (pdf, 196kb) – Chairman, New England Fishery Management Council –Governance Challenges in Marine Resource Management in the 21st Century
• Mr. David Goethel (pdf, 100kb) – Commercial Fisherman, F/V Ellen Diane - Ocean Policy and Fisheries: A Discussion of Areas in Need of Change
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 420kb)
• Mr. Roger S. Berkowitz (pdf, 68kb) – President and CEO, Legal Sea Foods – Figuring Out the Sustainability of the Fishing Industry: Literally a Life and Death Proposition
  

3:15 – 3:25 p.m. - Break

3:25 – 5:25 p.m. - Public Comment

5:25 – 5:50 p.m.

• Dr. David Evans (pdf, 120kb) – Assistant Administrator for Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – Ocean.US
  • Response to the Commission’s Follow-up Questions (pdf, 104kb)

5:50 – 6:00 p.m. - Commission Business

• Minutes of previous meetings
• Report of Working Group Chairs

6:00 p.m. Adjourn


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Summary

At its seventh regional meeting, held July 23-24, 2002, in Boston, Massachusetts, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy announced the release of the working draft of a new document, Towards a National Ocean Policy: Ocean Policy Topics and Related Issues for public review and comment. Described by Commission Chair Admiral James D. Watkins (USN) Ret., as a “work in progress”, the document is designed to determine both the scope and content of an integrated national ocean policy. Based on the topics and questions outlined in the document, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy will consider policy options to address key issue areas as required by the Oceans Act of 2000. The document, which is available online at oceancommission.gov, also was submitted to the Commission’s Science Advisory Panel, federal agencies and Capitol Hill for review and comment.

The topic areas presented at the public meeting included:

• Ocean Observing and Prediction
• Science
• Regional Coordination of Ocean Policy
• Public Interest
• Marine Industry

Following the invited and public testimony on July 24, the Commission’s Working Groups chairs reported out on the half-day meeting each group held prior to the public meeting on July 23. Highlights included:

• Research, Education and Marine Operations Working Group – The working group prioritized and modified the Toward a National Ocean Policy document during its session, and made minor revisions.

• Stewardship Working Group – The working group discussed the Toward a National Ocean Policy document and made several changes, including strengthening the focus of the international component and improving the discussion of informal education. The working group also discussed its upcoming meeting with its Science Advisory Panel members, scheduled for Aug. 8-9, 2002, in Atlanta, Ga.
• Governance Working Group: The working group discussed definitions of “governance”, and will provide a definition to the Commission. Members also discussed what, if any, structure the group would recommend to coordinate ocean policy.

• Investment & Implementation Working Group: The Investment & Implementation group was scheduled to meet on July 25, along with its Science Advisory Panel members.

In other business, the Commission approved the minutes of the April 18-19, 2002, Southwest Regional Meeting in Los Angeles, and the minutes of the May 13-14, 2002, Hawaii and Pacific Islands Regional Meeting in Honolulu, subject to staff technical changes. The minutes will be circulated to the presenters for their review, and should be available on the web site within a month.


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Commission Follow-up Questions

Based on testimony received at the meeting, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy posed specific follow-up questions to many of the presenters. The responses received by the Commission become part of the record for the meeting. The list of current responses includes only the electronic files received by the Commission. To access these documents, go to the individual’s name listed above, or use the links provided below. Please note that the current list of responses does not include responses received in hard copy by the Commission.


Responses to Follow-up Questions:

• Dr. J. Frederick Grassle (pdf, 84kb)
• Dr. Steven Murawski (pdf, 88kb)
• Dr. Thomas C. Malone (pdf, 156kb)
• Col. Thomas L. Koning (pdf, 180kb)
• Ms. Sharon B. Young (pdf, 88kb)
• Mr. Michael Leone (pdf, 80kb)
• Mr. Paul E. Shorb, III (pdf, 112kb)
• Dr. Rita R. Colwell (pdf, 114kb)
• The Honorable William Reilly (pdf, 104kb)
• Mr. David Goethel (pdf, 420kb)
• Dr. David Evans (pdf, 104kb)

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