April 16, 2002 News Release

Los Angeles – Actor Ted Danson of the American Oceans Campaign; Jean-Michel Cousteau, President of the Ocean Futures Society; Mary Nichols, California’s Secretary of Resources; and Professor Walter Munk of Scripps Institution of Oceanography are among the environmentalists, area officials and top experts scheduled to testify at the Southwest region meeting of the new presidentially-appointed U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, set for April 18 and 19, 2002, at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium in San Pedro, California.

A press briefing will be held at 9:00 a.m., Friday, April 19, during the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy’s public meeting at the Cabrillo Marine Aquarium. The public meetings will feature presentations by environmentalists, ocean scientists, citizens and government officials on the impact of federal, state and municipal ocean policies on environmental issues, fisheries, businesses and tourism in California.

On Wednesday, April 17, members of the Commission will be conducting site visits to the Scripps Institution of Oceanography in San Diego and the Monterey Bay area to view first hand the marine and coastal issues in the Southwest region.
The Southwest region meeting is the fourth of nine stops for the 16-member Commission, which is conducting similar site visits and public meetings in the nation’s coastal regions over the next six months. Based on the information gathered at the public meetings and its in-depth analysis of U.S. coastal policies, the Commission will be compiling recommendations for the development of a comprehensive federal ocean policy to effectively preserve and utilize the world’s oceans and their resources.

The Commission’s findings and recommendations will be presented to Congress and the President in a final report in the spring of 2003. For more information on the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy go to: http://oceancommission.gov.


Contacts:

Scott Treibitz
703-276-2772 x11

David Roscow
703-276-2772 x21

Kate Naughten
202-309-5476


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