At its inaugural meeting on September 17-18, 2001, the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy established four Working Groups to address issues in the areas of:

• Governance;
• Investment and Implementation;
• Research, Education and Marine Operations; and
• Stewardship.

These Working Groups were charged with reviewing and analyzing issues within their specific area of focus and reporting on their findings to the full Commission.

The Working Groups played a vital role in maximizing the effectiveness of the regional public meetings and identifying key issues to be addressed by the Commission during its fact-finding and deliberative phases, which ran from September 2001 through April 2003. Group members ensured that in each region visited, the Commission heard presentations on a balanced and wide-ranging set of topics and elicited the information necessary to respond to the requirements put forth in the Oceans Act of 2000.

Based on the information gathered at the public meetings, the Working Groups identified and reviewed key issues, outlined options for addressing the issues and determined the need for white paper development to provide more detailed information on specific topics. The information-gathering and discussions carried on by each Group were shared among the other Groups throughout the deliberation process to ensure thorough integration and coordination in developing the final Commission report and recommendations.

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