Ocean Commissions: Ocean Policy Review and Outlook

The original document contains color images. CRS Issue Bried for Congress.

The Marine Resources and Engineering Development Act of 1966 (P.L. 89-454) stated U.S. marine policy objectives, created a National Council on Marine Resources and Engineering Development, and set up a presidential Commission on Marine Science, Engineering, and Resources (called the Stratton Commission after its chairman, Dr. Julius Stratton). The commission's 1969 final report, Our Nation and the Sea: A Plan for National Action, contained recommendations that led to reorganizing federal ocean programs by establishing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), beginning new ocean programs, and strengthening existing ones. By the late 1980s, however, 20 years after the Stratton Commission, a number of influential voices among the executive, congressional, and public sectors had concluded that ocean management by the United States was fragmented and characterized by a confusing array of laws, regulations, and practices at the federal, state, and local levels. Moreover, it seemed that various agencies charged with implementing and enforcing legal regimes had mandates that often conflicted, with no mechanism for establishing a common vision and objectives. Support coalesced around the need for a congressional mandate to establish a National Oceans Policy Commission, sometimes called a Stratton II Commission, guided by four principles: sustaining the economic benefits of the oceans; strengthening global security; exploring and understanding the oceans; and preserving and protecting ocean resources while encouraging their enlightened use.