U.S. panel on ocean policy in search of new proposals

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser Science Writer

The United States' approach to governing the oceans, built up a piece at a time, has been criticized as confused and sometimes inconsistent.

The ocean commission hopes to change that.

"The commission wants to untangle the current mess of ocean laws. The patchwork that is there now is just confusing," said Kate Naughten, public affairs officer for the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.

The panel will hold two days of meetings in Honolulu Monday and Tuesday, the fifth in a nationwide series of nine public meetings. A number of speakers from Hawai'i and the Pacific are scheduled to address the commission, and the public is invited to speak out at a hearing at 4 p.m. Tuesday at the Renaissance Ilikai Waikiki Hotel.

Naughten said the panel has not yet developed proposals to bring to Congress and the president.

"We're still in fact-finding," she said.

The 16-member commission, mandated in the Oceans Act of 2000, was appointed by President Bush to conduct an 18-month study of the impacts of federal laws and programs involving the oceans. The panel is looking into coral reef protection, fisheries, oil- drilling, coastal development, climate and a range of other issues relating to the seas.

Among the experts scheduled to address the panel in Honolulu are those with interests in reefs, fisheries, the ocean's role in climate, the military, threatened species, tourism andmarine debris.

Reach Jan TenBruggencate at jant@honoluluadvertiser.com or (808) 245-3074.