The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP) report issued last month should serve as a wake-up call to officials in Maine, Congress and to the Bush administration that immediate action is needed to protect our oceans. The USCOP report concurred with other recent oceans reports: over-fishing, over-development of our coasts, habitat destruction, pollution, and mismanagement are leading to the decline of ocean wildlife and the collapse of entire ocean ecosystems.

To look out at the surface of the ocean, one can only see the beauty. Beneath the surface there are many problems. The area of ocean between three and 200 nautical miles out from each coast – nearly one and a half times larger than the landmass of the lower 48 states – is under the control of the United States and contains a greater diversity of life than our national forests. Evidence points to a crisis in our oceans.

As fish harvests have increased around the world, species long caught by local fishermen have declined rapidly. Large U.S. boats have replaced the foreign fleet since 1976 and have harvested fish at such a rapid pace that many stocks are in a state of serious decline. This reduces the fish available to local fishermen and threatens the survival of the small fishing communities along the coast of the Gulf of Maine. Recent efforts to rebuild stocks show some promise, but the loss in fish populations has been severe. A study published in the May 2003 Nature found that in the absence of sound management, large predatory ocean fish populations worldwide have dropped 90 percent over the decades of commercial fishing.

Harvesting too many fish too quickly is at the heart of the over-fishing problem, but it is exacerbated by the use of indiscriminant fishing gear. Scientists estimate that around the world fishermen discard 2.3 billion pounds of unintentionally-caught species every year – about a quarter of their total take. Additionally, U.S. fisheries are managed in a piece-meal fashion, more often than not, on a species-by-species basis. This approach has also contributed to the rapid decline of the nation’s fisheries.

Human activities on land also threaten our oceans. Rampant development along our coast destroys coastal habitat and harms the coastal waters that are essential nurseries for most species of fish. Paving over wetlands and landscaping to the waters’ edge takes away nature’s ability to slow erosion and filter water before it returns to the sea.

Towns along the coast may be easy targets, but every town is a coastal town. The water in streams, rivers and lakes in communities around the state eventually end up in the ocean, carrying pollution with them. For example, overuse of fertilizers on farms, golf courses and lawns contribute to algal blooms and the resultant dead zones in the ocean. Last summer the Gulf of Mexico had a dead zone the size of Massachusetts, the Chesapeake Bay had one that stretched its entire length, and Narraganset Bay had one that killed a million fish. Also, polluted run-off nationwide carries the amount of oil equivalent to the Exxon Valdez spill – 11 million gallons -into the ocean from streets and driveways every eight months. Inland towns therefore have as much responsibility as those directly on the coast.

Statewide, direct discharges of pollution into our waterways continue to be a problem. Many of the largest municipal and industrial facilities in Maine violated their Clean Water Act permits in the past two years- dumping untreated sewage and heavy metals into our rivers and coastal waters. This illegal pollution has immediate impacts – beach and shellfish closures – and contributes to larger ecosystem problems.

Maintaining our oceans requires that Congress make conscientious decisions regarding the oceans, starting by taking an ecosystem-wide approach to protecting the oceans. The U.S. needs to take the lead on the restoration process. Within each ecosystem we must make a commitment to end overfishing, bycatch, coastal over-development, water pollution and habitat destruction. Only when each of these things is controlled can a fish stock begin to recover.

It is clear that repairing years of oceans mismanagement will require the federal government to make marine conservation a national priority. The U.S. needs a new management model that will treat ocean resources in a holistic approach with an emphasis on interrelated ecosystems. The USCOP report calls for decisions based on sound science and policy, and greater coordination of federally funded ocean activities. One proposed mechanism would be the establishment of a national ocean council led by an assistant to the President.

Meanwhile, here in Maine we can do more to reduce the impact of direct and indirect discharges into our oceans. The state should ensure that our sewage treatment facilities and industrial facilities properly treat pollution and meet the terms of their Clean Water Act permits. Also, federal, state and local governments should help finance municipal sewage treatment facility improvements. Encouraging undisturbed buffer zones next to rivers, lakes and coastal waters can help filter out pollution before it enters our waterways.

On a more local level, seafood chefs can help to advance oceans conservation by pledging their support for sustainable oceans management. Citizens can educate themselves on their impact on the ocean and opportunities to tread more lightly. Maine’s vibrant coastal communities depend on a healthy Atlantic. Working together -environmental groups, fishermen, chefs and the public – we can reverse the trend in ocean destruction.

Our governor will submit comments on the USCOP report by the end of the month. Gov. Baldacci should seize this opportunity to call on the commissioners, the president and Congress to pursue the most aggressive recommendations in the report.

This commentary was written by Matthew Davis, an advocate, Environment Maine; Susan Sargent, Maine representative of the National Environmental Trust; and Pat White, a lobsterman and commissioner of the Pew Oceans Commission.