Ocean Policy

Process, BOEM and Public Participation

by Mike Crowe

“The idea or hope behind having a National Ocean Policy is that if people plan the use of the ocean space there will be less conflict over that use,” said Madeline Hall-Arber of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Sea Grant. The Northeast Regional Ocean Council (NROC), under NOAA, is overseeing Ocean Policy development in the northeast. The regional planning body under NROC invites comment from the many ocean stakeholders at local and regional meetings.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) – Formerly the Minerals Management Service – is the agency moving the development of a National Ocean Policy forward. Funding in part has come from the rewritten 1954 Saltonstall-Kennedy Act, established to fund commercial fisheries research. Space in the ocean is being sought by a number of interests.

“Consideration has been given to providing mitigation for those who may left out of spatial plans. It is expected that trade offs will have to be made”, said Hall-Arber. Hall-Arber has been involved with New England fisheries and has worked on Trade Adjustment Assistance training for lobstermen; Connecting Community and Commons in New England Fisheries and Identifying offshore space use conflicts.

Ocean policy discussions grew out of energy policy and the move toward energy independence has been a part of those discussions. The process is not officially called zoning but it has been described that way by some observers. There are many uses around the nation – fishing, gravel mining, wind energy, shipping, offshore oil drilling, and aquaculture – and they are all being used. “There is a need to talk to the traditional users. BOEM will be measuring the benefit to the nation,” said Hall-Arber. “therefore wind energy, reducing energy costs, increasing the number of jobs and services,” will be on the table.

In June of 2012 President Obama created an Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force to provide recommendations on a National Ocean Policy, including Marine Spatial Planning.

“There is a concern they are trying to zone the ocean,” said Hall-Arber. How this policy will be created and implemented appears to be not well known. Some people are bothered by the way task forces are set up. Sea Plan, the Massachusetts task force, must be made up of elected officials. Therefore, “if they are elected they must abide by the Public Meeting Act which controls procedural stipulations,” said Arber.

Getting the public involved in the process soon may be more urgent. Fast tracking for ocean policy seems likely. There is a desire to get off foreign oil and therefore pressure for speeding up the process. “Fishermen need to make their concerns known,” said Hall-Arbor. “Having a group agree to have a couple of fishermen at all ocean policy meetings” will give them a place at the table.

Rhode Island has been active in ocean management policy planning. BOEM handles ocean leases and sales. Because some leases offered crossed shipping and scalloping areas traditional users got involved in the process to effect the outcome of those leases.

Massachusetts Sea Plan (Massachusetts Oceans Act of 2009) has been described as less transparent, more formal with less outreach. The Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries Director Paul Diodati is a member of the Northeast Regional Planning Body. Diodati said the planning body has no regulatory authority. “But some of us do have regulatory authority in Massachusetts, he said. “Some type of policy will come out of the planning body and be crafted into law.”

The state, said Diodati has created a road map for projects like offshore wind energy. It is a pathway that streamlines the process for aquaculture or wind. There are predetermined areas where impacts have been evaluated. I welcome that, rather than a piecemeal approach. That is the purpose of our plan. I’m guessing that is what the feds are looking for as well. Diodati said, “Massachusetts has come a long way in these ocean exercises.” He said the Massachusetts legislature and governor signed a 5 year renewable energy plan meant to deal with siting issues coming up, for example Cape Wind, which served as model for how we deal with these things.

Diodati said the fishing industry is high on the list as is shipping for consideration in the planning. “There is a lot of information on both of these industries to serve as a kind of baseline.”

Massachusetts “has a number of smaller offshore projects under Coastal Zone Planning, such as the offshore LNG terminal” built off Gloucester.

The Northeast Regional Planning Body will have other planning meetings. There may also be more smaller local meetings around New England to gather input from stakeholders. It has been suggested that the stakeholders meet to discuss their goals and plans within the process.

The process which will create a National Ocean Policy, how that policy will be implemented and what determines the relative value of each of the stakeholder interests is unclear to many in and near the process now. The deadline for completion of the National Ocean Policy is 2015. With BOEM as the lead agency it seems likely that it and the Department of Energy will have something to do with what the National Ocean Policy ultimately becomes.

Go to the E-edition Extras section of the Fishermen’s Voice website for a link to Commercial Fishing Activity in New England maps. http://www.fishermensvoice.com