An Ocean Blueprint for the 21st Century - California Ocean ...

Recommendation 4–6Congress should establish an Office of Ocean Policy to support the Assistant to the President,the National Ocean Council (NOC), and the President’s Council of Advisors on Ocean Policy.To provide staff support immediately, the President should establish an Office of Ocean Policythrough the executive order creating the NOC and the President’s Council of Advisors onOcean Policy.The Office of Ocean Policy should be:• composed of a small staff that reports to the Assistant to the President.• managed by an executive director responsible for daily staff activities.Recommendation 4–7Congress, working with the National Ocean Council (NOC), should amend the NationalOceanographic Partnership Act to integrate ocean observing, operations, and educationinto its marine research mission. A strengthened and enhanced National Ocean ResearchLeadership Council (NORLC) should be redesignated as the Committee on Ocean Science,Education, Technology, and Operations (COSETO), under the oversight of the NOC.In particular, amendments to the National Oceanographic Partnership Act should specify thatthe newly-named COSETO:• reports to the NOC.• is chaired by the director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy to ensureappropriate links to government-wide science and technology policy and equity amongparticipating federal agencies.• includes in its mandate coordination and planning of federal marine facilities and operations,federal oversight of the Integrated Ocean Observing System, and coordination ofocean-related education efforts, in addition to its existing research responsibilities.• includes existing NORLC members plus the director of the National Institute ofEnvironmental Health Sciences at the National Institutes of Health, the assistant secretaryfor Natural Resources and Environment at the Department of Agriculture, and the undersecretaryfor science at the Smithsonian Institution.• subsumes the current tasks of the National Science and Technology Council’s JointSubcommittee on Oceans.• is supported by the Office of Ocean Policy.Recommendation 4–8The National Ocean Council (NOC) should establish a Committee on Ocean ResourceManagement to better integrate the resource management activities of ocean-relatedagencies. This committee should oversee and coordinate the work of existing ocean andcoastal interagency groups and less formal efforts, recommend the creation of new topicaltask forces as needed, and coordinate with government-wide environmental and naturalresource efforts that have important ocean components.The Committee on Ocean Resource Management should:• be chaired by the chair of the Council on Environmental Quality to ensure appropriate linksto government-wide environmental policy and equity among participating federal agencies.• include undersecretaries and assistant secretaries of departments and agencies that aremembers of the NOC.• report to the NOC.• be supported by the Office of Ocean Policy.Recommendation 4–9The National Ocean Council (NOC) should review all existing ocean-related councils and commissionsand make recommendations about their ongoing utility, reporting structure, andconnections to the NOC.482 A N O CEAN B LUEPRINT FOR THE 21ST C ENTURY