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

6. IMPLICATIONSThe changes in the coastal and ocean socio-economicenvironment that have been underwaywill shape policy for the coasts and oceans in a numberof important ways. Much of the health of theoceans depends on what happens on the land, as theStratton Commission recognized. Shaping policytowards the management of the land and waterresources of the coastal areas will have to take intoaccount the increases in population density throughoutthe coast, but also the faster population growthin upland areas and the faster economic and employmentgrowth near the shore. The upland areas ofwatersheds require more attention as a result of thefirst trend, while the impacts of rapid commercialgrowth near the shore require attention as a result ofthe second.Population impacts must also be reconsidered asresulting from more than the people who live on thecoast. The real population growth on the coasts isnot from permanent residents near the shore but thelarge number of people who come to the shore forshort periods of time. These include the large numberof employees who must commute into the nearshoreregion to take the growing number of jobsthere but who cannot live there because of high realestate prices. It also includes people who commuteto the near shore area for shopping or to utilize thegrowing retail and service industries there. Finally, itincludes large numbers of tourists and recreationistswho increase the population in coastal areas severalfold, primarily in the summer. These populations arepoorly measured, but are clearly implied by thetrends in the economy and housing.The sum of the “short term” and “resident” populationsmeans that the public must plan for andbuild a transportation infrastructure to serve a muchlarger population in coastal areas than actually livethere. Because of rapid employment growth in nearshore areas, transportation infrastructure must havethe capacity to move employees on a daily basis andtourists on a seasonal basis. This large transportationinfrastructure must be provided in such a way that itminimizes impacts on the very resources that makethe coast special, and allows community character tobe maintained.The complex dimensions of population, housing,and economic changes are clearly challenging federal,state, and local agencies. Inevitably questionsarise about whether the high degree of both functionaland geographic fragmentation in the jurisdictionsof public agencies is a barrier to effective policy.Such concerns lead often lead to calls for new“regional” levels of government, in which jurisdictionsmatch appropriate ecological and socio-economicboundaries. The question of matching jurisdictionswith responsibilities is an important one.While new forms of organizations may beneeded in some cases, there are a number of organizationsintegrating federal, state and local governmentswith responsibilities appropriate to managingcoastal and ocean resources. These include coastalzone management agencies under the Coastal ZoneManagement Act, the National Estuary Programsestablished under the Clean Water Act, and theMetropolitan Planning Organizations establishedunder the Intermodal Surface TransportationEfficiency Act. These organizations can play animportant role in addressing many of the issuesraised by the evolution of socio-economic trends discussedhere and the changes in the natural environmentnoted in other information provided to theCommission.The changes in the ocean economy point to anumber of different conclusions:Fisheries It is clear that the severe problems withAmerica’s fisheries resources have had significantnegative effects on the economy of many communities.The losses in jobs reflected in the processingindustry figures reported here are magnified severaltimes in the unreported employment figures of harvestingsector employment. While many fisheriesremain vital sources of employment and economicoutput, a significant restoration of abundance in fishstocks to sustainable levels will provide importanteconomic boosts to many regions. Aquaculture isalso an important new industry, but it does notappear to be replacing the employment levels lost inthe capture fisheries.Maritime Transportation The role of the maritimetransportation industry in the economy ischanging dramatically. While the volume of goodsbeing moved across the oceans and along the coastscomprises a large and growing share of the Americaneconomy, competitive pressures on the transportationindustry and improved technologies are reducingthe demand for labor, particularly in the handlingA PPENDIX C: LIVING N EAR… AND M AKING A L IVING F ROM…THE N ATION’ S C OASTS AND O CEANS C 17