Public Support Needed For Lofty Ocean Plan
The world may be undergoing a sixth great wave of extinctions, as recently examined in a book by Elizabeth Kolbert, and this phenomenon may well extend to the seas, including those off our own shores. Symptoms include coral reef degradation, finfish population crashes, toxic algae blooms, and the slow loss of once-familiar and economically vital species. New York State has responded by drafting a 10-year Ocean Action Plan, but the document, while extensive, offers no source for the money needed to address its ambitious goals.
New York’s Department of Environmental Conservation is accepting written responses to the draft until March 9. Hearings at which the public can comment in person will be held on Tuesday at Operation Splash in Freeport and next Thursday at the Long Beach Public Library.
Though billed as a plan for the state’s ocean waters, the draft’s authors describe an integrated ecosystem that extends from upland watersheds to streams and brackish estuaries, into inshore bays and harbors, and then to the Atlantic itself. In this vast and varied environment, the authors set 61 goals for ensuring ecological integrity and sustainable development, avoiding commercial exploitation, and responding to climate change while involving the public in decision-making.
The missing funding is no minor matter. New York’s budget for the environment has been gutted at a time when pressures on it from all sides have multiplied. Among the projects contained in the draft for which money has yet to be set aside are removing impediments that block fish spawning runs, controlling pesticide runoff, and evaluating sewage outfalls. Determining the cause and what can be done about plummeting lobster catches is also on the list, as is a study to understand the impact of ocean acidification on shellfish.
Also on the to-do list, but not yet paid for, are a study of winter flounder declines, deep-water coral and sponge management, a study of seabirds, a baseline ocean monitoring system for the New York Bight, removal of marine debris, and better dredging oversight, as well as public education. One key area for which money is needed is an effort to update local planning practices to include coastal resiliency strategies to minimize the impacts of extreme weather events and sea-level rise.
Key tasks for which money has only partially been secured involve reducing the accidental bycatch of marine mammals, turtles, sea birds, and the endangered Atlantic sturgeon, for one. A horseshoe crab study needs more funding, as does work on underwater noise. The 18 areas the report’s authors consider already paid for tend in most cases to be more advisory than actually occurring. The heavy lifting on saving the marine environment has yet to be done.
The failure to find the needed money cannot be put onto the Ocean Action Plan’s authors. Rather, it is the responsibility of Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and the State Legislature. As the threat of climate change increases and coastal development continues without adequate restraint, the will must be found in Albany to do more. A strong public outcry that the Ocean Action Plan must be made a priority for New York would help.