1998 Year of the Ocean The Oceans and National Security 



a combined effort to detect, monitor, and suppress illegal large-scale high-seas driftnet activity.''' 

 The Departments of Justice and State are addressing these illegal activities in legal and 

 diplomatic fora, and in 1991, Navy operational monitoring assets began being used for high-seas 

 driftnet detection. In an effort to assist in the recovery of the endangered Northern Right Whales 

 in the critical habitat located off the coasts of Georgia and Florida, the Navy has undertaken 

 extensive operational measures to preclude whale injury resulting from operations along the 

 Eastern Seaboard. The Coast Guard and the Navy are also providing direct monitoring assistance 

 to the NMFS and conservation organizations to study the migratory and other behavioral patterns 

 of the Northern Right Whales to protect that species. 



On the international scale, the serious decline of fisheries in the Grand Bank of 

 Newfoundland,"" the George's Banks off New England, and other areas have either spawned 

 incidents of violence involving armed forces or created other clear implications for global 

 security. Legal regimes are being negotiated to deal with "ownerless" resources and marine 

 pollution that cannot be specifically linked to particular vessels or nations, especially land-based 

 sources.'' Practical solutions are needed. The Department of Defense, in cooperation with other 

 agencies, has begun isolating and containing the effects of serious pollution incidents." The 

 Navy is also now a part of a team working to develop a Black Sea Regional Oil Spill 

 Contingency Plan which would be implemented by naval forces based in the Black Sea."^ 



Environmentally Sound Ships 



The Assistant Secretary of the Navy noted the importance of the environment to the Navy 

 mission stating: 



"By maintaining compliance with all envirormiental standards, we ensure our 

 access to training and operating ranges on land, in the air, and at sea. We 

 recognize that many of our actions, whether it is to train new Sailors or Marines, 

 maintain readiness of combat forces, or test new weapon systems have an impact 



'9 Large scale (greater than 2.5 kms in length) high sea driftnets are banned by a 1991 UN General Assembly Resolutions 



44.225, 45.197. and 46.215 because of the devastating impact of large-scale driftnet fishing on both the targeted fish stocks and 



because of the problem in incidental damage to marine mammals and non-target fish species. Abandoned driftnets are also a 



serious hazard to navigation. 



20 The collapse of the cod stocks are indicative of the collapse of once numerous species including herring, halibut, and blue-tin 



tuna. Indiscriminate fishing techniques (e.g., use of large nets and trawls which scrape the sea floor, use of drift nets, and 



precision navigation devices) consume entire populations in single scoops. In 1996. the World Conservation Union's annual Red 



Data Book of threatened species listed for the tlrst time numerous marine fish — more than 100 kinds worldwide including cod. 



haddock, blue fin tuna, swordfish, Nassau grouper, and summer flounder. 



2 'international norms are just evolving to attack the transboundary impacts of pollution from land-based sources. Since over 90 



percent of ocean pollution is derived from land-based sources, this problem is especially acute. 



22 Literally thousands of mostly small, spills occur every year around the world. Incidents like the 250,000 barrel spill of Exxon 

 Valdez in Prince William Sound in 1989 and the release of 12 million barrels of oil in the Persian Gulf as ""ecocide" by Iraq 

 during the Gulf War are two of the most prominent examples. The Navy and the Coast Guard have developed a worldwide oil 

 spill contingency plan and response capability in cooperation with other nations. State-of-the-art oil spill recovery equipment is 

 pre-positioned in strategic locations and maintained in a constant state of readiness. If needed, the recovery equipment can be 

 shipped by military aircraft to remote locations. 



23 The plan will be exercised by elements of the U.S. Sixth Fleet during the summer of 1998. 



B-16 



