1998 Year of the Ocean Perspectives on Marine Environmental Quality 



and reducing habitat for commercial fisheries. This in turn drives up the cost of fish at local 

 markets nationwide. 



The environment and the economic health of marine and coastal waters are linked at the 

 individual, community, state, regional, national and international levels. The interdependence of 

 the economy and the environment are widely recognized. The United States has moved beyond 

 viewing health, safety, and pollution control as additional costs of doing business to an 

 understanding of broader stewardship, recognizing that economic and social prosperity would be 

 useless if the coastal and marine environments are compromised or destroyed in the process of 

 development (President's Council on Sustainable Development, 1996). 



Much about the ocean, its processes, and the interrelationship between land and sea is 

 unknown. Many harvested marine resources depend upon a healthy marine environment to exist. 

 Continued research is needed so that sound management decisions can be made when conflicts 

 among users of ocean resources arise. Although much progress has been made over the past 30 

 years to enhance marine environmental quality and ocean resources, much work remains. The 

 challenge is to maintain and continue to improve marine water quality as more people move to 

 the coasts and the pressures of urbanization increase. Through education, partnerships, 

 technological advances, research, and personal responsibility, marine environmental quality 

 should continue to improve, sustaining resources for generations to come. 



"It does not matter where on Earth you live, everyone is utterly dependent on the 

 existence of that lovely, living saltwater soup. There's plenty of water in the 

 universe without life, but nowhere is there life without water. The living ocean 

 drives planetary chemistry, governs climate and weather, and otherwise provides 

 the cornerstone of the life-support system for all creatures on our planet, from 

 deep-sea starfish to desert sagebrush. That 's why the ocean matters. If the sea is 

 sick, weTl feel it. If it dies, we die. Our future and the state of the oceans are one." 



Sea Change A Message of the Oceans 

 Sylvia Earle, 1995. 



REFERENCES 



Boyce et al. 1992. American Economic Review, December. 1992. 



CDC. 1997. Centers for Disease Control. Report on seafood contamination from vessel sewage. 

 November 1997. 



Chambers, J.R. 1991. "Habitat degradation and fishery declines in the U.S." In Coastal 

 Wetlands, S. H. Bolton and O.T. Magoon, eds. American Society of Civil Engineers, New York. 

 514 pp. 



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