1998 Year of the Ocean Marine Education U.S.A.: An Overview 



President Richard M. Nixon supported the initiation of the UN Law of the Sea deliberations and 

 set the agenda for them. He also supported the UN Resolution on Prevention and Control of 

 Marine Pollution. From this brief summary of events during his administration, it is possible that 

 history may come to view President Nixon as one of the greatest "environmental presidents." . 



For marine education in the 1 970s. the resonant call to action produced multiple 

 responses. New aquaria were built and Sea World expanded. Ocean-related television programs 

 proliferated, with those featuring the prominent oceanographic explorer, Jacques Cousteau. 

 being among the most notable. The National Marine Educators Association was established in 

 1976. The National Sea Grant College Program funded many initiatives in K-12 curriculum 

 development. Interest and excitement peaked in 1977 with the discovery of the Galapagos deep 

 sea hot springs and their associated chemosynthesis-based food web. 



The stage is now set for a look at the current state of marine education. 



INFORMAL MARINE EDUCATION 



SeaWeb 



"SeaWeb" was established in 1996 by the Pew Charitable Trusts to provide information 

 about the ocean and ocean-related issues to the public. It is a multi-media educational 

 organization designed to make the public more aware of the ocean and ocean life. It does no 

 lobbying. One of Sea Web's first endeavors was to contract with The Mellman Group to carry out 

 a national survey of public attitudes towards, and knowledge about, the ocean, ocean life, and 

 ocean-related issues. 



The results of the SeaWeb survey provide a promising picture on the level of awareness 

 and importance of marine issues to the public. The most startling finding was that people (72 

 percent) believe that ocean exploration is a higher priority than space exploration. Many people 

 (87 percent) consider the ocean to be important to them. Most people (67 percent) believe the 

 ocean is in trouble. A majority (58 percent) believe the condifion of the oceans has deteriorated 

 in the past few years, and many (87 percent) see the destruction of the ocean as a threat to their 

 quality of life. A large majority of the people in this survey (82 percent) attributed the 

 deterioration and threats to the ocean to human activity. Although Americans generally want less 

 government in their lives, 85 percent would like the federal government to do more to help 

 protect the ocean. Finally, when asked the question, "Which messenger of information about the 

 environment do you trust a great deal?", people chose National Geographic Magazine (68 

 percent), Jacques Cousteau (63 percent), zoos and aquaria (5 1 percent), and NOAA (49 percent). 

 Prominent elected officials, regardless of party, were very low on this list. 



The SeaWeb survey establishes the importance of the ocean to the American public and 

 the readiness of the public to take action to remedy ocean-related issues. As one of its 

 educational activities, SeaWeb has begun publishing a monthly, "Ocean Update," focusing on 



K-5 



