TERMS IN USE ON THE OCEANS TOPIC
Dr. Rich Edwards
Professor of Communication Studies
Baylor University
Annual Catch Limit (ACL): The 2007 amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery
Conservation and Management Act require the regional fisheries councils to establish
annual catch limits for all 528 federally-managed fish stocks. The legislation required
that by 2011, ACLs must be established, using scientific assessments and surveys,
and must include measures to limit fishing to levels that ensure “overfishing does not
occur.” NOAA now reports that ACLs have been created for all federally-managed
fish stocks.
Arctic Council: The Arctic Council was established in September 1996 in Ottawa,
Canada, where the Arctic states signed the Declaration on the Establishment of the
Arctic Council. The Council was empowered to deal with “common Arctic issues, in
particular issues of sustainable development and environmental protection in the
Arctic.” The Declaration provides in a footnote that “the Arctic Council should not
deal with matters related to military security.” The members of the Arctic Council
include all eight nations claiming territory in the Arctic region: the United States,
Russia, Canada, Denmark, Norway, Iceland, Sweden and Finland.
Benthic: This refers to the ocean floor or seabed as well as the layers under the seafloor
along with all of the ocean creatures inhabiting this zone. Oceanographers make a
distinction between the two ocean realms: pelagic and benthic. The pelagic realm
includes the water column itself and all of the ocean creatures inhabiting that realm;
the benthic region includes the ocean floor and the creatures inhabiting that realm.
Bottom Trawling: This refers to a type of fishing designed to drag a weighted net along
the ocean floor, capturing all sea creatures that live in this region. Opponents of this
practice argue that it destroys all of the structures on the ocean floor, such as deep
water corals and seaweed on which aquatic creatures depend. Aquatic science
professor, Ray Hilborn, explains that “Bottom trawling and dredging means dragging
heavy nets along the bottom of the ocean. There are estimates that each year an area
as big as the entire United States is trawled. A scientific paper likens this to clearcutting the Amazonian rainforest once a year” (Hilborn, Overfishing, 2012, p. 97).
Bycatch: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act defines
bycatch as “fish which are harvested in a fishery, but which are not sold or kept for
personal use, and includes economic discards and regulatory discards.” The official
definition of bycatch excludes fish released alive as a part of recreational fishing. Don
Hinrichsen estimates that “The world’s fishing fleets discard at least 20 million metric
tons of fish and shellfish every year as by-catch from their operations” (Don
Hinrichsen, The Atlas of Oceans and Coasts, 2011, p. 15).
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS): This refers to the use of technology to capture,
transport and store carbon dioxide emissions from coal-fired power stations. While
most CCS proponents advocate storing the captured CO2 in underground storage
caverns, deep ocean regions have also been considered possible storage sites. A
scientific consortium had planned to test the feasibility of CO2 ocean sequestration in
a 2002 experiment near the Kona coast of Hawaii, but the project was cancelled as the
result of opposition from environmental groups.
Clean Water Act (CWA): This 1970 Act regulates all discharges into navigable waters
including the territorial seas; like the Ocean Dumping Act, the CWA is administered
by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to limit dumping into estuaries, coastal
waters, territorial seas and the open ocean.
Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA): This 1972 legislation, administered by
NOAA’s Office of Ocean and Coastal Resource Management, is designed to provide
for management of the nation’s coastal resources, including the Great Lakes and
estuaries.
Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships (MARPOL): This UN Convention
was created in 1973 to reduce the dumping of debris from ships. The Convention now
has 138 parties, including the United States. While the Convention prohibits dumping
close to shore, it actually allows discharges at a distance from shore, including oil (50
miles out to sea), untreated garbage (12 miles) and untreated sewage (12 miles).
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD): This Convention was created in 1992 at the
UN Conference on Environment and Development (also called the Rio “Earth
Summit”). The CBD entered into force in 1993, after receiving 168 signatures. The
Convention currently includes 193 nations, not including the United States. The U.S.
signed the CBD in 1993, but it has not received Senate ratification. The stated
purpose of the CBD is the “conservation of biological diversity, the sustainable use of
its components and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits arising out of the
utilization of genetic resources, including by appropriate access to genetic resources
and by appropriate transfer of relevant technologies, taking into account all rights
over those resources and to technologies and by appropriate funding.”
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora
(CITES): This 1972 agreement has the stated purpose “to ensure that international
trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.”
CITES currently includes 179 member nations, including the United States. Roughly
5,600 species of animals and 30,000 species of plants are protected by CITES,
including some ocean creatures such as whales and dolphins. CITES does have a
loophole, however, allowing member nations to object to the listing of certain
protected species. Because both Norway and Japan have registered an objection to the
listing of whales as endangered, they are allowed to continue trading whale products
with each other.
Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other
Matters: Known also as the London Dumping Convention, this 1972 international
agreement binds the U.S. and 85 other member countries to a prohibition on the
dumping of mercury, cadmium, solid wastes, persistent plastics, oil, high-level
radioactive wastes and chemical or biological warfare agents.
Dead Zone: This refers to a region of the ocean where the oxygen content of the water is
too low to support life: “Consistent pollution over time has resulted in the
proliferation of dead zones. As of 2008, over 400 of these lifeless areas had been
identified, most of them in the waters of developed countries and many in previously
prime fishing grounds. Dead zones are areas devoid of oxygen and are, for the most
part, incapable of supporting marine life higher than micro-organisms. Human
activities, coupled with the inability to manage coastal and ocean areas in an
integrated and sustainable fashion, have triggered the degradation and collapse of key
ocean and coastal resources” (Don Hinrichsen, The Atlas of Oceans and Coasts, 2011,
p. 15).
Deepwater Port Act: This 1974 statute establishes financial responsibility for cleaning up
spills at deepwater oil ports and created the Deepwater Port Fund to guarantee federal
assistance in the event that the cost of cleanup exceeds liability limits.
Ecosystem-Based Management (EBM): “Ecosystem-based management (EBM) is seen
as an important approach superior to the current system of resource management
focused on particular individual species, resources, areas or activities that fail to
account for how the subject of focus may affect the sustainability of species,
resources, areas or activities that are not the subject of the focus. An EBM approach
is seen as integrating ecological, social, economic and security goals in the decisionmaking process” (John Boehnert, Zoning the Oceans, 2013, p. 107).
Endangered Species Act (ESA) - The ESA is a statute which was enacted in 1973 to
conserve species and ecosystems. Under its auspices, species facing possible
extinction are listed as “threatened” or “endangered,” or as “candidate” species for
such listings. When such a listing is made, recovery and conservation plans are drawn
up to ensure the protection of the species and its habitat.
Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) - The EEZ comprises an area which extends from the
seaward boundaries of the coastal states (3 nautical miles, in most cases) to 200 miles
off the coast of the United States. Within this area, the United States claims and
exercises sovereign rights and exclusive fishery management authority over all fish
and all Continental Shelf fishery resources.
FAO Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries: The UN Food and Agriculture
Organization maintains a voluntary ethical code for commercial fishing operations.
The FAO says that this code “provides principles and standards applicable to the
conservation, management and development of all fisheries. It also covers the capture,
processing and trade of fish and fishery products, fishing operations, aquaculture,
fisheries research and the integration of fisheries into coastal area management.” The
Code consists of 12 articles, including the following statement from Article 2: “States
should prevent overfishing and excess fishing capacity and should implement
management measures to ensure that fishing effort is commensurate with the
productive capacity of the fishery resources and their sustainable utilization. States
should take measures to rehabilitate populations as far as possible and when
appropriate.”
Hypoxia: This is the term for oxygen depletion in certain regions of the ocean that are
called “dead zones.” When oxygen levels fall below certain levels, most marine
animals are unable to survive; they either leave the area or die. The largest hypoxic
zone currently affecting the United States, and the second largest hypoxic zone
worldwide, is the northern Gulf of Mexico adjacent to the Mississippi River.
Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ): Also referred to as individual transferable quotas (ITQs)
and “catch shares.” The Congressional Research Service provides the following
explanation: “Individual transferable quotas (ITQs) are controversial fishery
management measures allocating privileges of landing a specified portion of the total
annual fish catch in the form of quota shares. This management option differs from
the traditional open-access approach to commercial fisheries, and allows fishing
vessel owners to sell their ITQ certificates or buy others’ certificates or, in some cases,
lease their quota shares depending on how much (or whether) they want to participate
in the fishery. ITQ programs are intended to reduce overcapitalization, promote
conservation of stocks, improve market conditions and promote safety in the fishing
fleet” (Eugene Buck, Individual Transferable Quotas in Fishery Management, 1995).
Intergovernmental Oceanic Commission (IOC): This UN agency explains its mission in
terms of promoting international cooperation in oceanography: “Intergovernmental
Oceanographic Commission (IOC) of UNESCO is the United Nations body for ocean
science, ocean observatories, ocean data and information exchange and ocean
services such as Tsunami warning systems. Its mission is to promote international
cooperation and to coordinate programmes in research, services and capacity building
to learn more about the nature and resources of the oceans and coastal areas, and to
apply this knowledge to improved management, sustainable development and
protection of the marine environment and the decision making processes of States.”
International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships’ Ballast Water and
Sediments (BWM Convention): This international agreement for controlling the
spread of alien species through ship ballast water enters into force in 2016.
International Maritime Organization (IMO): This international organization includes 170
nations, including the United States. The organization describes its mission as
follows: “As a specialized agency of the United Nations, IMO is the global standardsetting authority for the safety, security and environmental performance of
international shipping. Its main role is to create a regulatory framework for the
shipping industry that is fair and effective, universally adopted and universally
implemented. In other words, its role is to create a level playing-field so that ship
operators cannot address their financial issues by simply cutting corners and
compromising on safety, security and environmental performance. This approach also
encourages innovation and efficiency.”
International Whaling Commission (IWC): This international organization has 88
member nations, including the United States. It is the global intergovernmental body
charged with the conservation of whales and the management of whaling. In 1986,
the Commission set zero catch limits for commercial whaling, though it also made
exceptions for “aboriginal subsistence whaling.” The IWC also funds conservation
programs designed to protect whales from ship strikes, disentanglement events and
other threats. Most recently, the Commission adopted a strategic plan for responsible
whale watching .
Iron Fertilization: This refers to a proposal to decrease atmospheric concentrations of
carbon dioxide by increasing the CO2 absorbed in the oceans. The proposal is
explained by Clive Hamilton in his 2013 book, Earthmasters: The Dawn of the Age of
Climate Engineering: “The researchers estimate that if the silicon-rich third of the
Southern Ocean were seeded with iron, the biological pump would at most take 1
billion tonnes of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere each year. On that basis, the
deployment of full-scale iron fertilization would see a third of the Southern Ocean –
around 5 per cent of the Earth’s surface – serve as a sink for a tenth of the world’s
current annual excess carbon dioxide emissions” (Hamilton, 2013, p. 35).
Limited Access Privilege Program (LAPP): This is a system authorized by the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act whereby federal
permits are issued to harvest a quantity of fish representing a portion of the total
allowable catch (TAC). The term, limited access privilege program, is the catch-all
phrase used in the legislation to include individual fishing quotas (IFQs), individual
transferable quotas (ITQs), community quotas or quotas held by regional fishery
associations (RFAs). A more detailed explanation of these quota systems is available
in the following section of the NOAA Web site: http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/sf/Limited
AccessPrivilegeLAP Programs.htm.
Longline Fishing: According to a PBS Nature report (available at http://www.pbs.
org/wnet/nature/episodes/shark-mountain/the-problem-with-a-good-catch-effects-oflong-line-fishing/1453/) longline fishers sometimes set lines “that can be up to 15
miles long and are laden with hundreds or thousands of baited hooks.” Sea turtles and
seabirds often take some of the bait and drown. The PBS report says that “long-line
fishers leave lines drifting in the ocean for hours, sometimes days, then come back to
collect the catch and throw away the dead animals they can’t sell.”
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA): This is the major
piece of legislation governing fishery management in the United States. The Act was
first passed in 1976 and went through major revisions in 1996 and 2007. The MSA
created eight regional fishery management councils, with membership to be drawn
from representatives of fishing communities, state marine fishery agencies and the
regional coordinators of the National Marine Fisheries Service (a sub-division of
NOAA). Each regional fishery management council is responsible for adopting
measures to prevent overfishing and to provide the “optimum yield” from the
fisheries in its region.
Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) - This 1972 statute was enacted to protect
marine mammals and their habitat. These species include whales, dolphins, seals, sea
lions, walruses and many others. The language of this Act says that “certain species
and population stocks of marine mammals are, or may be, in danger of extinction or
depletion as a result of man’s activities; such species and population stocks should
not be permitted to diminish beyond the point at which they cease to be a significant
functioning element in the ecosystem of which they are a part, and, consistent with
this major objective, they should not be permitted to diminish below their optimum
sustainable population. Further measures should be immediately taken to replenish
any species or population stock which has already diminished below that population.”
Marine Protected Areas (MPAs): This refers to a discrete geographic area of the sea
established by international, national, territorial, tribal or local laws designated to
enhance the long-term conservation of natural resources therein. Law professor
Philippe Sands, writes that “there are about 130,000 protected areas in the world. Of
these, around 5,000 are marine protected areas. Ninety per cent of marine protected
areas are established within territorial waters and 10 per cent in international waters.
In 2008, 5.9 per cent of the world’s territorial seas were protected by nationally
designated protected areas, and 0.5 per cent of protected areas were established in the
high seas” (Sands, Principles of International Law, 2012, pp. 442-443).
Oceanography Sylvia Earle says that “since 2006, the United States has added
865,757 square kilometers (335,744 square miles) of ocean in the Pacific as national
monuments, places where even the fish, lobsters and shrimp are secure” (Earle, The
World Is Blue, 2010, p. 252).
Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act (MPRSA): Also called the Ocean
Dumping Act, this 1972 legislation establishes a comprehensive waste management
system to regulate disposal or dumping of all materials into marine waters that are
within U.S. jurisdiction.
Marine Stewardship Council (MSC): This independent organization was created in 1997
as a project of the World Wildlife Fund and major food marketing firms as a labeling
system designed to certify seafood as coming from sustainable fishing operations.
Walmart, for example, announced in 2006 that all of the wild fish that it sold in North
America would be MSC-certified.
Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY): This is a technical term established by the
Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act; it means the largest
long-term catch that can be taken from a stock (of fish) under the prevailing
environmental and fishery conditions.
Methane Hydrates: The deep ocean contains vast quantities of frozen methane called
hydrates or clathrates. Some scientists see these deposits as potential sources of
energy while others worry that their release could trigger sudden, and catastrophic,
climate warming. Professor Ramez Naam falls into the latter category: “Deep under
the oceans lies the biggest bomb. On the sea floor, where the temperature approaches
freezing, there are slushy, semifrozen methane deposits called clathrates. They hold
trillions of tons of carbon. By one estimate, clathrate deposits amount to 6.4 trillion
tons of methane, several times that of tundra. And they’re starting to go. In 2010, a
group funded by the National Science Foundation (NSF) reported finding hundreds of
plumes of methane bubbles rising up from the clathrate deposits under the shallow
waters of the East Siberian Arctic Shelf, with methane concentrations in the water up
to 1,400 times those of the atmosphere” (Naam, 2013, p. 83).
National Ocean Policy: President Obama issued an executive order on July 19, 2010
establishing an ocean policy for the United States. This policy called for the use of
ecosystem-based management of the oceans, an expansion of marine protected
reserves, comprehensive ocean zoning, a response to the problem of acidification of
the oceans and numerous other aspirational goals. While the policy was generally
applauded by environmental groups it will require Congressional legislation to
implement its wide-ranging goals. Given Republican control of the House of
Representatives, it is not clear that such Congressional support will be forthcoming.
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA): This is the division of the
U.S. Department of Commerce charged with managing fisheries and most other
aspects of U.S. ocean policy.
Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion (OTEC): This energy technology exploits the
temperature differences between warmer surface water and deeper colder water to
turn a turbine which is suspended vertically in the ocean water column.
Oil Pollution Act (OPA) of 1990: This law makes oil companies responsible for the cost
of restoring, rehabilitating, replacing or acquiring the equivalent of damaged natural
resources. OPA establishes liability limits for spills of $350 million per incident, but
it also created the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund with the authority to spend up to one
billion dollars per incident for oil spill cleanup. The Trust Fund receives its funding
from a five-cents per barrel fee on imported and domestic oil.
Optimum Yield: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act
defines optimum yield as “(A) the amount of fish which will provide the greatest
overall benefit to the Nation, particularly with respect to food production and
recreational opportunities, and taking into account the protection of marine
ecosystems; (B) is prescribed as such on the basis of the maximum sustainable yield
from the fishery, as reduced by any relevant economic, social or ecological factor;
and (C) in the case of an overfished fishery, provides for rebuilding to a level
consistent with producing the maximum sustainable yield in such fishery.”
Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act: This 1978 legislation requires oil companies to
cleanup any oil spills associated with drilling on the outer continental shelf; it also
established the Offshore Pollution Fund to assist with major cleanup operations.
Overfishing: The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act defines
overfishing as “a rate or level of fishing mortality that jeopardizes the capacity of a
fishery to produce the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis.” If the total
volume of fish within a region are already so depleted that the fishery can no longer
produce its maximum sustainable yield, then NOAA classifies it as “overfished.” The
distinction between “overfishing” and “overfished” is important to NOAA since, by
law, it is required to maintain statistics on the number of U.S. fisheries that are
subject to overfishing, and those that are already overfished.
Pelagic: This refers to the water column, or really everything in the ocean above the
seabed, including the fish and other creatures living above the floor of the ocean.
Oceanographers make a distinction between the two ocean realms: pelagic and
benthic. The pelagic realm includes the water column itself and all of the ocean
creatures inhabiting that realm; the benthic region includes the ocean floor and the
creatures inhabiting that realm.
Persistent Organic Pollutants (POP): This is a term used in the Stockholm Convention on
Persistent Organic Pollutants, which was adopted in 2001 and entered into force in
2004. The United States was one of the original signers of the Convention, but it has
not been ratified by the U.S. Senate. Professor Callum Roberts explains why POPs
are of concern in terms of ocean pollution: “Persistent organic pollutants differ in an
important way from oil pollution. Although they are invisible, in the long run they are
far more dangerous to marine life” (Roberts, 2012, p. 140).
Precautionary Principle: This term came into prominence as a result of the 1982 World
Charter for Nature. The precautionary principle states that serious environmental
threats and health hazards should be anticipated and that they ought to be forestalled
before the realization of damage even if scientific understanding of the risks is
inadequate. In essence, the precautionary principle says that if we are unsure whether
an action might harm natural systems, the presumption should be to leave that natural
system alone.
Rebuilt fisheries: NOAA classifies a fishery as “rebuilt” if it was previously overfished,
but the stock of fish has sufficiently increased in abundance as to be able to maintain
its maximum sustainable yield (MSY).
Tidal Barrage: This refers to a large dam placed in estuaries or other coastal regions
designed to harness the energy from the ebb and flow of ocean tides. Commercial
tidal barrages are already in operation in France, Canada and Russia. France’s La
Rance Barrage, which opened in 1996, is the world’s first and largest tidal barrage,
involving 24 turbines and an annual output of 600 GWh. The operators report
electricity production costs of 1.8 cents per kWh, which is about 60% less than
nuclear power generation. Environmentalists express concern about the impact of
tidal barrages on ocean creatures in coastal regions.
UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS): After nearly a decade of negotiation,
the Convention was opened for signature in 1982. The Convention had a sufficient
number of nations joining to allow its entry into force in 1994, meaning that it is now
the globally recognized regime dealing with all matters relating to the law of the sea.
Though the past four U.S. presidents have urged the Senate to ratify the Law of the
Sea Convention, the Senate has not ratified the Convention. While the U.S. follows
most elements of UNCLOS, it is not legally bound by its provisions.
Wave energy: The potential of this form of ocean renewable energy was described by
professor Subramaniam Neelamani, in the 2013 book, On a Sustainable Future of
Earth’s Natural Resources: “The ocean waves are an inexhaustible source of energy.
About 1.5% of the solar energy is converted into wind energy. A part of the wind
energy is transferred to the sea surface resulting in the generation of waves. This
energy, if tapped economically, can meet a sizable portion of world’s energy needs.
Extraction of energy from waves is more efficient than collection of energy from the
wind, since the wave energy is much concentrated” (Neelamani, 2013, p. 315).