National Ocean Policy: Addressing Critical Ocean Issues and Improving the Stewardship of Our Living Marine Resources

Our ocean and its resources face an increasing number of pressures, making effective management and coordination across agencies essential.  Effective management will ensure that these resources and the immense benefits they provide are available for future generations.  The National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan, released in April 2013, provides a huge step forward in the stewardship of our ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes and provides the path for achieving the vision of the National Ocean Policy.  Focused around five themes, the Implementation Plan describes actions to benefit: (1) The Ocean Economy, (2) Safety and Security, and (3) Coastal and Ocean Resilience by supporting (4) Local Choices, and providing foundational (5) Science and Information.   Federal agencies will undertake these actions, in conjunction with our State, Tribal, and local partners, as well as industry and other stakeholders, to address some of the most critical issues facing the ocean.   In the first year of implementation, NOAA and other federal agencies have had tremendous success in a variety of areas, ranging from the development of pilot projects through the National Shellfish Initiative to improving Arctic sea ice forecasts to developing social media capabilities to promote ocean stewardship.