President Obama signed an Executive Order establishing a National Policy for the Stewardship of the Ocean, Coasts, and Great Lakes on July 19, 2010. That Executive Order adopts the Final Recommendations of the Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force and directs Federal agencies to take the appropriate steps to implement them.The President's Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force developed this policy after more than a year of holding hearings and gathering public input. Their report is available here

TAGS: Obama, National Ocean Policy, National Ocean Council, USA , Interagency Ocean Policy Task Force

The Green Party of Canada has attacked proposed organic aquaculture standards released by the Canadian General Standards Board on June 30.The Party, which has no elected representatives but captures about 8% of the vote in national elections, said in a July 14 statement that raising salmon in large nets off the British Columbia coast doesn’t qualify as organic. The standards “need serious revision because they do not propose the necessary changes and improvements needed for aquaculture practices to become environmentally friendly,” Janice Harvey, Green Party fisheries critic, says in the statement. The standards are for comment until Aug. 30, the Board says. It will review all the comments before issuing final standards later this year.

Fraser River sockeye are one step closer to being certified sustainable by the Marine Stewardship Council. An independent adjudicator, Halifax-based maritime attorney Wylie Spicer, has ruled against objections to the certification of the Fraser sockeye fishery by several ENGOs. "The certifier will now submit the Final Certification Report to MSC recommending the fishery be certified," the MSC stated. "The fishery is not yet certified; however, it is anticipated that, following final internal MSC review of the documents, the certifier will issue a certificate and MSC will announce certification." The B.C. fishing industry reacted quickly stating that Marine Stewardship Certification would be good for the fish, the fisheries and the future.

More here and here

TAGS: Fraser River sockeye, MSC certification, adjudicator Wylie Spicer, B.C. fishing industry

Accoring to Reuters, rising seas from global warming, coming after years of coral reef destruction, are forcing thousands of indigenous Panamanians to leave their ancestral homes on low-lying Caribbean islands. Rising sea level on  a handful of islands in an archipelago off Panama's northeastern coast threatens the livelihood of nearly half of the 32,000 semi-autonomous Kuna people. The move of islanders to the mainland will be one of the first that can be blamed on rising sea levels and global warming.

More here

TAGS: Rising seas, sea level rise, Panama, global warming, islanders, climate change, migration