New U.S. Ocean Policy Balances Industry, Energy, and Recreation

"The White House on Tuesday issued its final plan for managing the nation’s oceans, outlining a strategy that aims to coordinate the work of more than two dozen agencies and reconcile competing interests including fishing, offshore energy exploration and recreational activities," reports Juliet Eilperin.

"While environmentalists as well as some fishing industry officials and state authorities have embraced the National Ocean Policy, it has infuriated conservatives, who describe it as an example of how the Obama administration is overreaching and seeking to limit the rights of recreational anglers and others."

"Under the draft plan several regions of the country have already begun to establish planning bodies that would allow state and local officials to weigh in on federal ocean decisions," she adds. "The Northeast, Mid Atlantic, Carribbean [sic], and Pacific Islands have already established such groups, while the West Coast is working on forming one; Alaska has opted out of the process."