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Abstract:
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"The United States Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP) made several important recommendations pertaining to ecosystem-based ocean governance. The first is the establishment of a national ocean policy framework. This framework would include national coordination among federal agencies, harmonized management of offshore ocean uses, strengthened and streamlined federal agencies, and the voluntary formation of regional ocean councils. Coordination and leadership at the federal level would be provided by a National Ocean Council (cabinet secretaries and federal agency directors) and a Presidential Council of Advisors on Ocean Policy within the Executive Office of the President. The second recommendation is to encourage the formation of voluntary regional ocean councils. The regional ocean councils would have broader jurisdictional boundaries than traditional resource agencies, and their functions would include the coordination of state, territorial, tribal, and local governments, the collection and synthesis of regional ocean information, and the performance of ecosystem assessments."
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