The Ocean's Half Full

But first, the bad news: a new report In Dead Water from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) predicts that global climate change is emerging as the latest threat to the world's dwindling fish stocks. "At least three quarters of the globe's key fishing grounds may become seriously impacted by changes in circulation, as a result of the ocean's natural pumping systems fading and falling," UNEP suggests.

You can read much more about this here. And if you didn't already do so, download the latest Seafood Watch pocket guide to find out how you can be a part of the solution.

Or you can turn to the good news. The Joint Ocean Commission Initiative has issued the 2007 U.S. Ocean Policy Report Card and the news is definitely encouraging. Although the overall grade has only risen modestly from a C- to a C, that's definitely a trend in the right direction. Perhaps much can be learned from the actions of regional and state governance, with an A- grade. Good news for the whole nation, as the health of coastal waters impacts us all in some way.

Leaders in state ocean governance are Florida, Washington and California. The latter with a process to implement a statewide network of marine protected areas - which started right here in the Aquarium's backyard in 2007. You can become involved in this process by joining our Ocean Action Team, to receive alerts about the progress of the network and find out how you can take action.

You can read the full report card on the Joint Ocean Commission's website.