NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco to Give Keynote at Capitol Hill Ocean Week Symposium

Symposium to Focus on Ocean’s Role in America’s Financial Future

WASHINGTON, June 2 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — NOAA Administrator, Dr. Jane Lubchenco, will give the keynote address to leading government policy makers, scientists, non-governmental groups and federal agency officials at the opening session of the Capitol Hill Ocean Week (CHOW) Symposium, hosted by the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation (NMSF), on June 9th at the Reserve Officers Association building on Capitol Hill.

The theme for this year’s eighth annual CHOW symposium, scheduled for June 9-11, is The BLUE Economy: Understanding the Ocean’s Role in Our Nation’s Financial Future. The goal of this year’s Capitol Hill Ocean Week is to highlight the inextricable link between the ocean and the economy, and to suggest tangible ways sound ocean policies might impact improvements in our economy.

“What began as a ‘day’ in June of 2001, a year later became a ‘week,’ and since then has evolved into an important and much anticipated annual ocean policy forum held in our nation’s capitol,” said Joy Williams, acting president and CEO of the National Marine Sanctuary Foundation. “This year’s symposium is more timely and important than ever because our nation’s economic well-being is tied directly to the health of our ocean.”

Held annually in conjunction with World Ocean Day on June 8th, the purpose of Capitol Hill Ocean Week is to provide a neutral forum where a diverse spectrum of ocean science and management experts, stakeholders and policy makers can come together to discuss, examine and exchange information about the key issues affecting the health of our oceans and marine resources. Panelist recommendations are identified and shared with the greater ocean community and public at-large after the conclusion of the symposium.

Panel topics for CHOW:

• Charting the Course: Enacting a National Ocean Policy
• Feeding a Nation: The Role of Fishing and Aquaculture in Today’s Economy
• Tools and Technology: Exploring and Creating an Ocean Infrastructure
• Information that Moves America
• Traveling from Sea to Shining Sea: Tourism’s Influence on the Ocean and the Economy
• Fueling the Future: The Ocean’s Role in a Comprehensive Energy Policy
• All Farms are Coastal: The Link between the Ocean and Agriculture
• Drugs from the Deep: The Ocean’s Role in Modern Health Care
• An International Perspective: Natural Resource-Based Economies in the Coral Triangle
• Marine Spatial Planning: The Science, Business, and Policy Case

Sponsors for Capitol Hill Ocean Week 2009 include:

Presenting Sponsor: Pacific Life; Co-Hosts: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA Navigation Services Office, NOAA Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research; Stewards: American Petroleum Institute, Center for Ocean Solutions, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, Monterey Bay Aquarium, NOAA Coral Reef Conservation Program, NOAA National Ocean Service, NOAA Oceans and Human Health Initiative, Ocean Conservancy, The Ocean Foundation, Regional Fisheries Management Councils; Conservationists: Gulf of Mexico Alliance, Mote Scientific Foundation, National Ocean Industries Association, Noblis, SeaWeb; Friends: The Henry Foundation, Northrop Grumman Corporation; Contributors: Coastal States Organization, Consortium for Ocean Leadership, JHT, Inc., Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, The Nature Conservancy, World Wildlife Fund.

The National Marine Sanctuary Foundation is the private, non-profit partner to NOAA’s Office of National Marine Sanctuaries. The Foundation supports efforts to educate and motivate people on ways they can help preserve, protect and promote our nationwide network of marine sanctuaries. The 14 sites within the National Marine Sanctuary System encompass more than 150,000 square miles of special protected places in the ocean and Great Lakes, from the Florida Keys to the Hawaiian Islands and from Lake Huron to the Gulf of Mexico.

To register for CHOW or for more information about program panels, speakers and schedule, visit www.NMSFocean.org.

SOURCE National Marine Sanctuary Foundation