Found this is the New York Times, and it made me think of NUMA and Congress.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/06/opinion/06fri2.html?th

In the past year, two landmark reports have provided stark evidence that the oceans are in a serious biological decline. Both reports have also provided plausible road maps for recovery. As a rule, reports like these, however exhaustive and worthy, cause a momentary stir and then sink from view. It is thus heartening to find that several bills inspired by these reports have recently been introduced in Congress. There is not enough time left for Congress to pass them this year, but their very existence should provide momentum heading into next year. And, who knows, they may even persuade a presidential candidate or two to talk seriously about a matter that deserves far more prominence than it now has.

The reports - one underwritten by the Pew Charitable Trusts and the other by Congress - identify three main threats to ocean health. The bills, taken together, address all three. One is the deterioration of coastal wetlands and estuaries caused by pollution from agricultural runoff and relentless residential development. A second and more familiar problem is industrial overfishing. In less than a century, it has essentially strip-mined the oceans, wiping out 90 percent of the large ocean fish, like tuna and swordfish, while imperiling many other commercially valuable species. The third problem is bureaucratic chaos. What passes for ocean policy today is a patchwork of 140 laws administered by dozens of agencies, none of them really in charge.

The broadest of the bills - known informally as Oceans 21 and sponsored by a group of House members - would make it a national policy to protect and restore the oceans' ecosystems. Specifically, it would prevent government agencies from proceeding with actions like a Corps of Engineers dredging project or a new highway if the work was likely to damage an ocean ecosystem significantly. Senator Barbara Boxer of California is preparing to introduce a companion measure in the Senate.

Another bill, offered by Nick Rahall of West Virginia and certain to be controversial, would impose new discipline on an essentially self-regulated fishing industry, giving independent scientists the ultimate authority to set limits on how many fish could be caught. The responsibility for managing fisheries in a sustainable way now falls to eight regional councils dominated by people whose livelihood depends on catching as many fish as possible - a conflict of interest. A third measure, sponsored by Senator Ernest Hollings, would make the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, now buried in the Commerce Department, an independent agency. Mr. Hollings would also establish a White House office to coordinate federal policy.

The Bush administration has yet to be heard from, though it is obliged by law to respond to the Congressional report at some point down the line. But it is reassuring to see a burst of legislative interest in an issue of paramount importance.