Here along the Gulf Coast we worry about red tide, declining fisheries, polluted water, beach erosion and more. All hurt the local and regional economy and can put human and marine life at risk. Looked at from a business perspective, our oceans and coasts are on the road to bankruptcy or foreclosure. And in Southwest Florida, the economic future without a prosperous Gulf and a healthy coast is bleak.

"The health of the Gulf of Mexico coastal zone continues to be threatened by habitat destruction, over-exploitation of renewable resources, point and nonpoint discharges from increasingly urbanized watersheds, and the apparent inability of regulatory agencies at all levels to come to grips with the cumulative impacts of our citizens' desires to live close to the coast," says Jon Staiger, City of Naples natural resources manager.

The environmental threat worries members of the local tourism and convention industry, as well. "Our visitors expect and our citizens demand that our beaches and Gulf of Mexico are clean, accessible and inviting," says Jack W. Wert, executive director of the Naples, Marco Island, Everglades Convention & Visitors Bureau. "The entire Gulf coast is really one ecosystem, and what we do negatively in one area affects many other locations."

Currently more than 60 congressional committees and subcommittees oversee nearly 20 federal agencies and permanent commissions with ocean-related activities. These are governed by more than 100 federal ocean-related statutes. This piecemeal, uncoordinated approach has led to a fragmented, often redundant, costly and confusing system of ocean governance in the U.S.

The Oceans Act of 2000 legislated a U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy to review the nation's ocean policies and status, and to make recommendations for an effective, comprehensive National Ocean Policy-a potentially important step to improve how the nation governs and manages its ocean resources.

In April, a preliminary report was released to the states' governors and public for comment. Florida's governor made extensive and supportive comments. A final report will be submitted to Congress and the president this fall. The last commission of this stature was the Stratton Commission of the 1960s, whose recommendations led to more than 15 significant legislative acts and the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy's preliminary report contains some 200 recommendations on a wide range of critical ocean and coastal issues. Many of these are particularly relevant for Southwest Florida.

While the commission recommends new high-level leadership for the oceans, it also emphasizes the need for state, regional and local involvement. Recommendations focus on a more regional watershed approach to managing our marine resources that takes ecosystems into account and encourages greater stakeholder participation.

"Managing coastal waters from a watershed approach makes absolute sense ecologically, and it's a sound strategy for the long-term economic health of Southwest Florida," says Gary Lytton of Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Naples. "We still have a tremendous opportunity here to be proactive in planning for future growth, one that's been lost in other coastal areas of the U.S. The key is to sustain and restore watershed connections to estuaries that provide clean water and healthy fisheries; in turn, these support tourism, boating and sport fishing."

Other recommendations that could benefit our region include significantly greater investment in ocean science, technology and education, and the establishment of an Ocean Policy Trust Fund. Fisheries, coastal-zone management, offshore uses and nonpoint source pollution are especially relevant to Southwest Florida. Overall, the report focuses on better balancing our use of ocean and coastal resources with their restoration and protection-the goal being sustainability and long-term prosperity, marine and human health, and security. You can learn more at www.oceancommission.gov.

The president and Congress will have 90 days to respond to the commission's final report. If we return to our business analogy, the commission's recommendations will set the stage for our national leaders to create a CEO, board of directors and a strategic plan for our oceans and coasts. They also will lay the foundation for local and regional leaders to become more involved, get greater resources, and ensure improved communication with and accountability to the public.