Senator Olympia Snowe on Value of Oceans in National Economy

June 9, 2009 -- Washington, D.C. -- In a Senate Commerce Committee hearing examining the role of oceans in our economic future, U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine) today extolled the present and future contributions of oceans to our national economy, from renewable energy to the fishing industry. Currently, the world’s oceans face numerous threats to their productivity and viability, including the looming threat of climate change.

"As coastal counties contributed forty-two percent of the U.S. economic output in recent years, it is clear that oceans truly hold the key to our economic future," Senator Snowe said. "Yet with growing environmental and economic threats to its viability, we must take stock of our ocean resources and examine the ways we can continue to utilize the goods and services our oceans provide for while strengthening our efforts to protect them. Increasing our investment in programs within the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, such as the Integrated Ocean Observing System, would bolster our understanding of marine ecosystems and lead to new, more productive, and more sustainable use of our ocean space."

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Senator Snowe emphasized the importance of developing offshore renewable energy, particularly offshore wind which is the most commercially viable source of offshore green power. Last Friday, Senator Snowe joined Governor of Maine John Baldacci and her colleagues in the Maine delegation in a meeting with Secretary of Energy Steven Chu to express their support for establishing a deepwater offshore wind energy research and development center at the University of Maine.

"Developing deepwater offshore wind technology can transform the way we generate energy to power the planet, and Maine is uniquely poised to be a leader in this effort," Senator Snowe said. "Off the coast of Maine lie wind resources that can generate the energy equivalent to approximately forty nuclear power plants. With the research capabilities already in place at the University of Maine in Orono, we have an industry with the potential to bring tens of billions of dollars in investments and thousands of jobs to our state, the result of which would be clean energy for future generations."

Senator Snowe also stressed the need for sustainable fishing practices that maintain coastal communities while rebuilding fish stocks. In recent years, strict regulations have led to a precipitous decline in landings, particularly in the groundfish industry. In 2007, over 80 percent of the value of Maine’s fisheries came from a single species: lobster.

"Reliance on a single fishery for economic stability is extremely risky," Senator Snowe said. "We must rebuild groundfish stocks while simultaneously solidifying the standing of the groundfish industry. I will continue to work with the National Marine Fisheries Service to implement a new regulatory structure in the groundfish industry that promises to make our fishery more profitable and more sustainable."

Source: Senator Olympia J. Snowe