Oceans & Coastal Resources:
A Briefing Book
Congressional Research Service Report 97-588 ENR
Redistributed as a service of the National Library for the Environment

CHAPTER 6: NATURAL RESOURCES ENDOWMENT AND KEY ENVIRONMENTAL ISSUES

- D -
Oceans and Coastal Resources

Overview

The states and insular areas or the United States have a total of over 20,000 kilometers of coastline. The United States exercises sovereignty over the estuarine and near-coastal waters of its adjacent territorial seas. In accordance with international law, the United States also exercises rights and responsibilities for resource conservation and management and environmental protection in its Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ).1 Coastal and ocean ecosystems often extend beyond U.S. maritime zones into areas where similar rights and responsibilities are exercised by Canada, the former Soviet Union, Mexico and several nations of the Caribbean and Pacific. Exhibit 6d.2 summarizes selected ocean and coastal resource facts.

The Exclusive Economic Zone of the United States, an area of 3.36 million square nautical miles (1.14 thousand-million hectares), contains approximately one-fifth of the world's harvestable fish and shellfish. Exhibit 6d.1 illustrates the extent of the U.S. EEZ. In 1990 commercial landings by U.S. fishing vessels were valued at $3.9 thousand-million dollars. The value added contribution of commercial marine fishery products added approximately $16.6 thousand-million to the U.S. gross national product. Consumers spent $26.6 thousand-million on seafood products.2 A substantial portion of oceanborne trade occurs in territorial waters and the EEZ.

By proclamation of the President on March 10, 1983, the United States claimed sovereign rights and jurisdiction within an Exclusve Econonmic Zone (EEZ). The United States is responsible for wisely developing, managing and protecting the EEZ's environmnent and marine resources within an area of over three million square nautical miles.

Coastal and estuarine areas include some of the richest, mast diverse and most productive ecosystems on Earth. Important coastal habitats include: estuaries, salt and fresh marshes, tidal flats, coastal wetlands, sandy beaches, barrier islands, seagrass beds, mangrove forests, coral reef ecosystems, and deltas and dunes. It is difficult to quantify the economic benefits of some of these habitats and ecosystems. However, coastal waters sustain complex food webs that support important spawning, nursery and feeding grounds for commercially, recreationally and ecologically important fish and shellfish species.3 Almost 70 percent of commercially and recreationally important species of fish and shellfish rely on estuaries for part of their life cycle.

At least 30 percent of North American waterfowl winter in estuarine areas. Many other migratory birds depend on coastal or estuarine areas for breeding or migration. Shallow water estuaries and wetland areas provide important refuges or "staging points" for migratory birds during their annual flight patterns. A number of marine mammals and endangered species spend part or all of their lives in coastal areas and specially protected areas of the United States. Coastal wetland vegetation filters pollutants, retains sediments, buffers coastal lands against erosion and flooding, and maintains integrity of groundwater quality and supply. However, these coastal areas and habitats are susceptible to degradation from human activities as well as natural events.

Coastal areas are highly desired locations for people seeking either permanent or "second home" residences. In 1990, approximately 110 million people in the United States (40 percent of the total population) lived within 80 kilometers of a coastline. By 2010, the population of the United States' coastal counties is expected to rise to 127 million people. The nation's most densely populated coastal region stretches along the U.S. northeast coast from Boston, Massachusetts, to Washington, D.C., and accounts for one-third of the nation's coastal population. The Southeast's coastal population is expected to increase 200 percent by 2010 with development of "retirement-oriented" communities.4 In addition to the 50 states, over 3.6 million citizens and U.S. nationals live in eight inhabited insular areas that are under U.S. sovereignty in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. The population is also increasing rapidly in these areas. (See Exhibit 1.5 in Chapter 1.)


SELECTED OCEAN AND COASTAL DATA

COASTAL LAND AND WATER AREA

Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) area:
Total EEZ: 3.36 million square nautical miles (1.14 thousand-million hectares)

Estuarine Drainage Area:
676,OOO square kilometers

Coastal Wetlands:
84,000 square kilometers (11 million hectares) approximately 12 percent of total estuarine drainage area

Coastline Exclusive Economic
Zone
(statute miles) (square nautical miles)
Conterminous only: 4,993
Atlantic 2,069 253,000
Gulf 1,631 186,200
Pacific* 1,293 236,800
Alaska (total) 6,640 950,000
Hawaii 750 695,000
Extra-territorial:
Caribbean ** 441 58,400
Pacific*** 335 981,000
Total: 13,056 3,362,600

* excluding Hawaii, Alaska, American Samoa arid Guam, and other US. insular areas
** including Puerto Rico arid the U.S. Virgin islands
*** including only American Samoa, Guam and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands

FISHERIES DATA

Commercial:

· U.S fisheries accounted for six percent of total world commercial fishery landings In 1989.

· 5 thousand-million kilos (4.995 million metric tons) valued at $3.89 thousand-million were landed by U.S. commercial fishermen in 1990.

· 92.900 craft wore used in commercial fishing activities in 1988.

· Approximately 274,000 men and women were engaged in commercial fishing full-time in 1988. An additional 90,000 persons were employed by 4,600 processors and wholesalers of fishery products.

Recreational marine fisheries:
(data from Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts only)

· Approximately 17 million U.S. marine recreational fishermen made 39.8 million fishing trips.

· Approximately 231 million fish (roughly 143 million kilos) were caught.

· 86 percent of these fishing trips occurred within 16 kilometers of shore.

NON-LIVING RESOURCES

Off-Shore Oil and Gas Production

1.65 million square nautical miles (56C thousand-million hectares) of Outer Continental Shelf (OCS).*

  • In 1989.13.2 million hectares were under lease. Of that, 3.16 million hectares were under exploration. development and production for oil and gas.
  • 8.5 billion barrels of oil and condensate were produced from federal waters In the OCS between 1954 and 1989.
  • 2.46 million-million cubic meters of natural gas were produced from federal waters fl the OCS between 1954 and 1989.
Year Crude oil
(thousand-million cubic meters)		 Natural gas
(thousand-million cubic meters)
1954 0.525 1.70
1972 65.450 84.95
1989 48.518 118.03
OIL SPILLS INVESTIGATED BY THE U.S. COAST GUARD IN 1986 AND 1989
Year
 Vessels**
(cubic meters)		 Non-vessels
(cubic meters)		 TOTAL
(cubic meters)
1982 14,383 24,981 39,364
1986 12,869 4,921 17,790
1989 51,476 *** 2,271 53,747

* This is the federal portion of the United States EEZ plus Continental Shelf Extensions covered by the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act.
** Includes tankships, tank barges and other vessels;
*** On March 24.1909, the Exxon Valdez spilled 40.87B cubic meters of crude oil into Alaska’s Prince William Sound.

SOURCES:

Coastal Land and Water Area

U.S. Department of Commerce. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. National Ocean Survey. Coast and Geodetic Survey. Chief Geographer.

U.S. Department of Commerce. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. National Ocean Service. Strategic Assessments Branch. Estuaries of the United States: Vital Statistics of a National Resource Base. Rockville, MD:October 1990: 79pp.

U.S. Department of Commerce. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service. Rockville. MD: Ocean Assessments Division in cooperation with Department of Interior. National Wetlands Inventory. Fish and Wildlife Service. Washington. D.C. and the National Wetlands Research Center Fish and Wildlife service. Slidell, Louisiana. Coastal Wetlands of the United States. An Accounting of A Valuable National Resource. February 1991: 59pp.

U.S. Department of Commerce. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Coastline of the United States. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office: 1975.

 

Fisheries Data

U.S. Department: of Commerce. National Oceanic' and Atmospheric Administration. National Marine Fisheries Service.Fisheries of the United States, 1989. Current Fishery Statistics no.8900. 111 pp.. and Fisheries Of the United States. 1990. Current Fishery Statistics, no. 9000. 111pp. Silver Spring,. MD.: May 1990; May 1991.

Non-Living Resources

U.S. Department of the Interior. Minerals Management Service. Federal Offshore Statistics 1989: Leasing. Exploration and Revenues OCS Report MMS 90-0072: 1990: lO4pp.

Oil Spills

U.S. Department of Transportation. U.S. Coast Guard GMEP Office. Washington. D.C.

Increasing population and development are stressing U.S. coastal Systems. Demand for prime coastal property for residential and industrial purposes has created intense competition and controversy over appropriate uses of these lands. Constructing harbors, industrial facilities and services for tourists and others leads to filling and draining wetlands, modifying shorelines to protect investments and increases in pollution loads.

Development in many coastal areas has "sprawled" across the landscape. Residential and industrial developments have replaced farms, forests, wetlands, woodlands, and fish and wildlife habitats. Between 43 and 51 percent of annual U.S. residential construction between 1970 and 1989 was in coastal areas. Some 6.7 million housing units were constructed in the nation's coastal areas during the 1980s. The most dramatic growth occurred in Florida and California, where almost 45 percent of the nation's coastal housing was built. Florida and California have lost 46 percent and 91 percent, respectively, of their original wetlands.

Natural coastal ecosystems have been disrupted by poorly planned or inefficient development patterns. Commercial fishing and industrial activities are especially vulnerable to rising property values along waterways. Condominiums and second- or vacation-home developers purchase dock space, particularly fish docks, and develop waterfront condominiums and marinas, displacing fishermen from this area. Development of recreational facilities in some undeveloped areas has created pollution from "point" and "non-point" sources, and destroyed fish and wildlife habitat. Coastal erosion and public access to beaches remain problems in many areas with high property values.

Additional leisure time has increased the demand for parks, recreational facilities and fishery resources. Excluding Hawaii, Alaska and the U.S. insular areas, over 27,000 recreation sites covering 114,400 square kilometers, under public ownership and/or management by local, state and federal governments, are in U.S. coastal areas. Local governments own the majority of these. Almost 4,000 of these sites are adjacent to tidally influenced waters, and about 1,500 are adjacent to the open ocean. Over 200 million hectares of federal lands are managed by the National Park Service and the Fish and Wildlife Service in Hawaii. In Alaska, over 51.6 million hectares are managed by the National Park Service and Fish and Wildlife Service. These areas are protected for public enjoyment.

Coastal areas support major population and transportation centers, commercial and recreational fishing industries, agricultural activities and industrial facilities. Traders, guides and equipment suppliers in coastal areas contribute thousands of millions of dollars to the national economy. Scenic and recreational appeal of coastal and marine areas greatly enhance many local economies. The economic base of many coastal communities centers on providing visitors with opportunities to enjoy beaches and related recreational activities such as swimming, surfing, fishing and boating. Tourism and related activities generate thousands of millions of dollars each year in coastal U.S. communities.

The offshore oil and gas industry in the coastal states (located primarily in the Gulf of Mexico, off southern California, and in the Arctic Ocean) is of national strategic and economic importance. Approximately 11 percent of the nation's oil production and 23 percent of the nation's natural gas production were produced from these areas in 1989.5 (See Box 6d.1.) Thousands of millions of dollars of economically recoverable resources remain in the Gulf of Mexico and other outer continental shelf(OCS) areas; only about five percent of the total number of designated OCS tracts have been leased for energy exploration and development.6 Coastal areas are also a potentially important source of non-energy mineral resources, including sand and gravel, phosphorite, manganese nodules, cobalt-ferromanganese crusts and polymetallic sulfides.

U.S. COASTAL AREAS: ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS

Over the past several decades. the United States has made substantial progress in correcting poor resource management practices. This Includes curbing the loss and modification of some types of Coastal habitats, and reducing environmental loadings of some types of contaminants such as nutrients. certain pesticides and toxic industrial chemicals. However, many of our coastal areas continue to suffer from over-utilization. continuing losses of important habitat and damage from pollution. For example:

  • Striped bass have shown a steady decline over the past 16 years In almost every estuary on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts. Salmonid populations continue to drop in San Francisco and Willapa Bays, and the Columbia River. Other interjurisdictional and estuarine species. such as sturgeon. shad. redfish, oysters and dungeoness crab are also declining in at least part of their ranges. Maryland's oyster harvest has declined more than 90 percent from levels of a century ago.
  • Waterfowl are declining in all coastal areas. Black duck. canvasback. redhead, pintail. blue wing teal. scaup and cackling Canada goose populations are showing significant declines.
  • Coastal wetlands. which support many fish and wildlife species. are still being lost in many areas. In Louisiana alone. there is an estimated loss of 12,800 hectares of coastal wetlands annually.
  • Submerged aquatic vegetation. which is a source of food and essential habitat for many aquatic species. has decreased drastically In several estuaries in recent times. including the Chesapeake. Tampa. Mobile. Galveston. San Francisco and Willapa bays. and the Laguna Madre. At least 65 percent of the submerged aquatic vegetation present in the Chesapeake Bay in 1Q60 had been lost by 1988.
  • In 1990. of the 6.88 million hectares of estuarine waters that were classified for harvest, 37 percent are harvest-limited. In Louisiana in 1985. harvest from 24 percent of the state's classified estaurine wasters was prohibited. In 1990. this had risen to 35 percent.
  • Restrictions or health advisories for the consumption of certain types of fish and shellfish are In effect in many coastal areas.
  • Beach closures due to bacterial contamination or presence of debris. including medical wastes, remain a problem in some areas.

The United States has many federal, state and local programs to manage and protect marine areas and resources subject to its jurisdiction. These include the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA), Marine Protection, Research and Sanctuaries Act, the Clean Water Act (CWA), the Magnuson Fishery' Conservation and Management Act (MFCMA), the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (OCSLA), the oil Pollution Act of 1990, among others. A description of these environmental laws is presented in Chapter 5. State and federal coastal-zone management programs are intended to balance development and use of coastal resources with environmental and social considerations. These programs encourage multiple use and long-term protection of U.S. coastal areas.

More than half of the U.S. population resides in coastal areas. These coastal areas account for less than 10 percent of the nation's land. A number of approaches have been taken to manage the effect of population growth on the coastal environment. The Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, for example, established a national framework for coastal resources management to assist states and insular areas in developing the capability to manage their coastal resources. The federal government provides financial and technical assistance and policy guidance to states and territorial governments to prepare and implement programs. State and local governments must balance the use and conservation of coastal and ocean resources. The federal government has invested over $600 million in these state programs. Twenty-nine coastal states and insular areas covering 94 percent of the U.S. coastline now have federally approved coastal zone management programs. In 1990, the act added a requirement for states and insular areas with approved CZM programs to develop coastal non-point pollution control programs. State programs must contain enforceable policies and mechanisms to reduce non-point sources of pollution and protect coastal waters.

Individual U.S. states take the lead role in other programs such as the National Estuary Program. This program, created under the Clean Water Act, identifies significant estuaries, and establishes a process for improving and protecting water quality and enhancing coastal resources in the estuarine ecosystem. An estuary is nominated by a state governor and approved by the federal government A Comprehensive Conservation Management Plan (CCMP) for managing the estuarine watershed is developed cooperatively with the participation of all interested parties. These include the appropriate government agencies, elected officials, academic institutions, interest groups and the public. The CCMP identifies the specific actions needed to restore and maintain the estuary and establishes a schedule for implementation. The program currently includes 17 estuaries.

 

ENDNOTES:

1.The Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MFCMA) defines the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) as that region that extends 200 nautical miles seaward from the baseline from which the territorial sea is measured. The United States is responsible for wisely developing, managing and protecting the EEZ's environment and its living and non-living marine resources contained within.

2. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Marine Fisheries Service. Fisheries of the United States, 1990. Current Fishery Statistics, no.9000 (Silver Spring, MD.: May 1991), llpp.

3. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Strategic Assessments Branch, Estuaries of the United States: Vital Statistics of a National Resource Base (Rockville, MD: October 1990), 79 pp.

U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Ocean Service, Ocean Assessments Division (Rockville, MD), in cooperation with the U.S. Department of the Interior, National Wetlands Inventory, Fish and Wildlife Service, (Washington, D.C.), and the National Wetlands Research Center (Sidell, LA), Coastal Wetlands of the United States: An Accounting of aValuable National Resource (February 1991), 59pp.

4. U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 50 Years of Population Change along the Nation's Coasts, 1960-2010 (April 1990), 4lpp.

5. U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, Federal Offshore Statistics: 1989: Leasing, Exploration and Revenues, OCS Report MMS 90-0072: 1990: l04pp.

6. U.S. Department of the Interior, Minerals Management Service, The Offshore Environmental Studies Program (1973-1989): A Summary of Minerals Management Service Research Conducted on the U:5. Outer Continental Shelf, OCS Report MMs 90-0095: 1990: l04pp


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