This document is also available as a PDF file that includes photos and illustrations.

One percent. That's how much of our planet's oceans are currently protected from destructive fishing practices and other harmful activities. NRDC believes that protecting just 1 percent of our ocean resources isn't nearly enough. So in the tradition of Teddy Roosevelt, who created parks and wilderness reserves on land more than a century ago, we are leading successful efforts to do the same for our seas.

Marine protected areas, or MPAs, provide safe havens for young fish to grow, for overfished species to recover, and for marine mammals to thrive, safeguarding our most precious marine life and habitats for future generations. Protected areas support more resilient populations of marine life, which in turn can benefit sustainable fishing economies and recreational activities like diving, kayaking, and wildlife watching. Studies show that fully protected marine areas have, on average, twice as many fish and three times as many large fish as do nonprotected areas.

NRDC's oceans team has championed an enforceable system of MPAs that can help replenish the long-term health of the world's oceans. The story began in 1999, when NRDC sponsored the Marine Life Protection Act in California, working with scientists, business owners, local divers, fishermen, and conservationists to see that the bill passed.

Today, due in large part to NRDC's political tenacity and our ability to work with diverse interests, the vision of the act is becoming a reality. The first phase has been completed, protecting nearly 20 percent of the waters off California's central coast in a network that encompasses Big Sur, Anõ Nuevo, and favorite dive spot Point Lobos. We are now working to create another network of "marine parks" along the coast between Sonoma and San Francisco. We've also helped extend protections for the National Marine Sanctuary in the Channel Islands off the coast of California. The sanctuary nearly doubled in size this year to cover 300 square miles of ocean, completing the plan NRDC helped put into place in 2003.

In other key coastal states like Florida, New York, and New Jersey, NRDC is leading coalitions to promote ecosystembased management approaches to protect and restore marine resources. These ecosystembased approaches move beyond the traditional "fish-by-fish" management approach to encompass the dynamics of the ocean, its habitats, and the relationships between predators and prey. To this end, NRDC helped New York State pass the New York Ocean and Great Lakes Ecosystem Conservation Act, making New York the second state in the nation (after California) to establish an interagency council to coordinate marine resources work and advance holistic ocean management. We are now working to advance similar ocean legislation in New Jersey.

And this year we marked another striking victory for our seas. In the final hours of the 109th Congress, NRDC pushed for -- and won -- a strong Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the nation's premier ocean fisheries management law, to protect against destructive fishing practices. But our efforts didn't end with getting the law passed; we are now working to make sure the law is effectively implemented to prohibit overfishing, strengthen the role of science in management decisions, require greater industry accountability for catch levels, and impose penalties for illegal fishing in international waters.

See the complete Oceans section of this report (in pdf format, 396k) for more about our work, including ocean protection beyond America's borders.

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