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This week, the State Department is hosting the “Our Ocean” conference, an international conference on sustainable fisheries, marine pollution, and ocean acidification.

Secretary Kerry has issued a global call to action to protect the oceans. As part of the conference, the President has announced several steps that the United States is taking to answer that call. During the closing events of the conference, the State Department announced additional steps and commitments it has secured to protect the oceans.

President Obama has announced new executive actions to preserve and protect the oceans:

- New protections for world-class marine areas;

- Combating black market fishing and supporting fishermen.

In addition, the Administration is taking steps to protect coastal communities from the impacts of climate change, improve domestic aquaculture, and providing research to better understand the challenges facing the oceans:

- Establishing a pathway to new marine sanctuaries;

- Meeting diverse coastal needs with regional marine planning;

- Understanding the impacts of ocean acidification;

- $102 million to build resilience in coastal communities;

- Bolstering domestic shellfish aquaculture;

- National Strategic Plan for Federal Aquaculture Research.

President Obama announced that the Obama Administration will immediately begin planning to expand protections for ocean habitats and deter illegal fishing.

June 18, 2014