[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 68 Introduced in House (IH)]

113th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. RES. 68

    Expressing support for the goals and ideals of National Marine 
                             Awareness Day.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 13, 2013

Mrs. Christensen submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
                 to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
    Expressing support for the goals and ideals of National Marine 
                             Awareness Day.

Whereas the ocean covers 71 percent of the Earth's surface and contains 97 
        percent of the planet's water;
Whereas the marine environment supports the life of nearly 50 percent of all 
        species on Earth and helps sustain that life by providing 20 percent of 
        the animal protein and five percent of the total protein in the human 
        diet;
Whereas coastal habitats account for approximately \1/3\ of all marine 
        biological productivity, estuarine ecosystems are among the most 
        productive regions on the planet, and coral reefs shelter the highest 
        levels of marine diversity in the world;
Whereas coral reef ecosystems are a source of food for millions of people; 
        protect coastlines from storms and erosion; provide habitat and spawning 
        and nursery grounds for economically important fish species; provide 
        jobs and income to local economies from fishing, recreation, and 
        tourism; are a source of new medicines; and are hotspots of marine 
        biodiversity;
Whereas it is difficult to put a dollar value on some of the benefits the 
        world's marine ecosystems provide, but a recent estimate states that the 
        total net benefit of coral reef ecosystems alone to be $30,000,000,000 
        per year;
Whereas one of every six jobs in the United States is marine-related and over 
        one-third of the United States gross national product originates in 
        coastal areas;
Whereas 80 percent of the United States Virgin Islands' gross domestic product 
        and employment are based on marine-related tourism;
Whereas the economy and cultural heritage of American Samoa, the Commonwealth of 
        the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and coastal states 
        across the continental United States are significantly reliant on the 
        tremendous ecosystem services that the ocean provides;
Whereas human-dominated marine ecosystems are experiencing accelerating loss of 
        populations and species with largely unknown consequences, overall rates 
        of resource collapse have increased, and recovery potential, stability, 
        and water quality have decreased exponentially with declining diversity;
Whereas the ocean has absorbed a significant portion of all carbon dioxide 
        emissions, causing unprecedented changes to ocean chemistry affecting 
        marine organisms that use carbonate to build shells or skeletons;
Whereas large quantities of human-generated trash enters the marine environment 
        as marine debris and causes a decrease in water quality, death and 
        morbidity for marine mammals, depletion of valuable fisheries, and 
        decreased tourism revenue;
Whereas human-induced pressures such as pollution, degradation of water quality, 
        harmful fishing practices, and a changing climate are adversely 
        affecting our precious marine resources;
Whereas coral reefs, seabirds, marine mammals, fisheries, and tourism will be 
        severely impacted by the Deepwater Horizon oil spill;
Whereas marine biodiversity loss is increasingly impairing the ocean's capacity 
        to function effectively as a system, or to provide food, maintain water 
        quality, and recover from perturbations, yet available data suggest that 
        at this point these trends are still reversible and the restoration of 
        marine ecosystem biodiversity has shown to increase system productivity 
        by fourfold;
Whereas the United States has had a longstanding commitment to the preservation 
        and conservation of the marine environment, as demonstrated through the 
        passage and implementation of numerous laws including the Marine Mammal 
        Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 et seq.), the Coastal Zone 
        Management Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1451 et seq.), the Endangered Species 
        Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery 
        Conservation and Management Act (16 U.S.C. 1801 et seq.), the Coral Reef 
        Conservation Act of 2000 (16 U.S.C. 6401 et seq.), and other statutes; 
        and
Whereas the eighth day of June of each year is the appropriate day for 
        designation as National Marine Awareness Day: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) celebrates the diversity of marine fisheries and 
        wildlife and the natural beauty and biological richness that 
        marine ecosystems provide;
            (2) supports the goals and ideals of National Marine 
        Awareness Day; and
            (3) calls upon the people of the United States to observe 
        such a day with appropriate ceremonies, programs, and 
        activities.
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