One year ago several of us summarized in Oceanography the major themes and recommendations of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP), based on the Preliminary Report issued April 20, 2004. The Final Report was issued on September 20, 2004, triggering the 90-day (legislatively mandated) response window for the White House. On December 17, 2004, the White House issued Presidential Executive Order 13366, which established a cabinet-level Committee on Ocean Policy (COP), and issued the U.S. Ocean Action Plan (OAP).

Briscoe, M. 2005. Commentary: The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy and the White House Ocean Action Plan—An update. Oceanography 18(3):9–13, https://doi.org/10.5670/oceanog.2005.27.

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