Science, Policy, and the Coast: Improving Decisionmaking by Committee on Science & Policy for the Coastal Ocean

Author:Committee on Science & Policy for the Coastal Ocean
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Earth Sciences : Policy, Reviews and Evaluations
Publisher: NATIONAL ACADEMY PRESS
Published: 1995-08-31T00:00:00+00:00

Examples Of Failures And Successes

The following examples of failures are taken from symposia discussions to show several ways in which scientific advice was not sought and/or used for coastal policymaking.

Drilling Discharge Studies—MMS and the oil industry both funded studies of the effects of drilling muds on the marine environment. These studies uniformly showed that the detrimental effects of the discharge of muds were limited to small areas immediately around the drilling rig and that there were no serious, long-term effects (NRC, 1983a). These studies were reviewed by the Scientific Committee of the OCS Advisory Board, which repeatedly recommended that no further studies were necessary or desirable from a scientific viewpoint. This opinion never had much impact. Additional studies of the effects of drilling muds were recommended by various local groups whenever new OCS leasing was proposed. The problem was probably one that should have been addressed by social scientists rather than by natural scientists, recognizing the issue as largely political and removing it from the natural scientific agenda altogether. One must conclude that the scientific analysis was misunderstood or ignored.

Northeast Groundfish—The groundfish industry in the Georges Bank/Gulf of Maine region has collapsed despite the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act, a law that established regional fishery management councils, each with an advisory scientific and statistical committee to manage the stocks. The reasons for failure are many and complex. They are related to failures to (1) take a large enough view, (2) protect fish populations and habitat, (3) use the scientific advisory committee effectively, and (4) understand the social problems involved in management of fisheries and fishermen (Acheson, 1995; Orbach, 1995).

Trinity Ledge Herring Fishey—Trinity Ledge, an area off the southwest coast of Nova Scotia, was a popular herring fishery ground. Although the need for regulation to protect the fishery was recognized, insufficient action was taken, and the area now supports only a small fishery compared to what it supported previously. The management failure was due to industry pressure against regulation and lack of consideration of the importance of the habitat for the substock of herring whose habitat was on the ledge (Chang et al., 1995). It seems clear that there was insufficient effective communication among industry, scientists, and regulators.

The following examples of successes and partial successes are taken from those mentioned during the symposia to illustrate that despite the difficulties advisory committees and scientific inputs have been successful in influencing policy decisions in a positive fashion.

New Hampshire Coastal Wetlands Manual—Because of the limited extent of coastal wetlands and associated habitats in New Hampshire and the intense development pressure to which they are subjected, the New Hampshire Coastal Program, the U.S. Soil Conservation Service, and the New Hampshire Audubon Society collaborated to develop a coastal wetlands evaluation manual. They involved scientists, environmentalists, citizens, and policymakers. The development of the manual is an example of a successful collaboration, although the success of its application remains to be evaluated (NRC, 1995b).

Arcata Marsh Mitigation—This mitigation program in Arcata, California, created wetlands habitat in connection with wastewater treatment.

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