Sec. 3. Findings
362 words·~2 min read·
/bill/116/hr/3548/ih/section-3A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.
Congress makes the following findings: The Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts face significant challenges from, among other things, marine debris, illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, and changing conditions. Most of the ocean floor is mapped only at a very coarse resolution of 5 kilometers per pixel, whereas Mars, the Moon, and Venus are mapped at a much finer resolution of 100 meters per pixel or better. Many industries, including the fishing and aquaculture, energy, shipping, insurance, telecommunications, weather and climate forecasting, and tourism industries, among others, use ocean data, whether or not the industries collect that data themselves.
In 2017, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration estimated that United States businesses that collect ocean data or provide enhanced ocean data products have overall revenues of approximately $58,000,000,000. Although a large amount of data related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts is collected internationally, nationally, and regionally, by international bodies, national agencies, institutes, private companies, and other entities, that data collection is often uncoordinated, and the resulting data are not always shared in a timely and useful manner between those entities.
Improved collection, analysis, synthesis, and sharing of such data will improve our understanding of, and responses to, the challenges faced by the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts. Innovation, research, and a skilled workforce are required to improve our understanding of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts and the challenges they face. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, in 2015, the ocean and Great Lakes economy in the United States employed approximately 3,200,000 people and accounted for approximately $320,000,000,000 of the gross domestic product of the United States.
The value and impact of the industries related to the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts on the economy of the United States are evidently immense; however, what is known as the Blue Economy is neither consistently defined nor regularly quantified. The Federal Government has a responsibility to support the monitoring, understanding, and exploration of the Great Lakes, oceans, bays, estuaries, and coasts in pursuit of the national security and economic and environmental well-being of the United States, and as a world leader.