WASHINGTON - September 20 - The U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, a panel appointed by President Bush, today issued its final report stating that the oceans are in peril and overfishing is a primary factor contributing to the collapse of entire ocean ecosystems. Today's report comes even as the Bush administration is actively seeking to weaken federal standards that protect fish populations from overfishing.

"Even as the President's own panel warns that the oceans are in danger, the Bush administration is trying to water down protections against overfishing - exactly the opposite of today's recommendations." said Matt Rand, Co-Director, Conserve Our Ocean Legacy Campaign.

Even as the U.S. Commission released its report, the administration continues to move forward with weakening National Standard 1, one of ten national standards that all federal fishery management plans must meet to ensure healthy ocean ecosystems. National Standard 1 is the cornerstone of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the law that governs all fishery activity in U.S. waters. The standard prohibits fishermen from driving fish populations toward extinction through overfishing and requires rebuilding of already diminished fish populations.

"The administration's proposal opens up a loophole that industry could steer a commercial fleet through," said U.S. Public Interest Research Group oceans advocate Buffy Baumann. "If the president wants to keep catching stripers up in Maine, he should protect fish populations, not destroy them."

The Bush Administration plans to weaken National Standard 1 by making the following changes:

· The current regulations require fish management councils to "end overfishing." The administration proposes to insert "as soon as practicable" after "overfishing", thus condoning delays to the recovery process.

· The administration proposes allowing fishery councils to exceed scientifically recommended fishing levels.

· The administration is seeking exceptions to the rebuilding timeline allowing a "phase-in" of recovery plans that could push off recovery of fish populations for decades.

· The administration proposes a tiered system of fish protections based on commercial value. This means that commercially viable fish will receive protections at the expense of less valuable fish and will drive these weaker stocks closer to commercial extinction.

Revisions to weaken National Standard 1 have passed through an Advanced Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and an Environmental Assessment. The proposed changes to this standard are expected to appear in the Federal Register by the end of the year.

President Bush has 90 days to respond to today's U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy final report.

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