Credit: Stephen Left

Look no further than the unprecedented environmental disaster in the Gulf of Mexico to find an example of the need for stronger management of marine and coastal environments -- and resources -- in Florida.

That's the opinion of a noted Duke University researcher and Florida environmental researchers and advocates who gathered in Tallahassee Friday.

The furor surrounding the Deepwater Horizon oil spill can be used to spur the state to push for all ocean-users, from businesses to government agencies, to agree to a plan that guarantees all of the natural environment is protected.

“This is a very anthropocentric goal,” said Dr. Larry Crowder, Stephen Toth professor of marine biology at the Duke University School of the Environment in North Carolina, speaking to an audience of about 50.  “It’s not like we need to protect the manatees and the sea turtles for their own sake.”

The move for a marine spatial plan was heavily supported, as members of the Florida Coastal and Ocean Coalition and their guests held their first Coastal and Ocean Conference from the top ballroom of the Hotel Duval in the state capital.  The coalition, which planned the conference before the oil spill, includes environmental advocacy and growth management groups like the Natural Resources Defense Council, the Surfrider Foundation, the Gulf Restoration Network and 1,000 Friends of Florida.

Ocean management in the Gulf and elsewhere has been fragmented, uncoordinated and ineffective for years, Crowder said.

And those same accusations have been leveled at the fractured attempts by different state, local, federal and British Petroleum responders to stop the oil spill unleashing tens of thousands of gallons into the Gulf daily for almost two months.

“Fragmented, ineffective and uncoordinated sounds a lot like what we’ve been hearing on the news lately,” Crowder said. “A lot of the citizens are saying that there’s a lot of chiefs out there but not many Indians.”

Dr. Larry Crowder, professor at Duke University

Crowder said ocean management has been hindered by the different needs of local, state and federal governments, fishermen, shipping companies, the oil drilling industry and environmental advocates. The waters are crowded, and management is complicated by a lack of knowledge of whose jurisdiction falls where.

Creation of a marine spatial plan would require that everyone who uses the waters be given a voice and create a unified plan for the sea, even those who are against regulation. 

It addresses what commercial activities are allowed where, what environments should be preserved and how and what government agencies have control of what regions. It also balances commerce and environmentalism, a crucial element in Florida, where the coastal economy generates $562 billion annually.