Contact: Lori Arguelles                   FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
                                          3/30/98

Commerce Secretary William M. Daley today announced that the Department of Commerce and U.S. Navy will co-host a National Ocean Conference on June 11 and 12 in Monterey, Calif., home to the nation's largest national marine sanctuary. The conference will include other federal agencies, ocean scientists and researchers, Members of Congress, and representatives of state and local governments, industry, and interested ocean groups.

The conference, to be held at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, was conceived as a way to underscore the importance of the oceans to a vast range of vital U.S. interests, and to enhance public awareness of our nation's dependence on the ocean.

"The Year of the Ocean provides us with an excellent opportunity to examine the essential role the ocean plays in all of our lives. The oceans provide food, medicines, recreation, transportation and other aspects of marine commerce that contribute to our high standard of living," Commerce Secretary Daley said. "This conference will be an important forum to discuss these contributions and stimulate the debate as to how to ensure the long-term health of the Earth's vital ocean resources."

"Despite the importance of the ocean to various sectors of the U.S. public," said Secretary of the Navy John H. Dalton, "the overall impact of ocean activities to the nation as a whole is rarely addressed. The ocean is the Navy's operating environment, and our national security, as well as our foreign trade, are dependent on preserving the high seas freedoms of navigation for military and commercial vessels worldwide. This conference," added Dalton, "reflects a growing awareness of the ocean's paramount importance to global peace and security, the world economy, and environmental well-being."

Ocean activities and concerns in the United States span a broad range of interests and are reflected in the four central themes of the conference: commerce, global security, environment, and exploration and education.

"In the United States, one of every six jobs is marine-related and one-third of the nation's gross domestic product is produced in coastal areas through fishing, transportation and recreation," said Daley. "All of these industries are dependent on healthy waters and marine habitats."

"As global communications increasingly link our economies and our lives, there is a tendency to believe the oceans that separate us are less relevant. In fact, the opposite is true," said Dalton. "The more linked we become, the more relevant the oceans become, as the great common denominator which links us all."

In recognition of the importance of the marine environment, the United Nations declared 1998 the International Year of the Ocean (YOTO). This designation provides individuals, organizations and governments with an important opportunity to raise public awareness and understanding of the ocean and how it affects our lives. On Jan. 28, President Clinton officially proclaimed 1998 as Year of the Ocean.