Executive Order 14428, signed September 16, revoked the 2009 Chesapeake Bay Protection and Restoration order. It redirects agencies toward on-the-ground projects tied to measurable water-quality gains. A day later, the Restoring American Saltwater Angling and Recreation order directed NOAA to replace mail-in catch surveys with mobile reporting. It also created a Reef-in-Place program to turn decommissioned offshore platforms into artificial reefs.
On Capitol Hill, Representative Kimberlyn King-Hinds’ PACMESA bill would send 50 percent of revenue from covered seabed mineral leases to the Northern Mariana Islands, Guam, and American Samoa. King-Hinds has said she neither supports nor opposes seabed mining. A bicameral group introduced the National Critical Minerals Council Act to unify a strategy now spread across more than 15 federal agencies. Closer to shore, the Ecological Restoration Project Permitting Act would create a nationwide Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for restoration projects. The Regional Ocean Partnerships Reauthorization Act would extend the partnerships through fiscal year 2031.
The biggest numbers came from UNGA81. The EU and Canada launched the OceanEye International Alliance with 31 members and at least €211 million pledged, including €92 million from the EU and C$82 million over five years from Canada. The money will sustain a system delivering roughly 120,000 observations a day. The BBNJ Agreement reached 100 ratifications, and IUCN pressed for science-based implementation at the first Conference of the Parties.
Elsewhere, Canada proposed listing or reclassifying 15 aquatic species populations, including the Atlantic population of basking shark. The Global Mangrove Alliance issued two briefs ahead of CBD COP17, and ReefCloud launched a four-year reef monitoring project across five Southeast Asian nations. In Europe, Scotland published statutory guidance on offshore wind habitat compensation, and RED III moved into national implementation for shipping fuels.
Spaces we’re watching: ocean observing, seabed minerals, and coastal resilience
You’ll find news and insights on all the above in “the water column”—an exclusive editorial dedicated to giving our readers an alternate, bird’s-eye view of the most significant happenings across the marine science, industry, and policy space. To keep abreast of all the latest developments, access the water column in print editions of eco magazine, nestled among the pages of Environmental Policy news, and in a monthly circulating digital edition found on LinkedIn and our website.
