National Strategy for a Sustainable Ocean Economy

From Guam to Georgia, Alaska to the U.S. Caribbean, the Great Lakes to the Gulf Coast, individuals and communities rely on the ocean, coasts, and Great Lakes for identity, culture, jobs, recreation, food, medicine, and trade. U.S. ocean waters cover more area than the land mass of the entire country. Central to the Nation’s heritage, and to its future, the ocean is a source of knowledge, discovery, climate regulation, nutrient cycling, solace, opportunity, natural protection from the impacts of extreme weather, and more.