Earl Blumenauer: “Absolutely. But what the gentleman has done in his own career in terms of dealing with issues of marine sanctuaries and…”

“Absolutely. But what the gentleman has done in his own career in terms of dealing with issues of marine sanctuaries and marine reserves, we need to be able to make sure that there are some areas where the sea can rest, the fisheries can be restored, much like we do with farmland, where, in some of the areas where I think people are justly proud, we have been conserving some of our farmland. We are being able to zone and protect it. We are looking at ways to revitalize it, working with scientists and with farmers, with citizens. This is part of what needs to happen. The gentleman went through some of the list of problems that we are facing, like nonpoint pollution. We have problems with point source pollution, like the massive hog farms that we see in some of our coastal States and along some of our major river systems that dump effluent into our waterways. He has referenced the issue of invasive species. There are problems of aquaculture. If we are not careful, aquaculture will end up, or if it is not done appropriately, it can produce a great deal of not just pollution, but the potential, for example, where we have had areas where there have been tens of thousands of farm-bred salmon escaping into the ocean. We have had situations where coastal development, where it is not done in a thoughtful and careful way, severely damages fragile bays and estuaries and river habitat, which are important nesting and breeding grounds. It is where fishing stock is restored.”