fter touring Boston Harbor on a New England Aquarium research vessel with Boston-area teenagers yesterday, Vice President Al Gore announced the formation of a federal task force to implement 147 Cabinet recommendations for strengthening US ocean policy.
''The report's not worth much unless it's acted upon,'' Gore said. Pointing to Boston Harbor as a success story, Gore said the nation must take bold steps to save the waters. The oceans are ''not just part of the environment, ... they're an engine of our economy,'' Gore said.
The report comes about a year after the first national ocean summit was held in Monterey, Calif., where President Clinton, Gore, and four Cabinet secretaries met with scientists and advocates of a national agenda to improve ocean health.
Also, as expected, Gore announced a $5 million aid package for New England's fishermen who have been hit hard with restrictions. Those qualifying will receive up to $1,500 for each day that their fishing grounds in the Gulf of Maine were closed by regulators this past spring.
Some of the key recommendations in the report included plans for more coordination among agencies, creation of new incentives to reduce overfishing, increased funding for marine sanctuaries such as Stellwagen Bank for research and protection, and reduction of coastal pollution caused by water runoffs.
Before the announcements at the aquarium, Gore squatted down with students to view an array of sea animals in tanks, checked clarity of the harbor waters, and caught a jellyfish in a mesh net used to catch plankton.
Jody Kelman, 16, of Concord, who said she became interested in the environment when she saw satellite images of Earth at age 5, said she was impressed with Gore's knowledge of the environment.
Roger McManus, president of the Center for Marine Conservation, a nonprofit advocacy group, said the report is only a blueprint now but this and the Monterey conference have brought the highest level of attention to ocean conservation by any administration since that of President Lyndon Johnson.
Thirty years ago, the Johnson adminstration formed the Stratton Commission - named for its chairman, the former MIT president Julius Stratton - which led to the creation of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and laid the groundwork for the Coastal Zone Management Act.
''We see this as a milestone,'' said McManus. ''Now if we can get Congress to pay attention.'' McManus said the United States' ocean territory is larger than its land territory.
But obstacles still abound. Congress has approved little funding for ocean protection. And the United States has not joined the United Nations' Law of the Sea Convention, which sets international standards for the world's oceans.
Gore also announced that Clinton signed a proclamation yesterday giving federal authorities the right to enforce environmental, customs, and immigration laws at sea within 24 nautical miles of shore, extended from 12 miles.
