VISIT TO OTTAWA OF CHAIRMAN OF U.S. COMMISSION ON

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 OTTAWA 001142

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAN, OES/OA AND OES/OMC
NOAA FOR NATIONAL OCEANS SERVICE:KITSOS
NOAA ALSO FOR NMFS AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS:WARE-HARRIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: SENV EFIS PGOV CA
SUBJECT: VISIT TO OTTAWA OF CHAIRMAN OF U.S. COMMISSION ON
OCEAN POLICY

REF: OTTAWA 983


1. This is an action message. Please see paragraph 8.


2. Summary: Admiral James D. Watkins (ret.),former
Chairman of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy, visited
Ottawa April 12 to brief senior Canadian officials on the
Commission's final report. GOC officials reviewed the status
of Canada's Ocean Action Plan (OAP),and expressed their
desire to hold government-to-government talks on oceans
policy in the near future. Comparison of the Commission's
report and Canada's OAP suggest that there are a number of
important areas for potential collaboration, including
science and technology, the Arctic, and coordinated ecosystem
management. Admiral Watkins also discussed the Oceans
Commission report with a reporter from the Globe and Mail
newspaper, and met with key members of Parliament's Standing
Committee on Fisheries and Oceans. End summary.


3. Discussions on ocean policy began with a meeting at the
Department of Fisheries and Oceans (DFO),attended by
representatives of nine Canadian agencies, including the
Deputy Ministers of Fisheries and Oceans, Indian and Northern
Affairs, and National Defense, as well as the commander of
the Canadian Navy. Admiral Watkins, accompanied by former
Commission Executive Director Dr. Thomas Kitsos and staff
members of the Consortium for Oceanographic Research and
Education, briefed the GOC officials on the Commission's
report, emphasizing the Commission's finding on the need for
a more formalized structure to enhance interagency
cooperation within the USG. Admiral Watkins also highlighted
four potential areas for enhanced U.S.-Canada collaboration:
science and technology, the Arctic, the Great Lakes, and
international capacity building.


4. DFO Deputy Minister Larry Murray followed with a
presentation on Canada's Ocean Action Plan, noting that it
corresponds in key areas with the U.S. Commission report.
Murray emphasized that the Ocean Action Plan urges an
ecosystem-based approach to oceans management, and
highlighted existing Canada-U.S. collaboration both
bilaterally on the Gulf of Maine Council, and multilaterally
in bodies such as the Global Oceans Forum, the
Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission, and the Arctic
Marine Strategic Plan. Murray also suggested that the United
States and Canada could work together to place integrated
oceans management issues on the agendas of international
organizations and conferences such as the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change, the Food and Agriculture
Organization, the G-8, and the Davos Forum.


5. According to GOC officials, Canada's Ocean Action Plan
rests on four interconnected pillars that will serve to
integrate GOC policy: International Leadership, Integrated
Oceans Management, Health of the Oceans, and Science and
Technology. Murray noted that the GOC has already undertaken
to buttress the first pillar, International Leadership, with
the May 1-5 High Seas Fisheries Conference in St. John's,
Newfoundland. Regarding Integrated Oceans Management, Canada
has created five "Large Ocean Management Areas" on all three
of its coasts (including the Arctic) to analyze the health of
the marine ecosystems and establish more effective ecosystem
management. The third pillar, Health of the Oceans, includes
designation of Marine Protected Areas and development of
ballast water and marine pollution regulations. The final
pillar, Science and Technology, encompasses GOC-sponsored
research on seabed mapping, ecosystem overviews in support of
integrated management, and technology development and
demonstration.


6. DFO Minister Geoff Regan hosted a luncheon for Admiral
Watkins, also attended by Member of Parliament Shawn Murphy,
who serves as Parliamentary Secretary for DFO. Admiral
Watkins reviewed the main points of the Commission Report for
Regan, who appeared well briefed and noted the important
similarities in the U.S. and Canadian approaches to oceans
management. Regan agreed on the importance of
government-to-government consultations, and expressed
appreciation that oceans management was specifically included
in the Security and Prosperity Partnership (SPP) agenda
agreed to at the March 23 summit among President Bush, Prime
Minister Martin, and President Fox. Several GOC officials
expressed a preference that oceans policy talks be conducted
on a bilateral basis, explaining that because Canada and
Mexico do not share any marine ecosystems, they would prefer
to engage Mexico on oceans policy in multilateral fora.


7. Admiral Watkins had a brief interview with the science
reporter from the Globe and Mail newspaper, and then met with
key members of Parliament's Standing Committee on Fisheries
and Oceans, including Chairman Tom Wappel, Conservative Party
Fisheries Critic Loyola Hearne, New Democratic Fisheries
Critic Peter Stoffer, and Parliamentary Secretary Shawn
Murphy. The members showed considerable interest in the
Commission's report, and required an extension of the time
originally set for the meeting.


8. Comment and action request: GOC officials expressed
great appreciation for the opportunity to be briefed on the
Oceans Commission report, and were particularly pleased that
the ecosystem-based management approach advocated in the
report is clearly compatible with Canada's Ocean Action Plan.
The GOC is ready to move to government-to-government
meetings on oceans policy, either in Ottawa or Washington,
and would like to do so in the near future, in part to build
upon the attention oceans policy received in the SPP.
Embassy would appreciate input from Washington agencies on
how best to move ahead with this process.

Visit Canada's Classified Web Site at
http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/wha/ottawa

DICKSON