By William E. Gibson,South Florida Sun-Sentinel

WASHINGTON – Despite progress by Florida and some other states, the nation is failing to prevent the degradation of its oceans, coastlines and waterways, an independent commission asserted on Friday.

Runoff pollution fouls oceans and lakes. Rampant development eats up 20,000 acres of wetlands each year. Fisheries are declining. Fish populations are disappearing. And budget cuts have depleted federal programs to confront these problems, according to an annual report card issued by the Joint Ocean Commission Initiative, a private watchdog group headquartered in Washington, D.C.

Management plans by Florida and seven other coastal states are among the few positive signs in a sea of troubles, the ocean watchdogs told reporters in Washington. The federal response, they said, deserves mostly bad grades.

“We’ve lost ground in so many areas, and we’re worried about that,” said retired Admiral James D. Watkins, chairman of the former U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy.

The U.S. Commission sounded alarms two years ago when it spelled out the deteriorating condition of the oceans, issued 212 recommendations and called for a $3.9 billion national fund to address problems. It echoed similar recommendations by the privately funded Pew Oceans Commission three years ago. The report card on Friday came from members of both those commissions.

Florida has taken a leading role partly because it has such a close connection to the sea, said Frank Muller-Karger, a member of the U.S. Commission and professor of oceanography at the University of South Florida.

“All of the state depends on oceans, from tourism, fishing and just going to the beach to have fun,” Muller-Karger said. “We consume an enormous amount of fish. Even our energy comes from barges and tankers. So we really depend on the ocean.”

The state’s waters remain vulnerable to pollution that flows by river or ocean current from other states or nations, he said. Southeast Florida presents the challenge of a huge population squeezed onto an ecologically sensitive peninsula.

Florida gets relatively good marks from ocean watchdogs partly because of state initiatives to preserve reefs and pay for ocean research, as well as Gov. Jeb Bush’s outreach to other Gulf states to coordinate ways to curb pollution, manage fisheries and prevent coastal erosion.

A new Florida oceans council last week set priorities to deal with on-going problems, such as sewage and bacteria washing up on beaches. “Now we will see whether the Legislature provides the money to carry out those recommendations,” Muller-Karger said.

President Bush issued an ocean-action plan in December 2004 and created a Cabinet committee to help carry it out. The report card on Friday praised that plan but deplored budget cuts that have depleted ocean research.

The commissioners gave an A-minus for the initial federal response to their report and a B-minus for regional and state action. But they gave the United States an F for failing to take part in an international convention on the Law of the Sea and another F for failing to provide funding for new ocean programs.

The White House Council on Environmental Quality said much of the funding for research comes through congressional earmarks and that the administration has proposed increased spending each year for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

“The current marks reflect work in progress,” said Michele St. Martin, spokeswoman for the White House council. “We’re confident that as projects are completed, we will get higher marks.”

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(c) 2006 South Florida Sun-Sentinel.

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Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.

AP-NY-02-03-06 2013EST

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