Making a splash? An expert panel has called for a revamp of US oceanography. Credit: OAR/NURP/WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INST.

Ocean scientists in the United States have been waiting three years for a study, commissioned by President Bush, that they fervently hoped would revitalize the institutions that support their work. This week they got their report — but it remains unclear whether the revitalization will take place.

The US Commission on Ocean Policy, chaired by James Watkins — who served as energy secretary under Bush's father — recommended 200 reforms in the document it was expected to release on 20 April. The report calls for the establishment of a National Ocean Council at the White House, to coordinate the $7 billion that the government spends each year on ocean management, research and education.

But the commission rejects calls for an independent ocean research agency to replace the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), which is part of the Department of Commerce. They say privately that strengthening NOAA is more feasible politically.

The panel calls for a doubling of ocean research funding over five years and for greater focus on ecosystem approaches to ocean management that address relationships between land, sea and air. It also says that regional councils should be set up to help manage fisheries, and that $1.7 billion should be invested in an integrated ocean observing system, comprising satellites, buoys, sensors and computer systems, to be run by NOAA.

The commission's mandate was broader than that of last year's independent Pew Oceans Commission (see Nature 423, 577; 200310.1038/423577a), which focused only on living resources, but many of the recommendations are similar. However, the Pew panel backed the idea of setting up an independent agency to supplant NOAA.

“If the administration doesn't capitalize on both commission reports, it will be a real disservice to the nation,” says Jane Lubchenco, a marine biologist at Oregon State University and member of the Pew panel.

Some fear that the Watkins report, which took longer than expected to appear, may have arrived too late to influence policy under the Bush administration. Nonetheless, advocates of ocean research are pursuing legislation in both the House and the Senate to set up the National Ocean Council and implement other aspects of the report.

James Connaughton, chairman of the White House Council on Environmental Quality, says the Watkin commission's work has already spurred the administration to action. He points out that it recently sent officials to an international summit aimed at implementing an integrated global observation system, and sent legislation to Congress calling for more effective, market-based management tools for fisheries.

Ocean research supporters in the Senate have already passed bills on coastal development, the ocean observing system and research on the relationship between oceans and human health, and have introduced an ocean-exploration bill. And both houses will hold hearings on the more comprehensive Big Ocean Bill, known affectionately as Bob, before the end of the month.

But none of this activity will necessarily give ocean explorers the kind of public prestige to which they aspire. “We're spending billions to find out if there was water on Mars when we know there's water on Earth but don't know what shape it's in,” says Jim Greenwood (Republican, Pennsylvania), co-chairman of the House Oceans Caucus.

But Watkins is optimistic that his panel's report will strengthen US ocean research in the long term. New approaches and investment are urgently needed, he says. Watkins doesn't think that other priorities in Washington — such as the war on terrorism — will bury his report. “We're a big nation,” he says. “We ought to be able to walk and chew gum at the same time.”