IV 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION 
H. RES. 465 
Recognizing World Oceans Day and the necessity to protect, conserve, 
maintain, and rebuild our ocean and its resources. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
JUNE 8, 2021 
Ms. BONAMICI (for herself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. CASE, Mr. KIL-
MER, Mr. PAPPAS, Ms. BARRAGA´N, Mr. COHEN, Mr. PANETTA, and Miss 
GONZA´LEZ-COLO´N) submitted the following resolution; which was referred 
to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the Com-
mittee on Science, Space, and Technology, for a period to be subsequently 
determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provi-
sions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
RESOLUTION 
Recognizing World Oceans Day and the necessity to protect, 
conserve, maintain, and rebuild our ocean and its resources. 
Whereas the ocean covers more than 70 percent of our plan-
et; 
Whereas the ocean generates the oxygen we breathe, regu-
lates our climate and weather patterns, supplies food, is 
a source of cultural value, supports tourism and trade, 
and is an untapped energy resource; 
Whereas scientists estimate more than 95 percent of the 
ocean remains unexplored; 
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•HRES 465 IH 
Whereas the health of our ocean is a reflection of the health 
of our planet; 
Whereas 2021 marks the first year of the United Nations 
Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development 
(‘‘the Decade’’); 
Whereas the Decade will help accelerate research to address 
gaps in ocean science, strengthen international coopera-
tion, and improve ocean management; 
Whereas a scientific priority of the Decade is to create a com-
prehensive digital atlas of the ocean and strengthen 
ocean observations; 
Whereas according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, less than 20 percent of the global ocean 
is currently mapped, and the data that we do have is not 
always easily accessible; 
Whereas changes in ocean chemistry, temperature, and bio-
diversity pose a very real threat to marine resources, in-
dustries, and jobs; 
Whereas approximately one-third of the carbon dioxide in the 
atmosphere dissolves into our ocean, causing water chem-
istry to change and become more acidic; 
Whereas ocean acidification harms oysters, mussels, lobsters, 
clams, corals, and other species building shells and skele-
tons and reproducing; 
Whereas some finfish lose their sense of smell for identifying 
prey, reproducing, and navigating their habitats in acidic 
waters; 
Whereas according to the United Nations Intergovernmental 
Panel on Climate Change, the ocean has taken up more 
than 90 percent of excess heat in the climate system 
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•HRES 465 IH 
since 1970, and marine heat waves are very likely to be-
come longer lasting, more intense, and more extensive; 
Whereas according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 
Administration, 80 percent of pollution to the ocean 
comes from land; 
Whereas increased temperatures and nutrient runoff can re-
sult in harmful algal blooms that accumulate, die, decom-
pose, and consume oxygen, leaving waterways in a 
hypoxic or anoxic state that can result in massive fish 
kills and the formation of ‘‘dead zones’’ where marine life 
cannot survive; 
Whereas the decrease in biodiversity, and decline and shifts 
in distribution of fisheries, will affect the livelihoods and 
food security of coastal communities; 
Whereas Tribes have a right and a deep cultural and histor-
ical connection to the fisheries threatened by changing 
ocean chemistry; 
Whereas according to the United Nations, more than eight 
million tons of plastic end up in the ocean each year; 
Whereas marine debris harms our coastal economies, endan-
gers marine life, destroys important marine habitat, 
propagates invasive species, and creates hazardous condi-
tions for the maritime industry; 
Whereas tiny pieces of plastic, fiber, fragments, and 
microbeads also make their way into marine life, blocking 
digestive tracts, altering growth, and in some cases kill-
ing animals and marine organisms; 
Whereas marine debris is considered a growing global crisis 
that requires collaborative work with partners from 
across the world; 
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•HRES 465 IH 
Whereas we need to improve our understanding of the impli-
cations of environmental stressors, such as ocean acidifi-
cation, harmful algal blooms, hypoxia, marine debris, 
warming ocean temperatures, overfishing, and rising sea 
levels; 
Whereas these environmental stressors are indicators of a 
changing climate and threaten our economy and the live-
lihood of vulnerable coastal communities; 
Whereas across the United States, coastal communities con-
tribute $7.6 trillion to the United States economy annu-
ally, representing 46 percent of the Nation’s economic 
output; 
Whereas, in 2008, the United Nations General Assembly des-
ignated June 8 as ‘‘World Oceans Day’’; and 
Whereas World Oceans Day provides an opportunity to re-
commit to protect, conserve, maintain, and rebuild our 
ocean and its resources: Now, therefore, be it 
Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 
(1) recognizes World Oceans Day and affirms 
the individual and collective duty, both nationally 
and internationally, to protect, conserve, maintain, 
and rebuild our ocean and its resources; 
(2) affirms the stewardship of ocean resources 
is vital to both present and future generations; and 
(3) commits to increasing the investment of 
Federal funds in scientific research and monitoring 
to better understand our changing ocean and to ac-
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