At a Glance: The National Mission to Save Earth's Oceans

The national mission for ocean conservation and restoration will transform the United States' Exclusive Economic Zone into the healthiest, best-monitored, and most economically productive large marine area on Earth within ten years. This mission will:

Clean the sea by removing 90% of floating macro-plastic and all newly lost fishing gear each year. A per-ton producer fee on virgin plastic will capitalize the provision of cleanup contracts, robotic skimmers, and seed funding for a domestic advanced recycling industry.

Rebuild living infrastructure through a stock subsidy fund that matches state, tribal, and philanthropic dollars 2:1 to restore oyster reefs, kelp forests, corals, and mangroves. By deploying randomized control trials and utilizing the frontier of mechanism design and ocean ecology research, we can achieve efficient nutrient reduction at scale.

Protect nature by placing 30% of U.S. coastal and EEZ waters in fully protected Marine Protected Areas linked by migratory blue corridors. Tradeable biodiversity credits will create a market that pays for enforcement.

Harvest clean energy by installing floating wind arrays 30-60 km offshore.

Counter acidification and warm-water die off by investing in ocean-alkalinity enhancement research and seeding a gigaton of blue-carbon sinks through large scale kelp cultivation tied to cattle feed methane reduction and bioplastic feedstock.

Sustainably manage seafloor mining to accelerate mineral abundance while maintaining ocean ecosystems. Empower the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to perform a high-resolution habitat mapping of the U.S. EEZ and enforce offset multipliers for projects certified through the biodiversity credit market.

Through these efforts, the national mission for ocean conservation and restoration aims to revitalize our oceans as natural environments and economic platforms. Achieving this objective will require a coordinated planning effort predicated on experimental institutional design and cutting-edge research, a comprehensive approach to ensure the long-run vitality of the planet's most expansive ecosystem.