Maybe partly thanks to TakePart’s coverage of World Ocean Day last week (probably definitely in part), on Friday President Obama issued a presidential memorandum that calls for a national ocean protection policy. Sweet deal. The memorandum calls for the creation of a task force, which will do a couple things within 90 days (NRDC via Treehugger):

1) A national ocean, coastal and Great Lakes policy that, among other things, protects and maintains these important ecosystems.

2) A structural framework for coordinated implementation of the policy.

But that’s just the beginning! After 180 days, there will be even more awesomeness being awesome.

In addition, within 180 days the task force is to recommend a mechanism for effective marine spatial planning, which will help prevent “ocean sprawl” — as we face more and more proposals for offshore energy and other developments in the ocean. This will help move toward a clean, renewable energy future that protects ocean ecosystems.

So, yeah, the structure is pretty barebones right now, but it’s good that the President has decided that action ought to be taken to protect the oceans. Remember, oceans account for 108 percent of the earth’s surface. True story. This national policy will hopefully consolidate the myriad laws and agencies that all have a stake in regulating the oceans–which can make it difficult to get things done. So, let’s say hooray for this development, and keep our eyes peeled to see what comes down the pike (an ocean pun!) over the next few months.

photo credit: Lisa Newton’s flickr photostream/Creative Commons