1 Introduction
2 European Union ocean and coastal policy
2.1 EU strategic interests and vision for ocean management
2.2 Governance framework in the EU
2.3 Integrated approaches in the EU and its Member States
2.4 EU international cooperation
3 United States ocean and coastal policy
3.1 US strategic interests and vision for ocean management
3.2 The ocean policy framework in the US
3.3 Major federal ocean and coastal laws
3.4 Prospects for US ocean governance
3.5 Progress at the state level
3.6 US international cooperation
4 Comparison of EU and US ocean and coastal policies
5 Potential for EU and US cooperation
5.1 Bilateral cooperation
5.2 Key opportunities and challenges for cooperation
6 References