Unsustainable fishing is seen by many as an environmental disaster in the making. A working group convened by the Environmental Defense Fund and the Marine Conservation Biology Institute has developed recommendations on how to best eliminate commercial overfishing in the United States. The working group co-chaired by past Secretary of Interior Bruce Babbitt and former Congressman James Greenwood has prepared an action agenda to protect the future of fishing and have presented it to President Elect Obama.
Oceans of Abundance
The report is titled Oceans of Abundance and a complete copy is available from the Environmental Defense Fund's website.
In a press release announcing the fisheries report, Bruce Babbit says, "President-Elect Obama faces depleted fisheries that have caused painful job loss and a ticking litigation clock if legal deadlines to end overfishing by 2011 aren't met. The good news is that new science clearly points the way to recovery."
Individual Fishing Quotas or Catch Shares
One key finding of the working group report is a recommendation for the adoption of catch shares, otherwise known as individual fishing quotas. This system allocates shares of the total annual allowable catch of a fish species as determined by resource managers to each fisherman. Annual total catch is based on abundance of fish stocks, preserving the health of each species. Shares are typically awarded to fishermen based on their prior performance and participation in a fishery. Fishermen have the flexibility to fish the shares on their own time line, which also benefits fishing vessel safety. A system like this has been successfully used in Alaska for the Pacific halibut fishery for many years.
Committee Goals for Implementation by 2012
Another major recommendation found in the report is that the Administration should consider evaluating all federal fishery management plans for use of catch shares and insure at least half of the plans adopt a catch share program by 2016. In the same vein, Congress is being urged in the report to pass legislation that streamlines the adoption process needed to consider the use of catch shares by commercial fishermen.
Additional Goals Proposed by Oceans of Abundance
Along with implementation of catch shares, the working group proposed several additional goals and recommendations to protect fisheries in the United States. They include:
- Establish performance standards that insure compliance with catch limits, reduction in bycatch, improved information on fisheries and enhancement of fishing vessel safety
- Partner with state fishery managers to implement catch shares in state waters
- Improve the science needed to establish annual total allowable catch limits that are sustainable
- Conduct research on how to increase the productivity of fisheries
- Appoint leaders to federal management positions that are committed to ocean ecosystem and economic renewal
The Oceans of Abundance report is a potential step forward in ensuring that commercial fisheries and the jobs they provide are managed on a sustainable basis. Work done now will protect these resources for future generations.
Alan Sorum - Alan Sorum is the Maritime Operations Project Manager for the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens' Advisory Council (PWSRCAC). Alan is ...
