/PRNewswire / -- The Pew Environment Group and 44 national, regional and state conservation groups today pressed congressional leaders to oppose "The Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009," saying the legislation would allow overexploitation of vulnerable fish populations.
This bill is designed to weaken the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the nation's primary law governing management of U.S. ocean fish which was reauthorized in 2006. The proposed legislation would allow fishery management councils to ignore MSA requirements for rebuilding depleted fish populations to healthy levels in as short a time as possible, depending on the biology of the fish species.
In a letter sent today to Congress, Pew, along with 44 other conservation groups, warns that this legislation would thwart crucial MSA provisions by letting fishery managers put short-term economic benefits before long-term economic sustainability. The bill would also indefinitely delay the environmental and economic benefits of critical rebuilding actions.
"The Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that depleted fish populations be rebuilt as quickly as biologically possible," said Lee Crockett, director of Federal Fisheries Policy at the Pew Environment Group. "But shortsightedness and political pressure has kept too many fish populations from reaching healthy, sustainable levels. If this bill were enacted, it would guarantee that many of our coastal fisheries would not be restored in our lifetime."
The "Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009" would:
* Threaten recovery, long-term sustainability and forego economic benefits of healthy, rebuilt fish populations;
* Abandon congressional intent requiring federal fishery managers to rebuild depleted fish populations as quickly as possible;
* Allow federal fishery managers to avoid making tough decisions by claiming that the health of depleted fish populations is beyond their control; and
* Allow federal fishery managers to continue overexploiting a vulnerable fish population, if it is caught with other populations of healthier fish.
"The current fishery laws provide adequate flexibility to address ecological and socioeconomic concerns," said Crockett. "Congress should give the new reforms in the Magnuson-Stevens Act a chance to work before it starts making changes."
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Showing posts with label fisheries. Show all posts
Showing posts with label fisheries. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 8, 2009
Saturday, February 14, 2009
Scientists Conclude That Culling Whales Will Not Help Fisheries in Tropical Regions
/PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Culling whales will not increase fisheries catches in tropical waters, according to a new paper supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program and published today in the journal Science. For years, Japan has argued that reducing the number of baleen whales in the oceans would improve fisheries because whales eat fish that are caught for human consumption. The study published today found that even a complete eradication of whale populations in tropical waters would not lead to any significant increase in fish populations.
Many countries in Western Africa and the Caribbean have been persuaded by Japan to join the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and vote in favor of resuming commercial whaling with the understanding that culling whales would result in increased fisheries catches.
"Our models unequivocally show that removing whales would not significantly increase the amount of commercially valuable fish," said Dr. Leah Gerber, lead author and associate professor of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Science at Arizona State University. "Instead, we found that fishing is having a far greater bearing on the health of the fish stocks in the region. Interestingly, when whales were more abundant before World War II, the fisheries were in good shape."
"The assertion that whales are competing with fisheries for food is, on the surface, very persuasive, because it seems intuitive that these large animals must be consuming enormous amounts of food," said Dr. Kristin Kaschner, an author based at the Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Lab at the University of Freiburg, Germany. "However, competition within ecosystems is a complex issue and needs to be investigated using the appropriate scientific tools."
The authors constructed ecosystem models, which account for feeding interactions between whales and fish, to understand the role that baleen whales play in tropical marine ecosystems in Western Africa and the Caribbean, where baleen whales are known to breed. The scientists used global and regional data, validated through scientific workshops in Senegal and Barbados, to determine whether competition was occurring.
"An ocean ecosystem is greater than the sum of its parts. Removing whales from the equation does not increase the number of fish and impacts the health of the overall system," said Dr. Lyne Morissette, an author based at the Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Canada. "We need to focus on truly effective and sustainable management approaches to recover our fisheries."
The researchers suggest these results underscore the important role of science in policy decisions about whales and fisheries interactions. They also emphasize that the goal of ecosystem-based management should not be to manipulate individual components of food webs in an attempt to maximize the amount of fish to catch, but to manage the whole system for long-term sustainability.
"All countries should adopt leadership roles in a common effort to manage our fisheries better," said Dr. Daniel Pauly, an author from the University of British Columbia. "The assertion that fish supply is in peril is legitimate, but the problem is resolved with better management, not whaling."
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Many countries in Western Africa and the Caribbean have been persuaded by Japan to join the International Whaling Commission (IWC) and vote in favor of resuming commercial whaling with the understanding that culling whales would result in increased fisheries catches.
"Our models unequivocally show that removing whales would not significantly increase the amount of commercially valuable fish," said Dr. Leah Gerber, lead author and associate professor of Ecology, Evolution and Environmental Science at Arizona State University. "Instead, we found that fishing is having a far greater bearing on the health of the fish stocks in the region. Interestingly, when whales were more abundant before World War II, the fisheries were in good shape."
"The assertion that whales are competing with fisheries for food is, on the surface, very persuasive, because it seems intuitive that these large animals must be consuming enormous amounts of food," said Dr. Kristin Kaschner, an author based at the Evolutionary Biology and Ecology Lab at the University of Freiburg, Germany. "However, competition within ecosystems is a complex issue and needs to be investigated using the appropriate scientific tools."
The authors constructed ecosystem models, which account for feeding interactions between whales and fish, to understand the role that baleen whales play in tropical marine ecosystems in Western Africa and the Caribbean, where baleen whales are known to breed. The scientists used global and regional data, validated through scientific workshops in Senegal and Barbados, to determine whether competition was occurring.
"An ocean ecosystem is greater than the sum of its parts. Removing whales from the equation does not increase the number of fish and impacts the health of the overall system," said Dr. Lyne Morissette, an author based at the Institut des Sciences de la Mer de Rimouski, Canada. "We need to focus on truly effective and sustainable management approaches to recover our fisheries."
The researchers suggest these results underscore the important role of science in policy decisions about whales and fisheries interactions. They also emphasize that the goal of ecosystem-based management should not be to manipulate individual components of food webs in an attempt to maximize the amount of fish to catch, but to manage the whole system for long-term sustainability.
"All countries should adopt leadership roles in a common effort to manage our fisheries better," said Dr. Daniel Pauly, an author from the University of British Columbia. "The assertion that fish supply is in peril is legitimate, but the problem is resolved with better management, not whaling."
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Wednesday, January 28, 2009
Progress Made Towards Mitigating Sea Turtle Bycatch in Coastal Net Fisheries
Growing evidence is indicating that small-scale artisanal fisheries may be the largest single threat to some sea turtle populations. These fisheries use gill nets, pound nets, large fixed fish traps and other static gear that inadvertently catch, tangle and drown the turtles. The three-day Technical Workshop on Mitigating Sea Turtle Bycatch in Coastal Net Fisheries, which concluded Thursday in Honolulu, made significant strides towards addressing this threat.
“Large numbers of turtles, especially North Pacific loggerheads, are caught and killed each year by pound nets and gillnets,” explained Kitty Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which convened the workshop. “Transferring new gear technology and other mitigation measures from net fisheries where progress has been made to address this problem to similar fisheries in other regions was one of the major objectives of the workshop.”
Pound nets are used extensively around the coastal waters of Japan and other parts of East Asia, while gillnets are employed around the Pacific Rim and in the Pacific Islands. The workshop looked at promising solutions from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans to minimize turtle catches in both types of gear. For example, while many fisheries use pound nets that have submerged catch chambers in which captive turtles drown, other pound nets have an open catching chamber where turtles can reach the surface to breathe.
The workshop provided the first opportunity for experts from multiple relevant disciplines to share information from 20 gillnet and pound-net fisheries worldwide. Participants reviewed the assessment status and mitigation activities of the fisheries; shared information on effective, affordable gear to mitigate sea turtle capture and injury in coastal net fisheries; identified research priorities to advance turtle-friendly gear and fishing methods; and explored the range of tools available to assess, mitigate and manage sea turtle bycatch in artisanal fisheries.
“The meeting fostered new partnerships and has effectively advanced the transfer of best practices for bycatch mitigation in artisanal coastal net fisheries,” said Eric Gilman, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) marine science advisor.
The workshop is the latest in a decade long series of initiatives by the Council’s Protected Species Program to recover Pacific sea turtle populations. The workshop included 49 participants from 17 countries, representing intergovernmental organizations, fishery agencies, national fishery management authorities, environmental non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, fishing industries and donor organizations. It was co-hosted by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), the Indian Ocean–South-East Asian Marine Turtle MoU (IOSEA) and the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
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“Large numbers of turtles, especially North Pacific loggerheads, are caught and killed each year by pound nets and gillnets,” explained Kitty Simonds, executive director of the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, which convened the workshop. “Transferring new gear technology and other mitigation measures from net fisheries where progress has been made to address this problem to similar fisheries in other regions was one of the major objectives of the workshop.”
Pound nets are used extensively around the coastal waters of Japan and other parts of East Asia, while gillnets are employed around the Pacific Rim and in the Pacific Islands. The workshop looked at promising solutions from the Atlantic, Indian and Pacific Oceans to minimize turtle catches in both types of gear. For example, while many fisheries use pound nets that have submerged catch chambers in which captive turtles drown, other pound nets have an open catching chamber where turtles can reach the surface to breathe.
The workshop provided the first opportunity for experts from multiple relevant disciplines to share information from 20 gillnet and pound-net fisheries worldwide. Participants reviewed the assessment status and mitigation activities of the fisheries; shared information on effective, affordable gear to mitigate sea turtle capture and injury in coastal net fisheries; identified research priorities to advance turtle-friendly gear and fishing methods; and explored the range of tools available to assess, mitigate and manage sea turtle bycatch in artisanal fisheries.
“The meeting fostered new partnerships and has effectively advanced the transfer of best practices for bycatch mitigation in artisanal coastal net fisheries,” said Eric Gilman, International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) marine science advisor.
The workshop is the latest in a decade long series of initiatives by the Council’s Protected Species Program to recover Pacific sea turtle populations. The workshop included 49 participants from 17 countries, representing intergovernmental organizations, fishery agencies, national fishery management authorities, environmental non-governmental organizations, academic institutions, fishing industries and donor organizations. It was co-hosted by the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), the Southeast Asian Fisheries Development Center (SEAFDEC), the Indian Ocean–South-East Asian Marine Turtle MoU (IOSEA) and the US National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Southeast Fisheries Science Center.
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