I like Seafood....More Fish Populations Experiencing Overfishing Than Last Year
Network Cites Flawed Regional Management and Calls on NMFS to Write Strong Rules to End Overfishing
WASHINGTON - More fish species have been added to the list of species classified as experiencing overfishing since last year than have been taken off, according to the National Marine Fisheries Service's (NMFS) report on the status of U.S. marine fisheries for 2006 released today. The Marine Fish Conservation Network (Network) pointed to this report as an example of flawed regional management and called for the NMFS to develop strong, clear guidelines to implement a newly improved federal fisheries law. "Blue-ribbon commissions, lawmakers, and scientists all agree that overfishing must end if we expect our oceans to recover. It's time to change 'business as usual' when it comes to fishery management. That's why Congress mandated that fishery managers follow scientific advice, set annual catch limits, and enforce those limits. Now NMFS must follow through with the rulemaking process to ensure these Congressional mandates are implemented," said Thomas R. Kitsos, interim executive director of the Network and former executive director of the U.S. Commission on Ocean Policy (USCOP), a Bush-appointed commission which issued a report in 2004 that contained significant policy recommendations for protecting our oceans. Kitsos added, "We're happy that NMFS is being open and transparent about these fishery management failures so that we can work with them to fix the problems." This year's report finds that 47 fish populations are overfished (population size is too small) and 48 populations are experiencing overfishing (fishing at a rate that is too high to be sustainable). The eight regional fishery management councils, which are responsible for all fishery management decisions at the regional level, should by law prevent fish stocks from experiencing overfishing or becoming overfished. Many of the councils, however, have failed to take the necessary steps to end overfishing and rebuild overfished populations. (The Network highlighted the councils' lack of progress and the federal government's attempt to mask those failures over five years in a 2006 report entitled Shell Games. To read this report, go to: http://www.conservefish.org/site/pubs/network_reports/) With the recent passage of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Reauthorization Act, Congress mandated that fishery managers set annual catch limits based on scientific data to prevent overfishing. Lawmakers also mandated that overfishing on overfished stocks must end within two years. NMFS is currently drafting regulations for National Standard 1, or the "overfishing standard," to implement these changes to the law. "For the last three decades, the councils have failed to do their job. NMFS has the opportunity to give the councils clear direction, through strong new rules to make them do what they should have been doing all along, end overfishing," said Gerald Leape, vice president for marine conservation of the National Environmental Trust and co-chair of the Network Board of Advisors. Dr. Carl Safina, Ph.D., president of Blue Ocean Institute, "Overfishing not only puts the individual species in jeopardy, but it also puts the larger ecosystem, as well as fishing communities, in jeopardy. If we continue overfishing our oceans as we have in the past, we risk pushing our oceans beyond a point where they can recover." The Network today also commended the House Appropriations Subcommittee for requesting four billion dollars of funding for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the highest amount requested ever by the committee. "Much of the money that the House requested for NOAA should go to ensuring that systems are in place to set science-based catch limits for all of our fisheries and mechanisms to ensure that those limits are followed. Sufficient funding is important for agencies to fulfill their obligation. However, in some instances, managers have had the funds, but have refused to act. Now is the time to end overfishing once and for all," said Leape. Editor's note: To view a copy of the 2006 report on the status of U.S. fisheries, go to: www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/statusoffisheries/SOSmain.htm
Additional contacts:
Dr. Carl Safina, 516-922-9500
Gerald Leape, 202-887-8800
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