Improving the Management of U.S. Marine Fisheries (1994) / Chapter Skim
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CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS
CHAPTER 4: RECOMMENDATIONS
Pages 31-44
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From page 31... ...
The primary goal of management should be the conservation of fish stocks for long-term sustainable use. A secondary goal should then be the allocation of total allowable catch according to economic and social criteria among the competing domestic user groups, both recreational and commercial, that have increased their fishing capacity since the original implementation of the MFCMA.
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From page 32... ...
The national standards should require conservation and management measures to prevent overfishing and to promote rebuilding of stocks reduced to low levels. In addition, a definition of optimum yield that is consistent with preventing overfishing, and that allows overfished stocks to be brought back to a level that can support maximum yield over the long term, should be a mandatory element in all fisheries management plans.
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From page 33... ...
A1though most of the important fisheries are now under management plans that include some form of limited entry, or are being considered for such plans, limited entry alone cannot prevent overcapitalization or reduce pressure to exceed acceptable biological catch levels; some form of control of fishing effort and/or total catch is also needed. Prevention of overcapitalization requires individual allocations of catch or effort; the latter works only if units of effort are strictly defined.
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From page 34... ...
The oversight body should be established as an independent mechanism responsible for strategic planning, review of management decisions and actions, and conflict resolution by providing recommendations to the Secretary, the councils, and Congress. Recommendation 3: Congress should clarify the authority and responsibility of the Secretary of Commerce and of regional fishery management councils with respect to allocation and capitalization controls, implementation and enforcement of fisheries management plans, strategic planning, review of management decisions and actions, and conflict resolution.
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From page 35... ...
(D) Reviewing management plans for compliance with existing federal laws Regional Marine Fishery Management Councils The function of the councils is to prepare and submit management plans and amendments, to set optimum yield levels, and to make allocations.
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From page 36... ...
Furthermore, the reports of a scientific and statistical committee should clearly express the basis of the science used to determine the acceptable biological catch levels and the reports should be transmitted by the committee's chairman to the council, the NOAA/National Marine Fisheries Service, state agencies, the Secretary of Commerce, and other interested parties as independent reports. After a council submits a fishery management plan to the Secretary of Commerce for approval, the Secretary reviews the plan for consistency with the national standards (including the standard requiring that conservation and management measures be based on the best scientific information available)
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From page 37... ...
, above. Actual total allowable catches may, of course, be modified by adjustments to the optimum yield by council members provided that, first, maximum sustainable yield can be sustained over the long term, and second, for currently overfished stocks, the permissible harvests allow rebuilding these stocks over specified periods of time to levels that can support sustainable maximum yields.
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From page 38... ...
The main feature of the Federal Advisory Committee Act is the requirement that advisory committees must adhere to specified administrative requirements, including notice of all meetings in the Federal Register and other public notices as well, allowing interested persons to appear before the committee, requirements for making available to the public all records, reports, drafts, and studies that are made available to or by each advisory committee, detailed minutes of each meeting containing specified information. The committee must be chaired 2The minority view holds (1)
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From page 39... ...
Other functions that could be accomplished by this body include reviewing both the scientific methodology and the concordance of national goals with other areas of environmental management, and working with other bodies, such as the Marine Mammal Commission, toward the protection and conservation of habitat, marine mammals, birds, and fish. The new body should be able to develop or contract for reports on issues of interest and concern, and should be assisted by a group of science advisors in providing recommendations to Congress and to the new body.
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From page 40... ...
TABLE 3. Recommended revised responsibilities for the newly proposed independent body in the area of marine fisheries management and conservation.
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From page 41... ...
Improved data collection, analysis, and dissemination are needed to make evaluations and policy decisions. The NOAAJNational Marine Fisheries Service should improve its programs for collection, analysis, and dissemination of data for fisheries management and scientific research.
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From page 42... ...
Because the cause-and-effect interactions of most of the environmental factors in an ecosystem are not understood, and methods of ecosystem management are not well defined, considerable research to quantitatively determine the relationships among the various environmental factors must be undertaken before the long-term goal of full ecosystem management can be attained. In the meantime the NOAA/Naiional Marine Fisheries Service and the councils should do everything in their power to prevent further habitat degradation and to minimize losses of non-target species.
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From page 43... ...
fisheries, because analysis of bycatch/discards will provide the basis for effective catch management and greatly facilitate understanding of the ecosystem components, species interactions, and mulbspecies management requirements. The program should provide major funding for the collection of reliable discard data and for a new fishery technology program to improve gear and introduce fishing techniques needed to reduce the bycatch/discard problems.
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From page 44... ...
These, along with the multispecies and bycatch measures discussed earlier, constitute essential pieces in the application of an ecosystem approach to fisheries management. Recommendation 7: The Secretary of Commerce, through the NOAA/ National Marine Fisheries Service and under advisement from regional fishery management councils, should be empowered to protect the habitats necessary to sustain fishery resources.
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