Monthly Archives: September 2012

New Science Paper: Status and Solutions for the World’s Unassessed Fisheries

By / Published: September 27, 2012
Grey Reef Sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos) cruise through the reef passes among large schools of surgeonfish in Fakarava, French Polynesia.

Photo Credit: Gerick Bergsma 2010/Marine Photobank

The world’s fish stocks can be rebuilt to provide more nourishment and economic value to the millions of people who rely on the ocean for food—if we step up now and make aligning these incentives a global priority.

The magazine Science has published a study that provides new insights into thousands of fisheries where scientific data has not been historically available.  These “data poor” fisheries make up a majority of the world’s catch, around 80 percent. According to this new research, many of these fisheries are facing collapse, but there is still time to turn the situation around. The study indicates that it is possible for fisheries to recover globally, which would increase the abundance of fish in the ocean by 56% and in some fisheries’ yields could more than double.

With these new assessments, fishery managers and world leaders can have a more comprehensive view of the status of our global fisheries.  There are many new insights into previously unmeasured fisheries, using new methodology that can have enormous implications for managing the resource sustainably.

The report also provides some hope and insights on how the world can reverse these trends. Read More »

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Live Panel Discussion Today- “Using Market Mechanisms to Support Sustainable Fisheries Management

By / Published: September 26, 2012

What makes so many fisheries collapse? Why are dozens bouncing back? Can self-interest improve open-access fishing? Where does a McDonald’s “Filet-of-Fish” come from? How much is a wild fish worth on the market? Do monopolies help or hurt? Which regulations improve outcomes? Is competition good or bad? And whose ocean is it, anyway?

These are tough questions. But today three individuals plan to answer them with compelling stories.

Seven years ago, the Kinship Conservation fellowship began combining the best aspects of markets and conservation, and brought these three strangers together from southern Africa, California and Maryland. At the time, each focused on wildly different challenges – respectively, dam impacts, coastal management, wildlife resources – and unique perspectives: for-profit, non-profit, and government.

But now EDF’s Jamie Workman, Kate Bonzon, and Assistant Secretary at the Department of Commerce for Conservation and Management,  Eric Schwaab, are reuniting on the same panel  to argue which, when, why, where, for whom and how well-managed catch shares have become the most effective form of management to restore depleted ocean fisheries.

Kinship equipped them with unconventional leadership ideas, approaches, tools, and relationships – a combination that has begun to pay off in unexpected ways.

Watch their live panel discussion today, “Using Market Mechanisms to Support Sustainable Fisheries Management” streaming live at 3:30 pm Pacific Time.

Posted in Science/Research / Comments are closed

More Closures Coming For South Atlantic Fishermen

By / Published: September 26, 2012

 

Source: JamesAlan1986 at en.wikipedia

Earlier this month the South Atlantic was hit with a number of closures.  Many fishermen will be off the water until April 2013 and now the Southeast Regional Office of the National Marine Fisheries Service has announced another closure.

The Commercial Vermillion Snapper fishery will close on September 28th, 2012.  The fishery has exceeded its catch limit and will be closed through the end of the year.

This is an important fishery in the region, but short seasons are nothing new to the fishermen.  While there was good news for commercial yellowtail snapper fishermen, whose season has been extended, more closures are expected for commercial fishermen in the region. Many are worried about how they will survive such a long time off the water.

There are better ways to manage fisheries, and fishermen in the Southeast deserve better options than this.

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Long Term Restoration of NE Groundfishery Requires Careful Use of Disaster Fund Dollars

By / Bio / Published: September 24, 2012

New Bedford, MA Fishing Boats I recently co-authored an op-ed in the Bangor Daily Times entitled “’Disaster’ Funds Must be Used to Improve Groundfishing in the Long Term,”  in which we discussed the importance of thinking about both the short and long term challenges facing the New England groundfishery. The Obama Administration recently declared the fishery a federal disaster.

The deep decline in the numbers of cod and other groundfish in New England waters has created this critical need to help local fishermen and fishing communities. But any support to the fishing industry needs to be more than a simple transfer of money. We need to ensure that there are fish for the fishermen to catch in years to come.

By making smart investments now, we can do more than help fishermen through this crisis. We can take care of fundamental needs to provide assurance against potential future disasters. The op-ed outlines several steps that can be taken to ensure that these ‘disaster’ funds are utilized for the long term health and survival of NE fishermen, coastal communities and the fish that sustain them.

Read my full op-ed in the Bangor Daily Times or in the New Bedford Standard Times.

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Fishing Continues to Top Deadliest Job List

By / Bio / Published: September 20, 2012
Fishing Fatalities and Most Hazardous Fisheries in US

Source: Jennifer Lincoln, NIOSH

Commercial fishing remains the deadliest job in America, according to data released by the Department of Labor today. New statistics about on-the-job deaths in 2011 show that fishermen continue to have a higher chance of dying while working compared with those in other occupations.

Their fatality rate per 100,000 full-time-equivalent workers was 34.6 times the average rate for U.S. workers in 2011.

Fishing is inherently dangerous but it’s still important to look at the several ways to make it safer. Inspections, the use of safety gear and training all make a difference. So can the way fishing regulations attempt to address overfishing.

Regulators often unintentionally create a race for the fish by setting short seasons, giving boats just a limited allocation of days to be on the water, or shutting down fishing altogether with emergency closures. Under those circumstances, sitting out bad weather or letting exhausted crews come ashore is harder to do. Read More »

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Bipartisan Dream Team Join Forces to Explain and Promote Catch Shares on the Hill

By / Published: September 17, 2012
Bruce Babbitt and Slade Gorton III

Bruce Babbitt (Source: DOI) and Slade Gorton III (Source: US Senate)

On September 12 and 13, EDF had the pleasure of working with an unlikely but dynamic team of spokespeople. Former Secretary Bruce Babbitt, former Senator Slade Gorton III and Gulf Red Snapper Fisherman Buddy Guindon, met in Washington DC to share their support for catch share management systems with members of the press and the hill. Their message—Catch shares work, the world’s fisheries are in trouble and both democrats and republicans have a responsibility to protect fish stocks and fishermen moving forward.

Gorton and Babbitt, who admit they have not always agreed on issues in the past, have come together on fisheries management because they see catch shares as the way forward for sustainable and profitable fisheries. They believe that a lot of the opposition around catch shares stems from a lack of understanding and education.

In an interview with E & E reporter Laura Petersen, who wrote an excellent piece on this media tour, Gorton commented, “Maybe 30 or 40 members of the House of Representatives out of 435 have any knowledge of the issue at all, so it’s easy, in a sense, to stampede them with sloganeering.”

Babbitt agreed and added, “Fear of change is nothing new in resource management. The political culture is very resistant to change, and that is why education is so critical to assuage concerns and consolidate support.”

Watch an interview from this tour from E&E TV with Bruce and Slade.

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