EDFish

Charting a Course for Gulf of Maine Cod: Part I

By / Bio / Published: April 2, 2012
Atlantic cod

Atlantic Cod; Photo Credit: NOAA

By now, most people concerned with fisheries management in New England, and in fact many others across the country, are aware of the difficult situation unfolding around the Gulf of Maine (GOM) cod stock.  For those who are not, a stock assessment completed late in 2011 drastically altered our perception of the stock from the last assessment completed in 2008, and suggests that the resource is in much worse shape than we previously thought.

Actually, in many ways the 2011 assessment tells a story similar to the 2008 assessment:  Biomass reached all-time lows during the 1990s, but then approximately doubled by 2001.  Thereafter, biomass dipped again to another low point in the mid-2000s, before climbing again toward the end of the 2000s.

The critical difference between the two assessments lies in the pace of rebuilding since the recent low in the mid-2000s.  The 2008 assessment suggested that the population was increasing extremely rapidly, with growth of more than 200% from 2005 to 2007.   In doing so, it had exceeded the overfishing threshold, and was well on its way toward the rebuilding target biomass that would produce the maximum sustainable yield on a continuing basis. Read More »

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EDF Statement in Response to Today’s “Keep Fishermen Fishing” Rally

By / Bio / Published: March 21, 2012

Hundreds of fishermen rallied today in Washington, D.C. to voice frustration over fishing regulations.  We understand that many fishermen are frustrated, often for good reason.  Even though some fisheries have rebounded, in many places preventing overfishing has meant shrinking fishing seasons or even implementing closures, approaches that have serious economic impacts and limit access.

However, the focus should not be on gutting the law.  Instead we need to use the flexibility in the law and innovative management approaches to address the challenges we face.  For example, NOAA is using this flexibility to address the looming crisis with Gulf of Maine cod, using the law’s emergency provisions to allow higher levels of fishing while open scientific questions are investigated further.  Many sides have come together to propose a solution that we hope will protect both the fish and the fishermen.

We can’t go back to overfishing, but we can use ideas available under existing law to rebuild fisheries and give fishermen the flexibility to improve both fish populations and profits.  While many speakers at today’s rally pushed various bills that would impose top-down mandates from Washington, we believe fishery management is best decided at the council level where fishermen can directly influence how the resource they depend on is managed.

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Live from Singapore: World Bank Announces Global Partnership for Oceans

By / Bio / Published: February 24, 2012

There is palpable excitement in Singapore as government, industry, and NGO leaders from around the world are gathered for The Economist’s World Oceans Summit. We’ve spent decades diagnosing the many challenges facing the oceans and testing new solutions, and now a growing chorus of voices are calling for global action.  With leadership we can–and will–recover global fisheries in our lifetimes.

Today’s announcement by Robert Zoellick, president of The World Bank, of a Global Partnership for Oceans is a critical signal and significant step toward that goal.  EDF is proud to be a founding member of this “growing alliance of governments, international organizations, civil society groups, and private sector interests that will mobilize knowledge and financial resources to address threats to ocean health, resilience and productivity.”

Mr. Zoellick made clear that we “need coordinated global action to restore our oceans to health.  Together we’ll build on the excellent work already being done to address the threats to oceans, identify workable solutions, and scale them up.”  We couldn’t agree more. Read More »

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President’s Budget Includes $28 Million for Catch Shares

By / Bio / Published: February 13, 2012

President Obama released his Fiscal Year 2013 budget earlier today, and we are pleased to see that it includes $174 million for sustainable fisheries work by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The appropriation will fund the science and management needed to support the commercial fishing industry that’s responsible for 1 million jobs and yields more than $32 billion in income every year.

The president’s budget includes $28 million for the National Catch Share Program, a critical part of the nation’s strategy to return its fisheries to abundance and keep fishermen on the water.  It is the same level adopted by the Congress last year.  We applaud the president and Congress for their support of catch share programs and we look forward to working with Congress to ensure that important fishery management functions have adequate funding and fishermen have all the tools they need, including catch shares.

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HRH the Prince of Wales launches his Marine Programme with a Message of Hope

By / Published: February 8, 2012

In  a speech marking the launch of his International Sustainability Unit (ISU) Marine Programme, HRH the Prince of Wales struck an optimistic note.  His message was clear and simple “if managed properly our seas could still provide us with profitable harvest for years to come.  However, if we are not careful we may end up breaking the bank.”

Good practice can translate into bigger catches of fish, higher earnings and more secure jobs.

In the two years leading up to Friday’ s official launch in London, the ISU has lead both in-depth research and a multi-stakeholder consultation process.  This has resulted in their report Towards Global Sustainable Fisheries.  The Opportunity for Transition.  ISU identified three tools for rebuilding global fish stocks:

  • Smart economics, including access rights and addressing perverse subsidies
  •  An ecosystem approach, including focus on a/o  data collection and reduction of by-catch
  •  Robust management including monitoring and enforcement

“That some organizations have experimented successfully with innovative market incentives to achieve more sustainable fisheries is very encourgaing. It is the ISU’s intention to build a consensus on how some of these mechanisms might be scaled up and how transitional finance might be best deployed,” said the Prince. Read More »

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MD Blue Crab Design Team Exhibits at Recent Watermen Expo, Shares Plans for Pilot Accountability System

By / Published: February 2, 2012

Every year, the Maryland Watermen’s Association hosts a commercial fishermen and aquaculture trade expo attracting hundreds of fishermen and watermen from along the east coast. This year’s recent 38th annual Expo in Ocean City, MD included an exhibit from the Maryland Blue Crab Design Team.  The Design Team, an industry-led task force EDF helped organize, participated in the expo for the opportunity to keep the larger watermen community informed and gain feedback on the collective process to develop long-term solutions for Maryland’s blue crab industry.

Twenty-four Design Team members spoke with over 100 interested watermen and other stakeholders about the Design Team’s vision and goals.  Most recently the Team has been developing a pilot program to test electronic reporting technologies to advance watermen accountability in the fishery and promote the health of the blue crab resource and the businesses that depend on it.  This pilot aims to improve the timing and accuracy of harvest data to fisheries managers. It will mark a major step forward in building a more sustainable fishery leading to a more viable future for the blue crab industry.  The pilot project is expected to be up and running by midyear. Read More »

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