EDFish

Selected tag(s): Fisheries Management

Twenty Years of Coastal Research and Conservation in Cuba

By / Bio / Published: December 5, 2011
Mangroves in the Gardens of the Queen National Park provide important fish habitat.

Mangroves in the Gardens of the Queen National Park provide important fish habitat.

Congratulations to my friends at the Cuban Center for Coastal Ecosystem Research in Cayo Coco, Cuba.  On November 28, the Center celebrated its 2oth anniversary –20 years of conducting critical research on Cuba’s rich and diverse coastal ecosystems.  Last month, the Center’s founder Celso Pazos Alberdi, and director Adán Zuñiga Rios, invited me and several colleagues to visit the Center to get a first-hand look at what they do.

The Center, which is housed in the Ministry of Science, Technology, and Environment, provides much of the science that policy makers and managers use to develop environmental policies and programs for coastal areas.  Their work is also aimed at ensuring that tourism and other economic development in coastal areas is environmentally sustainable. That’s no small task.

With over 3,000 miles of coastline—and more than 4,000 islets and keys– Cuba is the largest island in the Caribbean and is unmatched in biodiversity.  Mangrove swamps, sea grass beds, and coral reefs provide breeding, nursery and feeding grounds for many commercial fish species and also for endangered migratory species like marine sea turtles, sharks and manatees.  Cuba’s coastal areas are also home to some of its most important economic sectors—tourism, fisheries, and energy development. Read More »

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The Gulf of Mexico – The Fishermen’s Success Story

By / Published: November 29, 2011
Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper

Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper

If you read Food and Water Watch’s recently published report on the Gulf of Mexico Red Snapper fishery, you may be wondering why EDF is so supportive of catch shares as a tool for fishery managers. The report paints a pretty bleak picture for fishermen in the Gulf of Mexico. We could spend an entire blog post devoted to addressing the report’s flawed statistics and manufactured conclusions, or we can just tell you the story of the red snapper fishery and how it went from near closure to a rebuilding fishery on the path of recovery.

Anyone who grew up in a coastal community and who has seen the fishing industry struggle under the weight of restrictions and regulations understands the devastating impacts of size limits, trip limits, and short seasons.  Traditional management has been crushing both large and smaller scale fishermen to the point where their livelihoods – their ability to provide for their families – has been threatened.  Catch shares offer them a way out, and a choice.

When catch shares were being debated in the Gulf Council in 2006, fishermen came to the table to design them.  All fishermen who wanted to participate, could participate – the Council process provided plenty of access through Council meetings, Advisory Panels, public comment periods, and hearings.  Under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which Congress passed as the fisheries law-of-the land, fishermen were guaranteed a referendum (red snapper got two!) to vote a catch share up or down.  That means the fishermen who historically made a living from fishing got the chance to decide how best to manage their fishery themselves. Read More »

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West Coast Fishermen Adapt to Catch Shares and End Wasteful “Regulatory Discards”

By / Bio / Published: November 21, 2011

Almost one year ago, the West Coast’s largest commercial fishery by volume transitioned to a catch share management system. The new system:

  • Enables fishermen operating in the multispecies groundfish trawl sector to fish when they want, rather than forcing them into a series of two-month “use it or lose it” fishing time-frames;
  • Enables them to lease or trade quota for specific species and adapt their fishing practices to both market and weather conditions; and
  • Ends the universally-despised “regulatory discards,” which, under the previous management system, compelled fishermen to throw uncounted tons of perfectly good fish overboard, dead. Read More »
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Congress Supports Catch Shares

By / Bio / Published: November 18, 2011
Amanda Leland, Vice President, Oceans

Amanda Leland - Vice President, Oceans, EDF

Yesterday, the House and Senate passed a minibus appropriations bill that funds NOAA for the remainder of fiscal year 2012.  Today the President signed the measure into law.

Notably, the bill does not include a misguided measure that would have robbed local fishermen in the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico of one of the most effective fishery management options available: catch shares.  The bill also includes $28 million in catch shares funding that will go to support existing catch share fishermen, including those in the Pacific, New England, and Gulf of Mexico.

Opponents had made a last-ditch effort to add this anti-environmental rider onto the must-pass funding bill, but Members of Congress who represent fishermen who operate under catch shares pushed back.  That’s because they know that catch shares aren’t just good for stewarding our marine resources, they’re also good for fishermen.

Just this week, more than 100 New England fishermen sent a letter to Congress asking lawmakers to reject the “series of increasingly dangerous proposals that truly put the future of our businesses and fisheries at risk.” Read More »

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Recent Op-Eds in NE Media Share Successes and Next Steps for Groundfish Sectors

By / Published: October 7, 2011

After more than a year under the new groundfish sector management system, stakeholders in New England are examining what progress has been made and what refinements to the system are needed.  Emilie Litsinger, EDF’s NE Groundfish Project Manager, recently authored two op-eds that examine why sectors are better than the old system, and how sectors will work even better for fishermen by making some improvements, such as reducing at-sea monitoring costs, setting accumulation limits and allowing for unused quota to carry over into future fishing seasons.

Read Emilie’s op-eds:

Reviewing a year of fishing-sector management
The Providence Journal
October 7, 2011

A perfect time to talk about groundfish solutions
New Bedford-Standard Times
September 29, 2011

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One Year of Sector Management in New England Fisheries

By / Bio / Published: September 22, 2011
Emilie Litsinger, EDF Oceans NE Groundfish Project Manager

Emilie Litsinger, EDF Oceans NE Groundfish Project Manager

A report by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) released Wednesday highlights results of the first year of the groundfish sector management program in New England. The dramatic management shift appears to be helping the fishery turn the corner to a more economically and environmentally sustainable fishery.

With the first full year of operation under sectors now complete, results of the program’s performance are encouraging. Sector fishermen stayed within their allowed catch levels, groundfish revenues were essentially stable, overall revenues were up, fishermen received higher prices for fish, and  the amount of wasted fish dumped overboard was substantially reduced.

The report highlights a number of continuing trends. For example, the number of active groundfish vessels has been declining for over a decade.  The eight percent decline in the 2010 fishing year was similar to the decline from 2007 to 2009. Read More »

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