It is true that oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico will have an adverse impact on marine life but government seems tough on fishing regulations rather to oversee oil drilling. There still is considerable debate about whether overfishing threatens species such as red snapper. Yet the government has concluded that it must impose strict regulations, including a ban on red snapper fishing in a large area in the South Atlantic, in order to keep recreational and commercial fishermen from wiping out certain species of fish.
After thorough study it was found that the red snapper population had been overfished, the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council imposed an interim ban on fishing for red snapper in an area stretching from North Carolina to the Florida Keys. The council has decided to extend the ban and the area. The new ban will put more than 70 species off-limits to fishermen. It affects an area extending from the Georgia coast to just south of Cape Canaveral.
Local fishermen said that this is a high price to pay for measures that may not be necessary to protect red snapper. Fishermen and some marine scientists have questioned the accuracy of previous stock assessments. Council members say their hands are tied by the dictates of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the federal law that governs the fishing regulations.
