NOAA has announced that very soon it is going to revamp the new rules aimed at lessening the cutthroat competition among fishermen that has threatened dozens of ocean species. NOAA also said that it will not be able to fully meet deadlines set by Congress to end overfishing by 2010 for unhealthy stocks, and 2011 on all stocks in U.S. ocean waters.
NOAA chief Jane Lubchenco expressed that they were “on track” to meet the deadlines on some species, but not all. He added that they have more than 20 percent of fish stocks that are not rebuilt, and a larger proportion of fisheries are not meeting their economic potential. The management system being backed by NOAA — called catch-share — is seen as a way to end overfishing.
It is explained that the new draft policy, meant to build support among fishermen and regional fishery management councils for catch shares, will go through a four-month public comment period ending April 10 before final adoption. Lubchenco has pushed catch shares as part of a comprehensive national ocean policy endorsed by President Barack Obama.
Lubchenco said the latest NOAA appropriations bill currently in the Senate includes $18.6 million for the agency to help regional councils consider catch share, on top of the $6 million in the current budget. She emphasized the system is not mandatory. The Environmental Defense Fund praised the new policy, saying that catch shares have restored fish populations while improving the livelihoods of fishermen.
The New England groundfish fishery, which has been struggling for 15 years to rebuild cod and flounder stocks, is moving into a catch shares system in which fishermen divide themselves into “sectors” and manage an allotted catch. NOAA states that commercial fishing landings are worth $4 billion a year dockside, and rebuilding overfished stocks would increase those values by 54 percent.
