National Fisheries Institute Says U.S. Fisheries Management Programs Are Working; Reliable Data Refutes Claims of Pew Oceans Commission 6/3/2003
From: Linda Candler of the National Fisheries Institute, 703-524-8880, lcandler@nfi.org ARLINGTON, Va., June 3 -- The National Fisheries Institute (NFI) said today that United States fisheries are healthy, growing and abound with examples of responsible fishery management success stories. Far from needing massive overhaul and reform, U.S. fisheries management is practicing robust conservation that, if anything, requires only minor adjustment to ensure that sustainable use remains the guiding principle, the NFI reported. "U.S. fisheries conservation and management plans are based on sound science, informed experience, and effective enforcement," said John P. Connelly, president of the NFI, a non-profit trade association representing companies involved in all aspects of the fish and seafood industry. "No one has more interest in preserving the ocean's resources than those who depend upon them for their and their children's livelihoods." The NFI joins many top national and international scientists in refuting the Pew Oceans Commission report, which alleges that world fisheries are in danger of imminent collapse and that overfishing in the past 50 years has decimated large ocean swimming fish. Connelly said the world's ocean fisheries are far from collapse. In fact, reliable research data from a number of highly responsible government and private sector organizations, including the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), the International Commission for Conservation of Atlantic Tuna (ICCAT) shows consistent progress in maintaining healthy fish stocks and rebuilding those that are overfished. Fishery managers are making great strides in employing state-of-the-art ecosystem-based management by protecting sensitive fish habitat and developing technologies to help fishermen avoid the incidental harvest of non-target species. The overwhelming body of evidence does not support the gloom and doom prognosis of the Pew Oceans Commission report. "These claims simply ignore a mass of positive scientific and industry data to the contrary," Connelly asserted. The seafood industry's successes, domestically and globally, are many: according to the National Marine Fisheries Service, most US fish stocks are not overfished. Of those that are, over 80 percent are recovering under rebuilding plans from the National Marine Fisheries Service; North Atlantic swordfish stocks have been completely rebuilt in nearly half the time anticipated. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization says that global capture fisheries production is stable with 72 percent of fish stocks are sustainably managed; endangered sea turtle numbers are climbing thanks, in large part, to industry efforts; the New England groundfish complex has increased by over 150 percent in the past five years, with substantial gains in Georges Bank haddock, yellowtail flounder, silver hake and witch flounder; the New England scallop fishery is now rebuilt. In California, the sardine fishery that was destroyed by unusual weather patterns, not fishing, have returned to the Monterey Bay and are sustainably managed coast-wide. In Alaska, where fisheries account for half of seafood landed annually in the U.S., crab, salmon, halibut and groundfish fisheries are being harvested at sustainable levels. "We believe that these successes and others demonstrate that the system in place for the conservation and management of our fisheries, while not perfect, is working remarkably well,' Connelly said. Many of the recommendations of the Pew Commission, such as a reduction in the number of fishing vessels and the use of no-fishing zones, are already being effectively implemented where needed by the very regional fishery management councils the Commission criticizes. These councils, comprised of representatives of the commercial fishing, recreational fishing and conservation communities, nominated by Governors and appointed by the Secretary of Commerce, represent a decision-making process that is open, transparent, and includes broad stakeholder participation. Further, the recommendation for a moratorium on marine aquaculture, vital to providing food and relieving pressure on wild stocks, is unwarranted. The Pew Commission's report is a rationalization for policy recommendations that move fisheries management and science decisions out of responsible, responsive hands and back to Washington, D.C. It would create several new layers of bureaucracy, eating up any new funding that Congress might provide for fisheries research. "Cooperative relationships between federal fishery managers and scientists and the industry has been a key to our success to date and must be an integral part of our future," Connelly said. "More than half the world's population depends on fish for a significant portion of its food protein; the seafood industry is working to keep this important food source on the world's table, now and in the decades to come." ------ NOTE TO EDITOR: For local/regional fishery management information, contact NFI for regional contacts. The National Fisheries Institute is a non-profit trade association representing companies involved in all aspects of the fish and seafood industry. Note: All NFI releases and related information can be found on NFI's web page at http://www.nfi.org/pressrel.htm | |