Fisheries management: building healthier fish populations and thriving coastal communities.

PositionOCEAN CONSERVATION

Over the last 12 months, New England's commercial fishing industry has undergone its most significant changes in 35 years--changes designed to reverse the effects of decades of overfishing and federal mismanagement that depleted fish stocks and put the entire fishing community at risk. To get there. CLF worked side-by-side with fishermen, scientists, government officials, business and community leaders with a goal of building a thriving, sustainable fishery in New England for generations to come.

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The new regulations, known as Amendment 16, were implemented in spring 2010 at the beginning of the fishing season. The new management plan established science-based catch limits and accountability measures for all groundfish caught, including cod, haddock and yellowtail flounder. The plan also improved fisheries monitoring and formally endorsed sectors, a form of fishing cooperative that allows fishermen more flexibility in terms of where they can fish and what they can catch in order to maximize their profits. Early data indicates that the system is working--regionally, gross revenues are up 8.1 percent over the 2009 fishing year. (1)

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With almost a year of fishing under the new regime, there is data that shows signs of returning health in the fishery; there are also real life experiences that suggest the need for additional changes to the system. In Massachusetts, a few vocal fishing interests, backed by political leaders in the ports of New Bedford and Gloucester, as well as the Patrick Administration, have protested the new rules, and appealed unsuccessfully to the Department of Commerce for emergency relief, including increasing catch limits. CLF continues to stand behind the new management plan in the face of opposition, calling for a rational approach to addressing apparent inequities in the system while preserving its integrity. We have even taken the step of intervening in federal court on the side of the federal government defendants to defend Amendment 16 from its critics. CLF firmly believes that the new system has long-term benefits for both fish and the fishermen whose livelihoods depend on them--and that the preservation of both is critical to the survival of an industry that for centuries has been an integral part of the New England identity.

HIGHLIGHTS

* New England's groundfish fishery ushered in a new era of management designed to restore the fishery to health and ensure its long-term...

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