August 2, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The chairman of the New England Fishery Management Council is appealing to the U.S. Senate to allow for more flexibility under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
The act serves as the governing standard for fisheries across the country.
Dr. John Quinn says annual catch limits (ACLs) and accountability measures (AMs) like at-sea monitors, while maintaining the integrity of fish stocks, can be of great harm to small fishing companies. “Councils need to be able to consider a wide variety of management tools without burdensome requirements,” said Quinn. “ACLs and AMs may not be the best tools for managing all fisheries.”
Quinn says he’d like to see regional fisheries granted to power to authorize alternative control mechanism or utilize ecosystem-based fishery managament tactics.