Lee Crockett, director of federal fisheries policy, and Holly Binns, manager of the Campaign to End Overfishing in the Southeast, for the Pew Charitable Trusts spoke about ending overfishing and rebuilding depleted fishing stocks Aug. 19 in Tallahassee at the Florida Outdoor Writers Association conference.
Why does Pew care about ocean conservation? We like to fish!, they said.
Ending overfishing is a hallmark of our work in federal waters, Crockett said. Taking fish out of the water faster than they can replenish themselves is overfishing. There were no time limits in the Magnuson Fishery Conservation and Management Act. In 2006, that was changed with the recognition of the need to put an annual catch limit in place based on science and have them in place by 2010.
Some feel that 10 years as a target timeline to rebuild depleted populations is not biologically possible; we think the timelines are accurately reflected, Crockett said. “We’re seeing stocks recovering, such as sea scallops in New England. Red snapper in the Gulf of Mexico also is doing better.”
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