July 22, 2013 — The federal law that mandates fishery management sets ten national standards that all fishing regulations must meet. But those standards are somewhat vague and sometimes even contradictory. They set managers the difficult task of protecting fish stocks while simultaneously preserving fishing communities. They’re also supposed to ensure that fishing rights are distributed fairly and equitably.
Not surprisingly, new regulations are often criticized for failing to give due weight to one of these competing standards. The New England Fishery Management Council has often been accused of employing a "fire, aim, ready" approach to management. And they're not alone. Rick Robins, chair of the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council, says that region was for a long time stuck in a reactive, rather than pro-active, mode.
To break out of that mode, Robins said the Mid-Atlantic council decided it needed to stop and actually think about what they wanted to accomplish. In 2011, they launched a Visioning and Strategic Planning Project.
Read the full story and listen to the audio from NPR affiliate WCAI