September 6, 2013 — 20 of 55 fish stocks examined by the research council were not actually overfished despite being classified as such by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
While overfishing is a key cause of depleted fish stocks, climate change and other ecological factors can also drive changes in fish stock populations.
Cutting back on cod fishing before the species faced disaster "would have helped, instead of waiting to the end when a huge balloon payment" of drastic fishing reductions was needed, said Patrick Sullivan, an associate professor of natural resources at Cornell University who co-chaired the research council report.
The report also takes aim at the 10-year timeline to rebuild fisheries. The time frame was mandated by Congress in the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act, the law that regulates fishing in the United States.
New England fishermen and members of Congress in the region have blamed the 10-year rebuilding requirement for drastic cuts in New England groundfish, including cod and haddock, that have failed to recover. Former Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. and former Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, requested the research council report in 2010, in part because of concerns over the 10-year rule.
Cutting back on cod fishing before the species faced disaster “would have helped, instead of waiting to the end when a huge balloon payment” of drastic fishing reductions was needed, said Patrick Sullivan, an associate professor of natural resources at Cornell University who co-chaired the research council report.
The report also takes aim at the 10-year timeline to rebuild fisheries. The time frame was mandated by Congress in the Magnuson-Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act, the law that regulates fishing in the United States.
While a fixed time-frame can help ensure rebuilding occurs at a reasonable pace, it “also can create inefficiencies in practice,” the report said. If fish recovery is slower than expected, it could lead to “severe reductions in target fishing” levels that could in turn cause economic hardship, the report said.
New England fishermen and members of Congress in the region have blamed the 10-year rebuilding requirement for drastic cuts in New England groundfish, including cod and haddock, that have failed to recover. Former Rep. Barney Frank, D-Mass. and former Sen. Olympia Snowe, R-Maine, requested the research council report in 2010, in part because of concerns over the 10-year rule.
Rep. John Tierney, D-Mass., a longtime NOAA critic, said Thursday there are “serious flaws with the current catch share system, which are leaving our struggling fishermen without options.”
Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Washington Post