WASHINGTON (Saving Seafood) — September 17, 2013 — Last Wednesday, Dr. Ray Hilborn, of the University of Washington School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences, testified before the House Committee on Natural Resources during a hearing on the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Following his testimony on Capitol Hill, in which he adhered to the Congressional hearing's five minute time limit, Dr. Hilborn sat down with Saving Seafood's Executive Director Bob Vanasse for an in-depth discussion of his recommendations, and to give his presentation in full.
Dr. Hilborn explains how an emphasis by fisheries managers on eliminating overfishing has led government agencies to ignore other important aspects of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, which mandate the protection of fisheries resources alongside concerns for the socio-economic well being of fishermen and their communities.
Dr. Hilborn aruges that that the U.S. has largely "solved" the problems surrounding overfishing and that underutilization of the resource should be of greater concern to fisheries managers.
The video begins with Dr. Hilborn's evaluation of U.S. fisheries policy under the Magnuson-Stevens Act, his recommendations for the reauthorization, and concludes with a question and answers.