In a paper just published Science Magazine, a team of fisheries led by Boris Worm, a marine biologist at Canada’s Dalhousie University, provided the most comprehensive analysis to date of global fisheries. The findings are mixed.

In 5 of 10 well-studied regions — Iceland, Newfoundland-Labrador, the Northeast U.S., Southeast Australia, and the California Current — fishing pressures have on average become less intense. 1/3 of all fish populations have been steered away from imminent doom, and appear to be recovering. Their ecosystems are no longer fast-tracked for collapse.

The solutions were relatively simple: abandon destructive fishing techniques like longlining and bottom trawling, reduce catches, put some waters off-limits, and give fishermen an economic reason to not overfish.

As this passage from Science suggests, new solutions didn’t need to be invented:

“After a long history of overexploitation, increasing efforts to restore marine ecosystems and rebuild fisheries are under way… Yet 63% of assessed fish stocks worldwide still require rebuilding, and even lower exploitation rates are needed to reverse the collapse of vulnerable species.

Combined fisheries and conservation objectives can be achieved by merging diverse management actions, including catch restrictions, gear modification, and closed areas, depending on local context.

Impacts of international fleets and the lack of alternatives to fishing complicate prospects for rebuilding fisheries in many poorer regions, highlighting the need for a global perspective on rebuilding marine resources.” – Science Magazine

A side-product of trawling for shrimp – a bunch of unwanted fish.
Credit: Wired

NOAA’s Fisheries Service is holding a series of public meetings this summer seeking comments on potential changes in the way commercial and recreational fishermen fish the U.S. quotas for swordfish and bluefin tuna in the Atlantic.

In the case of both fish stocks, U.S. fishermen have not been able to catch the U.S. quotas designed to ensure that the stocks are fished sustainably. While these species are managed internationally, the United States manages the domestic part of these fisheries by taking into account the ecosystem and working to reduce bycatch of turtles and other species. This approach increases expenses for U.S. fishermen and makes it more difficult for them to compete in the marketplace with cheaper imports from fishing nations that subsidize their fleets and do not use an ecosystem approach.

“Swordfish are nearly rebuilt, yet our fishermen are only catching 54 percent of the U.S.
quota. Bluefin tuna are a more complicated story. U.S. fishermen have followed quotas based on scientific recommendations designed to end overfishing. There may be ways to fish more of the U.S. quotas for both stocks in a sustainable manner.” – Jim Balsiger, acting NOAA Assistant Admin. for NOAA’s Fisheries Service

The public process will also be a chance to examine using “catch shares,” which would allocate a portion of the total catch to a person, company, community or sector, to better manage these fisheries. NOAA will examine novel ways to limit the bycatch of sea turtles, marine mammals, or undersized, prohibited and spawning fish in the bluefin and swordfish fisheries.

Jim Balsiger says they’ve “heard a number of ideas from constituents and we want to broaden the conversation to include recreational fishermen, environmental organizations and the general public on how best to manage these valuable highly migratory fish species.”

This effort to involve the public comes as NOAA’s Fisheries Service announces this season’s bluefin tuna quota for U.S. commercial and recreational fishermen. The rule puts in place reductions in overall quota that were adopted at the November 2008 meeting of the International Commission for the Conservation of Atlantic Tunas, the international body that manages tuna, swordfish and other species that cross international boundaries.

The rule, which published on June 1, raises the daily catch limit from one to two bluefin tunas for recreational fishermen. NOAA had originally proposed a daily limit of one but raised the limit to two per day after reviewing comments from the fishing industry and analyzing the change for consistency with the bluefin tuna rebuilding program. The new rule maintains the three-fish per day limit for commercial fishermen.

NOAA received many comments and suggestions during the recent bluefin tuna rule making on ways to improve long-term management of bluefin and swordfish. These proposals will now be part of this summer’s public process.

In addition to considering catch shares and by-catch reduction, some of the proposals that will be discussed include:

• • an industry request to lower the commercial minimum size for bluefin tuna from 73 to 65 inches
• • an industry request to allow more bluefin tuna to be landed that have been incidentally caught in longline fishing gear
• • a proposal to allow approximately 5,000 commercial tuna fishermen who use rod and reel to land swordfish at low catch levels

Public comments on bluefin tuna fishery issues will close June 30, while comments on all other issues, including swordfish, will remain open until Aug. 31.

All meetings will begin with an opportunity for people to view information on the issues raised in the public process and ask questions at 5 p.m., followed by a presentation and opportunity for public comment beginning at 6 p.m.

The closest public meeting to us here on Shem Creek will be held next Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. on June 25 at:

Roanoke Island Festival Park
1 Festival Park
Manteo, N.C. 27954

You can learn more about the public comment process or the bluefin tuna quota at http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/hms/