1 alan risenhoover, director noaa fisheries office of sustainable fisheries new mandates for...
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Alan Risenhoover, DirectorNOAA Fisheries Office of Sustainable Fisheries
New Mandates for Improving the Management of Marine Fisheries in
the United States
Mike Baird
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Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA)
• Governs marine fisheries management in U.S. federal waters
– Enacted in 1976
– Amended in 1996 and 2007 (MSRA)
• Original Goals
– Conserve and manage U.S. fisheries
– Phase out foreign fishing, develop domestic capacity
– Provide stakeholders a role in management (Councils)
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Goals of 1996 Amendments
• Achieve optimum yield (OY) in all fisheries
– Social, economic, and ecological considerations
• End overfishing
• Rebuild overfished fisheries
• Minimize bycatch
• Protect fisheries habitat
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Goals of 2007 Amendments (MSRA)
• End and prevent overfishing
• Improve science and its role in decision-making
• Promote market-based management approaches
• Promote international cooperation to address IUU fishing and bycatch of protected living marine resources
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Status of U.S. Fisheries:Where are we now?
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What is the difference?
Overfishing – Rate of harvest is unsustainable.
Left alone, leads to overfished stocks
Overfished – Stock size has fallen below a sustainable level
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New England:1. Cod – Gulf of Maine2. Cod – Georges Bank3. Yellowtail flounder – Georges Bank4. Yellowtail flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic5. Yellowtail flounder – Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine6. White Hake7. Winter Flounder – Georges Bank8. Winter Flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic
Stocks “Subject to Overfishing” (43) – as of 3rd quarter 2007
Mid-Atlantic:1. Summer flounder2. Scup
South Atlantic:1. Vermilion Snapper2. Red Snapper3. Snowy Grouper4. Golden Tilefish5. Red Grouper6. Black Sea Bass7. Gag8. Black Grouper9. Speckled Hind10.Warsaw Grouper11.*Red Drum
Gulf of Mexico:1. Red Snapper2. Greater Amberjack3. Gag4. Gray Triggerfish
Caribbean:1. Snapper Unit 12. Grouper Unit 13. Grouper Unit 44. Queen Conch5. *Parrotfishes
Pacific:1.Petrale sole2.Yellowfin Tuna – Eastern Pacific
Western Pacific1. Bottomfish Multi-Species Complex – Hawaiian Archipelago
Highly Migratory Species:1. Blue Marlin – Atlantic2. White Marlin – Atlantic3. Sailfish – West Atlantic4. Bigeye Tuna – Atlantic5. Albacore – North Atlantic6. Bluefin Tuna – West Atlantic7. Sandbar Shark8. Finetooth Shark9. Dusky Shark
Note: * indicates non-FSSI stock
Pacific and Western Pacific1. Bigeye Tuna – Pacific
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New England:1. Cod – Gulf of Maine2. Cod – Georges Bank3. Haddock – Gulf of Maine4. Haddock – Georges Bank5. American Plaice6. Yellowtail flounder – Georges Bank7. Yellowtail flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic8. Yellowtail flounder – Cape Cod/Gulf of Maine9. White Hake10. Windowpane Flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic11. Winter Flounder – Southern New England/Middle Atlantic12. Ocean Pout13. Atlantic Halibut14. Winter skate15. Thorny skate16. *Atlantic Salmon
Overfished Stocks (47) – as of 3rd quarter 2007
New England/Mid Atlantic:1. Monkfish – North2. Monkfish – South
Mid-Atlantic:1. Summer Flounder2. Scup3. Butterfish (Atlantic)
South Atlantic:1. Pink shrimp2. Snowy grouper3. Black Sea Bass4. Red Porgy
Gulf of Mexico:1. Red Snapper2. Greater Amberjack
Caribbean:1. Grouper Unit 12. Grouper Unit 23. Grouper Unit 44. Queen Conch
Pacific:1. Bocaccio2. Darkblotched Rockfish3. Cowcod4. Yelloweye Rockfish
Western Pacific1. Seamount Groundfish Complex – Hancock Seamount
North Pacific:1. Blue King Crab – Pribilof Islands2. Blue King Crab – Saint Matthews Island
Highly Migratory Species:1. Blue Marlin – Atlantic2. White Marlin – Atlantic3. Sailfish – West Atlantic4. Bigeye Tuna – Atlantic5. Albacore – North Atlantic6. Bluefin Tuna – West Atlantic7. Sandbar Shark8. Porbeagle Shark9. Dusky Shark
Note: * indicates non-FSSI stockBlue = stocks also “subject to overfishing”
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Domestic Provisions of MSRA
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End and Prevent Overfishing
Annual Catch Limits
• Set at limits “such that overfishing does not occur”
• May not exceed recommendations of Councils’ scientific committees (SSCs)
• Accountability
• Required for stocks currently undergoing overfishing by 2010; all other stocks in 2011
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Promote Market-Based Approaches
• Additional management tool
• Transferable permit specifying the amount of catch a privilege holder may harvest
• Goals: rebuild overfished stocks, reduce overcapacity, promote safety
• Seek to provide social and economic benefits
• Allocations must be “fair and equitable” and prevent acquisition of excessive shares
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Improve Science for Management
Recreational Fisheries Data
• New program to improve the collection, analysis, and use of recreational fisheries data
• Registry of recreational fishermen
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Improve Science for Management (cont.)
• Stronger role for scientific and statistical committees
• Enhanced review of scientific information
• New regional pilot programs for ecosystem research
• New Research Programs
– Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program
– Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program
– Cooperative Research and Management Program
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Deep Sea Corals in MSRA
• Required new Deep Sea Coral Research and Technology Program
• Additional authority for Councils and NOAA to designate zones to protect corals from damage from fishing gear
• Deep sea coral habitats are biologically diverse, fragile, and a U.S. priority for protection
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The State of Deep Coral Ecosystems of the United States
• Released December 10, 2007.
• Basis of upcoming Report to Congress (January 2008)
• Highlights deep coral
– distribution and ecology
– threats they face, and
– U.S. conservation actions
• Addresses MSRA requirement to “identify existing research on and known locations of deep sea corals”
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Bycatch Reduction
• A new Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program
• Incentives to reduce bycatch, seabird interactions, and post-release mortality
• Coordination on seabird interactions
• Annual report to Congress (starting 2009)
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Bycatch Reduction Research Example
• To reduce interactions of sharks with fishing gear, research on Electropositive (E+) metals: – E+ metals react with seawater, producing large electric fields, unlike
inert metals such as lead.
– Large electric fields may disrupt the electric sense of sharks, making them avoid bait associated with E+ metal alloys.
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NEPA-MSA Streamlining
• Requires revised Agency procedures for compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) to:
– conform to the timelines for review and approval of fishery management actions
– integrate environmental analytical procedures and time frames for public input
• The Secretary must work with the Regional Councils and the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ)
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Other Provisions
• Strengthens conflict of interest rules for Councils
• Improve fisheries enforcement through state and federal cooperation
• Address impacts to fisheries and fishing communities from recent hurricanes
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International Provisions
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International Fisheries & Protected Living Marine Resources
Actions must be taken to:
– Address international overfishing
– Reduce bycatch of protected living marine resources (LMRs)
– Strengthen international organizations with fisheries management oversight
– Combat illegal, unreported, or unregulated (IUU) fishing
– Promote improved monitoring and compliance of international fisheries
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Biennial Report to Congress
• Must include:
– Status of international living marine resources (LMRs)
– Identify nations whose vessels engage in IUU fishing or bycatch of protected LMRs
– Identify measures taken by nations or international fishery management organizations to end IUU fishing or reduce bycatch of LMRs
– Corrective actions taken or encouraged domestically or abroad
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Identification of Nations
• After identification, U.S. government will:
– Notify nations of their identification and the Act’s requirements to address IUU fishing and bycatch
– Initiate consultations with those nations
– Notify relevant international organizations of U.S. actions to address IUU fishing
– Seek international agreements to reduce bycatch
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Certification Procedures
• U.S. Commerce Secretary must certify whether corrective action has been taken
• Nations must be notified and provided an opportunity to comment
• Identified nations will receive either “positive” or “negative” certification
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International Cooperation and Assistance
• Support efforts to build capacity in other countries for fisheries management and enforcement
• U.S. has supported workshops on:
– Methods to prevent and mitigate incidental take of marine turtles, mammals, seabirds, and other resources
– Marine mammal stranding response
– Enforcement and preventing IUU fishing
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Summary of the MSRA
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Domestic Provisions
• End and prevent overfishing
• Additional fisheries management tools
• Enhanced role for science in management
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International Provisions
• Opportunities and challenges to improve fisheries management globally
• Multilateral process to address IUU fishing and bycatch
• Requires our commitment to strengthen international fishery organizations and capacity building
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Stay Informed:
www.nmfs.noaa.gov/msa2007/