Latest Fisheries management Stories

Overfishing threatens many species but a combination of steps could turn that around, two groups long at odds with each other said. Marine ecologists and fisheries management scientists worked together for two years and published their findings Friday in the journal Science. The researchers agreed solutions to overfishing lie not only in management techniques but also in the political will to apply them, even if it initially causes economic disruption, said a release from the U.S. National...

An international team of scientists with divergent views on ocean ecosystems has found that efforts to rebuild many of the world's fisheries are worthwhile and starting to pay off in many places around the world. Their study puts into perspective recent reports predicting a total collapse of global fisheries within 40 years.In a paper published in the July 31 issue of Science, study co-author Mike Fogarty of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC) of NOAA's Fisheries Service in Woods...

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) today published a final rule in the Federal Register prohibiting the harvesting of krill in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) off the coasts of California, Oregon, and Washington. The rule goes into effect on August 12, 2009. Krill are a small shrimp-like crustacean and a key source of nutrition in the marine food web."Krill are the foundation for a healthy marine ecosystem," said Mark Helvey, NOAA's Fisheries Service...

The sustainability of fisheries depends on the transparency with which coastal states incorporate scientific advice into policies, reports a study led by researchers at Dalhousie University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and published in the journal PLoS Biology.A new study provides the first global evaluation of how management practices influence fisheries' sustainability. The study assessed the effectiveness of the world's fisheries management regimes using evaluations by nearly 1,200 fisheries...

Weak enforcement combined with fishermen facing serious economic hardships are leading to widespread violations of fisheries regulations along the Northeastern United States coast. This pattern of noncompliance threatens the success of new fisheries management measures put in place to protect and restore fish stocks, according to a new study published online this week in the journal Marine Policy.Among their findings, environmental economists Dr. Dennis King of the University of Maryland...

Council Takes Positive First Steps to Establish Annual Catch Limits, Accountability Measures WASHINGTON, June 1 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pew Environment Group today commended the Mid-Atlantic Council on its initial step toward implementing new federal requirements designed to end overfishing and rebuild depleted fish populations through the application of annual catch limits and accountability measures. The 2006 reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act requires that fishery...

Federal fisheries managers announced on Wednesday that California's commercial chinook salmon fishing season will be called off again after a record low number of fish returned to spawn last year, the AFP reported.The Pacific Fishery Management Council's decision will allow the sport and commercial seasons in Washington state to proceed, but will almost completely curtail commercial fishing in Oregon.The council has now halted commercial angling for natural and hatchery chinook salmon, or...

Proposed bill would delay the rebuilding of depleted fish populations WASHINGTON, April 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pew Environment Group and 44 national, regional and state conservation groups today pressed congressional leaders to oppose "The Flexibility in Rebuilding American Fisheries Act of 2009," saying the legislation would allow overexploitation of vulnerable fish populations. This bill is designed to weaken the Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA), the nation's primary law governing...

California Fisheries Fund Grants First Loans for Eco-friendly Fishing Businesses in California MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., March 30 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- At 5:30 p.m. PDT Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) will hold a special event at Google's Mountain View headquarters to announce the launch of the California Fisheries Fund (CFF), a $5 million, first-of-its-kind revolving loan program to rebuild California's fishing communities and to develop eco-friendly fishing. CFF also will...

WASHINGTON, March 9 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Pew Environment Group today called upon the Mid-Atlantic Fishery Management Council to diligently implement important new federal requirements designed to prevent overfishing and rebuild depleted fish populations. The council is currently developing plans to apply the new federal rules, which became effective on February 17, 2009. These rules correspond to 2006 congressional amendments to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the nation's primary law...