NOAA Fisheries Service has begun the process of developing new guidance to assist regional fishery management councils in developing measures to end overfishing in all US commercial and recreational fisheries by 2010.
This deadline is a new requirement under the reauthorised Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act of 2006. NOAA provides guidelines to facilitate consistent application of the law’s 10 national standards among the nation’s fishery managers. This action would modify the guidelines for National Standard 1 of the Act, also known as the “overfishing standard.”
Overfishing still occurs at various levels in 48 fisheries in US waters, although NOAA has significantly improved the situation in recent years. The highest priority in the Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorisation was to strengthen the Act to ensure an end to overfishing.
The U.S. Ocean Action Plan also called for expansion of market-based management systems, improved recreational data, and the use of peer-reviewed science in resource management decisions. Initial funding for these activities is included in the 2008 budget request for NOAA Fisheries Service.
To end overfishing and prevent it from occurring in the future, the new law requires all fisheries to be regulated under annual catch limits, with accountability measures to ensure that catches do not exceed the limit. The new law also elevates the importance of following scientific advice in fishery management decisions, so the new guidelines for National Standard 1 will address the role of science in establishing annual harvest caps.
The public is offered this opportunity to discuss these issues and provide comment on how the nation can meet the law’s new mandates.
Upon consideration of public input that NOAA receives during this scoping period, the agency will develop a proposal for specific regulations, and then will hold another public comment period. The agency aims to finalize the modified National Standard 1 guidelines by the end of 2007.
